Big Fun on Big Wild
June 29, 2025
Hey Big Wild friends and family!! We are having an absolute blast out here with these kids. We wanted to run you through our past few days!
Starting out strong on Airport Day, our group had no flight delays making our travel day super smooth. We hung out in the Jackson Hole Airport outdoor courtyard while the kids arrived from Atlanta, Dallas, Winston Salem, Charlottesville, Charleston, and Nashville, playing hacky sack, uno, and getting to know each other. We drove to our campsite and learned how to set up camp. Before the lesson, we had to break in our new site with a game of “Birdie on a Perch” which had the kids laughing. Jasper and Louie defeated the others in our first round, and Poppy and Anna Logan took the W for the second! With our tents set up and our energy high, we hopped in the van and drove into downtown Jackson for pizza and salad from Hand Fired Pizza. We picked up our pies and made our way to town square for dinner, enjoying each others’ company already. With full bellies, we drove to Mormon Row, a classic Tetons sunset spot, to watch the sunset and do our first Moon up. What an epic opening day!
On Thursday morning, the kids were up and at ’em early even without a wakeup call from us leaders! Their positive attitudes and energy continue to impress us. Jackson and Gincy helped us cook breakfast and get ready for the day. We sat down together and fueled up for the day with pancakes with maple syrup, eggs, and bacon… yum!! We hopped in the van and headed to our first activity of the trip- Snow King Adventure Park and Zip line! We started off strong riding North America’s steepest zip line; it was awesome. Denver bravely jumped at the chance to go first and raced Claire down the mountain. We ate lunch on the mountain, looking out over the town of Jackson and the Tetons. Hyped from the morning ziplines, the kids eagerly set out for the ropes course. Amelia, Jackson, Jasper, Denver, and Louie all gave the red ropes course a shot, and Louie and Denver moved on to the most challenging course.
After conquering the Snow King mountain, we hopped back in the car and drove to Lower Slide Lake near our campsite. At the lake, the group all cold-plunged together before splitting up into clean and cool crews. Olivia, Anna Logan, Amelia and Jackson, the cook crew for the night, started on dinner- walking tacos and taco bowls! Dugger started a fire by the water so we could enjoy some s’mores after dinner. Louie and Jasper balled out with the spike ball. We all loaded back in the van and headed back to camp to pack for the next day. The girls decided to cowboy-camp sleeping under the stars, while the boys slept in the tents. Amelia and Denver led moon up, we played a hilarious game of mafia, then we went to bed.
On Friday morning, we got up early, ate yogurt bowls with fruit and granola, and got in the van for the trek to Idaho. We drove to Twin Falls, ID, listening to great music requests from the group and chatting, before picking up Chick-fil-A for lunch and eating at a park near the river. We did a stretch circle and some jumping jacks to get some energy out before embarking on the second half of the drive. Back in the van, Claire ran a game of trivia for the group. Jasper, Jackson, Denver, and Louie won by a land slide… They were so good at all of the quick facts! With the kids in high spirits, we pulled into McCall, Idaho a few hours later blasting ‘Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue’ by Toby Keith. We settled into our campsite then immediately threw on our bathing suits and ran to the lake for an evening swim. Gincy led the charge and hopped in first.
Marin and Amelia helped cook pesto pasta with chicken and veggies, which the group devoured before a surprise dessert… a skillet cookie cooked over the fire! Jackson and Denver took on the task of dishes after the wonderful meal and dessert, and then Poppy and Louie led moon up before bed.
