DC Challenge 2018!

Forget the World Cup!  Forget the U.S. Open!  Forget the College World Series!  This week we experienced something even more amazing – it’s the DC Challenge!

What is the DC Challenge, you ask?  Well, I’m glad you asked!  DC Challenge is the DOUBLECREEK Challenge.  I know you’ve never seen anything like it and neither have we, because it’s different every year.

Think “The Amazing Race” combined with parts of “Minute-to-Win-It” and “Fear Factor,” and you have the DC Challenge.  Lots of skills are incorporated into this incredible event.  You have scooterboard races and the WARP wall.  What’s a WARP wall?  It’s a warped wall, Silly!  Then they do something with bean bags followed by the always thrilling “Fill the Bucket with Water” in a way that takes too long to explain.  Next, campers throw hula hoops over at a tree (or the world’s largest tree stump).

Now it gets really strange, I mean interesting!  At the pool, one camper swims and another chugs a Gatorade!  Then it is on to gun safety where campers shoot at spoons.  This is followed by a trip to horseback riding to tie a lead rope to the gate (who thought of that one?).  But wait!  There’s more!  Campers have a three-legged race at the Gaga Ball Pit and then throw balls into the trash!

Okay, try to visualize this next one!  One camper is on one side of a seven foot wall and another camper is on the other side.  One camper throws an apple over the wall while the other tries to catch it with a 5-gallon bucket.  Raise your hand if you’ve done that one.  Next up is the Shuffleboard Court where campers try to knock down bowling pins with a shuffleboard puck.  Do they do that on cruise ships?

When the team gets to Low Ropes, they have to pass through the ropes without touching a rope.  (I’m about thirty years and fifty pounds from being able to do that one!)  The team then has to balance on a log, then sprint to Archery where they shoot at a target. (This is the only standard activity in the whole course).

Then on to the Mud Pit where as many campers as possible must negotiate the Mud Slip-N-Slide in a minute.  They then have to find Starbursts in the Kickball Field. (I’m not sure if they eat them or not). 

Sprinting through the mister/sprinkler is the last part of the challenge.  When the final camper goes through the mister, time stops.  Oh, did I tell you that all this is against the clock?  The lowest time wins.

You have to see it to believe it.  I saw it and I still don’t believe it.  But, I really appreciate it.  It was wild and crazy and a whole lot of fun!  The DC Challenge incorporates basic skills and ones you don’t use every day.  When the groups finish the course, there is lots of laughter and “high-fives,” which is the whole reason behind the DOUBLECREEK CHALLENGE!

 -- Joe Ray

The Making of a Superhero

This was Superhero Week at Camp Doublecreek.  The word “superhero” dates back to at least 1917, which means we’re celebrating a 100th anniversary.  I’m not a superhero expert.  When researching this article, I took a superhero quiz.  I scored around sixteen --- so I know very little about superheroes.  I was surprised to learn that by definition, you don’t need supernatural or superhuman powers to be called a superhero, although almost all superheroes today have extraordinary or superhuman powers.  It also helps to be rich.  The main purpose of superheroes is to fight crime or save the world from imminent destruction.

Remember, you don’t have to have x-ray vision, superhuman strength, or the ability to fly to be a superhero.  Superheroes don’t start their superhero careers conquering arch villains or forces of nature.  They start small and realize they can do greater things. 

I see superheroes begin by letting go of their parent’s hand and getting on a bus.  That has to be intimidating for them.  Some superhero careers begin by getting on a horse – the biggest animal they have ever been on or by shooting a bow and arrows – which isn’t as easy as it looks.  Some channel their inner superhero by taking their first strokes in the pool without someone helping them, by climbing a tower or going down a waterslide.  I’ve seen many fledgling superheroes discover the thrill of flight when they launch themselves from the top of a 40-foot tower and sail down a zipline. 

I’ve seen superhero movies with elaborate set pieces which go on and on and on.  In reality, campers discover that they have the stuff of superheroes in the blink of an eye.  At Doublecreek, we’re fortunate to be there when it happens. 

-- Joe Ray

Summer 2018 is Here!

Summer 2018 has begun and there’s only one problem...I’m not there.  There are times when my school schedule doesn’t align with Camp’s schedule.   I miss the way we do the pledge at Doublecreek by traditionally singing “You’re a Grand Old Flag,” but with new faces.

