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Notes from the Road - Part II

By Ruby Compton on November 13, 2014

Before we dive in to the second half of our travels, I want to remind you that registration is open for camp and spots are filling so if you don’t want to miss out on your top choice session, we encourage you to apply today.

What do you see Sara? Road Show 2.0 is a combined effort to connect with current families, staff, and alumni while also exposing prospective campers to the Green River Preserve philosophies and mission.

Our fall has been full of adventures on the road and we have loved getting to reconnect with our campers and their families. Here are some more highlights from our travels on Road Show 2014-2015:

Charlotte – Disc golf is king in this town, so we visited the site of the 2012 World Disc Golf championships among the Winget plantation ruins. We also played Nature Bingo on the backside of our score cards, so we were particularly thrilled when we were able to cross off a sighting of a Grand Slaminal! A young deer watched us as we played through one of the holes.

Could it be Riley’s cousin? Austin – Joyce and Jim from the Austin Astronomical Society shared all kinds of cool tools for exploring the night sky. We loved how wide open and how much of the sky you can see when visiting places like Texas. Although it was a cloudy night at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Joyce and Jim showed us a cool program that allowed us to virtually explore the sky as if we were viewing a beautiful clear night with a high powered telescope. We also had lunch with 2014 counselor, Haley, in her hometown!

Dallas – There are so many hidden treasures in this town that we decided to go geocaching on the Campion Trail in Sam Houston Trail Park. We found three geocaches in the woods just off the trail, all contained in ammo cans (which are the creme de la creme of geocache containers!) Logs were signed. Swag was traded. And a really large spider was spotted! Everything really is bigger in Texas.

American Beautybush is quite prevalent in Texas. Houston – An after-school birdwatching event in the Edith L. Moore Nature Sanctuary led us to discover some Red-Belled Woodpeckers, Morning Doves, Hairy Woodpeckers, and lots of bunnies. We also discovered the very prevalent American Beautybush that had incredible clusters of purple berries that may be edible (according to texasforager.com). This space was a beautiful natural space tucked away in a neighborhood and we recommend it highly to our Houston families.

Blacksburg – Mentors Richard Moon and Ruby facilitated a hike at Pandapas Pond on a beautiful Sunday afternoon and enjoyed the fall color, saw lots of salamanders, and learned about the give and take of the natural world. Ruby and Sara also got to spend some time with mentor Pawel and his dog Aba amidst the beauty of SW Virginia in autumn. Thanks for hosting Pawel!

Chattanooga – Ruby attended and presented at the Association for Experiential Education conference in Chattanooga, TN and had the privilege of eating dinner with a former staff member who was here the very first summer that GRP was in existence! That particular staff member is gearing up to send his son to camp this summer and Ruby always enjoys hearing stories of the early years of camp as well as for our alumni to see how different and how the same the Preserve is after almost three decades of operation.

Overlooking Chattanooga from Point Point. Ruby’s one mountain home to the next (that’s the Blue Ridge WAY off on the distance)

Remember, register for camp today to save a spot for this summer and come outside and play with us!

Ruby Compton
Ruby Compton

Former all star Mentor and Program Director 2012 - 2016

Ruby began her career in camping at YMCA Camp Widjiwagan in her hometown of Nashville, TN. At Camp Widjiwagan, she was a counselor who progressed over the years to camp administration. Prior to moving to Western North Carolina, Ruby taught experiential education at Nature’s Classroom Atop Lookout Mountain in Mentone, AL. Ruby found Green River Preserve to be a perfect blend of everything she loves: teaching environmental education, being curious about nature, calling contra-dances, singing about Itty Bitty Frogs, and learning from other outdoor educators. She is active within the American Camp Association, giving presentations at conferences and working as a faculty member of their e-Institute. Ruby is also an avid geocacher, runner, and Rubik’s-cube solver.