Final goodbyes in Jackson Hole!
July 25, 2025
Hello one final time from Jackson Hole! We have had such a blast on Big Wild during these last two weeks and are so lucky and grateful to have shared this amazing experience with everyone. We have learned what it means to live in the moment, unplug, share quality time with one another, make new friends, try new things, and leave our comfort zone. We are so proud of everyone!
Since y’all last heard from us, we have made our way back through Idaho and Wyoming on a mega-roadtrip through potato fields, canyons, mountain passes, and farm fields. About an hour after we left rafting, Lucas finally fell asleep in the car after fourteen years of being unable to take car naps, just to wake to a “bam!” as the U-Haul wheel had popped. Sam quickly pulled the van over, we waited for a mechanic, and got back on the road in no time. Everyone was so patient and we all were laughing and making the best of the situation together. Once we got back on the road, we kept moving along through winding canyon roads and farms and got a delicious burger meal in McCall. Sophia was requesting Tyler Childers songs over and over and we were all jamming out in the car. LC and Mary Lewis were singing along to every song we played and were carrying the energy in the back seat. As we kept driving along through Boise, Timothy kept the group entertained by telling funny stories. Ella and Jameson planned and executed a hilarious Moonup from the backseat and we all were cracking up. After a long drive, we got into our campsite late and went right to sleep.
The next morning, we woke up and ate breakfast before getting on the road for part two of the road trip. We drove along through Twin Falls and stopped in Pocatello for lunch and a surprise. We ate Freddy’s chicken, burgers, and fries, which was a hit and then made our way to the thrift store to pick out fun clothes for our last night banquet. Everyone paired up and picked each other’s outfits. Will ended up with a massive pair of oversized overalls, a referee shirt, huge brown earmuffs, and sunglasses. TK was rocking orange flame shorts, a pink cartoon-looking beanie, and his blue burrito shirt (see last trip update for what we are talking about!), and a white corset over it. Everyone in the store was impressed with our outfits and we got lots of compliments and strange looks as we went about our day! We kept driving along and stopped for one last ice cream surprise and then made it to Jackson Hole in the evening for our final banquet dinner.
At the banquet, we chowed down on wings, salad, and pizza and then went outside on the lawn to play cornhole. Liv and Louise started a handstand and dance competition and Liv was teaching everyone how to do the worm! We finished up and drove out to Mormon Row (our favorite Moonup spot from earlier in the trip) and watched a beautiful orange sunset over the Tetons. We played a game of jackpot, which Estelle was really excited about. She was running all over the field! After a long round and a close competition, Wesley finally won! We sat down, had our best Moonup of the trip, shared laughs, memories, jokes, moments, and tears as the stars came out. What a wonderful final evening and last time together as a group!
We woke up early this morning, packed our bags, and made our way to the airport to drop everyone off. We are so sad that our trip has come to an end and cannot believe how fast these two weeks flew by. This has been an unforgettable and amazing experience for all of us and we are so grateful we got to know and love all of your children during this trip. Yeehaw one final time! 🤠🌄
With love,
Evie & Sam
S'mores, Sunsets, and Moondance Spirit
July 24, 2025
Hello Big Wild families and friends! It’s been a while since y’all have heard from us-we’ve been busy climbing, cooking, rafting, and having a BLAST! This session has flown by and we cannot believe we are already down to our last few days of the trip.
We made it back to Jackson Hole after our backpacking adventure, sopping wet from the rainstorms in the backcountry. We arrived at our campsite near the Tetons, unpacked, dried out everything, and chowed down on ramen with steak and veggies for dinner. Everyone was tired from a long day but we could see the sunset peeking through the trees in our campsite so we rallied the crew and drove out to Mormon Row (the location of the famous barn that comes up when you google Jackson Hole!). The sunset was beautiful and everyone was giddy and running around in the grass, in awe of the massive mountains looming in front of us. We had a deep and inspiring Moonup conversation and then headed back to camp to hunker down in our tents.
