Hello from Idaho!
July 24, 2022
Hello from Idaho!
We are having an absolute BLAST and have had such a fun past 5 days! We cannot believe we are already halfway through our trip. What?! Three words I would use to describe this group is easy going, respectful, and hilarious. They are awesome! Time on the Salmon brought us even closer together and it is special to watch new friendships form between everyone so quickly.
We started off our journey to Idaho with a very early morning drive out of Wyoming. Everyone went right back to sleep in the van while James drove. We then woke up for a stop at Chick-fil-A for breakfast. Always a hit and put everyone in a great mood! We then got back on the road and headed to McCall, Idaho. This is personally one of James and I’s favorite stops on the whole trip so we were excited to make it there early enough in the afternoon to swim in Lake Cascade and hang out after a long day in the van. We also found a beach volleyball court where we would rotate between playing a game boys vs girls and then jumping into the lake to cool off. This lake is breathtaking and the cold water was super refreshing on this hot day. Everyone was also fired up to take their first shower of the trip. We cooked some yummy chicken penne pasta and garlic bread for dinner to fuel up for our first day of rafting. After dinner and packing up all our stuff, we headed into the cute town of McCall to the famous Ice Cream Alley for some ice cream. We had to wait for a little bit, but it was definitely worth it. They have the biggest scoops ever and Alex and Davis took on the challenge of eating a two scoop which is the equivalence of a pint of ice cream! Kelsy, James, and I were huge fans of the huckleberry ice cream which they are known for. We watched the sunset and did Moonup next to the sandy beach in McCall along the lake. We also did a little bit of hacky sack before heading back to camp for the night. Overall, it was a great day!
For day 1 of rafting we met our guides Parker, Mason, and Jack outside of Riggins to pack up all of our stuff into the gear boat and dry bags before getting on the river. We were extra excited because we got to go on the lower part of the Salmon which James and I had not been able to do all summer due to high water. The boat ramp was packed and you could tell there were lots of other people also excited about getting to do this famous section of the Salmon. The big rapids and swimming were a huge highlight of the day because it was a great way to cool off from the heat. It was close to 100 degrees on our first day! Everyone took turns riding the bull of the raft while Edwards and Bennett got to paddle the ducky kayak. We stopped for lunch on a sandy beach where we found a fishing rod that was left behind. This was a fun surprise and useful for the fishing we did the rest of the trip. We also quickly learned how crucial sunscreen and lots of water was going to be the entire time we rafted. Once arriving at camp for the night, we set up all of our stuff to sleep under the stars. We played some more hacky sack, swam in the river, and played card games. For dinner we had burgers and ended the day with a fire and s’mores! Could not have asked for a better first day.
Emily and Alex were our Leaders of the Day for day 2 or rafting and got everyone pumped up for the two big class IV rapids we were going to see. We were woken up by a airplane taking off about 40 feet above us. It was so loud but honestly a really cool alarm! The entire time while on the river, you go in and out of these beautiful canyons that surround you and there is not a road or house in sight. It is super cool and secluded and unlike anything any of us had ever seen before. We were also surprised by how many other people were on the river. We became friends with other raft groups we saw multiple times on the water since they were doing a 4 day trip as well. In the more chill parts of the morning, we spent a lot of time swimming to stay out of the sun. Liza and Edwards showed off their back flipping skills off the side of the raft. Liza also had a failed backflip that was hilarious and made us laugh the rest of the day. While at a beach for lunch, Kelsy showed off her dancing gymnastics skills and helped the other girls perfect some of their tricks. We were in girls and boys rafts to take on our class IV rapids after lunch and both groups absolutely crushed these challenging sections of whitewater! Into the afternoon, Trey started doing the vector dance from Despicable Me that everyone quickly repeated. It happens at least 50 times a day now. Trey also caught his first small mouth bass on the fly! MA also caught the biggest fish when we got to camp. It was a fun night of fishing and just enjoying hanging out with each other. It is the coolest thing to camp along the river and surrounded by the big mountains of the canyon. We also all loved falling asleep under the stars!
Trey and Adelaide were our LODs for our last big day of rafting and started off the day by cleaning the dishes for everyone. Once on the river, we rafted in the Blue Canyon which was definitely one of the best stretches of the river. There were crazy looking cliffs and the water was super deep. It was the best place for a swimming break and was super nice to cool off out of the 100 degree sun. We stopped at a great spot where everyone jumped off a big rock. Davis and Emily especially loved this and jumped multiple times. Alex and Trey also paddled the ducky in the morning through some fun rapids! After moving through Blue Canyon we headed towards the confluence where the Salmon River meets the Snake River. This was a sight to see and there were hundreds of people with jet boats and rafts! The wildlife we saw the last full day was incredible. Bennett spotted bald eagles, Davis spotted three big horn sheep one of them wearing a gps collar. The chukars were also making tons of noise all day and Edwards swears that the bats kept him up all night. We camped in Oregon along the Snake for our last night where we had yummy lasagna and strawberry shortcake for dessert. Lindsey led the group in playing a game called psychiatrist throughout the trip and was also super helpful each day while setting up camp. We were all so exhausted by the end of the day and some of us fell asleep when it was still light outside.
We woke up on our last morning and loaded up the gear boat one last time to head to the take out. Since the last section is pretty flat water, we got to motor the last 16 miles. Both rafts were connected to the gear boat and we called it the party barge. It was fun to chill on the raft and soak up our last bit of time on this incredible river. Our takeout was in Washington so that was fun for a lot of us to check another state off our list! We got back on the road and headed to Glenn’s Ferry, Idaho for the night. We are ready to see the Winds and finish up our trip with backpacking and fly fishing. It would be hard to tell that these kids didn’t know each other a little over a week ago, considering how close they have all become. They are all such awesome individuals and have made our trip an unforgettable one for sure!
