Signing Off with Full Hearts!
June 26, 2026
With the final few days of the trip ahead of us, our group was ready to soak up every last moment together! Once we got off the river, we embarked on a road trip from northern Idaho back to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. William and Ellie continued to be bright lights, lifting the group’s spirits throughout the long car rides when everyone was getting tired. We could not have been more grateful for their constant positivity! After a long travel day and a dinner of pizza and ice cream, the group was thrilled to arrive at our campsite at Bruneau Sand Dunes, where everyone enjoyed warm showers and clean clothes.
The next morning, the kids were pumped to go sandboarding at Bruneau Sand Dunes! Once we hit the dunes, our sandboarding MVPs, Ceil, Emily, and Mac, absolutely dominated the steep hills. The kids trekked all over the dunes in search of the biggest drops and had a blast trying out different techniques to surf the sand. Mac especially loved this activity and declared it his favorite of the trip.
After our adventures on the dunes, the group pushed on to Jackson Hole! Once we finally arrived back at our campsite on the Gros Ventre River, the group was rewarded for their great attitudes during the long drive with a feast of steak and mac and cheese! With full bellies and excitement to be back in our old stomping grounds, we had a meaningful Moonup, where we each answered the question, “What is something that makes you proud of yourself?”
The following day began with a delicious pancake breakfast, thanks to Ceil’s impressive spatula skills and Vivi Cate’s passion for sprinkles. With no scheduled activities that morning, the group enjoyed a slow start to the day, hanging around the campsite and relaxing. We then traveled to Teton Village and hiked to Crater Lake. As usual, the group was just as enthralled by the dogs we met along the trail as they were by the incredible scenery, major shoutout to Callie, the golden retriever we played fetch with at the lake! The Jackson Hole heat called for a stop at Dairy Queen, which, of course, the kids were thrilled about.
The kids woke up the next morning chipper and ready for the Snow King zipline and ropes course! We fueled up with a breakfast of French toast before heading out to tackle the steepest zipline in North America. When we arrived, we went through a safety presentation, got fitted for harnesses, and practiced on the demo zipline. Once everyone felt comfortable with the equipment, we were ready to conquer Snow King’s Jackson Hole Zipline. In pairs, the group soared down the mountain! The kids loved the exhilarating ride, and Vivi Cate was especially proud of herself for facing her fear of heights. Watts brought up the rear as the zipline caboose and, as always, tackled it fearlessly! After ziplining, the group headed over to the ropes course, where the obstacles were divided by difficulty level. Charles and Alena were our ropes course MVPs, completing the hardest section with ease! Everyone had a blast climbing through the trees and taking on a variety of exciting challenges.
After our Snow King adventure, the kids were pumped to participate in an Iron Chef competition. They split into groups and were challenged to create a meal using the ingredients we already had, along with a small grocery store budget. Wade and I were incredibly impressed by both their cooking skills and their teamwork! Grady, Ceil, William, and Alena created an Asian-inspired meal featuring potstickers for an appetizer, fried rice for the entrée, and a slightly burnt, but very heartfelt, brownie dessert. Jane, Mac, Watts, and Sylvie made garlic cheesy bread as an appetizer, perfectly grilled chicken (thanks to Jane!), rice and vegetables for the entrée, and Mac’s AMAZING fried Oreos for dessert. Our competition winners, Charles, Vivi Cate, Emily, and Ellie, prepared an incredible Louisiana-inspired meal with toasted hot honey bread, shrimp and sausage jambalaya, fried beignet bites, and Arnold Palmers. The kids had so much fun cooking, and Wade and I were more than happy to sample all of the amazing food!
On our last day, we spent time exploring Jackson before heading to the rodeo! The kids had a blast experiencing Western culture, and Grady did an awesome job riding the mechanical bull. For our final Moonup, each camper wrote a personalized “nug,” or compliment, for every member of the group. Everyone got to take home a “Nug Jug” filled with kind words from their fellow campers as a reminder of the impact they had on the trip. Our final Moonup was full of thoughtful reflections, laughter, and memories from our incredible two weeks together.
