Alabama Gold Rush
Today after lunch Richard announced a Block period afternoon. That means we push pause on our regular rotation of activities in lieu of special age group plans. Boys get excited and it’s a welcome break from the routine every now and then. But not before we fueled up on a good ole southern lunch of meatloaf, fried okra, creamed corn, cornbread, and green salad. Rest hour after was much needed for many of us!
Our Warriors, Braves, and Chiefs (rising 7-10) participated in a newer Alpine tradition, Alabama Gold Rush. Richard hides colored orbs all throughout camp and sets boundaries for each tribe’s “side”. Plus some neutral territory, Switzerland, if you will. Each tribe has a chance during the allotted time to go and search for the orbs in enemy territory and bring them back to their side. Each orb is worth varying amounts of points. Of course, if you get tagged while in enemy territory you proceed directly to jail, hoping for a friend to bail you out. It’s essentially a giant game of capture the flag all over camp, with a few tweaks.
The Hunters (rising 3rd and 4th) swam to their heart’s content at the pool all afternoon. Trappers (rising 5th) made pinewood derby like cars this afternoon and raced them on a long track, until we whittled down to the final race and declared a winner. Harrison from Bear Canyon holds the fastest car at Alpine now! The Scouts (rising 6th) enjoyed the entire waterfront at the river to themselves all afternoon.
If you haven’t been to our portion of Little River before I’ll attempt to give you a brief glimpse. There are 3 forks of Little River, and plenty of tributaries, running essentially north to south entirely on top of the mountain. The forks come together south of us and eventually culminate in Little River Canyon (side note, if you haven’t been to the canyon it’s worth a visit, absolutely stunning). We are on the west fork of the river. Our waterfront is above a dam so it’s really more like a small lake or pond, with the added benefit of fresh moving water all the time. For you history buffs, the dam was built in the Depression era New Deal projects, along with a mill race below it, to harness the water for power creation. We maintain it now. In addition to canoes and paddleboards that can be traversed upriver about a quarter of a mile before rocks make boats impassable for a time, we have added several “toys” over the years. Two wet willie water slides descend from high bluffs into the river. And from our tower a blob sits below as well as a zipline careening into the water. No doubt you’ve seen most of these in photos but maybe this gives you a little more info when your boys come home talking about them!
Last night was the Night program that everyone waits for all term. The surprise of the term and the reason you packed those camo or dark clothes. Mission Impossible!!! It starts with a story - something must be taken in order to give us our mission. At lunch one of our Work Crew leaders interrupted Richard’s after meal announcements to tell us he was sick and tired of working in the kitchen. He and the kitchen boys were going on strike and had signed a lucrative deal with a restaurant in Fort Payne. They marched out. And then the Mission Impossible music blared from the speakers and the place went nuts! We had to find those Kitchen Boys!!
I’m happy to report that 3 cabins successfully retrieved them last night and they were happily back in the kitchen this morning to serve us breakfast. What ensued last night was a giant all camp game of spotlight. Good agents with clues were posted all throughout camp and cabins navigated the trails and roads of camp from one agent to another amassing clues that might lead to victory. The problem was the bad agents were also posted all over camp, flashlight in hand, ready to spot a noisy or obvious cabin and send them back to the start for another clue.
Yesterday and today have been “bluebird” days in camp. Sun and light breezes, with a few wispy clouds providing shade from time to time. Warm but not hot. As I write this on my screen porch, just across from the field, I’m looking at a gorgeous dusk sky of blues and oranges in the west as boys play night games on the field and tennis courts and in the gym.
Thanks for reading and good night for now, Glenn
