Seeing Stars

Last night the moon was in a 4% Waning crescent phase (that means it was a tiny sliver and will be smaller tonight). The first star appeared as we finished dancing by the lake at 8:45, by the time we were back at our cabins the sky was ablaze with starlight. I love the moon phases and notice each one during the summer. A waning crescent moon with just 1% light means that we will be treated to a genuinely dark sky for this evening’s Overnight Extravaganza!

A night such as this should provide a breathtaking glimpse of the universe. Mind blowing… awe inspiring… jaw dropping… pick your adjective. I really hope the clouds clear (it is a slightly overcast day, possible showers in the afternoon, hopefully clearing by night) for such a view is best experienced with friends during a night that allows plenty of time for the imagination to ignite. The fireflies provide the first joys of the evening but eventually we quiet down enough to look up, and the awe spreads as little fingers point to the sky.

Sunrise arrives later and Sunset arrives earlier now than when we first arrived at camp. The days are getting shorter, a fact that was driven home at the Corn Roast last night. Sunset officially arrived at 8:46 last night, but the mountains make it feel like it set at 8:30. As the sun set behind the mountains and lit the twilight sky with brilliant colors, we danced with delight under the light of the brilliant moon. The music was amazing (lots of beach music, motown, and blues) and the exhuberant dancing was a beautiful thing to see. The Corn Roast was fun…A County Fair (win tickets for prizes), Pony Decorating, and Party Barge rides. The band was great, the food was great, the activities were great, and the relaxed pace of the evening was great. We collapsed into our beds with satisfied grins and golden memories.

We will set up tents on all of our camp properties (the Main Campus, Apple Hill, Putt Cove, Apple Hill, Thunderhead, & Bear Mountain). The “Glamping” cabins at Bear Mountain are prepped and ready for use; and the fire pits have fires laid and just await the match to blaze into glory. S’mores, capture the flag games, “duck, duck, goose”, and games of tag will first mark the night. Then we slow down a bit with card games and games of mafia, psychiatrist,fishbowl, frogger, thumper, and “going on a picnic” played inside cozy tents and around campfires. Add the dark skies, the bright stars, and the fireflies and you have a recipe for a slam dunk event!

We have upgraded overnights from previous years. Last year was our best effort ever, using the accumulated “best practices” of previous years events as the basis of the planning. Campers love Bear Mountain, they love tents, they love luxury cabins. Counselors love having support (they don’t always know how to do things like lite fires and organize games). Everyone says they like to stay up late but do not like being tired the next day. So we are fixing all these things! Everyone stays in either tents or luxury camping cabins. We have staff supporting the counselors with group games and provide the tools to do games with just their cabin. We will stay up late and watch the stars… then we will sleep late and let the girls enjoy a “Do Nothing” day tomorrow. It is sure to be a huge hit (a culminating event arising after a combination of special events that will make this week stand out as crazy fun and super busy… Main Camp personified).

• Breakfast was “Truckdrivers Special” (home made biscuits with gravy)
• Lunch is chicken fingers and fries (yeah!!!)
• Dinner is a Greystone specialty: Chicken Country Captain

We are shocked at how quickly the days are passing and loving every minute! It is hard to believe that camp ends in two weeks, but when we look at the big events on the horizon and the preparations that are needing to be made we wish we had four more weeks to fit it all in.

Thank you for making camp possible. We are having a GREAT DAY and hope YOU are having a GREAT DAY too!