Sunrises, Sandboards, and Sweet Memories
July 23, 2025
Boy do we have updates!! We made it to the Great Sand Dunes and immediately fueled up for the early morning ahead! Dinner consisted of queso, guacamole, and quesadillas! This group LOVES some bell peppers so Caroline and Poppy helped chop some up to put in the quesadillas, naturally sneaking a few as they went. We played some Spikeball and hung out, and then hit the hay early in preparation for our early wake up!
The next morning, we crawled out of our tents in the dark to begin our trek up the Great Sand Dunes. After pumping up with some awesome jams on the way to the parking lot and then a glow stick extravaganza, we were ready to go! Owen led the pack to start, with everyone close behind. This sunrise hike is no casual stroll, but the group KILLED IT! With Poppy running in circles with random bouts of energy and Cece cracking jokes the time flew by! We made it to the top by sunrise, and the clouds from the rainy night before provided a glorious pink sky. Tuck started us off by being the first to try sand boarding, but everyone was close behind. The boys LOVED zooming down the dunes, but having to hike back up to the top was certainly a challenge. Teddy was a true rockstar, racing down time and time again. We’ve never seen someone go so far and so fast! Again and again he’d run back up the steep dunes and do it again. Jake and Coleman were helping push people’s boards to get them started! Before heading back down for breakfast, we had a surprise candy feast to celebrate everyone making it to the top. The hike down zoomed by, and once back at camp we whipped up some scrumptious breakfast burritos that everyone devoured. Shortly after, we began our long drive to Ridgeway State Park to prepare for backpacking the next day. Mac kept us entertained during the drive by telling us stories and then sharing his knowledge of planes. At Ridgeway, Colin led a packing your pack lesson while Virginia whipped up a COT B dinner favorite, fried rice…or as we like to call it, HIBACHI!! Then we celebrated Colin’s fake birthday with a cake, because why not!?! We had a fabulous Moonup led by our LODs, Defne and Owen, which started with a game of poison dart frog, and ended in us sharing things we are grateful for. It was so touching to hear everyone express how grateful they are for each other and how tight knit this group has felt since day one. As their leaders, we couldn’t agree more! This is such a fun group full of personality!
Day 8 was a busy one! We slept in so we could catch up on sleep post our early Sand Dunes wake up, and then we finished up preparing for backpacking! Lots to get in order for four days in the backcountry! Finally we headed off, and enjoyed a scenic mountain drive to the trailhead. We were a bit nervous, as it was rainy and cold at first, but it cleared up quickly, providing the perfect backpacking weather. Not too hot, not too cold! Before we headed off, we had a little cheese stick eating contest. Mac had a shocking NINE cheese sticks, but Coleman snuck out the win by eating TEN!! We were all stunned, and a little scared to be hiking behind them once that hit their stomachs! Alas, we set off on our journey.
This group was superstars!! Poppy and Tuck showed strength carrying their heavy packs well, Leyla kept us all in good spirits with her constant smiles, and Marley was telling us more about scuba diving and why she loves the beach. Backpacking is the best time to get to know each other better, because we just walk and talk! We came across camp in no time, and the group was amazed at our waterfall view. Everyone set up camp, and then Ceci got cooking on our dinner of pita pizzas!! A crowd favorite, everyone devoured their pieces. It was a great first afternoon, and we were ecstatic to embrace a bigger hike the next day.