As we sent the group home today, Wade and I were overwhelmed with gratitude for the impact these amazing kids had on both this trip and on us. The enthusiasm they brought to every moment of this trip had an immeasurable positive influence on the trip and we are so grateful we got to share this experience with them. Parents, thank you so much for sharing your wonderful kids with us over the past two weeks. It was truly a privilege to get to know them.
LITMO, Jack Link’s, and Greenville forever!
Sincerely,
CeCe and Wade
Thank You!
June 24, 2026
Alena- Thank you, mom and dad thank you for sending me on this amazing and fun experience. I so glad I got to go on the Bid Wild. Thank you for working so hard n order to let me have a good time. Love yall so much.
Ceil- Thank y’all so much for sending me on Big Wild! This has been such an amazing trips and I’m so thankful to have been able to come. See y’all soon!
Sylvie- Thank y’all so much for sending me on Big Wild! I have had the best time, and I’m so grateful to have had this opportunity! Love y’all so much, and see y’all soon!
Mac-Thank you so much for this amazing moment mom and dad. I made so many great friends.
William-Thank y’all so much mother and father for paying for this trip. It’s been so much fun.
Charles- thanks so much mom and dad for working so hard to give me experiences like this. I can’t thank you enough it’s been great.
Watts- Thanks so much for signing me up for Moondance this summer. It’s been fun doing many activities outside. See you soon
Vivi- thank you sooooo much for sending me to Moondance!! It has been a life changing experience and I have met my new best friends! I have sooo many funny story’s and experiences to tell. See yalll sooo soon!! Miss y’all and love you also tell nino hi and pick me up tomorrow. Also I’m buying some things from town today!! Love uuu
Grady= Hey mom and dad! This was yet another life changing trip for me and I couldn’t thank you guys enough!! I am forever grateful and ant wait to see y’all again and hopefully have another trip to go on next year!! Thanks for encouraging me to get a job to work for some of this and the more money on my card the merrier!! Love y’all see y’all soon!
Ellie- Hey mom and dad!! I am so grateful that y’all gave me the opportunity to come on this life changing experience! I have tried SO many new things, and I have enjoyed all of them! I’ve had so much fun and can’t wait to tell you all about it! I’m forever thankful for all of you and I miss you guys a ton. See ya soon! Love you!!!
Jane- thank you so much for sending me on big wild this was so much fun! I have made many good friends and this has been great! I have so much to talk about when I see y’all. Miss you!
Emily- Hi mom and dad! Thank you so much for sending me on this amazing trip! It has been so gorgeous and I have done things that I would have never thought to do and have loved every day! I can’t wait to tell you stories and can’t wait see y’all! Love you!!
Update from Jackson!
June 24, 2026
BGW 2A is back from our white water rafting trip with stories to tell! On day 6, we met our rafting guides in McCall, Idaho and began our 4-day excursion down the Lower Salmon River. Before beginning our trip, Alena’s generosity and good EB (expedition behavior) continued to be apparent when she donated her extra sun hoodie and camping utensils to those who had lost their own. On our first day of rafting, the group learned the ropes of paddling, white water classifications, and how to closely follow our guides’ instructions. We tackled some awesome class 2 and 3 rapids, where Grady immediately found his place at the top of the raft, riding “cowboy” (and somehow managing not to fall out over 4 days of rafting). Mac and Charles were not as interested in staying in the boat, as they faced off in a competition to see how many people they could push into the river. While they successfully managed to push a few unsuspecting people in, they ended up spending the most time in the water themselves due to retaliatory efforts — including those of our raft guide, Isaac. After rafting about 20 miles, the group set up camp right off the river on a beach. We found a river eddy that we took turns floating through, which was particularly enjoyed by Emily, who stayed in the water for as long as she could! After a wonderful evening on the beach, we had our nightly Moonup and slept without tents under the stars (aka, cowboy camping)!