The next morning, we woke up early for our first day of climbing school in the Tetons! Everyone was excited for bagels and fresh fruit for breakfast, and then we hit the road to Teton Village where we met our climbing guides. We got to ride up the Bridger Gondola at the ski resort and then hiked down a steep ski trail to our rock climbing location for the day. Our guides showed us basic bouldering moves and how to tie knots, and then we walked down to our first pitch for the day. We split into two groups and everyone got a chance to climb up three pitches of rock! Everyone did a great job pushing through some nerves and fears of heights and made it to the top. We ate lunch with a beautiful view of the valley in front of us and then spotted a mama moose and two babies walking down on the trail below the rock! After lunch, we practiced rappelling down the rock face. Louise and Sophia conquered their fears of the rappel and climbed back up smiling! We are so proud!
We finished up our climbing day, rode the gondola down, and headed into town. Evie and Sam surprised the group with an ice cream stop to celebrate day 1 of climbing! We then took an hour to walk around town and find souvenirs. Sam had been wearing a Jackson Hole t-shirt all day that everyone loved, so Wesley and Jameson came marching into the park leading the whole pack with the same giant blue shirts to match with Sam. The shirts have a cartoon of two people sleeping in sleeping bags with two bears saying “‘mmm burritos”. Everyone instantly decided to buy the same shirts, so all fourteen of us rocked matching shirts for the rest of the day-we got some funny looks from people in town! We sure were quite the sight.
After we left town, we headed back to our campsite and began our master chef competition! Everyone was split into two groups and each were tasked with making a dish for Sam and Evie to judge. Group 1 (Liv, Ella, Lucas, TK, Mary Lewis, and Estelle) aka “Ed Sheeran’s Hibachi Fan Club”, made a delicious hibachi meal! They cheffed up mixed veggies, fried rice, spring rolls, steak, and chicken. They even put on a show with an interpretive dance for us! Liv was dancing on the side of the kitchen and was bringing the vibes with her enthusiasm. TK showed off his hibachi chef skills and tossed a piece of steak into Sam’s mouth. We were so impressed with everyone’s ability to pull off hibachi on a camp stove. In the other group, Will, Wesley, Sophia, Louise, Jameson, and LC made a delicious meal of cheese quesadillas, beef tacos, guacamole, and rice. The tacos were definitely a highlight! After a tough decision, the hibachi team took the win! We cleaned up our feasts and sat around a campfire as we had a lovely Moonup, and then headed to bed after an amazing day.
The next morning was day two of climbing school. We had another early start and drove to a new location in Grand Teton National Park to meet our guides. This time, we took a tour boat across Jenny Lake to our climbing area by Hidden Falls. We split into smaller groups and everyone got to climb higher and more challenging pitches. Estelle was quite literally smiling ALL day and was loving rock climbing! She is a natural climber! After lunch, we did a mega-rappel (a step up from the day before!), and Ella was in her zone and cruised right down. She was so glad she did it despite some nerves. We finished up climbing, hiked two miles back to the car along a beautiful lakeview trail, and then had some free time back at the campsite before heading to town for the rodeo!
At the rodeo, we got front row seats and LC and Mary Lewis were hyping up the crowd and dancing every time a song came on. They were jumping on the fence and running back and forth in the aisle telling everyone to cheer. They really brought the energy! As the rodeo was ending, everyone found the mechanical bull and tried it out. Lucas was cracking himself up as he rode the mechanical bull and didn’t realize how hard it was! The rodeo ended late so we headed back to our campsite, did our Moonup, and headed to sleep.
The next morning was roadtrip day to IDAHO! We got an early start and headed over the stunning Teton Pass. Everyone was peering left and right out the window and enjoying the view. Once we got into Idaho, Mary Lewis was sitting in the front row of the van and was stoked to see potatoes. She was shouting at every potato sign she saw on the side of the road, begging to stop and eat one. At the same time, someone asked for the Home Depot Theme Song and the NFL Gameday Song to be added to the song queue-Will started rapping along his own words to the songs which cracked us up. Everyone sure does know how to keep us entertained on the long car ride! We stopped in Twin Falls for lunch and hung out at a riverside park where we munched on Chick-Fil-A, played frisbee, and ran around in the grass. We got back on the road and made our way through Boise and all the way to McCall. We set up at a beautiful campground on a lake, enjoyed the classic Moondance meal of a nacho table, played a pick-up game of football, and headed to bed.
