Update from California!
July 23, 2025
Howdy folks! Hope y’all have been well because we have been living in style out in the West! To catch everyone up we made our way to Tahoe, and stopped at south Tahoe on the way! We had a day of shopping throughout the city, and Evan, Charles, and Wallace had a great time shopping their hearts out. After we finished shopping we hit the road and got to our campsite in time to set up for dinner, and Campbell and August helped our counselors to cook pizza for everyone. After dinner we grouped up for Moonup, then headed to bed.
After we slept in today and we had a quick breakfast and got on the road to Kayaking. We went kayaking out into Lake Tahoe and picnicked with our guides at a beach outlet with a beautiful scenic view of the lake. After that we drove to parking and had to hike our way onto a hidden beach for some cliff jumping! After a fun day at the beach, and ice cream in hand, we returned back to our campsite, and watched the sun set on Lake Tahoe as we filled out our postcards home, (And to our friends at HQ :)), and got ready for a dinner on the town! Everyone enjoyed a dinner out with Hamburgers! After dinner we again had moonup, and an early bedtime for paddle boarding tomorrow! After a hearty breakfast, we paddle boarded in the morning and played Assassin! In this game, campers must tag another camper when they aren’t holding their water bottle. After paddleboarding, the group piled in the car towards Camp Lotus for rafting!
We all had a wonderful first day on the American river, where Emmy, Sophia and Kate led us on the first day of Rafting! We had a very full day on the river, and everyone learned to paddle and swim on a moving river. We had a lot of excitement, and class 3 rapids, and a few people fall in! We had lunch provided for us from our wonderful river guides, and ate fresh pineapple and salads on the river bank. After lunch we packed everything back up, and got back on the river. We rafted for the rest of the day, and got off the river just in time to watch the sunset. We had a beautiful dinner prepared for us by our raft guides, and enjoyed a pie dessert before Grady and Swin led us in moonup and we went to bed.
For our second day on the river we tried something new! We all split up into pairs and got into kayaks to paddle through some rapids! Everyone took their turns finding their own lines down the different rapids, and there were plenty of “accidental” flips before the day was over! After kayaking we got ice cream before heading back to camp and ending off our day with steaks and chicken cooked by our guides, and had the treat of brownies and milk to end dinner, before tying the day up with Moonup.
We woke up early to breakfast cooked by our guides, with potatoes, eggs, sausage, and fruit salad. After a hearty breakfast we got onto the river again, this time led by Teddy and Scarlett We had even more excitement this time around! Today instead of finishing with the toughest rapids we started with them! The group enjoyed a combination of crazy rapids and ponds where we could swim. After even more raging rapids, and and getting soaked from sitting in the front of their boats, we finally finished the river and had lunch on the side of the river again. We celebrated getting through the rest of the rapids without any more incidents, and yet again dug into fresh fruit provided by our guides. After lunch we packed into the van, and headed off to our next campsite for our last days of surfing! See you soon and can’t wait to make more memories to tell y’all all about!
Evan: Hi mom and dad now that the trip is almost over I wanted to say thank you so much for sending me here on this amazing trip. I have had so much fun. .See you soon!
Charles: Hi mom and dad. This trip has been one of the best times of my life. I have made great friends and had alot of fun. I just wanted to say that you so much for sending me on this trip and allowing me to have such a great experience. See yall later.
Wallace: Hey Mom and Dad this trip has ben some of the best weeks of my life. And I just wanted to say thank you for sending me here and I can’t wait to see,yall again.
Teddy hey mom and dad! I want so say how thankful I am, for you sending me on this trip. I can’t wait to see you soon! I love you and miss you.
Grady: Hey Mom and dad! I can’t wait to see you guys and I am so sad this trip is almost over. This has been the coolest 2 weeks ever and I am so exited to see you guys and hopefully be able to do trips like this in the future! This trip has truly been a blessing from the Lord and miss y’all so much!!
August: thank you guys for sending me here.I can not wait to see you on Friday I miss you all a lot miss you mom,dad and Perry. love August
Campbell: hey mama and dada I can’t wait to see y’all when I get home! This has been such a wild and fun adventure. Also thank you dad for send me with a sleep mask it has saved me. I have made lots of fun friends. Thank you for sending me here! Love you can’t wait to see the whole family plus Kate and Luke!
