A Mountain Day to Remember

Glenn Breazeale | Jul. 26, 2018

I don’t remember better weather for a Mountain Day celebration than yesterday. In the shade it was cool all day. Even in the bright sun at the Olympics, playing was comfortable.

Mountain Day begins with a wake up call by the head counselors. Yesterday’s wakeup held a special treat. One of the gentlemen on our maintenance crew serves our community on the North Lookout Mountain Volunteer Fire Dept. Gene was able to bring one of the fire trucks. Decked out in costume, the head counselors hopped on the fire truck. Riding through camp with sirens blaring, the head counselors eagerly woke up each cabin area.

Campers streamed out of cabins decked out in costume. Word spreads quickly that it might be Mountain Day. So they are ready. Sometimes a costume is preplanned and put together, mostly it’s an inside out shirt with shorts on head and sunglasses, or something of the like. As I walked into breakfast spotted around me were Chubaka, an old lady, Yoda, a crying baby and quite a few other interesting characters!

Country band Alabama is the music of choice for Mountain Day (the hometown boys hail from just down the mountain in Fort Payne, AL and still reside in the area).  Dixieland Delight and Mountain Music swirled through the air as we enjoyed our pancakes with chocolate chips and blueberries.

Our Team Sports staff brought us a full morning of Olympic competition, tribe vs. tribe.  Field events, tug of war, and some relays kept us busy all morning.  And yes, there was music there too.  That’s the beautiful thing about being unplugged for a time period.  It makes you appreciate so much more.  A little recorded music on Mountain Day gets us all excited.

Lunch could not have come sooner.  Mrs. Gail’s Mountain Day special: BBQ chicken awaited us.  Served with green beans, mashed potatoes, salad, and strawberry shortcake, we feasted.

In the afternoon Roderick cooked up special activities including the third annual playing of Alabama Gold Rush. It’s a hybrid between capture the flag, tag, and an egg hunt played throughout most of camp. The boys love it!

The best part of the whole day (and maybe the term) came at sundown.  The Alpine County Fair.  With snowcones, cotton candy, and ice cream I probably need not say much more. But there’s so much more.

Currency at the fair is dried pinto beans for games and a limited number of tickets for food items.  Loaded with an envelope full of beans, boys are turned loose in the gym and field to play fair type games to their heart’s content.

Booths line each side of the gym. Take the Plunge (tossing rings into plungers), the Cake Walk, and Wheel of Fortune are a few of the favorites. And outside the gym there’s a chance to dunk your favorite head counselor in water with a baseball toss.

We finished off the night entertained by a fireworks show on the Team Sports Field.

Today returned us to our normal activity schedule. Though many classes are anything but normal at this point. Final competitions are being held in quite a few.

In those activities all sorts of action is happening. Minor Sports held the finals of their Petanque tourney today during Rest Hour. Teams of 2 clad in collared shirts (a gentlemen’s game, of course!) battled for the top Petanque prize. It’s a fun game that allows for hanging out and good conversations while playing.

Each tennis class has been seeded and play has begun in the Alpine Open. They’ll compete in single elimination games to see who comes out as the top player in each age group.

Mountain Biking is racing through trails in timed laps for a chance to claim the Tour de Alpine trophy. Our Trash Can Band class could be heard intently practicing this morning in preparation for their performance Saturday night at Desoto Glee Club. All the boys are honing in on their glee club songs in anticipation of the big show.

This evening Carter and I will host the 2nd year Chiefs at our home at camp, with their counselors and J.D. Uglum, their head counselor. We’ll cook out ribeye steaks and pair with some veggies, rolls, and chocolate pie for dessert. This is one of my favorite nights. I love hearing them reminisce about their summers at camp and telling tales from the hiking trip.

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.