An Excerpt from Our Summer News...
Sunday, June 11, 2006
Every night during the summer, Gordon Strayhorn, the Illahee Director, writes an update and posts hundreds of pictures of campers having a blast. This is his entry from June 7th:
This is NOT the June session weather we are used to. It was gorgeous AGAIN today...and I got to enjoy it with a terrific group of girls from Cabins 13, 14 and 16 on a BIG adventure up off the Parkway. We took one of my favorite hikes in the Black Balsams near the Blue Ridge Parkway, about a 45 minute drive from camp. The girls serenaded me the entire way with camp songs...some in pitch, some not so much. But, the volume was there the entire way! We climbed from Brevard up to 6000 feet in elevation and it was so clear, we could see all the way to Georgia and South Carolina to the South. I took the video camera and held auditions for the next Julie Andrews...campers took turn spinning up the meadow singing the Hills are Alive. Our mountains provided the perfect backdrop for the screen tests! We ate a hearty lunch of turkey or ham and cheese sandwiches, pita and hummus, Pringles (perfect for packing in), bananas, baby carrots with ranch dip, and oreos for the finale. There were even some extras for girls who had listened to me babble on about my favorite wildflower (bluets), FDR's New Deal and the Civilian Conservation Corps who built the Parkway, and more Cliff Claven-style trivia. Those who had recall were rewarded with Oreo extras! After about a four mile hike, we loaded back up and headed down to swim in Looking Glass Falls. A few intrepid campers, and most of the counselors jumped right in the rather chilly water. No one stayed long! We ended the perfect day with a trip to Dollys for ice cream. I just had to make sure the Illahee Swirl was up to snuff...it is definitely the most popular flavor for our campers, but also most other campers who stop from other camps as well!
I am back at camp for an hour between trips. I get to go back out with all of the Pineview girls (oldest campers) to Sliding Rock tonight right after dinner. We'll board the buses, load the lifeguards and head up to the Rock, which is usually empty during the evening. After 3 or 4 slides, we'll head back to Dollys and then home.
Our younger campers will have a Swim Party at the lake for evening program, and the Heigh Ho girls are watching a movie in McLeod on the big screen. All in all, another perfect day in the Heavenly!
