Another long-time, no see...

3/7/2012

About three weeks ago I noticed a new TrailRidge Facebook friend - Stewart Fleming. That's Stewart in the photo above (left). And that's Ray Thompson with the beard and hillbilly hat second from right. Don't remember the year of this photo but certainly early 1980s. Stewart now lives in Montana and this summer Ray & I along with 20 boys and a couple of other leaders will be in Montana. Hope we can have a little TrailRidge reunion with Stewart.

This coming summer, by the way, will be the 30th anniversary of the founding of TrailRidge Mountain Camp. More about that in later posts.

9 Comments

John Ley

5/25/2013 11:55:49 am

My older brother Joe is in the middle of that pic at the top of this page. I am the little dude next to him with the red bandana, Rambo style, with Ray behind me...I am absolutely thrilled to have stumbled onto this piece of nostalgia from my childhood!

Mark link

5/25/2013 11:49:54 pm

Hi John, so great to hear from you. Of course I remember you and Joe(y). In fact, I think it was Joey who "Falling Rock" was named after. Check out this entire site. I'm certain you'll find other pix of you. I do have other old TMC stuff to post as I have time...who knows when that will be. Take care.

John

5/26/2013 07:55:49 am

Oh I have Mark. It is terrific! My two oldest boys (5 & 8) had a blast looking at the site last night and seeing the old pictures of me and Uncle Joe. Thanks for doing this and for creating a place that was such a wonderful part of my childhood!! I wish we could find somewhere like it for my boys to enjoy similar experiences, but Trailridge was such a unique place/concept that could never be duplicated. Hopefully we can find a close match, though....Thanks again and I will visit the site periodically for updates and hope to stay in touch

Mark link

5/26/2013 10:49:47 am

Thanks John. I'm going to add your words above to the camp memories page. Hope that's okay. I do take kids on trips each summer (www.MindStretchAdventures.com). It's not at all the same as TMC, but we have fun!

John

5/26/2013 11:23:21 am

Absolutely.

I noticed that. What ages do you start out with and can Dads and Grandparents go?

Mark

5/26/2013 11:44:25 am

Generally speaking, boys are 9 or older for the shorter trips (1 to 2 weeks) and 11 or older for the longer trips like the one to Europe. And you bet dads and grandparents can go. I have one father going this summer. I did have two others but they both had to cancel. It was impossible for them to get that much time off.

And check out the trailridge.info website. I've added you guys to my latest blog post and added your photos and your quotes to the "camp memories" page.

Where do you live these days?

John

5/26/2013 11:45:43 am

I see now. I just checked out the MindStretch site. Looks like a great experience as well...How quick do they fill up? Virginia looks like a great one, but of course New England does too. Just not sure about the 2 weeks though...

John

5/26/2013 11:48:03 am

We are in Knoxville, TN. We moved from Columbia, SC to Knoxville in 1989 and I have been there since.

Mark

5/26/2013 11:54:40 am

Make sure I have your email address John and I'll add you to the MindStretch newsletter list. Both trips are great experiences. Lots of fun camp kinds of activities during the days but we get to come "home" to a motel with real beds and a swimming pool instead of cabins with no lights and no plumbing. It's the best of both worlds. Trips are generally full by early winter but that varies from year to year and trip to trip. And of course there's always the chance of a late spring opening if someone cancels. I have 20 boys and four leaders going on the West Virginia trip this summer and 17 boys and three adults going on the Europe trip.

Another long-time, no see...

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