“Come check it out. There are stars in the grass,” Joe said to a bunch of us who were chatting on the front porch of the main cabin. We looked at Joe and then each other wondering if he was joking or hallucinating. We humored him and followed him down to the pond, our phone flashlights bouncing with each of our steps down the grassy hill that slowly descended to the pond. When we were about 30 feet from the pond Joe instructed us to turn off our lights. There was a hint of nervousness as we descended into the pitch black that can only come when your eyes first start to acclimate to night vision. At first we could not see anything, but then someone said, “There!” We looked all around us at the dim blue orbs of light blinking beneath the blades of grass all throughout the field. “These are Appalachian blue-ghost fireflies,” someone said. Joe shared that they were the females laying eggs for the next season’s generation of fireflies. Then we all looked up at the actual stars that filled every cranny of the night sky. This was just one of the many amazingly beautiful experiences that Kentucky had to offer us during our First Annual North American Book Camp.
The name Blue Moon was picked as an homage to The Blue Moon of Kentucky (1945) and written by Bill Monroe. Kentucky was selected due to its central location for all of the North American chapters. Camp Blanton in Harlan was the venue. When you arrive you are greeted by signs along the side of a long single lane dirt road with the 12 Scout Laws of the Boy Scouts of America which are trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent. Camp Blanton was a Boy Scout camp until 1988.
Friday night was an opportunity for everyone to unwind, introduce ourselves and get our bearings. Bratwurst and all the fixings matched with a few pints made for an easy transition into camp life. There was representation from Boston, MA, Cincinnati, OH, Chicago, IL, Greenville, SC, Long Island, NY, Portland, OR and Washington, DC. Saturday started with breakfast and it was decided that we would climb Knobby Rock which had a breathtaking overlook directly behind the main cabin. Camp Blanton is located in the Blanton Forest State Nature Preserve which offers 3,124 acres of old growth and second-growth forests. Some of the trees were up to four feet in diameter. The trail system offered two loops, both leading to the overlook. The path ended with a spectacular view of the Blue Mountains and the surrounding area. Our whole group chose the first one to ascend, and the more adventurous opted to take the second loop down. This offered stops at the Sand Cave and the Maze and the Watts Creek and Big Branch watersheds.
Saturday afternoon was an opportunity for downtime, and a chance for any goons who had not had a chance to complete their reading of the camp book. Pizza was ordered from a local pizzeria and at 7 PM everyone attended the Book Club. Kevin and Guy chaired the meeting and led great discussions regarding the main character, the menagerie of amazing supporting characters, the environment, and the struggle that occurs when a young person dreams of going beyond their home county’s line, and the opportunity costs that such a decision of leaving the ones they love behind bring. Owen was kind enough to share beers from a favorite former brewery. For those in the know, the esters and mouthfeel of them made me want to sell everything and run to Cincinnati and reopen it.
Sunday offered great food, incredibly competitive board games compliments of Dima from Boston, a very informative book making tutorial from Ben from Greenville, SC, and a scrumptious chili dinner cooked by Chris from Greenville. The author of our camp book, Trampoline, agreed to do a book talk with us. He joined us for dinner and afterwards graciously answered all of our questions, and enjoyed a few beverages with us. He helped those less familiar with the area to better understand what it was like growing up in the area, and what were some of the hardships and misconceptions that people in Appalachia often had to cope with.
When asked what how he would define a tough guy he said, “These people here have to be tough, but it wears you down. You have to keep your dukes up all the time. It is not a thing to be coveted, to be tough. It is relentless. Living here you have to put up with so many challenges. The beauty of this place gives you a reason to live. It is realizing the value of why you like the place and what makes it worth it.”
I am already getting excited about next year. The author shared that he partly agreed to attend our TGBC book talk to make sure we were not going to trash the place, as he was getting married at Camp Blanton the following weekend. I guess we passed muster, because as he left he said, “If you guys want to stay the week, we’d love to have you attend the wedding.”
It was sad to wrap it all up and head back to our individual pockets of North America, but it will be good to bring the news of an incredible time back to the Goons at home to make next year’s camp bigger and better! Can’t wait to do it all again.
By Philippe Lambert