Day 9 began with oatmeal, topped with apples and peanut butter, which everyone LOVED. Coleman just couldn’t get enough! After cleaning, we packed our bags with only the essentials needed for our day hike, and then we decorated our faces with some fun stickers. Soon, we were off on our 8 mile journey to Navajo Lake! Although the trek was long, and steep at parts, everyone made it, and with a smile on their face! We played wavelength, told stories, jammed to music, and so much more. Jake, especially, was cracking us up as he pulled out his book at every water break because he just couldn’t get enough. Everyone has been very enthralled in their books this session, and we’ve been passing around books left and right! Once at the lake, the girls took a dip in the freezing water, and Coleman, Jake , Mac, and Tuck set up to begin fly fishing. It was a relaxing afternoon, and Colin even surprised us with a post lunch watermelon!! It’s amazing he hiked that heavy thing up, but boy were we grateful as we took in the scenery eating our fresh fruit! Although we didn’t catch any fish, there were other animals such as pikas, marmots, and even people’s dogs running around. As the evening creeped in, we began our descent back to camp. Mac, as LOD, led us back, and Marley, our other LOD, was the caboose. We were in good hands with these LODs! Once back at camp, we whipped up dinner of pesto chicken pasta and corn, with help from our sumpers! Sumping is a Moondance classic, and involves drinking the juice from cans before adding it to the meal. Everyone helped out with either chicken or corn, but some real superstars were Marley, Owen, Cecelia. Coleman even claims the corn juice tasted like Dr. Pepper, which was a shocking revelation that others somehow agreed with. After another great Moonup and some bedtime Oreos, we called it a night!
Day 10 was an interesting one! We slept late after a peaceful night of rain on our tents, and then made a fan favorite, PANCAKES!! These were no ordinary pancakes, as we had not only chocolate chips, but also more Oreos! We crushed them up and mixed everything together to create what so many called “the best pancakes they’d ever had!!” After a slow morning, we took a short hike to a nearby river where Jake, Poppy, Caroline and Tuck decided they were going to build a shelter with sticks to hide out from the rain. After playing in the river for a while, we headed back to camp just in time to beat the afternoon thunder storm. After some tent time to escape the rain, we pulled out lunch supplies before packing up camp to head to our new campsite in a scenic meadow! After hiking to camp, our LODs, Coleman and Leyla, led the group in a game of banana phone before we began cooking dinner, which consisted of tiki masala chicken, rice, and green beans! The group devoured it!! We then cleaned up dinner and mooned up before heading to bed!
Talk soon! 🌝🫂
Margaret, Colin, and Virginia
And a little something from the kiddos!!!
Teddy- Hey Mom and Dad! I’m having so much fun! Thank you so much for sending me! See you soon!
Defne- Hi Mom and Dad! Thank you guys SO MUCH for sending me to Moondance! I’m having so so much fun. See you guys soon!
Owen- Hey Mom and Dad! I can’t wait to see you and thank you for letting me come to Moondance!
Marley- Dear Mom and Dad, thank you so much for letting me come on Moondance. I love it here so much!!
Coleman- Hey Mom and Dad! I’m having a lot of fun thanks so much for sending me on this trip! I have loved it.
Mac- Hey Mom and Dad! I am having the best time and thank you so much for sending me! I love yall!
Ceci- Hi guys! I am having a great time here Thanks for letting me come. I miss you guys and can’t wait to see u soon! Love u guys.
Caroline- Dear Mom and Dad, thank you sooooooooo soooooo much for sending me to Moondance! I am having the best time ever and am so grateful. I have made so many new friends and have so many experiences to tell you about!!! Bye, luv yall! :)))))
Leyla- Hi Mom and Dad, thanks so much for sending me to Moondance. I have made so many amazing memories and I love all my new friends. Can’t wait to see you guys soon! Love you!
Jake- Dear Mom and Dad, thank you so much for sending me to camp and giving me this experience. I have met so many new people and last night we camped in our sleeping bags under the stars! It was so amazing. Love you guys and miss you so much.
Tuck- Hi Mom and Dad! I am having so much fun. Thank you so much for letting me come on this trip. See you soon!
Poppy- Hey Mama, Dada, and Harry! Thank you for sending me on this amazing trip! I have so many stories I can’t wait to share with you all. I love you guys!
Clifford the Big Red Van & Our Colorado Crew!
July 17, 2025
Family! Friends! Hello from CO! Today is Day 6 and we have SO much to share!!!
After gathering all our new friends at the airport, we loaded up our bright red 15-passenger van and hit the road toward our first destination-Gunnison! The drive was full of laughter, card games, and bonding as we began crafting what would soon become the ultimate road trip playlist. With everyone pitching in their favorite songs, our van now rocks out to everything from Rihanna and Zach Bryan to the Annie soundtrack-an unexpectedly perfect combo if you ask me!! Once we rolled into Gunnison, we grabbed some pizza to fuel up before heading to our campsite to settle in. The group jumped right into learning how to set up tents, unpacking gear, and soon began turning a patch of Colorado wilderness into our cozy new home.