The next day we woke up fully rested and excited to tackle the biggest rapids on the trip. Even in the cold of the early morning, Ceil insisted on getting into the water as much as she could. After a few warm-ups on some great class 2 and 3 rapids, we were ready to face our class 4 rapids, Snow Canyon and China. Before both rapids, we hopped out of the rafts and hiked up to a viewing point where we scouted the river conditions. The guides walked us through the plan and gave us clear instructions so we would feel comfortable when taking on these huge rapids! The group had an absolute blast and crushed both class 4s! In moments when the group felt daunted by the rapids, we could always rely on Ellie to bring a consistently positive attitude and lift everyone’s spirits! After a long day of rafting, we arrived at our next campsite — a pebble beach spot called “Skeleton,” right off the river. On arrival, the boys went to explore our surroundings and attempted to climb the mountain. During the hike, William tripped over a cactus and has since picked up the nickname “Cactus.” Watts finally had the opportunity to break out his fishing rod, and the boys managed to catch two trout! We had a wonderful evening skipping rocks and belly laughing at all of Vivi Cate and Mac’s jokes.
We began our next day of rafting with some morning cliff jumping! Sylvie continued to conquer her fears and had a blast jumping off the 20-foot cliff. Before lunch, our guides set up a makeshift slip-and-slide, where the group took turns sliding down an overturned raft into the river! Jane is always the first to say yes to any new activity and had a blast with the day’s adventures. After lunch, engines were attached to our rafts and we sped off to our final campsite. We set up camp on a beach that was a short walk from a public orchard, which immediately triggered a group migration to go collect fruit. We had so much fun sitting around the orchard, enjoying the fresh apples, peaches, and cherries. After a magnificent evening (and an endless number of peaches consumed), the group enjoyed a final night sleeping under the stars.
The kids wanted to wish their dads a happy Father’s Day! They are very grateful to their parents for sending them on Big Wild. We are so excited to see what our final days have in store, but could not be more sad to be nearing the end of our time with these amazing kids!
Sincerely,CeCe and Wade
Big Wild Adventures!
June 17, 2026
Hey Moondance Families!
The Wild West has met its match with BGW 2A! Through a long arrival day, the group immediately revealed their positive attitudes and became quick friends in the process! We cannot discuss our restless day spent in the airport without a shoutout to Grady and Ceil, who were deemed our airport warriors for their longest stays in JAC. After we left the airport, the kids bonded over pizza while experiencing the beauty of The Grand Tetons, which were in perfect view from our campsite.
With the sunrise, our group was up on day 2 and headed to our first day of rock climbing in The Grand Tetons! Our wonderful guides showed us around the beautiful park and it’s one of a kind climbing routes. Almost immediately in our first instruction, Watts was crowned the role of the rock climbing prodigy of our group for his unbelievable speed in getting up the walls. We practiced proper climbing form, learned knots, and got to try rappelling down the natural rock walls. After an amazing day learning the ropes of rock climbing (pun intended), our group decided to make our way to String Lake for a cold plunge. Mac showed off his swimming skills by somehow reaching a boulder far out into the lake. Although Sylvie was nervous about the cold water at first, she was an absolute champ once she got in and was encouraging the rest of the group to follow suit! While relaxing on the beach, the group created a playlist and we were thoroughly impressed by their taste in music. Ellie showed her expertise on old music, particularly in her affinity for Fleetwood Mac. For dinner, our wonderful first Leaders of the Day (LODs), Grady and Ceil, cooked up some spaghetti and meatballs and led the group through a thoughtful Moonup!
The next day was our second day of climbing, where the group was led through a series of 300ft multi-pitch climbing routes. Coming in a day late to the trip, Jane established herself as a natural rock climber which was even noticed by our guide! Once we all reached the top of the rocks, we ate lunch with the most amazing view of The Grand Tetons and then got to rappell over a cave! After completing our rock climbing, we went back to the lake where, this time, we all followed Mac to the far out boulder. Alena and Vivi Cate somehow convinced a fellow lake goer to give them a ride on her paddle board from the rock back to shore! Our LODs, Emily and Charles, aka ‘Crawfish’, were excellent leaders and helped out at any chance they could! For dinner, they cheffed up some burgers and then led us through a meaningful Moonup!