We can’t wait for our final few days together and to be back in Wyoming once again. I know these guys miss all of you, but are so excited to tell you ALL about the trip very soon! Until then, here is a quick shout out from each of them:
Liza – Hey mom, dad, and, max, i miss y’all so much but I am having so much fun and I never want to leave! I can’t wait to tell y’all all about it! Love you all so so much!
Emily – hi I am having a lot of fun and I can’t wait to tell u about it and i am having a strong craving for carrots and hummus . Love y’all!
Adelaide – hey family I hope the going away party was good cant wait to see y’all in Wyoming exited for the ranch I love camp bye love y’all
MA – shout out for paying for this trip, it’s so much fun. Can’t wait to tell y’all about it, love you.
Presley – hey mom and dad, we just finished rafting and it was a lot of fun. We are about to go fly fishing and backpacking. Love you.
Lindsey – hey mom and dad! I am having such a fun time out here in the west. We just finished rafting which was super fun and now we are about to go fly fishing. Miss you!
Kelsy – Hey! Just got done rafting and we are about to go fly fishing and backpacking. I miss you both so much but I am having an incredible time! I am so excited to tell you everything about it.
Davis – hey mom and dad, camp is lots of fun I miss y’all and hope everyone is good I STILL GO JIM
Edwards – dear mom and dad, moondance is fun and I like my new friends. I miss y’all, and the people in Idaho are mean and mannerless
Bennett – Hey mom and dad, camp is going great and we are about to start the last part of it. I miss y’all very much and tell Lily I miss her too. Can’t wait to tell y’all all about it, love you.
Alex – hey mom and dad, it has been so much fun so far! we are about to start backpacking. I think we will catch lots of fish and eat them. Love, Alex
Trey – hey mom and dad! Camp has been so much fun so far!miss y’all so much! Tell bearolime I miss her too.very sad creatine is wearing offlove gran
Best,
James and Walker
Wild in Wyoming!!
July 19, 2022
Greetings from Wyoming!
We are so fired up to all be together and starting our trip! We are off to a fantastic start and could not have asked for airport day to run any smoother. We lucked out by being able to hop on the road to Jackson by 1 and made it in plenty of time to eat some yummy Pinky G’s pizza for dinner! We got all the tents set up and got our stuff situated for our next few nights. Trey, Alex, Davis, and Edwards were excited to set up enos in a great spot overlooking the Tetons. It ended up not being the warmest place to sleep, but still a fun place to hang out. For our first Moonup, we went to a spot called Wedding Tree which had an incredible view of the Tetons. It was the perfect place to watch the sunset and finally relax after a long travel day. We talked about what we were most looking forward to on the trip which got us all excited about the next two weeks. First up was climbing!
For day 1 of climbing school, we went to Teton Village to meet our climbing guides. The kids were all excited for our gondola ride up the mountain and we lucked out with beautiful and sunny weather. We started off with some bouldering and learning how to tie on the ropes to our harness. For our first climb, we did a multi pitch caterpillar climb which mean we were attached to other people in our group as we went up. Kelsy, Trey, and Emily were the first people to lead our three different groups up and absolutely crushed it. We were also proud of Edwards for completing the entire climb despite being afraid of heights. We enjoyed lunch at the top of our climb and the view was amazing. It was fun to see all of Jackson and Teton Village below us! After lunch, we did a rappel and climb together to finish out the day. This was a great spot to practice both of these before our more technical routes to come on day 2. Overall, it was such a great first day and everyone was super enthusiastic about the climbing we got to do. We headed back to camp to get ready to go into town for a night at the rodeo. Edwards was easily the most enthusiastic person at the rodeo and fit in perfect with his cowboy hat he bought in town. It was such a fun night and a great way to end our first full day!
For day 2 of climbing school, we met our guides at Jenny Lake. We got to ride a boat across the lake to Hidden Falls and Cascade Canyon where we climbed for the day. We started off with some bouldering all together and then split into smaller groups with guides to do multi pitch climbs and rappelling. It was much more challenging than our first day, but such a cool spot and great views. I was in a group with Emily and Adelaide who both remained so calm and confident even on our steeper and more technical parts of our climb. We also rappelled off a 50-foot cliff! James was with Alex and Trey, and they were the last ones to finish climbing. Their guide had them on some of the harder climbs which was super awesome but left them super tired.
Once we finished climbing, we all jumped into Jenny Lake to cool off after a hot day of climbing, with Presley leading the pack! We headed back to Gros Ventre campground and cooked burgers and dogs and had a nice fire while Bennett, Lindsey, Liza and MA played spikeball. It was a great eventful day, and we are ready to hit the road to McCall tomorrow morning.
We can already tell we have such an awesome group of kids, and everyone is becoming great friends so quickly!
Until next time,
James and Walker
Safely in Salt Lake!
July 15, 2022
Hello Big Wild Families!
The whole group arrived safely in Salt Lake City today and they are on their way to their first activity. We have heard from our leaders that the trip is off to a great start, and we cannot wait to hear more stories from their adventure.
Please remember our leaders and students will be unplugged during their trips but we will be posting up to three trip updates throughout the next couple of weeks! This will allow you to follow along with the trip and the students will also give a special shout out mid-way through! You can also follow us on Instagram, @moondanceadventures, to see more of what we are up to this summer!
– Moondance HQ
