Run, run, run, run, run, world harmony run!

Tye-dying shirts at summer camp

Run, run, run, run, run, world harmony run!

What a busy, exciting, thrilling and truly outstanding week of camp it has been!

We have had retired counselors, Dan, Bucci, Sasha, Molly and Libby join in the action of the classes and evening activities, along with past campers this week which adds even more experience, wisdom and most of all, FUN, to the community!

As today was our final Sunday, we followed tradition and made the short hike to the other side of the lake to appreciate the tranquil setting of the Red Pine Forest. The sounds of the trees moving in the wind and the odd bird chirping in the distance allowed for a reflective time with the theme of ‘Kindness’ for the morning meeting.  It is an opportunity for every member of our community to speak about what this topic means to them and it is always so wonderful to see the bravery of many campers sharing stories, experiences and wisdom with their peers.

Just like the Olympics and the Rugby World Cup, something magical takes over Windsor Mountain. The Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run (formerly World Harmony Run) joined us for the evening, telling stories of the places they had visited over the last 4 months, covering 10,000 miles and interacting with hundreds of thousands of people. Nelson Mandela, Carl Lewis, Mother Teresa, Desmond Tutu and Jake and Kerry Labovitz are among the many former torchbearers of the Peace Run, and we were very grateful for their visit!

Another group of visitors we were thrilled to have with us for a few days this past week was Richard Hermon and his family. Back in 1961, Richard founded Interlocken (now Windsor Mountain Summer Camp!) accepting 28 campers. Richard and his Son, Tom, and daughter, Melissa, along with his grandchildren lead us in song during morning meeting and tales over the campfire the night before.

Beach (code word ‘Bagel’) Day was one of the greatest I’ve been apart of since joining camp in 2007. The sun was shining at a perfect 80 degrees, and the water warmed-up from July session to a pleasant 68 degrees, which meant that the lifeguards saved their toes and the great waves were enjoyed to their fullest by all! To top off a busy day at the beach, we thought that in order to maximize a potentially awesome nights sleep, a great few rounds of ‘Fortify’ would most definitely send everyone into the land of nod in no time come 9.45pm! Fortify, which was introduced for the first time during July session, is a strategic game with elements of Dodgeball, Capture the flag and the Quest, all rolled into one!

Now that we are into the home stretch of camp, the momentum is well and truly moving and I can’t wait to fill you in with what the week had in store for Windsor Mountain! It has really hit home with our staff lately that in only a handful of days, they will be making their journey back to normality; School, work, more travel, and after speaking with staff and observing around camp – we are all trying hard to savor every moment and live our Windsor Mountain life to the fullest!

Here are a couple of videos from Kim to share:

Rotation 4!

Rotation 5!

We hope to see many of you on Saturday!  Happy final week of camp.