Bye Bye Big Wild!
July 23, 2026
Hey BGW fam!! By the time you’re reading this, all of the kids will be back home, hopefully showered, and telling you all of their stories! We want to update you on what we’ve been up to throughout the end of our trip! Day 9, we got up pretty early because we were going rafting. Once everyone was up, pancakes were made and we hit the road. When we got to the put-in spot, we met our rafting guides and they gave us our dry bags that we put our clothes and other needed items in. When we were done packing up, we went down to the boat launch and went over water safety, how to put on your PFD, and what the trip would look like. Then, split up into two groups and got onto the river! We rafted for about 10 miles before we stopped at Frog Beach for lunch. Everyone explored the beach and the LODs helped chef up some sandwiches! They were super tasty. After eating and playing some ultimate frisbee, we got back on the water and went through some fun rapids before docking at our campsite. After docking, we helped our guides unpack the gear boat and build the kitchen. On the first night we hung out, made some friendship bracelets and played in the water which was so awesome. Porter and Pippin loved using the currents of the river and the eddies to make them float in circles. For dinner we had chicken breast with rice and asparagus! THE MEAL WAS AMAZING! The guides even made us carrot cake for dessert! After dinner, we played a tournament of spikeball where Hayes got really into it and played full out. After many, many rounds of spikeball, we did a great moonup and went to bed.
SECOND DAY OF RAFTING!!! Day 10 was our first full day of rafting. We were super excited because it was a BIG RAPID DAY! We all woke up from cowboy camping and had some incredible breakfast burritos made by our rafting guides. After breakfast and packing up camp, we got right on the river. Kylie, one of our raft guides, gave us glitter to put on our faces to hype us up for the big rapids and we had glittery cheeks all day. We had two Class 4 rapids this day which meant we had to dock our boat and look at the rapid so we could scout the best and safest line. We cruised through the first Class 4 like it was nothing. Right after that, we stopped for lunch and had, yet again, some yummy sandwiches. To stay hydrated, Charles led us in a game to help us drink more water! When we got back on the water, we went through a few smaller class rapids then hit the second Class 4. Just like before, we had to scout this one out. This one looked bigger than last time, which made everyone super excited. We watched some kayaks make their way down and we followed them in. This rapid’s waves were a lot larger than the others, so we got soaked by the splashing water! After that, we had a flat portion of the river and Grady and JJ went swimming and Naomi took a nap on the boat. Before the day was over, there were still a few Class 3 rapids to get through. These were so awesome, super wavy and splashy which was nice on such a hot day. We also had the opportunity to swim through a rapid. Some people were scared to swim, but everyone did it and it turned out to be an absolute blast!!! Once we got to camp, we set up and ate dinner. Vivi and Mary Bollin taught the girls how to do their cheer routines and showed us the difference between competitive and sideline cheer. We laughed a ton trying to pull off some of the stunts and dance moves they taught us. This day’s dinner was pork chops with stir fried vegetables and mashed potatoes. This was a hit meal. We did Moonup then went to bed!
Day 11!!! This day was our second full day on the water: another 20+ miles! While the day before was considered a big rapid day, that doesn’t mean we didn’t see any sick rapids on Day 11! After packing up and getting on the water, we went immediately into a few Class 2 and 3 rapids which were super fun to go through! Everyone had a chance to ride the bull, which means riding feet first over the front boat through the rapid! We went through rapid after rapid having such a blast, sharing stories or telling jokes with our guides. We did some riddles while we paddled and Immy and Evan figured out the answers for a hard riddle called Around the World super fast. After a few rapids, we actually got to go cliff jumping! This was so awesome, there was one that was about 25 feet high and some smaller ones 15-8 feet high for people who were a little nervous but still wanted to jump. We stopped at a beach right before the Salmon River merged with the Snake River and we had sandwiches and Cesar salads wraps. After lunch, we hiked up a steep hill to an old copper mine entrance and we got to see some cool equipment that was left. After lunch, we got onto the Snake River and barged our boat together and we got to use a motor. On one side of us was Oregon and on one side was Idaho! Once we got to the campsite, we found an orchard that we could walk through. We picked so many blackberries it was amazing, we also tried some peaches, apples, and apricots. For dinner, it was taco night! This was by far the most anticipated meal of the rafting trip. We ate ALL the food with no scraps left over. We had peach cobbler for dessert and did Moonup with our rafting guides!
Day 12 was the last day on the water :(((( this morning was an early wake up so we could be packed and get to the put out as soon as possible. The group wanted to do a boys boat and girls boat for the short ride to the put-out. Even though all the boats connected we still went through some rapids, these got everyone SOAKED. Once we got to the last rapid, we broke apart our barge and went through the last rapid on individual boats. When we got to the boat launch, we took everything out of our dry bags, said goodbye to our guides and started our journey to our campsite a few hours down the road. We stopped in a small town to get ice cream! And we also made lots of gas station stops to get snacks and sodas. Once we got to Boise, we stopped at… In-N-Out!!! The kids absolutely loved getting it! We got back on the road for about 1 more hour, and once we got to the campsite we told everyone that we would be getting a shower! This was huge news for everyone! After showers we got ready for bed and did our Moonup!
Day 13!!! This day was a longer travel day. We spent a few extra hours in a small town in Idaho and got coffee from a local coffee shop, ate lunch, explored, and got Raising Canes for lunch! We stopped at a Goodwill to get some crazy goofy outfits for each other that we would wear around Jackson and out to dinner! We each bought an outfit for another person and Scottie put together a CRAZY outfit for partner. It was so silly. After we got to Jackson, we did some souvenir shopping and got some really cute sweatshirts and tshirts. For our banquet dinner, we went to a really good burger joint which everyone loved. We headed to our campsite, set up camp in the rain, had our final moonup, and fell asleep really quickly listening to the thunder and rain on our tents.
Day 14: Travel day :(((( today we got up soooooo early to make it to the airport on time. We are so sad to see everyone go. We had an absolute BLAST with every single kid and they were all amazing. We miss them so much already and love them so much!
Big Wild 5B signing out!
Safe Arrival!
July 10, 2026
Hello Big Wild Families!
We heard from our leaders last night that all students have 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 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