That night, we gathered for our very first Moonup-a cherished Moondance tradition where we reflect on the day, share stories, and elect our Leaders of the Day (LODs). These are campers who are recognized by their peers for being kind, courageous, and supportive-a true Moondance honor. Our first LODs were Poppy and Coleman, both of whom instantly made everyone feel welcome and ready to take on any adventure that came our way! After a night under the stars, we tucked into our tents, ready to get some well-earned rest before diving into our first big activity… rock climbing!!
Day 2 kicked off with a delicious breakfast of sausage, blueberry muffins, and Greek yogurt to fuel us up. We packed our gear and hit the road to Taylor Canyon, buzzing with excitement. Our awesome climbing guides got everyone harnessed and helmeted, and just like that, we were on the wall! With big smiles and fearless attitudes, Tuck was the first to scramble up the rock and reach the top in record time-setting the tone for a day full of cheering, high-fives, and impressive climbs from the whole crew.
After an amazing morning of scaling rock walls, we made a quick pit stop for some much-deserved ice cream before heading back to camp to cool off in the stunning Blue Mesa Reservoir. The water was cold but too beautiful to resist, and soon a battle began of who could last longer in the chilly water-girls or boys? After an intense final standoff between Cecelia and Coleman… the girls pulled out the win!!! After some warming up on the rocks, the girls decided to take Nalgene showers- taking turns washing their hair and rinsing it out by dumping their water bottles over each other’s heads while laughing nonstop. Meanwhile, Jake led the group in a crawfish-catching expedition, and Margaret gave us all a lesson on cooking them up, Louisiana style for an appetizer! With lots of helpful hands, we then began cooking a crowd favorite meal, burrito bowls! Once everyone was done eating, we taught the crew how we clean our bowls, and then circled up for Moonup where we discussed if we were an animal, what animal we would be and why! Answers ranged from carpenter bees to golden retrievers and sparked a ton of laughter from all.
Day 3 began with an amazing breakfast of French toast and sausage before packing up camp and heading to our next climbing destination, Bob and Annie’s Rock. With a day of climbing under our belts, the group was ready to taken on more challenging walls! Tuck and Poppy were climbing king and queen and the group was amazed by how fast they could go!! Once the afternoon heat rolled in, the group said goodbye to our amazing guides and headed to Crested Butte for a surprise town day! Everyone was pumped to be able to wander around and stock up on some new toys and candy for the upcoming road trips! After CB, we headed to our next campsite just in time to beat the rain! Our LODs, Marley and Mac helped everyone get their tents set up before we started cooking our yummy dinner, spaghetti with squash, zucchini, and meatballs with an appetizer of Texas toast!!! After dinner, our LODs led us in a game of duck duck goose as the start to Moonup that had the group dying laughing as we chased each other around the circle. We then headed to bed to rest up for our next activity, overnight white water rafting!!!
Day 4 began with blueberry pancakes and naked smoothies before adding our finishing touches to our rafting bags. Once arriving at River Runners, our guides got us all geared up before we hit the Arkansas River!! With Jake and Leyla in the front of the boat, we glided through the rapids with smiles that could be seen from miles away. After hitting a few class 3 rapids, we stopped for a lunch back at River Runners and enjoyed chips and salsa before making wraps for lunch! With full bellies, we got back on the water to raft down to our campsite in beautiful Browns Canyon! Owen shared lots of facts about the scenery we passed as he already has a trip down the Arkansas River under his belt! After arriving at camp, we got our tents set up before playing lots of games of broken telephone and mafia around the fire pit. Our amazing guides cooked us a tasty dinner before we ate s’mores and Moonedup under the stars!
