Dear Campers,
 
Welcome to Camp @ Home! We are so excited to be sharing this experience with you. We are also a bit nervous—this is our first time creating online content in this way and we plan to grow and change as time progresses and we receive feedback from you. We want you to be involved and feel connected! This idea originally came from a desire to share more about our camp culture with our camper parents, campers, and staff. Once we determined that we would need to suspend in-person camp, this seemed like a great way to create fun, at home experiences that would deepen the understanding of the why. Why do we do what we do at camp? Why is it important? What does it matter? These are some of the questions we are hoping to expand upon this summer with Camp @ Home.
 
Each Sunday we plan to release a blog post that outlines a specific part of our camp culture and then will challenge you to create that piece of camp at your home. Throughout the week, we will continue to post devotions, recipes, and camp history that all tie in to that week’s theme. Some of these will be posted on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram, but all of the content will be posted on our Camp @ Home webpage, www.altamons.org/camp--home. We plan to do this for 9 weeks, starting today and ending the week of August 2-7. Families can participate in as little or as much of the content as they want—it’s all about what works best for you. Each week will have a specific challenge that we are asking families to record—either by photo or video—and submit to us. You can do this by e-mailing your submissions to program@altamons.org. While we are asking for submissions to be turned in by Saturday at midnight for a given week, as long as you have your submissions in by Monday August 10th at 10 AM you will be entered into the drawing to win 2 free nights of RV camping at Alta Mons. Furthermore, we know that families are busy, so we are only requiring that you submit for 7 of the 9 weeks to be entered into the drawing. So, if you need to skip a week or 2, no big deal. As we receive submissions, we would love to share your photos and videos with our followers on social media, but we will always ask for your permission before posting.
 
So, go check out the first blog post on “share” and see what you think! More content will be posted throughout this week, so be checking our website. If you have questions, please do not hesitate to reach out. We here to help support you as Camp @ Home happens!
 
Sending you lots of love and hope,
 
Meredith Simmons

Hello! My name is Dominik and I am a Junior at Christopher Newport University and Ropes Coordinator for Alta Mons for the second year in a row. I live in Vienna, Virginia and camp is my favorite way to reconnect with nature, God, and the parts of myself that sometimes hide after a stressful year. This is why my favorite thing about summer camp is the beautiful nature that surrounds me there. The field that holds the high ropes course is beautiful and I get to see it at every hour of the day. No matter if I am up early from spending Home in the Woods at the front of camp or in the blazing noon sun setting up the swing shot, the view of the valleys surrounding Alta Mons always gets my heart racing. I love the back 400 and the way Christmas tree mountain lights up at night when the kids are in the tractor getting ready to hear a Willie Jack story.

The mountainous terrain coming down from Stiles Falls towards the zipline and the front of camp always reminds me of the time a group of day campers made it all the way to the real falls. I can’t help but smile when thinking about the beauty of the valley that Alta Mons lies in. This is why my favorite thing about summer camp is being surrounded by nature. It reminds me what is important and helps me find my way. The way that nature brings people together at camp is especially memorable. My first year as a counselor the backpacking trip got rained on every day that we were there and we came back laughing and bonded because of the experience. I can’t wait to be surrounded by nature again and to feel close to nature, people, and God. This feeling is my favorite thing about summer camp.

Yours in mountainous love,
​
Dominik Firlej

​Hey Y’all! My name is Billy Ferguson, and I am from Roanoke, Virginia. This is my fourth summer working at Alta Mons. Two summers as a counselor and this summer will be my second as the Media Coordinator. I graduated from George Mason University this spring majoring in Film and Video Studies. I am so excited to return to camp! There are so many opportunities for great stories at camp, and as Media Coordinator I get to document them in photos and video.
 
My favorite thing about summer camp is that you are able to fully embrace nature. When I am on camp property, I feel as if I am receiving a big leafy hug from the outdoors itself. It’s just great being able to get back to the basics and enjoy living in the moment. Alta Mons is a place where life moves a little slower. I recall being on a wagon ride and looking up into the night sky. The night sky was crystal clear when suddenly a shooting star zapped into the air. Its white streak was extremely visible. Everyone in the wagon caught a glimpse of the star’s tail. Even though it only lasted for a second, I remember feeling like it happened in slow motion. Moments like this are the reason I love Alta Mons. It happened in the Back 400 where camp is the darkest. Anywhere else the star would have been too dim to see due to street lights and other distractions. When living in the moment, you get to appreciate the little things that God gives us.
 
Yours in Home in the Woods Wagon Rides,
 
Billy Ferguson

​Hello, it’s me – Daniel Moore (aka Danimals, Daniel Tiger, Dan the Man).
I had so much fun as a counselor last year and I’m excited to come back this summer as Worship Coordinator!
 