We woke up early again the next morning and made our way through a winding canyon road along a meandering river up to Riggins, Idaho. We met our river rafting guides at the shop, packed our bags, and headed farther down the road to Hammer Creek where we began our four day river trip! Everyone was excited, especially for the big upcoming rapids. We rafted along and stopped at a sandy beach for a delicious lunch of Asian salad with chicken. Along the way, LC became our queen of “riding the bull”-meaning that she would sit up front on every rapid and try to hold on through the waves. She became great at it by the end of the trip! We all did riddles, games, songs, paddle high-fives, swam, and flopped around in the water. In the evening, we found another white sand beach, set up camp, and began a spikeball tournament. Ella and Lucas took the crown after a hard fought battle! Our guides cooked us fajitas and fruit for dinner, we had a fun Moonup, and went to bed listening to the peaceful sound of the river and looking at the stars.
We woke up in the middle of the night to wet sleeping bags (ahhh!). It had unexpectedly started to drizzle and we were cowboy camping outside. We hustled and set up tents in the pitch black and went right back to bed. In the morning, we ate an amazing breakfast of French toast, berries, and bacon. The rain came back, which became a cold and wet morning. We got back on the river and went through some fun class two and three rapids- Bodacious Bounce, China Hole, Lorna’s LouLou to name a few. Amidst the soggy, cold, and wetness, Will kept us all entertained with his funny stories and positive attitude. He kept getting soaked by the waves but would come up smiling and laughing. At lunch, we munched on chicken ceasar wraps under a rock overhang to get out of the rain and looked at the beautiful views of the canyon around us. Because of the rain, all of the brown dirt hills had become alive and green again! We kept moving along and landed on what we think is the best beach on the Lower Salmon. It was a massive sandy beach-big enough for a football field-and had 360 degree mountain views. To top it off, the rain had finally stopped and we got to run around, dry everything out, and warm up in the sunshine. Our guides set up a slip-n-slide for us with the upside down raft and everyone took turns running and slipping across. Lucas was the speediest of all and absolutely launched across the raft into the air and splashed into the water! Afterward, we began a full group football game. Wesley was quarterback and was throwing dimes to everyone. Sophia impressed us with some amazing catches. After a pause for another brief rain storm, the sun finally came out again and cleared the whole sky. The sun was setting and lighting up the clouds on the mountain behind us, and everyone was giddy, laughing, and falling all over the beach. We turned on “Where the Skies are Blue” by the Lumineers and Liv led a dance party on the beach. She has been always bringing the energy and lightening the mood with her dance moves all trip! The dance party turned into a Fortnite dance move competition, which Mary Lewis won with her splits, cheer moves, and enthusiasm. We finished up the evening with Moonup and went to bed looking at the clear skies and stars above us.
In the morning, we woke up and prepped for some more fun rapids! Sam pulled out water guns for the group, which began a morning water gun battle that turned into a full-day game of water gun assassin. After a long and strategic battle, Louise won in the evening! We packed up camp, made our way down the river, and pit-stopped at a cliff jumping spot. Everyone took turns jumping off, and the water was so refreshing. Estelle was so excited and did it over and over again! We finished up with the jumping, made our way through a deep and narrow canyon called Blue Canyon, saw lots and lots of mountain goats on the hillside, and hit the confluence of the Snake and Salmon rivers for lunch. We ate taco salad, laid in the sun, and then had the treat of watching a fishing boat reel in a 8.5 foot sturgeon on the beach! Everyone was surprised at how big the fish was! We finished up lunch, packed the boats, and took off down the river again (this time on the Snake), and made our way to camp. Our guides attached all of our rafts together into one mega-flotilla and attached a motor, since the Snake is nicknamed “Snake Lake” and can take a very long time to paddle. We set up camp in our third state of the trip (Oregon), and played another round of spikeball (Ella and TK took the crown!), went swimming, played frisbee, braided each other’s hair, and then ate a feast that our guides prepared full of pork tenderloin, carrots, bread rolls, salad, and Idaho potatoes. It was so delicious and everyone went up for seconds! After the meal, we made a fire, ate s’mores, played a round of birdie on a perch which Jameson and Estelle won, and then finished the evening with glow sticks to celebrate our last night on the river. What a great day!
