Posted by: Birch Rock Camp

A cloudless sunrise, Flagpole echo and a western omelette with grits later, this Thursday got off to a busy start and never slowed until after sundown. Being the day after a big rain, one must be hyper-vigilant when it comes to those pesky ticks, but, lucky for us, it was International Sock/Tick Awareness and Prevention Day. Socks, of course, are compulsory around Birch Rock, but it was a good excuse to dig out the tallest, funkiest threads in the trunk and pull ’em up high.

Activity-wise, the Beavers, Wolves and Moose chugged right ahead toward more badges. Abe T. got his Jr. Bushcraft badge after building a fantastic fire; Ruben V. and Rustam N. earned their Knife Rights; Ryan F. and Jackson B. shot for their Yeoman badges in Archery, as did Lukas F. at BB Guns for his Daisy; Ty D., Gus T. and Hugh J. each laxed their way to Jr. Lacrosse status; Jack F. made progress toward his Advanced Kayaking badge by completing his solo uphill portage; and Andrew C. earned Jr. Canoeing and Nature badges in the same day (in addition to playing a nice rendition of the Jurassic Park theme song on the flute prior to Evening Activity. More on that later.)

In other news, a handful of lucky campers participated in the first-known focus group study in BRC history. It has a long and complicated story that will be told in a forthcoming oral history, but suffice it to say that the Sulli-Van went on its first trip in ages today, coming out of retirement to ferry nine boys to all the Waterfords (East, South, Center, and North, with a stop at the legendary Melby’s) in under an hour. Although the venerable van received less-than-complimentary marks for its accumulated years of “trip funk” and lack of air conditioning, it performed like a champ.

And, of course, with the senior campers being away on trips, the rest of the community went all-out for Spirit Quest in its effort to prevent Birch Rock from being turned into a Jurassic Park-like themed tourist trap boondoggle. They managed to successfully enlist the help of Captain America (CIT Luke) and Batman (CIT Henry) and their merry band of characters that included The Yellow Teletubbie (Devon A.), Jay Cutler (Head Counselor Bob) and Swiper the Fox (Sam R.), among others, and together they staved off the deplorable destruction of the loveliest hillside in Maine by big, dumb dinosaurs.

As for the wombats, however … stay tuned.

Today’s Superlatives

Best Bed: John N.

Best Cabin: Eagles’ Nest

Super Camper: Gonzalo P.

Tomorrow’s Action

The senior campers return from trips and attempt to catch up with well-established camp memes; Hilton is confuzzled yet again by the Midnight Phantom; skits are brainstormed in anticipation of Campfire on Saturday; Bella barks at things; rest periods