My family is from Chesapeake, VA, but we’ve also lived in Tennessee and Japan – in fact, I was born in Japan. Currently, I’m at Virginia Tech (Let’s Go!) studying Math Education, as well as Asian Studies. I’m involved with Chi Alpha Campus Ministry, helping out with worship and media for them. I’m also involved with the Asian American Coalition as Director of Marketing and the We Suck at Art Club as Vice President. I hope to someday teach internationally.
 
My favorite thing about summer camp is the songs – and I’m not just saying that because I’m the Worship Coordinator. I really really really really really really like camp songs. For me, music has always been a way for me to have fun, find comfort, and express my love for God. So, it’s an honor to share that experience with the campers this summer. There’s something amazing about singing a song together (whether it be a silly song or a worship song) that makes the Alta Mons family feel like… well, a family. I love singing along with the campers and doing crazy hand motions. It’s super fun and is a great way to share the joy of the Lord.
 
I can’t wait to see you all and sing some oldies, some goodies, and maybe make up some new songs.
 
Yours in love of swimming, swimming, in the swimming pool,
 
Daniel Moore

Jambo (hi)!
 
My name is Sam Ream and I am from Virginia Beach, VA.  I may have grown up just 10 minutes away from the beach, but I am a mountain man all the way.  With that being said, I have found home these lase three years to be tucked away in the valley of the Blue Ridge Mountains, for I am going into my senior year at Roanoke College. I am majoring in Sociology and concentrating in crime and deviance with hopes to go into nonprofit and/or search and rescue.
 
Anyhow, this will be my first year at Alta Mons and I am SUPER ecstatic! As the Trips Coordinator this year, I think it is important to know that there is nothing more I love than exploring this beautiful planet. From kayaking with the dolphins to stargazing on top of mountains, there is nothing more freeing and spiritual to me. The wilderness is my favorite place to not only be with God, but to find a connection closer than ever before. In my most recent expedition of section hiking the Appalachian Trail, there was something about being alone and vulnerable that made my trust in God just that much stronger. I am very passionate about nature and I love to share it with others!
 
I have heard many of the magical places here at Alta Mons, such as the Back 400 and Christmas Tree Mountain. I am excited to learn, grow, and share my Alta Mons experience with all of you!
 
Yours in love of tie-dye shirts and bandannas,
​
Sam Ream

Hello Everyone! My name is Emily Duralia, and this is my second year working at Camp Alta Mons. I loved being a camp counselor last year and I am extremely excited to come back to camp as the Pool Coordinator this year!

I am a student at Radford University studying business. I work for the Radford University Outdoor Program and I am a member of a professional business fraternity, Delta Sigma Pi. I love being outdoors and camp is one of my all-time favorite places!

My favorite thing about summer camp is the community and memories I have made. Either as a camper or as staff. I was a camper for around seven years at Camp Alta Mons. Each week I was at camp I felt my unit being built into a little family. I felt this as a camper and as a counselor. The feeling of family flows from Stiles Falls down to the intersection and throughout camp. This camp has been my home away from home and has helped me grow into the person I am today.

My whole family loves Camp Alta Mons. My family heard about Camp Alta Mons through my cousins who were working at camp as counselors and coordinators. Both of my brothers have been campers as well. The oldest of the two will be working as a CIT this year and my mom is going to be the camp nurse one week. Camp Alta Mons is always the highlight of our summers! My goal is to make it the highlight of every camper’s summer.

Yours in Love of the Back 400,

Emily Duralia

Hello! My name is Jennie, and this is my second summer as Program Coordinator and fourth summer working at Alta Mons. I’m getting ready for my senior of college as an Elementary Education Major and have been blessed with my many summers spent at camp over the past few years.
Sometimes people ask me,
“Why do you work at camp every summer?”,
“Aren’t the late nights and crazy days exhausting?”,
“Why would you want to work so hard during your time off while being a college student?”
I think the only way to answer these questions is with honesty and explaining my favorite thing about camp. Yes, working at camp is exhausting, but it is worth the late nights creating weekly schedules and plunging the elementary bath house with Emily and Meredith and making sure everything about night ropes goes perfectly because all of that work creates my favorite thing about camp. Which, it may not be a physical thing, but it is the most important thing—memories.

The memories made at camp (any camp) are my favorite thing. My fond memories of laughing around a campfire, backpacking through the woods, canoeing down the New River, and rappelling for the first time are what led me to become a camp counselor. Even though Alta Mons isn’t the camp I grew up going to, the same type of camp memories can be made anywhere the camp spirit lives. And the camp spirit thrives at Alta Mons.

