A TYPICAL DAY AT CAMP
The answer is there isn't one. We get up between 5 and 10am (one day we woke up for lunch). Some places have amazing sunrises and others have moonlit walks we don't get back from before 3am. Moonbows in Yellowstone or the moonlit hike to Delicate Arch. Sometimes we eat breakfast before we go and sometimes we take it with us. Breakfast can be pancakes and bacon or sausage egg and cheese on a roll or cereal or omelets and home fries.
Lunch depending on the daily events is usually packed and taken with us. Sandwiches and wraps, fruit, chips, cookies and drinks if we are out, hotdogs and burgers if we are still in camp. We try not to interrupt our fun with eating, so as different as the days are so is our dining schedule.
Dinner by far is the best or so our campers say, of any summer camp! We usually eat somewhere between 5 and 10pm. Most times 7pm seems to fit best, leaving enough time for swimming or a movie afterwards. Sometimes we even stop at a restaurant if we get caught having too much fun. Dinner can be almost anything. We've been known to serve: Chinese stirfry, barbecued chicken, pork roast, pasta, burgers and hotdogs, chicken patties, burritos, tacos, steak, salads, mashed potatoes, pizza, all kinds of vegetables and deserts. Whenever possible we try to end the day with a fire and smores. No one has ever left camp hungry!
The adventures drive the camp the camp doesn't drive the adventures. A typical day looks like all the pictures on this website, which were all taken by us or campers while at camp, no we don't bring along professional photographers or models for brochure pictures, the sites are that amazing!
Our camp was designed from the beginning to be a coed camp we would want our daughters to attend. Safety is our priority. Our Guides are seasoned outdoor enthusiasts as well as professional educators. All are trained in first aid, CPR and many are trained in water safety. We call them guides (rather than counselors), for a reason; they lead the campers to the wonders of the locations we visit, and share the experiences with them. They have the ability to kindle appreciation of the wonders of the natural world.
Unlike traditional camps, our campfires are less about marshmallows and more about discussion of the day's experiences. These might include the politics of ancient civilizations or the impact of global climate change. Most campers are blown away by finding fossils from the ocean floor at 9,000 feet above sea level while the Colorado River flows a mile beneath them.
This may sound unnaturally deep and serious for the description of a summer camp, but these are the kinds of discussions generated around the campfire and on the trail as the kids talk about what they're seeing. If you asked them at the time, they'd deny that they're being taught any lessons; this is just fun and it's interesting. It's only later, as they go to sleep or even after they go home and are back at school that the lessons creep up on them. They have real world experiences and examples they actually are able to bring to discussions in the classroom.
The first and most important rule of camp is that if you are not having fun you're doing something wrong! With a 4:1 camper to guide ratio we get to know the campers really well and we tailor activities to our campers as we go.