This morning, we motored the flotilla out another ten miles to Heller Bar. We stopped at a visitor center on the side of the river and learned about the history of Hells Canyon Recreation Area. We ate lunch at the boat ramp, hopped in the car, and are now on our way back through Idaho to our camp tonight. We cannot believe we only have a couple days left and are so sad this trip is coming to an end. We’ve had such a blast with this group and are so grateful to have shared this experience with all of your amazing children. We will report back with an update from our last times together in a few days. Yeehaw! 🤠🌄
With love,
Evie & Sam
Thank You’s:
Estelle: Thank you so much Mum and Dad for sending me here! It is so much fun and I have had the best two weeks ever! I love y’all so much! ❤️Estelle
Ella: Thank you Mom + Dad for giving me this amazing opportunity to be here with these wonderful people in this awesome place. Love y’all so much. – Ella
Sophia: Thank you so mu for giving me this amazing opportunity! I love Moondance. This is the best trip ever! Love y’all ❤️
LC: Thank y’all so so much for sending me to the best place on Earth!!!
Wesley: Thank you so much Mom & Dad for sending me! This has been the best two weeks of my life and I can’t wait to tell you about it.
Liv: Thank you so much Mama for giving me the opportunity to go on this trip. I love you! – Liv ❤️
TK: Hi Mom, Dad, and Reagan. I miss you. Thanks a lot for sending me here. We are having a lot of fun. Love you lots!
Will: Dear family I am having a jolly time at camp. Thanks a lot for sending me here! Love you guys. Will.
Mary Lewis: Hey Mom + Dad! Thank y’all so much for sending me on this trip! I’m having the best time! Miss + love y’all!
Louise: Mom + Dad these two weeks have been the best ever. I have been in the most beautiful places with the best people. Thank you for giving me this experience. Love you SO much.
Jameson: Mom & Dad I have missed you dearly. I have been hiking, climbing, fishing, & rafting. I hope Ethan has had a fun time at camp. Thank you for sending me to Moondance. Love, J
Lucas: Thank you for sending me to camp. I am having so much fun rafting, climbing, backpacking, and fishing. From Lucas
Hello From Big Wild!!
July 16, 2025
Howdy y’all! We are having a blast out here on Big Wild so far, and cannot wait to share about it! We are loving our time with this group so far and have shared so many fun memories and moments with each other. Fishing, backpacking, and alpine lake swimming have been the highlights of our last days.
To start off our trip, we picked everyone up from the airport in Jackson Hole and drove about two hours to Pinedale, Wyoming where we had dinner before heading to camp for the night. Our drive was beautiful and took us through a narrow canyon along the Hoback River. Everyone was peering left and right out the window and was giddy to be here. In Pinedale, we ate pizza and salad in a park and played some classic Moondance games-birdie on a perch and dude, don’t touch my rock. Everyone was giggling a lot and having a great time getting to know each other. After we finished our picnic dinner, we headed up a dirt road toward the mountains to set up camp for the night. We were greeted by a swarm of mosquitoes the instant that we stepped out of the van, so everyone sprinted to put on long sleeves and bug head nets, which made everyone laugh. We swatted the flies away all evening as we settled into camp. We set up tents and concluded our evening with our first Moonup and a beautiful sunset as our background! Everyone was tired from a long travel day and went right to sleep.
In the morning, we woke up and cooked eggs, bacon, and hash browns for breakfast before beginning our day. Liv was one of our Leaders of the Day (LODs), and helped out in the kitchen with some stellar cooking skills. Breakfast was so yummy! After we cleaned up, we spent the rest of the morning preparing for backpacking. Everyone learned about how to pack their bags, leave no trace principles, and how to be safe in the backcountry. We then headed out to Fremont Lake to spend the afternoon on a sandy beach with beautiful mountain views. The lake was turquoise and so clear in places! All of the boys played a game of jackpot with a football and splashed around for hours. We concluded with a few rounds of card games on the beach and then left for our fishing lesson on a nearby river.