Scarlett: hey mom and dad! I miss you guys so much. I’m so sad this trip is coming to an end though. I’ve made so many friends and people to remember when I look back on this! Thank you so much for sending me here I owe you guys so much. I hope you realize how grateful I am for this incredible trip! Love you guys, I can’t wait to see the entire family again.
Sophia hey mom and dad! I miss y’all so much but I am having the best time ever. This has been one of the best two weeks ever so far and I am so sad it’s ending soon. Thanks so much for letting me come and do this! Can’t wait to see y’all soon.
Swin hey mom and dad I miss yall so much! I am having the best time this ever! I’m so sad to be leaving soon it’s has been the best two weeks. Thank you so much for letting me come on Moondance and get to do all these fun things! Love y’all!
Emmy hey mom and dad! I am having such a fun time here! This has been the best two weeks ever!! We have done so much fun stuff. I am so sad that it is almost coming to an end. Thank you so much for sending me here!! See yall soon and love you!!
Kate: hey mom and dad! I’m having such a great time we have done so much! I miss you so much but am so sad to be leaving soon. Thank you so much for letting me come to Moondance and do so many fun things!! Love y’alll!!!
Cool Days in Cali
July 17, 2025
Hope everyone is doing well! We have been having a great time in California. We have hit the ground running this summer and after picking everyone up from the airport we finally started on our adventure! We’ve had so much fun so far this summer and can’t wait to tell y’all all about it!
We ended our airport day with pizza! We camped at Moon Crest Ranch, which had tons of goats, dogs, and chickens. The next day, everyone cooked a hearty breakfast of bacon and eggs and drove to Yosemite National Park. Our campsite was called Oh Ridge. We ended the day with setting up camp and cooking Mediterranean Bowls. This became a favorite! Teddy, the first Leader of the Day along with Scarlett, was awesome with helping with the food. Our camp, Oh Ridge, was right outside the park and was situated next to a lake.
The next morning, we took off into the park for a day hike. The hike was tough with the altitude and the heat, but the group prevailed and made it to the top! Grady was incredibly positive and encouraged the group to keep going and make it it the top. All of the guys on the trip volunteered to carry up other people’s backpacks when they were tired. Sophia showed leadership as well, leading the group up the mountain. We saw Nevada Falls and Vernal Falls. At the top, we had sandwiches. After the hike, we headed back to camp and made quesadillas. The group noted that the hike was hard, but they were very proud of themselves and happy for their accomplishment. They summitted the mountain very quickly. The chipmunks in the camp made themselves well known!
The next day, we started climbing at Tuolumne Valley in the park. The group learned how to climb and belay. There was lots of noticeable teamwork and leadership during this activity. Kate and Charles, the leaders of the day, were incredibly encouraging to the rest of the group, inspiring them to climb to new heights. We finished the day with personal pizzas and a great game of ultimate frisbee. Teddy and August were especially determined during the game.
We woke up to Scarlett’s birthday! We celebrated with balloons, morning donuts, and avocado toast whipped up by Campbell. On the second day of climbing, the group tried crack climbing. This different style was difficult but the group prevailed and tackled the day. The leaders of the day, Evan and Emmy, were also very encouraging. We finished the day with swimming at the lake, something everyone enjoyed. For dinner, we took our convenience stop and got burgers at the Tioga Market! Scarlett got a cake with candles! We were excited to celebrate her special day.
Today, we are driving to Lake Tahoe. Our leaders, Wallace and Swin, have been awesome in helping the group pack up camp and be efficient. We are really proud of the group so far.
We will keep y’all updated and hope all is well!
Trip Shoutouts:
Charles: Hi mom and dad. I’m having the best times ever in California. It’s funny because every one calls me crawfish because we are from Louisiana. Every one here is super funny and really nice. Say hi to Sophie for me and tell Camille I miss her. I wrestled a mountain lion and won. I’ll show you the video on my GoPro when I get home. See y’all.