Today, the kids woke up to scrambled eggs and bagels before driving into McCall to meet our fly fishing guides for our first lesson. We started out on the local baseball fields to learn how to cast and tie knots. Poppy and Olivia were naturals, nailing the cast within the first few minutes. Next we headed to the river where our guides taught us about fish and bugs that we are trying to imitate to catch them. Louie and Jasper found some worms and nymphs in the river. Next we headed to Boulder Lake trail head for a hike up to a lake up in the mountains for fishing and swimming. The kids trekked up the mountain excitedly until we made it to the lake. Louie, Jasper and Gincy eagerly began fishing with Dugger while Claire played hacky sack with Jackson, Poppy, Gincy, Laura and Marin. Amelia, Marin, and Poppy then tried their luck fishing with Dugger. We ate our lunches in the sun and snacked on cheez its and chewy bars. The boys led the charge on an adventure higher up in the mountains, soaking in the beautiful views of Boulder Lake and the nearby reservoir. Olivia, Poppy, Gincy, Laura and Claire tagged along to find what was the best view of the trip so far. They came back to find Dugger and Amelia hooked into a rainbow trout! Dugger showed them how to hold the fish without hurting it, keeping its health and then releasing it back into the lake.
Following our afternoon excursion, it was ice cream time. We got “mountain-size scoops” at Ice Cream Alley, enjoying flavors like Huckleberry cheesecake and Caribou Caramel. Back at camp, we began packing for our next adventure…white water rafting! Laura, Poppy, Amelia and Gincy helped Claire cut the vegetables while Dugger cheffed up the rice and chicken for our chicken fried rice dinner. We were so excited to welcome Betsy to our group, completing our 12-person party. After dinner, the boys competed in spike ball and had a blast throwing the frisbee while the girls hit the lake for a sunset swim. At Moonup, we introduced ourselves to Betsy and filled her in on our groups’ jokes and happenings so far. Gincy and Jasper led us through Moonup, and Dugger played guitar to end the night.
We are so grateful for these kids and all of the fun we’ve had so far. They’re positive energy is contagious… we can’t keep a smile off of our faces! We’re so pumped for our 4-day rafting trip through Idaho, and we’ll update you all on the other side.
With love,
Claire and Dugger
Hey Big Wild friends and family!!
June 29, 2025
Hey Big Wild friends and family!! We are having an absolute blast out here with these kids. We wanted to run you through our past few days!
Starting out strong on Airport Day, our group had no flight delays making our travel day super smooth. We hung out in the Jackson Hole Airport outdoor courtyard while the kids arrived from Atlanta, Dallas, Winston Salem, Charlottesville, Charleston, and Nashville, playing hacky sack, uno, and getting to know each other. We drove to our campsite and learned how to set up camp. Before the lesson, we had to break in our new site with a game of “Birdie on a Perch” which had the kids laughing. Jasper and Louie defeated the others in our first round, and Poppy and Anna Logan took the W for the second! With our tents set up and our energy high, we hopped in the van and drove into downtown Jackson for pizza and salad from Hand Fired Pizza. We picked up our pies and made our way to town square for dinner, enjoying each others’ company already. With full bellies, we drove to Mormon Row, a classic Tetons sunset spot, to watch the sunset and do our first Moon up. What an epic opening day!
On Thursday morning, the kids were up and at ’em early even without a wakeup call from us leaders! Their positive attitudes and energy continue to impress us. Jackson and Gincy helped us cook breakfast and get ready for the day. We sat down together and fueled up for the day with pancakes with maple syrup, eggs, and bacon… yum!! We hopped in the van and headed to our first activity of the trip- Snow King Adventure Park and Zip line! We started off strong riding North America’s steepest zip line; it was awesome. Denver bravely jumped at the chance to go first and raced Claire down the mountain. We ate lunch on the mountain, looking out over the town of Jackson and the Tetons. Hyped from the morning ziplines, the kids eagerly set out for the ropes course. Amelia, Jackson, Jasper, Denver, and Louie all gave the red ropes course a shot, and Louie and Denver moved on to the most challenging course.
After conquering the Snow King mountain, we hopped back in the car and drove to Lower Slide Lake near our campsite. At the lake, the group all cold-plunged together before splitting up into clean and cool crews. Olivia, Anna Logan, Amelia and Jackson, the cook crew for the night, started on dinner- walking tacos and taco bowls! Dugger started a fire by the water so we could enjoy some s’mores after dinner. Louie and Jasper balled out with the spike ball. We all loaded back in the van and headed back to camp to pack for the next day. The girls decided to cowboy-camp sleeping under the stars, while the boys slept in the tents. Amelia and Denver led moon up, we played a hilarious game of mafia, then we went to bed.
