Happy Thanksgiving to all of our Cherokee Creek extended family! We are having a wonderful morning, watching the parade and preparing to dig up the turkeys. Check out the turkey gallery:

[cincopa AcKAqWKa7Goq]

The 2010 Turkey Team: (from left) Adrian, Calvin, Jon, Ben, Drew, Daniel and Teacher Nick Linscott

Announcing this year’s Turkey Team: Adrian, Calvin, Jon, Ben, Drew and Daniel. These boys will work with staff members Phil Fairbrother and Nick Linscott to pit roast 5 turkeys for tomorrow’s Thanksgiving Day feast. It is an honor to be selected for this responsibility – and a lot of hard work. Check out their itinerary below:

• Wednesday afternoon the team will work with Academic Lead Nick Linscott to prepare the area for fire safety. They will then dig a large pit and lay a fire ready to be started in the middle of the night.
• In the wee hours of the night (around 12:00 AM Thanksgiving morning) Operations Director Phil Fairbrother will come in and wake the team. Together they will start the fire and fuel it with a lot of wood for the next 4 hours.
• At 5:00 AM the foil-wrapped turkeys will be placed in the pit of coals and covered with dirt where they will roast for 5-6 hours.
• Tomorrow morning Nick and the boys will gently unearth the birds and take them to the kitchen where they will perform their final task of preparing the meat for serving.

Stay tuned for more Turkey Team details and some photos from their all-night experience.

November 2010 Family Trek participants at Long Creek waterfall on the Chattooga River

Students demonstrate their Martial Arts skills at the Family Seminar

Last week was wonderfully busy here at Cherokee Creek, kicking off with a Family Trek and wrapping up with our final Family Seminar for the year. 

  
Highlights included:   

-Eleven families kayaking, rafting, hiking, working through low-ropes challenges and enjoying some great fellowship on the Family Trek 

Scoutmaster Paul Mathis awards Lake his Boy Scouts of America 50 Miler Award during a Court of Honor ceremony

-Family Seminar sessions including sharing of family stories, multi-family groups, a session just for siblings and discussions about the lessons of the Teacher with our Therapists and Counseling staff.    

-Our annual celebration of Thanksgiving with a great Dillard House feast

-On and off-campus family visits (including a little karaoke…)

Students clean one of the Earl's Ford campsites before launching for some canoe drills.

What a great fall weekend full of great outdoor treats! Students and staff took full advatage of our volunteer agreement with the Forest Service. The boys headed to Earl’s Ford for a service project on both Saturday and Sunday. After cleaning up campsites and the river bank, our tricksters took some time to practice their whitewater canoeing and fly fishing skills where Warwoman Creek meets the Chattooga River.  

To celebrate Halloween staff and students gathered around the fire for S’mores on Saturday night. What a great sweet treat!