The beginning of summer at Doublecreek always blends the old and the new.  This year we will have a new surface to the basketball court, a new surface at the pool, and a new play structure in Central Park.  There’s lots of new paint and freshly mown play areas.  We have old counselors, (let’s use a different term -- we have returning counselors), mixed in with new counselors.  I always enjoy counselor training because I have a chance to catch up with what’s going on with our veteran staff and becoming acquainted with our new staff.

During this past off season I’ve spent time going through old pictures.  I noticed that except for hair styles and attire, campers and counselors who come to Doublecreek really don’t seem to look different from one year to the next.  Now, I don’t mean they look the same in a rigid manner.  But I see campers and staff enjoying themselves at Doublecreek.  Characteristics of great counselors don’t change from one generation to the next. What made a counselor great in the 70’s still applies today.  Campers still respond to counselors who show respect and love.  Campers have fun at Doublecreek.  Why? It is due to the counselors.  When you compare the Doublecreek campus on opening day 1971 to Doublecreek 2018, there’s no comparison.  When you compare the atmosphere of Doublecreek 1971 to the 2018 atmosphere, it’s identical!  Doublecreek has always been a magical place.  Starting with Uncle Carter and Aunt Trudy and continuing through Scott Kirtley and now Dan Neal, it’s a special place because of the campers and counselors who choose to spend their summer here. 

So, I have to miss the first eight days of camp.  I’ll survive somehow! It helps to know that until school’s out Doublecreek will be there.  That is something that makes me smile.

 -- Joe Ray

For the Kids (F.T.K.)

I have a bunch of calendars at home and school.  The calendars at home I may or may not remember to flip over at the appropriate time.  According to some calendars in my house, it’s still January.  Now school is a different story.  On the first day of each month, I ceremoniously change from one month to the next.  Why?  I suppose changing the calendar means there’s one less month to go before Doublecreek is here.  You notice I didn’t say “summer,” because in my universe, Doublecreek and summer are synonymous.

I’m looking over the school calendar for May.  It’s amazing how much is going on... I feel like kids, parents and teachers are pulled in many directions during this month.  On a side note, it is nice to have teacher appreciation during this month. 

Now, when the month is over, cue Alice Cooper’s “School’s Out for Summer!”  Tutorials are replaced with the laughter of campers, the loud singing camp songs and high fives from your favorite counselors.    May means summer is coming. 

For Camp Doublecreek, May means campers are coming. Doublecreek has morphed into hyper-drive to get ready for the summer.  During May, you’ll see cleaning, landscaping, building and planning (lots of planning) happening.  What’s behind all this activity?  F.T.K. is the motivation for all our improvements. To us, F.T.K. means “For the Kids.”

F.T.K. is the driving force behind what we do at Doublecreek: games played, procedures put in place, new activities adopted and improvements made.  The new staff we add to the Doublecreek Family because we see in their desire to give campers treasured and lasting memories.

Summer, the Doublecreek season, is right around the corner.  So get excited about the F.T.K. experiences for your camper because making terrific memories is what we do!

 Joe Ray

Staff Appreciation Month -- Our Terrific Counselors!

My poor counselors. They had no idea what was about to ride through the gate on my first day of camp. To call me rambunctious was putting it lightly. I was a wired little third grader with an outrageous amount of energy. That was before sugar was added to the mix. I also had the tendency (still do) to want to win at everything. If I could claim victory, it was a competition. They had to manage not only my excessive energy and competitiveness, but handle another 19 hooligans as well.

There are four counselors that impacted me the most. Kevin Miller, Kris Dunn, Ryan West, and Craig West. Without these four guys, Doublecreek may have been just another camp to me. They truly made my experience here and I cannot express my gratitude to them enough. They always made it clear when I was in the wrong, and when I was right. They were quick to praise and quick to correct. They were never afraid to play around with the campers and make fools of themselves.

There are a couple of specific moments that stand out to me about them. Kevin and Kris won our Mr. and Mrs. Doublecreek competition while I was a camper (if you haven’t seen a big, burly football player in a grass skirt and lipstick, you haven’t lived). When I finally became a counselor, I brought the skit back - sans lipstick, naturally claiming the title of Mr. Doublecreek in the process. Craig constantly used my own competitiveness against me for the benefit of the group. One day a camper’s glasses went missing from the group and he told everyone that whoever found them would get 5,000 merits for the farmer/rancher competition, which meant a head start in the nickel dive. I immediately went to the spot I had “placed” the glasses and proudly walked back to Craig to collect my merits. Little did I know that Craig suspected I was responsible for the missing glasses the entire time and knew if he offered even a meager reward I would immediately go and “find” them. Then there was Ryan, the highly disputed master of the old 6th and up boys group. Ryan had the perfect personality to handle the older kids. He gave them freedom, but let them know when they crossed the line. Mostly by announcing over a megaphone whatever infraction had occurred. It became my life’s goal to yell something into that megaphone. Unfortunately (for me), I was never allowed near enough to do so. Years later I found that same megaphone and was so excited to finally wield the great power it bestowed upon it’s handler. Disappointingly, the batteries had corroded so badly that it was completely unusable. I then realized that it wasn’t the megaphone that was so interesting, but how Ryan used it to corral a bunch of rowdy middle schoolers.

