A Blockbuster Weekend at Alpine

Saturday at the end of lunch, Glenn received a very special call on Alpine’s trusty 1960’s era “wireless” rotary phone. He announced to the excited campers and staff that the Hunters, Trappers, and Scouts had been invited to a dance that night over at Camp DeSoto. As is tradition, the invitation was extended to the Intermediates and Seniors at DeSoto to join the Warriors, Braves, and Chiefs at Alpine for a night of dinner and dancing. Our relationship with DeSoto goes way back, and it’s always great to enjoy fellowship and fun with their campers and staff.

Both parties involve dinner together followed by square/line dances in the gym. Upon arrival, several brothers and sisters celebrate a reunion after a couple weeks apart. Hometown friends and neighbors also reunite and often introduce each other’s friends and cabinmates. Both staff did an excellent job of creating a fun, lighthearted environment, which made the 2023 dances one of the best nights of the summer.

At the end of the night, the boys returned to their cabins for devotionals and some much needed sleep after a full week of activities, trips, and socializing. We slept in until 8am, then made our way to the dining hall for hot pancakes and sausage. It was a beautiful day with a nice summer breeze that flowed through the gym during Church. After a long rest hour, cabins spent the afternoons together bonding and playing games. Our Trapper age group has been working on pinewood derby cars with their counselors, and now have them ready and decorated for a Mountain Day race coming up on Wednesday.

Monday began like most camp days: morning watch, breakfast, cabin clean up, 3 activities, lunch, rest hour, and store. However, this afternoon was a first at Alpine, as we introduced Blockbuster Afternoon. Inspired by campers’ requests to have the freedom to roam between activities, we set aside our block period today to allow campers to set their own schedules. I imagine most of our campers are too young to have rented a movie from a brick and mortar store, but most of us have memories of scanning each shelf on each aisle to find the perfect movie to take home. In the same spirit, campers were given the chance to participate in any activity they wanted that was in their age group’s zone.

Hunters and Trappers could cool off at the waterfront, work on a project at crafts, play some disc sports, make a s’more, or play some Gladiator Ball. More than a few “hit for the cycle” and tried everything! Meanwhile the Scouts, Warriors, and Braves spent their block period ranging from the Pool to Minor Sports to the PA Course to the Gym to the Team Sports Field. Among the many highlights was playing Pickleball- a relatively new activity to Alpine. Not to be left out, our Chiefs rode the buses Uptop to spend time fishing, riding mountain bikes, riding horses, or working on their golf game. We capped off our time with watermelon and fellowship on the field, where boys shared with their friends and counselors all the different ways they spent their time enjoying camp.

We have officially begun our final week of First Term. Thanks again for sharing your boys for us, and thanks for reading! Wayne