On Friday morning, we got up early, ate yogurt bowls with fruit and granola, and got in the van for the trek to Idaho. We drove to Twin Falls, ID, listening to great music requests from the group and chatting, before picking up Chick-fil-A for lunch and eating at a park near the river. We did a stretch circle and some jumping jacks to get some energy out before embarking on the second half of the drive. Back in the van, Claire ran a game of trivia for the group. Jasper, Jackson, Denver, and Louie won by a land slide… They were so good at all of the quick facts! With the kids in high spirits, we pulled into McCall, Idaho a few hours later blasting ‘Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue’ by Toby Keith. We settled into our campsite then immediately threw on our bathing suits and ran to the lake for an evening swim. Gincy led the charge and hopped in first.
Marin and Amelia helped cook pesto pasta with chicken and veggies, which the group devoured before a surprise dessert… a skillet cookie cooked over the fire! Jackson and Denver took on the task of dishes after the wonderful meal and dessert, and then Poppy and Louie led moon up before bed.
Today, the kids woke up to scrambled eggs and bagels before driving into McCall to meet our fly fishing guides for our first lesson. We started out on the local baseball fields to learn how to cast and tie knots. Poppy and Olivia were naturals, nailing the cast within the first few minutes. Next we headed to the river where our guides taught us about fish and bugs that we are trying to imitate to catch them. Louie and Jasper found some worms and nymphs in the river. Next we headed to Boulder Lake trail head for a hike up to a lake up in the mountains for fishing and swimming. The kids trekked up the mountain excitedly until we made it to the lake. Louie, Jasper and Gincy eagerly began fishing with Dugger while Claire played hacky sack with Jackson, Poppy, Gincy, Laura and Marin. Amelia, Marin, and Poppy then tried their luck fishing with Dugger. We ate our lunches in the sun and snacked on cheez its and chewy bars. The boys led the charge on an adventure higher up in the mountains, soaking in the beautiful views of Boulder Lake and the nearby reservoir. Olivia, Poppy, Gincy, Laura and Claire tagged along to find what was the best view of the trip so far. They came back to find Dugger and Amelia hooked into a rainbow trout! Dugger showed them how to hold the fish without hurting it, keeping its health and then releasing it back into the lake.
Following our afternoon excursion, it was ice cream time. We got “mountain-size scoops” at Ice Cream Alley, enjoying flavors like Huckleberry cheesecake and Caribou Caramel. Back at camp, we began packing for our next adventure…white water rafting! Laura, Poppy, Amelia and Gincy helped Claire cut the vegetables while Dugger cheffed up the rice and chicken for our chicken fried rice dinner. We were so excited to welcome Betsy to our group, completing our 12-person party. After dinner, the boys competed in spike ball and had a blast throwing the frisbee while the girls hit the lake for a sunset swim. At Moonup, we introduced ourselves to Betsy and filled her in on our groups’ jokes and happenings so far. Gincy and Jasper led us through Moonup, and Dugger played guitar to end the night.
We are so grateful for these kids and all of the fun we’ve had so far. They’re positive energy is contagious… we can’t keep a smile off of our faces! We’re so pumped for our 4-day rafting trip through Idaho, and we’ll update you all on the other side.
With love,
Claire and Dugger
The Adventure Begins!
June 25, 2025
Hello Big Wild Families!
We heard from our leaders that the group has landed safely in Jackson Hole! The trip is off to a great start, and we are so excited to hear more stories as they begin their adventure.
Please remember our leaders and students will be unplugged during their trips, but we will be posting trip updates throughout the next week! This will allow you to follow along with the trip. You can also follow us on Instagram, @moondanceadventures, to see more of what we are up to!
-Moondance HQ