Day 3 was spent driving into Idaho to start our fly fishing and rafting adventure. We could not have been more impressed with everyone’s positive attitudes with the long drive! The day was filled with laughter, excitement over the special treat of fast food and good music! After a long day road tripping, the next day we began our highly anticipated fly fishing activity. In the morning, our guides led us through instruction. William was instantly a fly fishing stand-out and was even providing assistance to the rest of the group! In the afternoon, we went to the salmon river to fly fish. Although the group didn’t end up catching anything, we had a blast relaxing by the river!
We are now en route to begin our 4 day overnight white water rafting adventure and could not be more excited! This group has been nothing short of wonderful and our week has been filled with laughter (we seriously are all sore from laughing). We are so happy and grateful for our time spent with these kids and are so excited for more adventures to come!
Best,
CeCe and Wade
Shout outs:
Charles- Hi mom and dad Idaho amazing like the best place you could amazing. Shout out Wade and Steve eager and friends . But I’m having a great time with these boys they are great.
Mac-Hey mom and dad it is amazing in Idaho. I have made tons of new friends I love you
Grady- Hey mom and dad. I found out that I am 6 foot three now. It’s pretty sick. I LOVE Boise Idaho so much because there are so many car factories and potato farms. Shoutout Wade Stansberry, Clemson Tigers, Jack Links, Ram Trucks, Google maps, Steve Eager and GREENVILLE SC!
WATTS-Hey mom and dad, RAM 1500, TOYOTA TACOMA, and FORD F150. Moondance has been pretty fun so far. We are currently in Idaho and are about to go rafting but all we can really see is farms. One good thing is the song GREENVILLE by Steve eager and friends you should listen to it. Shout out Wade👌📠
William-What’s up pops and ma, I’m having a lot of fun. We’ve listened to some hyp songs like Greenville by Steve Eager and friends. Also shout out Wade.
Jane- Hi mom and dad! I am having so much fun and have seen so much cool stuff. In Wyoming I saw 2 moose and I saw a mountain goat. Yesterday we went fly fishing and no one caught anything but it was still fun. We are on the way to white water rafting trip right now for 4 days and I remember when we went in Colorado so I’m excited. Love you!
Emily- Hi mom and dad! I am having so much fun and it has been so cool to do all of this stuff! Everyone is so fun and nice and I have been laughing so hard about literally the most random things. We just went fly fishing and about to go rafting on the salmon river Thank you all so much for this trip! Love y’all!!
Vivi- Hey Mom and DJ, I’m having the best time ever!! I have like the best group I could ever ask for. Alena has been SOOO fun. We have really good and fun counselors. We went rock climbing and fly fishing and I loved all of it. We’re abt to go rafting for 4 days!! Miss y’all little but not much and love you lots! Thank you sooo much this is SOOOO FUN AND IM OBSESSED
Ceil- Hey Mom, Dad, and Hudson! I am having such a fun time and have made lots of new friends. We rock climbed, fly fished, and are about to go on our rafting trip, and overpacking isn’t a problem. Everything is SO fun and I have loved everything and the people. Love y’all so much!
Sylvie- Hi mom and dad! I have been having SOOOO much fun! We went rock climbing, fly fishing, and we’re about to go rafting. Jackson Hole was so pretty!
Thank you so much for sending me on this trip I have loved it so much and everyone’s so nice! Love and miss y’all!
Alena- Hi mom and dad, I’m having so much fun with the group. We have went fishing, climbing and we are about to do so much more. Thank you so much for sending me to this trip, miss and love y’all lots.
Ellie- Hey mom and dad, I’m having the best time and we have done so many fun new things! Jackson Hole is so pretty and cool, y’all should come check it out some time. I love and miss you guys so much and can’t can’t to see yall!
Safe Arrival in Jackson Hole!
June 13, 2026
Hello Big Wild Families!
We heard from our leaders this morning that the group has landed safely in Jackson! 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 trip, but we will be posting trip updates throughout the next week! You can also follow us on Instagram, @moondanceadventures, to see more of what we are up to!
-Moondance HQ
