Guerilla Warfare VLOG – Massive Water Balloon Battle

One thing that I love about camp… We will spend 3 days filling up water balloons for a game that lasts less than an hour. We used about 22 fifty-five gallon trash cans, over 17,000 water balloons, about 12 fill stations, 75 staff, and 220 campers…. for without a doubt the largest water balloon battle they will ever experience… cars driving by are forced to stop just to watch for a few minutes…. It’s an awesome experience…only at Camp Ridgecrest!

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Gold Rush VLOG

One of our Camper’s favorite games is known as Gold Rush. Check out this sneak peak into the action! Good times, even in the rain! This high energy game was followed by Ridgecrest Cinema in Spilman Lodge. A nice relaxing end to a hectic and really fun day!

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VLOG: Star Search

Hey folks! Welcome to the first Camp Ridgecrest VLOG of Summer 2011! We has some rain roll in on us last night, so we had a big ol’ time in Spilman Lodge doing Star Search. Spilman is the largest upright log structure east of the Mississippi and a perfect setting for these skits. Check out these short clips to give you just a taste of what last night was like….

Star Search Vlog from Ridgecrest Summer Camps on Vimeo.

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Camp Is Coming!!

Dear Campers,

In roughly one month, camp will start. Take a minute and let that sink in. You have been waiting for nine months for this time to come. That is nine months of tests, classes, homework, and general boredom. Congratulations! You survived! And now it is time to reward yourself!

We will have all of your favorite things about camp ready and waiting for you when you get here. Right now, the two square balls are inflated, and Ron has taken time to personally inspect each one to make sure it is up to standards. Our Camp Pastor, Brother Sam Pindea, has personally broken in all 18 frisbee golf holes. The tribal leaders ( Meet them here:  http://boysblog.ridgecrestcamps.comboys/meet-the-2011-tribal-leaders/) will be arriving shortly, which means all of our OA’s will soon be ready to go. After a stressful, 19 hour meeting, the Sock War themes have been decided for the Summer. What do YOU think they are going to be? Some other new additions to camp include a brand new, in-ground Ladder Golf set beside the Infirmary, and Cornhole, which is a new favorite of Ron’s. Both will be available during Free Swim this year.

Early predictions tell us that tribal spirit will be at an all time high with the release of this year’s new tribal shirts! That’s right! No matter your tribe, you can purchase a shirt with your tribe’s symbol at our camp store (http://boysblog.ridgecrestcamps.comboys/news-boys/new-clothing-for-summer-2011/).  I know you are all really excited about getting her, but we are EVEN MORE excited that you are coming! This summer is going to be one for the books fellas, so get ready!

Sincerely,

Hunter Barnhardt, Program Director

LC Invigorating Dragonfly

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Retro Friday: The Look

So when you look at pictures from Camp Ridgecrest today compared to pictures from the 30’s or 40’s, there is quite a difference. Sure, there are less action shots and more staged pictures. You see less smiles, and almost never see anyone making a goofy face. The clothing is very different.  In the older pictures white tends to be the dominant color. But when you look deeper in the piles of pictures…when you find the one’s that didn’t go to print in the magazines or brochures…you find faces and settings that look more familiar. You can find boys playing in the woods with their shirts off on a hot summer day. You can find a group of college aged counselors cooling off in the canteen over a cold drink, sharing stories from their campouts. You might find lines wrapping the 4 square courts just like they will this summer. Some of those old pictures look like they are in a different world. But some of them look like they could have been taken last summer. Camp has definitely changed over the years, but some things about this place will always stay the same.

Here are a few pictures that you won’t be able to replicate this summer. But man, it’s really cool to look back and wonder what it would have been like to serve the Lord here  a long time ago…

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Retro Friday: More of Lake Ridgecrest

With Lake Ridgecrest being right in the middle of Camp, it’s fun to see how it has changed and how it remains the same. Below are a few more images that may spark good memories of your camp days. You can see the old swim area, that was ultimately replaced by a larger floating dock where the I-Dock once sat. The Zip line is still in place at the same tree that’s in this picture. And then the boats… you see canoes, plyaks, and even sail boats. Unfortunately, we never replaced the sail boats once they aged out. But we have replace many of the old plyaks with new kayaks. (By the way, the old plyaks are currently being auctioned off. Take home a peace of Camp History, and help our scholarship program at the same time. Email phil@ridgecrestcamps.com for more info!) We hope you enjoyed your time on Lake Ridgecrest, a place where we have seen sockwar skits, boys learn to swim, countless canoe skills, the Ironman begin, new toys like the Blob become highlights, and relationships formed on warm summer days at Camp! Share some of your favorite memories below…

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Retro Friday: Tribe Calendars

So throughout the years, the Tribal Leaders here at Camp Ridgecrest have used various means to stay organized. Now-a-days we usually use computers and calendars that link together etc… All of the calendars for the past few years are stored on my computer, to access anytime we want.  However, calendars haven’t always been a boring black and white computer screen. This particular calendar is from Steve Cothran, when he was the TL for the Mighty Arapaho Tribe. It’s fun to see some of the activities that are still done today! And it’s cool to see some of the things that we no longer do. What on this list did you do as a camper, and what have you never heard of before? If you could think back to your camper days, what was your most favorite planned activity…ever?

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Retro Friday: Riflery Skill

I feel like a staple of Camp has always been learning to shoot a .22 Rifle. For a very long time, we have been teaching boys to safely and accurately shoot rifles here at Camp Ridgecrest. The rifles have changed a bit. As far as I know, they have always been a .22; does anyone remember differently? And the Riflery Range has changed a few times as well. But one thing will probably never  change. Boys love to learn how to safely shoot rifles. They love to hit the target, to hit the bulls-eye, and to get better with each lesson. Camp Ridgecrest Riflery Skill was my first opportunity to learn the proper technique of how to shoot. What about you? Tell us below what you remember…

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Retro Friday: Load em up!

Perhaps the fastest way to transport a group of boys to the river, or another lake would be on the back of a flt bed truck. This mode of transportation wouldn’t exactly fly these days at Camp Ridgecrest for Boys. But it is neat to look back at the truck loads of kids having a blast at camp! Below is an old flat bed truck that camp used to tow canoes and tote people. Does anyone remember this truck, or one like it? We still have an old flat bed we use for maintenance etc. Below is also a picture of some canoes on a trailer, being pulled by the same old truck. Did these canoes stay close to Ridgecrest, or were they taken down the french broad river? If you remember a trip like this one, comment below and tell us about it.

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Kickback: The Best Blobs of 2008

Receiving more that 12,600 views on YouTube, here at The Best Blobs from 2008. Do you see a younger version of yourself here? Get warmed up, Camp is right around the corner…. See you soon…

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