Singing songs in the Dining Hall, Home in the Woods, all-camp-swim, Night Owl and Tri-Challenge units, big games, worship, skit night, and so many other activities are full of energy, fun, and love that allows camp to grow and thrive. Just as a plant needs sun, water, and support, the camp spirit needs the energy, fun, and love that Alta Mons so graciously provides.

The camp spirit allows for memories to be formed, so to further explain how the memories created (no matter where) are the best thing about camp, I think I should share my favorite memory from the past three years of my time at Alta Mons.

It is hard to pick a favorite because I love everything about camp, but my second summer at Alta Mons created some of my most prized memories. In a funny way, my favorite memory doesn’t actually take place on camp property.

It’s Week Two of Summer Camp 2018 and I am co-counselors with Drew for the Tri-Challenge Unit. It’s a small unit, so we were able to grow close during our week of camp. What some people may not know, is that I had just spent the previous week helping lead the camp I grew up going to—Trec Camp. This is a week of camp that my youth pastor created for our youth group, and this is where my love of camp began.

Anyways, one of the “challenges” for the Tri-Challenge unit is camping out and then canoeing down the New River. Ironically, I had just spent the previous week canoeing and white-water rafting on another section of the New River. So, as we pull up to our camp site in Jolene, I recognize where we are. We are literally camping out where I, for the past six years, had started my canoeing journeys with my youth group. It may not seem that important, but my two camps, that hold such special places in my heart, have now come together.

To add to the importance of this memory at the camp site, it just so happened to be the 4th of July, and I was surrounded by an amazing unit of campers and staff members. To this day, that unit photo hangs on the walls of my college dorm room because it reminds me of the memories made at camp.

In adventurous Summer Camp Love,

Jennie Battaglia

​Winter Camp. 
 
Two words I wasn’t sure I would ever love together as I didn’t grow up going to camp and the cold, dark winter season is not my favorite.
 
But here we are, five years after my first experience with winter camp, and it’s changed how I feel about both.
 
There is something about the time of the season, the magic, at the end of December.  The kids come home from school and they are wired with anticipation of the arrival of the fat man in a red suit in just a few nights.  The sugar highs from the treats in abundance often have the kids bouncing around unable to sit still.  Adults have different reactions and most focus on running around trying to locate the perfect gift, hide presents, be present at one or two (or more!) Christmas parties, all while attempting to carry on with the normal duties we have the rest of the year.  At least, that’s how it is in my world and I consider myself an average wife, mom, employee and friend.  Every year, I vow that next year won’t be as busy.
 
While I know I should slow down and enjoy the season and all it represents, I don’t.  And because I don’t, my kids don’t.
 
Until we arrive at Winter Camp.  Suddenly, the world disappears behind us.  The busyness and the chaos stop.  A peace comes over me that I can’t understand, especially because there are 60 plus kids in the dining hall all excited to meet new friends or reconnect with friends from past camp sessions.  There are no cell phones.  There are no electronics.  It’s just me and Jesus and the stillness of camp (and 60 plus kids!)
 
In the same way, the kids feel it, too.  It’s different for them as I know the shock of the lack of communication with the outside world is scary, but it allows them to be kids for 48 hours.  Forty-eight hours of four-square, hiking, crafts, singing, playing, and friends.  Forty-eight hours they don’t have to worry about life outside of camp.  Forty-eight hours of Jesus and counselors and staff who want to make sure the kids at camp encounter Him in a real way.  Isn’t that the greatest gift we can give our kids just days before we celebrate His birth? 
 
My kids and I began attending camp five years ago.  I’ve served in the kitchen and as chaplain and have watched Winter Camp grow these last few years.  My children have attended as campers, CITs, and now one as a counselor.  Last year, after walking through a particularly tough situation, I looked at my son and said, “aren’t you glad Winter Camp is this weekend?”  His emphatic nod was all the proof I needed to know the profound effects Winter Camp has had on my own kids as well as the kids I bring from the neighborhood.
 
Due to life and changes in seasons, I won’t find myself at camp this December.  While I won’t be, my kids will.  Given the choice of the annual Christmas Party with the youth group or Winter Camp, Winter Camp won.  I knew it would.  Even though I won’t be at camp, I’ve promised myself I’ll take that time without the kids (which, hello?  They take your kids for the whole weekend before Christmas – what a gift for you!!) and spend time with him.  I’ve already blocked off time on the back deck, under the stars, with the fire going for my “Winter Camp at Home” experience.  Winter Camp has taught me so many things, but the biggest is to slow down and rest so that I can truly prepare my heart for the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.