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Rocky Mountain Way Log (2008-07-19 -> 2008-07-31)
Leaders: Jake Richardson and Sarah Machin
Students: Grace Allen, Clay Franklin, Ashley Henderson, Daniel Hoffman, Jack Hudgins, Margaret Lacey, Will Pavlis, Mack Prioleau, Charlie Ross, Kaitlin Sylvia, Kendall Van Hee, Dillon Wheetley
Trip Update 7-22-08
Greetings from the wilderness of Colorado! Our group of students have been absolutely amazing since the first hours of being together. We met the crew at the airport and then departed for our drive to Five Points, our first nights campsite. On the way to Five Points we stopped in Salida for a little dinner at the local Pizza Hut as well as a celebration of Kendall's 13th birthday! After dinner we finished our drive to Five Points and began to go through how to set up the tents that we would be using for the duration of the trip. Everyone caught on real quickly and had no problems getting the hang of putting up their new homes. Dan was great with helping those who needed a little extra help with the final steps. Our first Moonup went really well and everyone was pleased to agree with all of the expectations and rules for the trip. At the conclusion of Moonup I picked the leaders of the day (Ashley and Dan) for our first day of rafting. The first morning went extremely well and we were up and out of the campsite by 6:50 A.M!!! Yes that is in the morning!! We left our campsite and headed to River Runners where we would start our paddling for the next two days down the Arkansas. As we took the shuttle ride to the put in spot we split the boats into one of 6 and one of 5 plus me. The first boat was Grace, Charlie, Mack, Kaitlin, Will and Dillon. In the second boat with me were Clay, Ashley, Kendall, Dan, and Jack. Both boats were amazing and paddled through some of the toughest rapids on the Arkansas. As we concluded our first day of paddling we set up camp right along the river and then had an amazing meal cooked by our river guides and then sat around a fire for a "friendly" marshmallow roasting contest... Winner still undecided. Our LOD's decided that we should take a little walk up the hill to have Moonup on the top of the plateau to watch the moon come up. It was amazing! At Moonup our new LOD's were chosen (Clay and Grace). The next morning we woke up and hit the river to start the day with some intense and challenging class III rapids. We ended the day with a class IV called Sidel's suckhole! Our ride back to river runners was a quiet yet exciting ride because all of the kids were ready to get rid of their foul smelling wet suits that they said caused way too much itching! We packed our stuff up in the u-haul and then made our way to Cottonwood Lake for our third night out in Colorado. Our lovely cook crew (Grace, Kaitlin and Jack) made an awesome spicy meal of chicken chili that for sure hit the spot! After the long clean up process we were all ready for Moonup Grace made a profound statement that everyone took to heart... "Many hands make light work" all of us pulled together and made everything seem like a breeze. After Moonup was over we hit the sack for our drive to Mueller State Park and our rendezvous with our new co leader, Shannon! All of the kids are in good spirits and ready for the challenge of our upcoming backpacking section! Keep checking for our latest entry!
Talk to you all soon
Jake
Trip Update 7-28-08
We finally made it out of our eventful and exciting trip in the backcountry yesterday. Unfortunately the weather was not in our favor, but the kids were high spirits, and they did a great job hiking despite the rain. We even got caught in a couple of hail storms here and there, which is something all of us will never forget! The kids had the chance to cook all of their meals without the luxury of our front country stoves and cooking supplies. Our favorite backcountry meal, chocolate chip pancakes, was cooked to perfection by Grace, Charlie, and Mack. On the second day in the backcountry we ventured out on a little day hike to relieve the students of the heavy weight of their packs. Ashley and Kendall kept the group entertained during the hike with games and riddles. We all enjoyed a great lunch on a bridge over the creek until we were rushed back to our campsite by the rain, in which we all got DRENCHED! Our rain gear was absolutely pointless at that time. We all enjoyed being kids again by splashing in the puddles, especially Jack, Dan, and Dillon. Kaitlin and Clay worked the hardest and pushed themselves the most throughout the entire backcountry section. The kids had a great time, but they were relieved to see the dry van waiting for us at the end of the trail!
On our way from the backcountry to rock climbing, we unfortunately found out that we would be saying goodbye to a vital member of our Moondance team. Will sadly had to leave because of a family emergency, and we miss him so much already. We all hope to talk to him soon to catch him up on the rest of our adventures. Hopefully he can join the Moondance once again next summer! We miss you Will!!
The kids also wanted to say something to their parents while we are in the middle of our adventures.
Hey Mom, Dad, Claire, and Britt!
Hopefully everything at home is great. I'm having lots of fun in Colorado- this trip is ahhhhmazing!! Thanks sooooo much! I love you so much and miss you and can't wait to see you!
Love always,
Ashley
Hey Dad and Betsy,
You may or may not be reading this-either way I just wanted to say that I'm having a good time. It's fun and the people are cool. I'll see you when I get home in a few days. Love you!
Hello Parental!
-Jack
Hello parentals etc.
-Clay
Hey family! Love and miss you!
-Grace
Hey guys! I am having so much fun here! I miss you guys so much and I love you. Kelly, I hope you had a great time in Italy. Kate, I hope work is going well. Mom and Dad, I hope life isn't too boring back in Vail. I miss you all very much! Love ya! xoxoxoxo
-Kendall
Hey Mom and Dad,
It's really fun here. Hope Connecticut is alright. Say hi to Jenny for me. See you in a bit!
-Charlie
Hello parentals, Hudson, Claire, E.E., and Walker,
We are driving to Lake City right now. It's been fun so far. I haven't had a great chance to fish though, oh well. I can't wait to get home and see y'all and use the new shower!
Love y'all,
Mack
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