Waking up to Reveille once again as session 1B draws ever closer to its end never felt so welcoming. The sun was shining early in the morning as the campers of Camp Timberlake arrived at The Tuck for a delicious meal of breakfast casserole and some particularly amazing coffee cake. After breakfast, it’s off to the Morning Yell, performed in spectacular fashion, and then it’s off to chapel.

Chapel today was led by John himself, singing everyone’s favorite camp song, “The Banana Song.” Why is it everyone’s favorite camp song? Because ‘banana’ is a funny word. After singing, there was a True Story with John Menendez, speaking to the campers about a rock climbing trip he took and how he saw God and his help through that trip. After chapel, campers rushed down to make their cabins the cleanest cabins in the whole wide world because the Golden Plunger is fast approaching and, well, it’s a close race! As expected, Little Piney and Turtleback not only were the cleanest but also somehow tied yet again! I just don’t know how they do it.

Even with the end of camp approaching, there are still some fantastic trips to be had. The overnight kayaking trip from Tuesday continued on as two other trips left this morning. A climbing trip went to the Waterfall Repell with 8 campers (Matthew D, Patrick F, David F, Gary M, CJ R, Trevor S, Fox S, Charlie A). A fly fishing trip also went out with 6 campers (Whit T, Mason S, Will S, Drew R, Nicolas R, Lewis J). 

Morning activities passed by without much event, but with so much that happened later today, perhaps it’s no surprise the morning flew by as campers enjoyed all manner of activities.

Lunch today was mini corndogs and mac and cheese, which honestly might just be the best meal at camp to date. Everyone enjoyed it so much that we all started chanting, “Thank you, Kitchen!” for their amazing work. After lunch, we found out that it was Little Piney who won Cabin Night last night! Then we went on to the Rest Time for a well-needed break before afternoon activities. 

During Free Time right afterward, the Championship game of a basketball tournament took place, and Team 3 And D, led by Mason S and Gavin W, took the final game in an absolute nail-biter. Speaking of Gavin, actually, he also obtained his Silver in pickleball this afternoon, so congrats to him! Other bars this afternoon include Harrison C’s Silver in Riflery, Trip D and Michael C’s Bronze in Riflery, David F’s Silver in Archery, and finally, HP got his GOLD in Fencing, beating one of our very own counselors to get what might be his final mark before the coveted Little Chief title. I can’t wait to see what happens at Final Campfire tomorrow night!

Tonight’s dinner was a delicious meal of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, and a chocolate chip cookie for dessert. After dinner, it was announced by the Sultan of Fun that the final game of this session would be… Commando! A tense and fast game with tons of water balloons and campers and counselors alike running around, all trying to secure that banner.

It was certainly another big day at Camp Timberlake, but I’m sure that the campers wouldn’t have had it any other way. 

Matthew Marshall

Further Up // Lego Builders

The Lego Master