We met our guides, Jack and Colby, at the New Fork River and began our casting lesson. Everyone learned how to set up rods, how to cast, and about the different types of flies. We were impressed with everyone’s casting skills and enthusiasm to learn about fly fishing. We left wishing we had more time to practice! We made our way back to the buggy campground from the night before and cheffed up burgers and salad for dinner. Will has taken a liking to grilling so far this trip and cooked us delicious garlic burgers for dinner. After dinner, Sam took a lot of the group to check out the river that ran through our campsite. TK and Lucas decided to take a dip in the ankle deep river and were so excited to get a chance to swim again! Later that evening, Mary Lewis had the idea to do a whipped cream slap game, where everyone tries to slap whipped cream off their arm and catch it in their mouth. Everyone was cracking up and having a blast! As the sun was setting, we made a campfire and hung out around camp. Jameson was being so helpful all evening and collected almost all of the firewood! We had an amazing Moonup conversation and went to bed grateful for an amazing first day.
The next morning, we began our backpacking journey! We drove about an hour up a long bumpy dirt road while jamming out to music in the car. Sophia was leading the charge singing along and always loves adding Taylor Swift to the queue! We met our guide and her dog (Darby and Red) at the Kinky Creek Trailhead in the Gros Ventre Wilderness and then began our six mile trek by winding down a mountainside through wildflowers and a forest. We crossed two small streams, hiked up a steep mountain trail, saw some red rock cliffs, and pit-stopped at a waterfall for lunch. Along the hike, Sam, Evie, LC, and Louise were challenging each other with riddles. We kept hiking along and made it through more meadows and streams to Upper Falls Camp, which has a beautiful view of Darwin Peak in the background and a massive waterfall. We cooked chicken, veggies, and pasta for dinner, made s’mores, and headed to bed after a tiring but successful day.
In the morning, we slept in a little bit and woke to a delicious breakfast of banana and chocolate chip pancakes. We packed up camp and hiked 1.5 miles to another clear turquoise alpine lake! Everyone was excited to get a chance to practice fly fishing more after our lesson from the other day, and was so excited to swim. Wesley took the charge with fishing and caught two big cutthroat trout! Ella was the most excited to swim, and hung out in the chilly high alpine water for SO long! She did not want to get out! Our relaxing afternoon at the lake was cut short from a thunderstorm that rolled through, so we meandered back to camp and took cover in some trees to let the weather pass. We checked out the massive waterfall on our way back to camp, which Estelle was so amazed by-she wanted to rappel down it and would have if she could! In the evening at camp, we played cards, waited out more thunderstorms, hung out by a fire, cooked a massive dinner of Thanksgiving in the backcountry, did Moonup, and went to bed as a pouring rainstorm came in.
This morning, we woke up a bit damp from all the rain and packed up camp to hike out six miles. Everyone was tired but did a great job pushing through the physical and mental challenges. We surprised everyone with burgers for lunch in town and a shower! Everyone cheered when we gave them that news. We are now on our way out of the backcountry toward Jackson Hole. Stay tuned for our next trip update, we cannot wait to share the rest of our adventures! Yeehaw! 🤠🌄
With love,
Evie & Sam
Shoutouts:
Will: Dear family, I am having so much fun! Love, Will
TK: Dear family, I am having a ton of fun. We have been doing lots of great activities. Miss you guys. Love, TK
Estelle: Having a great time! Love y’all so much! ❤️Estelle
Liv: Hi Mama! I love and miss you. We just finished backpacking which was so fun. Love, Liv
Louise: Hi Mom and Dad! I’m having so much fun, we just finished backpacking today. It was insane! I hope y’all are having fun. Love you lots. – Louise
Sophia: Hi Mom and Dad, I miss and love yall! I’m having so much fun! – Sophia
LC: Mom, Dad, and Thomas, I love y’all so much! I miss yall and I’m having such a blast!! Love, LC
Mary Lewis: Hi Mom and Dad! Love and miss y’all! Having so much fun!
Wesley: Mom, Dad, Dallas-having so much fun with new friends and the best counselors. Love y’all. Miss y’all. – Wesley
Jameson: Having fun! Love Fam! – Jameson
Ella: Hi Mom and Dad. I love y’all so much. I am having an amazing time and have met so many amazing people. Love you the mostest to infinity and beyond.
Lucas: I love y’all and can’t wait to see you again!
Safe Arrival in Jackson Hole!
July 12, 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