Day 5 was full of excitement as we had another day of rafting ahead of us!! After fueling up with eggs, turkey bacon, and potatoes, our LODs, Caroline and Tuck, led us in a morning huddle before hitting the rapids! Our first rapid of the day, Zoom Floom was a fan favorite and Cecelia, Coleman, and Mac fearlessly led the boats through it. After a morning of rafting, we finished up and ate Caesar wraps before heading back to grab our big red van, Clifford!! Excitement was through the roof when we surprised the kids with showers (!!!!!!!!) back at River Runners. With clean hair and sweet smelling clothes, we headed to our new campsite for the night. Our amazing LODs, Caroline and Tuck, then loaded back up into the van with Margaret and I to head into town to get some much needed groceries, while the rest of the group fly fished and explored the campsite. After picking up some food for the upcoming days, we headed back to camp for a cookout!! Hamburgers and hot dogs have never tasted so good! While dinner was being made, Mac, Owen, and Teddy led the group up the mountain right by our campsite to scout out an amazing view of the river we had just rafted! After dinner, we circled up and had an awesome Moonup where we all shared a moment we stepped out of our comfort zones and how that impacted us before heading to bed!!
Day 6 was an exciting one! After packing up camp, we headed to Captain Zipline for our big day filled with ropes courses and 7 ziplines!! After gearing up, we hit the course and Cecelia was zooming through the obstacles! We all had to go up level by level, first accomplishing the yellow, then green, then blue, then black, then black diamond. They got progressively higher and more challenging. Cecelia and Teddy immediately sped through the earlier routes, and Teddy was the only one to complete the black diamond course! While we were all scaling the routes, we could see each other above, below, and all around doing the same. Defne and Poppy were so quick to cheer everyone on, and we couldn’t have done it without their positivity! By the end, everyone gathered around and cheered for Coleman as he finishing up a hard route, just in time for lunch. After enjoying our delectable sandwiches, chips, and more, it was time to hit the fabulous ziplines. The group geared back up, and they were off! Zooming from platform to platform while sharing laughs and shouts yielded moments we will never forget. We are now piled back up in the car and headed to the Great Sand Dunes for our sunrise hike tomorrow, but before we go, the kids have a little message for y’all!
Bye for now,✌🏼❤️
Virginia, Margaret, Colin
Tuck- Hi Mom and Dad! I am having so much fun and my favorite activity so far has been white water rafting. See you soon!
Cece- Hi Mom and Dad and Nico and Gabriel! I miss you guys so much but I am having the best time. We do so many fun activities and I’ve made a lot of new friends. Love you and see you soon!
Caroline- Hi Mom, Dad, and Kate! I miss y’all so much but I’m having the BEST time! My favorite activity so far has been ziplining. I’ve also made so many new friends. See you soon! Love yall! 🙂
Poppy- Hi Mommy, Daddy and Harry! I miss you all so much but I am having a great time!! My favorite activity so far was rafting and tomorrow we’re going backpacking!! I love you guys!
Mac- Hi Mom and Dad! I love y’all so much! I loved rafting so much. Tomorrow I’m going to hike the sand dunes! Ps. I love you Tilly
Jake- Hi Mom, Dad, Henry, Gus and maybe maddie. I miss you guys but I’m having a super fun time and maddie if you didn’t already leave have soooo much fun and whenever you feel homesick read mom and dad’s notes. They’ll help! Ps: Colorado is really cool!
Coleman- Hey Mom and Dad! I’m having a great time. Hope mom’s girls trip was fun! See yall soon!
Owen- Hey Mom and Dad! See you soon! The first half of the trip has been really fun.
Defne- Hey Mom and Dad, I’m having SO much fun so far! Give Star and Reign kisses for me, love you!
Teddy- Hey Mom and Dad! I’m having a great time camping and doing fun activities! Miss you guys! See you in a week!
Marley- Hi Mom and Dad! I love it here thank you so much for sending me. I love you guys and miss you guys so much! Ps: tell Len and pickles I love and miss them too!!
Leyla: Hey Mom and Dad! I LOVE it here. I loved rafting and ziplining so far. I miss you guys and the kittens. See you soon. Ilyyyyyyyy!!
Safe Arrival in Colorado!
July 12, 2025
Hello Colorado Trail Families!
We heard from our leaders that the group has landed safely in Denver! 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
