News from Camp: February 1, 2018
Although we haven’t had a lot of snow this month, it has been pretty cold and wintry here at Big Spring and High Trails. Elk, deer and Ninja Squirrels have heavy coats and seem to be staying warm through the season. Two deer are hanging out in one of our open storage sheds, sometimes startling our maintenance department when they come to work in the morning.
Elizabeth and Mike Adler enjoyed seeing many of you as they traveled through the Midwest with our digital slide show program last week. They appreciated their warm receptions and enthusiasm for the coming summer.
February is a busy month as we prepare for the summer of 2018. A major project throughout the winter is to hire the summer staff—counselors and wranglers, nurses and A.C.s. We are always so proud of the outstanding college men and women who spend their summers contributing enthusiasm, fun, and nurturing leadership for the young people who attend Big Spring, High Trails, and Sanborn Junior. We already have a great group of returning staff lined up and are making careful selections among new applicants now.
The National Convention of the American Camp Association will be held in Orlando in mid-February, and we will be participating in full force. Jane is the Program Chairperson for the conference and has been working on an outstanding educational program for many months. Ariella and Elizabeth will be leading educational sessions at the conference, and Jessie is an official photographer for the event. Mike Mac, Mike Adler, Mark, Carlotta, Anne, Val, Logan, Martie, Nell, Oliver, and Sarah K. will also be attending the conference. This type of training helps us to stay on top of evolving issues and inspires us to continue to improve our program each summer.
Our maintenance team continues to work on various projects to improve our facilities. Our big winter project is the rebuilding of Jumping Juniper at High Trails. You can follow the progress of this construction on our Facebook page. We are also building a new deck on the High Trails Lodge and doing interior work on the ABC washhouses at Big Spring.
Maren, Sarah S., and Bri are hard at work preparing the riding program for next summer and making sure the horses are all ready for their busy season. It won’t be long before we start having new calves at the Witcher Ranch.
We are all excited about the community that is coming together for the summer of 2018 and can’t wait to begin the fun. We are happy to mail our brochure to anyone interested in camp and to provide references for new families. If camp is in your plans, please let us know soon, as we have many grades in both terms at High Trails and the first term at Big Spring which are filled or near filling. Several terms of Sanborn Junior are also building waiting lists.
The sun is shining brightly today, reminding us that summer is only four short months away!