Evan: Hi Mom and Dad, I am having one of the best few weeks of my life. We have been sleeping under the stars, rock climbing and a long hike to the top of a cool waterfall and a bunch of cool stuff to come. I miss you guys and say hi to Ben and the dogs for me. See you when I get home.
Wallace: What’s up Mom and Dad, I am having a blast here. We have been rock climbing, hiking and swimming can’t wait to see y’all again ! And tell Ty I will dunk on him and tell mm my sports are way harder miss y’all!
Teddy: what’s goddy mom and dad. I am having so much fun. We have done rock climbing and 14 MILE HIKE that was pretty tuff. The view was tuff. I miss you so much.. Miss y’all so much. Don’t forget to check the debit card. Miss yall and love y’all. Also tell Rosie that she is a straight dog.
Grady: DUDE. This is amazing. We have been hiking and done some rock climbing so far which I SUCK AT. We have listened to SO MUCH WIDESPREAD DUDE. Da would be proud low-key. Hope you and dad are surviving without me 💀💀. We are going to Tahoe and low-key finna gunna have a good time word to the gang. Love y’all!!! Miss yall SO MUCH!
August: Mom-I just finished my book it was really good you should read it also did you see Amaya won love island USA I have very mixed feelings about that Dad-I did the impossible today I made my own avocado toast it was not bad but not good either and the music that we listen sounds like yours Perry-I miss u and miss annoying you a lot. I went on a 8.4 mile hike Perry did the update come out. Love u guys
Scarlett: Hey mom and dad! I miss you guys so much. My birthday was so fun, we went rock climbing and got to go out for food. I read your letter too! We took a 14 mile hike that was basically all uphill. It’s really fun here and we are driving to Lake Tahoe right now. The food isn’t bad, we’ve been making a lot of stuff. Tell Lucas and Miles I miss them so much! Also tell sassy I miss her the most. (Aside from you guys). See you soon! Love you!
Campbell: Hey mama and dada I miss you more than words can describe. But I have a lot of fun rock climbing and hiking. I even miss my siblings which is crazy but I can admit I do. Also the shoes dad had no hope in are holding up but I fell hiking like 3 times. Also I tried avocado toast with back it was so yummy in my tummy. Tell the grandparents I miss them too. Make sure the dogs don’t forget me. Also pretty please tell Delaney and Kade that I miss them so much and I could never forget about them. Love y’all so much!!!! Can’t wait to give you a big hug!
Swin: hey mom and dad and Louise I’m having so much fun dancing on the moon! I miss you guys so much. Everyone here is so funny and nice! We have gone rock climbing and went on a 14 MILE HIKE! I low-key died but I’m ok now. I miss millie and I guess George JUST KIDDING… I can’t wait to see y’all! Also to any of my friends who see this HEY BADDIES I MISS YALL TOO!
Sophia: Hey mom and dad I’m having the best time dancing on the moon! I met so many fun people and I’m moving in with Swin, Emmy, and Kate in ATL when I get home…JUST KIDDING. We are on our way to Tahoe and get to take our first shower of the whole trip today! Love y’all and miss you so much can’t wait to see y’all soon.
Kate: Hey mom and dad I’m having an amazing time dancing on the moon!!! I met so many amazing people and everyone is so nice and funny. I love the counselors! Thank you so much for letting me come here. I miss y’all so much and Hunter and Mathes. We went rock climbing and it was so fun but kinda easy compared to what we did dad! The foods actually really good and we’re going to Lake Tahoe today and there are showers there for the 1st time! I’m having so much fun, this is so much more fun than normal summer camp, and can’t wait to see y’all, bye, Love y’all so much!!!
Emmy: Hey Mom and Dad!! I am having the best time ever here!! Dancing on the moon is sooooo much fun! We have gone rock climbing two times and it is so fun! I climbed to the top every time. We also went on a VERY long hike that was uphill. We have been at Yosemite for the past 4 days I think.. I have met soo many nice people and made lots of new friends!! Today we are on the way to Lake Tahoe. I’m very exited!! I miss yall and love you and can’t wait to see you but I don’t wanna come home.
Let the Fun Begin!
July 12, 2025
Hello California Families!
We heard from our leaders that the group has landed safely in San Francisco! 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 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
