Here Comes the Sun

We awoke to bright blue skies and the promise of a lovely warm summer day. The weather this week has been perfect (from my perspective as a “native”) but the girls might say that it has been a bit chilly. High temperatures in the 70’s are great for some but not quite warm enough for others… today should be perfect for all! High temperature today will be 80 degrees and stay that way for the next week. Humidity will gradually rise till we settle into our much beloved summer pattern of cool mornings, high temperatures arriving about 1:00, clouds gather, rain during rest hour, comfortable afternoon and evening. Glorious!

Weather plays a big part in our day, for there is no air conditioning in camp (except in the fitness room and Whitehall). We learn to celebrate the little changes that go un-noticed in the “real world”… even a passing cloud that provides a moment of shade is celebrated. Such a connection is just a part of living outside and it is a wonderful aspect of the camp experience.

Last night as we departed the Opening Vespers we were treated to a Full Moon, so bright we could see each other’s faces clearly as we ran around the pagent court. For the next 7 days the moon will become gradually smaller, a fact that the girls will also notice. They will also pay attention to the fireflies with more care; noting the pattern of flashes each one presents and confirming that all the fireflies in the camp exhibit the same pattern. Amazing!

One of the reasons the girls will notice the moon and the fireflies is that I spoke of them at Breakfast Club. We have moved onto the second area of growth that the bible encourages in Luke 2:52… the Four Fold way of living requires daily growth Socially, Mentally, Physically, and Spritually. Today we moved on to Mental growth, encouraging the girls to be curious about the world in which we live.

Last night’s Vespers program was absolutely lovely, and it was also marked by barely contained exhuberance. At one point as the candles were all lit and the pavilion glowed with the 700 candles carefully held in little hands I said “LOOK at the beauty of this moment”… and at that point a little girl on the front row loudly flatulated! Life, it is wonderful! It was a precious EP and a beautiful ceremony, one we hope the girls will remember for many years to come.

Camp is going very well and we could not be happier with our first week. Today we will enjoy some friendly competition in our first “Challenge Day” EP. It will contrast nicely with the quiet program we enjoyed last night as the girls will compete in a bunch of silly relay races and fun games representing their odd and even teams. The girls love showing team spirit, expect to see lots of green and gold in the photos tonight!

A brief word about our riding trail program. Trail Riding takes place with a “Western” theme at one of two locations: our 30 acre “Apple Hill” property that is adjacent to camp or our “Thunderhead” property located one mile away on the Green River.

At Apple Hill the girls enjoy a ride through camp and are seen by their friends on the pretty horses, then follow a beautiful trail that follows the lake shore then climbs to a beautiful view that overlooks all of Tuxedo. They see turtles sunning on logs, blue herons and wood ducks, fish jumping, and even Osprey soaring over hidden lake… then they dive into the woods after crossing a beautiful lakeside meadow. The cool quiet of the woods is only broken by the sound of hooves as they take a moment to stop talking and just look around.

Thunderhead is a new aquisition of an old Greystone property. A 180 acre property that is very close to camp (it is the mountain that you see behind the lake, just 1 mile away). Thunderhead features a super cool barn, some big pastures, a wonderful trout river, and about 5 miles of riding trails that follow the river then climb the mountain. Lovely views and fun activities with the horses (it is tons of fun to take your horse to the river and let him walk around in the cool water).

Thunderhead is the second large mountain property we have recently purchased (the other is called “Bear Mountain”, we use it for hiking and overnights). Some have asked why we have put a priority on aquiring land, for our program is self contained (we almost never leave our facility)… the answer is tied to our committment to future generations of summer campers.

As the years go by camp will adapt and change it’s program to better meet the needs of the campers. At this point those needs are best met with the facility that we maintain in Tuxedo, but we want to be prepared to expand the program in ways that provide wilderness settings but do not negatively impact the community. This requires compelling experiences that are close to camp. Thunderhead and Bear Mountain meet those basic requirements for they are spectacular wilderness settings that are right next door to camp. We can take a group to Thunderhead in 5 minutes, Bear Mountain in 10.

While relatively few campers are choosing these experiences at this time, we believe that sometime over the next 40 years such options will become important to our program. Our committment to camping is without reservation and such investments assure that we will always be able to provide exactly what the campers neeed.

This committment to excellence is what SHOULD mark the way all Christian organizations are run. We represent the Almighty King of the Universe, thus we should do all things to the very best of our ability and not hold anything back. This is what we expect of our counselors, our food service, our cleaning crew, our maintenance team, and ourselves. We hope that camp will be a witness to all that see us… that God will be glorified because of what we do and how we do it.

Breakfast was “Truck Drivers Special” (biscuits and sausage gravey); Lunch is chicken tacos; dinner is flank steak and polenta. Three great meals!

Have a Great Day!