Camp is absolutely amazing, but without the staff it is just a  plot of land with a lot of potential. It’s the counselors that make the special memories for our campers. When I get together with some of the people that went to camp with me, we never talk about how great that time was when we climbed the rockwall. We don’t discuss the time we first hit a home run in blooperball. What we talk about are our old counselors and what they did. They, along with Aunt Trudy and Uncle Carter, made a far greater impact on who we are than anything else out here.

-- Parker Achord, Staff Coordinator

Tips for Spring . . . Break Camp From Joe Ray

Most years, it never feels like winter.  Oh, maybe for a day or two, a cold front will make its way to Austin.  For the rest of the time, it is t-shirt and cut-offs weather. So, I’m ready for it to feel like spring!  It seems the Spring Break Camp forecast seems to have heard my thoughts.  We are in the 60's and 70's, if you can believe the weather forecasters.

Tip #1: My first big tip is to dress your camper in layers.  Even if they come with too many clothes, it is still better than too few. I’ll never forget our first Spring Break Camp, ever.  The first four days we had great weather, but on Friday, we had rain, which turned into sleet.

Activities at Spring Break Camp are a little different. Spring Break Camp is similar to Summer Camp except for the swimming -- we have dodge ball in the pool instead of water polo.  It’s a smaller camp than in summer.  We have approximately a third of the campers at Spring Break that we have in the summer weeks.  So this means everyone gets to try our horseback riding activity!

Tip #2 for you as a parent/guardian is to coach your camper to try horseback on Monday, especially if your camper is new.  We have a fabulous program that dates back to the beginning of camp.  Our horses are paired with the riders according to age and the horses with the younger campers are so easy that going through a tornado would not spook them.

I get excited about having campers run across the bright green grass, and trying all kinds of outdoor games.  I love to use Spring Break to teach new games and play some of the 'good ole' ones.

Tip #3 is to be sure you pack your campers with sun screen and even do an application before they leave home. I often have to remind myself during Spring Break to put on sun screen - forgetting that this skin has not seen sun in a while.  The good news is your campers will have counselors that remember to apply theirs.

Tip #4 is send your camper with a water bottle.  We have lots of great snacks and drinks they will eat through out the day, but water every 20 minutes is the policy to live by at camp. 

To be redundant, I’m ready for spring, because spring means Spring Break Camp, which is followed by Summer Camp, and spending summers at my favorite place on earth can't be topped!

- Joe Ray

All You Need is Love!

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"All you need is love (bom, bom, bom, bommmmm), all you need is love . . .(let me hear you now), all you need is love, love.  Love is all you need" (don't forget to hold that note)!

Love is so great and it takes shape in so many ways for all of us.  Sometimes, we love to have fun.  Sometimes, we love to learn something new.  Other times, we love to conquer that thing we thought we never could.  Even better, we love to help someone else succeed in conquering their biggest challenge.  However, there are times we lost that lovin' feelin'.  Whoa that lovin' feelin' (if you're thinking of Meg Ryan playing that piano in "Top Gun," stay focused). Sometimes, we love to stay in our comfort zones.  Sometimes, we love to resist because we fear the unknown.  Other times, we love to live in the shadow of that thing that persistently bullies us.  Love.  So interesting in so many contexts.  We use it both for the positive and negative things -- all in the same breath.  Yes, sometimes we "ain't ready for this crazy little thing called love."

At Doublecreek, we get love.  We also get campers.  We understand that some days campers enter our gates with a resistance to love.  But at our core, we all need someone to believe in us.  Whether we admit it or not, we all need those voices in our lives singing, "I... I will always love you...you, and I will always love youuuuu" (if your voice cracked, no judgment).  The Beatles nailed it, "all we need is love," and love at camp helps a camper grow and feel empowered in so many ways.  One day, maybe someone will make a song about it!

-- Director Dan