March 3, 2021

Future Trip Leader, Molly Eddings, reflects on her first Moondance trip and why she is leading this summer!   There is something different about the air on the first day of a Moondance trip. Everyone is a little nervous, everyone feels weird without their phone in hand, and everyone is anxious to see what this…

December 11, 2020

Our newest member of HQ, Lilly Bell, shares her essential pack items and little about why these are her go-to items!   Hello!   My name is Lilly Bell and I am from Mobile, Alabama where I have so much contact with the water but there are not many places to hike. Therefore, I have…

November 19, 2020

Meet one of our most beloved pieces of gear: The Patagonia R1 Fleece.   Beloved gear travels far and wide in our bags and on our backs. The Patagonia R1 fleece makes the cut on almost any packing list, coming in handy time and time again. As you grow and accumulate more gear, you either…

November 10, 2020

Doing anything for the first time can be scary.   We can all remember the anticipation the night before the first day of school.   You’re ready to see your friends again, maybe even your teachers, ready to get back into the familiar routine again. You know what’s waiting on the other side of that…

September 14, 2020

The 2021 Trip Leader Application is live! The search for the best people for the best job has begun.   Every September we launch the Trip Leader Application with great anticipation and excitement. We have enrolled over 1,200 students since the end of August. The reality of next summer has already begun to crystallize. Our…

April 14, 2020

Staying positive right now can be exhausting. Every day we must confront the strangeness of our current situation, and every day we have to choose to see beyond it.   What does it mean to stay positive?   Does it mean you have to be laughing, joking, and carefree every second of the day? Do…

April 5, 2020

Gray Rixey dives into why the Moondance community is just as strong now as it ever has been and why it’s so special.   My path to Moondance is a familiar story. I went on a trip as a 14 year-old, Pacific Northwest (who can relate?). It was amazing. I had the trip of a…

April 3, 2020

Read what’s on Wick Bushong’s mind during quarantine, from more TV to planning his next adventure!   Here we are. Ordered to stay home for the health and safety of others and ourselves. Relegated to isolation by a silent and effectively invisible microbe. Doing our best to stay entertained and productive (shout out to all…

March 31, 2020

Moondance has operated a Mystery Trip for two years to an undisclosed location. Right now, we should take a note from our Mystery Trip.   The Mystery Trip is incredible. Students and leaders have no clue where they’re headed and, yet, they go. Students pick this trip, parents fill out the forms, leaders prepare for…

March 29, 2020

Read what Liza McLain thinks about the difference between being occupied and living.   Welcome to Day ___ (insert your personal quarantine number here) of a new normal, a home office, a home classroom, and a kitchen with a small Costco in its pantry. For me, it’s technically Day 3 of Nashville’s mandated “Safer at…