Rides, Rafts, and Rock City

Glenn Breazeale | Jun. 24, 2016

Yesterday morning chartered buses rolled in bright and early (some as early as 6AM).  After a quick 7AM breakfast of eggs, grits, and toast we were off.  Well, it wasn’t quite that smooth.  Counselors packed all the sack lunches for each bus.  Plus daytime meds, inhalers, etc.  And nurses dispensed dramamine to anyone concerned about motion sickness.  Then we called roll and were off!

The Hunters loaded their bus for a day full of fun activities in Chattanooga. They started their day at the beautiful Rock City Gardens. There they enjoyed walking the trails through the gardens and took in one of the most scenic views in the entire southeast, as they were able to see seven states from the overlook at Rock City. From there they headed down into the valley of Chattanooga. After enjoying a delicious hamburger from Cheeburger Cheeburger, the Hunters spent the afternoon rock climbing at High Point Climbing & Fitness, and finished the afternoon by watching the IMAX movie “A Beautiful Planet” at the Tennessee Aquarium. After their IMAX experience, the Hunters enjoyed some delicious pizza from Mr. T’s Pizza, a local Chattanooga favorite, and headed home.

The Hunters weren’t the only ones who had a full schedule of trip day plans. The Trappers headed out to Atlanta and spent the morning touring Turner Field. There they were able to sit in the Braves dugout, take in the view from the press box, and even got see some historical artifacts such as the bat and ball Hank Aaron used to hit his 715th homerun. After eating a sack lunch, the Trappers headed to tour the World of Coke. They were able to open happiness as they entered the vault of the Coca-Cola secret formula, got a behind the scenes glimpse of the bottling process, and were able to taste different soft drinks from around the globe. If you have a Trapper, be sure to get his thoughts on the Italian drink Beverly. From the World of Coke, we then headed next door to the Georgia Aquarium. The boys were amazed at the big size of the whale sharks and manta rays. Who knew a Manta Ray can grow to be 23 feet wide?! And we took in a live sea lion show, viewing some amazing tricks and acrobatics of these creatures.  After the aquarium, the Trappers enjoyed a delicious pizza dinner on the way home.

The Scouts spent the day in the Great Smokey Mountains of Tennessee as they enjoyed their day at Dollywood, seeking all sorts of fast thrills.  Campers returned proudly exclaiming that they’d ridden rides like the Tennessee Tornado and the Wild Eagle!

It was off to white water raft for our older age groups. The Warriors headed to the Nantahala River for their rafting trip. After enjoying a sack lunch, they were briefed with safety instructions and off they went. The Nantahala is near Murphy, NC and is a perfect beginner rapids course.  The river is cool and refreshing and Nantahala Falls, at the end, provides a big thrill.  On their way home they enjoyed a piping hot pizza dinner at Papa’s Pizza in Murphy, NC. For most boys, whooshing down the river rapids was the highlight of the day. Others couldn’t stop talking about how delicious the pizza was.

For the Braves and first year Chiefs, it was down the Ocoee River. They enjoyed floating down the river, surfing the rapids, and riding the waves.  The Ocoee is a dam controlled river with more adventurous runs.  After their rafting adventure, they headed to The McCallie School in Chattanooga for some swimming and Mr. T’s pizza.

And it was a triumphant, and slightly smelly, return home for our Second year Chiefs after 3 days of backpacking the Appalachian Trail.  The trail passes very near the Nantahala Outdoor Center in Bryson City.  These boys rafted down the river in individual duckies (inflatable kayaks) before enjoying a feast of Papa’s Pizza in Murphy, NC.  A shower with soap and shampoo has probably never felt so good as last night for these boys.  I got a chance to visit with them this morning for a bit.  They loved the trip.  Consensus was it was very hard but completely worth it for the views and the camraderie.

This morning our program director, Richard Cox, wisely let us sleep in to 7:45 after the late night return.  Then Mrs. Gail greeted us with warm, piled high pancakes on this fine Friday morning, a rarity except on Sundays.  Activities got back into business mid morning after each age group conducted a post breakfast Morning Watch.

We’ve had some nice cloud cover today, a welcome reprieve as the heat and humidity have returned from vacation after last week’s cool temps.  Still it’s the Mountain, cooler than most places, with tons of shade.  Tonight we’ll enjoy a camp wide movie in the gym, another wise decision by Richard after two very busy days!

Plus we’ve got to rest up for Saturday night.  Word on the street is we might be putting on our dancin’ shoes!  Stay tuned for that update on Sunday!!

Thanks for reading,

Glenn

Glenn Breazeale
Glenn Breazeale

Like his own father, Glenn grew up as a camper at Alpine for six summers, coming from Jackson, MS each summer. He has served on staff at Alpine since 1997, working full time as Assistant Director from 2003 to 2005 and Director since 2006. Prior to that he gained experience serving in various capacities including cabin counselor, Head Counselor, Head of Project Adventure (Ropes course), Horseback instructor, and Program Director. Glenn’s love of camping and his desire to preserve the traditions of Alpine drew him back to camp to offer young boys the same opportunities he experienced. He met and fell in love with Carter during a Square Dance with Camp DeSoto.