Summer FunShine - July 2008

Our first Summer session has ended and, boy, was it an exciting month! We wanted to share pictures and stories from our Summer Camp. I know you are going to enjoy this, so read on!

Horseback Riding

Horseback riding is in full swing as our new Horseback Riding Instructor gets students excited about riding lessons. The gradients are very easy and before you know it you’re out having fun with exercises to control your horse such as starting and stopping, walking and trotting, doing circles, etc.

This past month some of our faster learning students were able to ride two miles up a mountain road to Davenport Lookout and back down, a three hour trail ride!

One of our students came to camp scared to even go near the horse and by the end of the summer she was able to groom, saddle and ride her horse like a pro.

White Water Rafting the Rio Grande

This July saw us white water rafting down the scenic river of the Rio Grande. What an adventure! White water rafting, crazy attempts to get the tents to stay up the first night as the winds blew in, and swimming in the lake.

Our campsite is right next to a large lake and the kids, when not whitewater rafting, swim in the lake, jump from rock to rock and play fun water games. We have a volleyball net on the campsite and horseshoe games, too.

We have two rafting trips: our half-day trip and full-day trip. Our half-day trip was adventurous, taking us through rapids with names like “Sleeping Beauty”, “Eye of the Needle” and “Edward’s fall”. The students were amazing and handled them like pros.

The following day is the full day trip and it is just gorgeous. The first leg of the tour runs through a very calm part of the Rio Grande so we can really take in the scenic view of the gorge, the river and wildlife. It’s a slow affair with no bumps and little action.

But, little did the rafters know that there was mischief brewing in the minds of several of the students and some of the raft guides. Before one raft knew it their raft was being boarded by a pint-sized pirate trying to pull the nearest person into the water. All of a sudden we were reenacting a scene from the “Pirates of the Caribbean” that would have made even Capt. Jack Sparrow proud. It was all fun and games as one by one everyone found themselves getting cozy with the waters.

After a delicious lunch of cheese, crackers, and sandwiches, we took off for the second leg of the trip, which involved the same rapids as the half day.

Our camping trip ended off with marshmallow roasting over the campfire and tales of our adventures the last few days before winding down for the night. All in all, the trip was a great success.

More Sun, Fun and Activities

Along with horseback riding and our very fun camping trip, we also had plenty of fun activities at the campus. Archery was played, air soft games for the boys, basketball for everyone and lots of arts and crafts. We also went to the Catwalk National Park and slid off natural water slides, down small water falls and jumped in big water holes. And we had lots of fun in class, the students getting daily wins on the communication drills and seminars, as well as other programs offered.

Arts and Talent Show

We ended our month with a bang. We had an art contest and talent show for all our wild kids to show off their talents! Our art wall was full of artistic drawings and paintings, and we had a staff and a student contest. We also had a postcard contest for the best school drawing to be displayed on our next postcard. Two of our students tied for first place, Callen Nobbe and Kristina Torres, and our summer staff, Merlin Durand, placed second.

Our talent show was a mix of students and staff showing their talents. It started out with six horseback riders doing a square dance on horseback to the song Cotton Eye Joe! We then proceeded to have fun dances, skits and music.

Pie Town Running Game

Every morning the students get up, get dressed, clean their dorms and then show up to exercise. They go through a series of stretches and some cardio exercises, and then run. The game is to run every morning for the month, with the exception of one day off a week, and go farther and farther each day, eventually running two and half miles down our forest road. Those who persist and make it by the end of the month get to go to an “all you can eat breakfast” at Daily Pie in Pie Town New Mexico. This month more than half of the students made the game and we filled Daily Pie’s seats! You’ll see the picture here of our students in front of the restaurant with the chef.

Enroll your child(ren) today! Give us a call at 1-800-576-3866 or enroll here.