Mid-Week Update: June 11th, 2025

by Ariella Rogge on June 11

We don’t always send out a mid-week update, but–WOW!–there is already a lot going on this week. From rides in the arena, to hikes to the new treehouse, to packing up backpacks, to visiting the baby goats, to fantastic unit and cabinside overnights, we have hit the ground running…and it is so much fun! All of the Big Spring campers are going on all day trips tomorrow, while High Trails campers will return from their overnights and will head out on all day trips on Friday. Adventures galore!

We wanted to let you know that our photographers have posted a couple of “First Look” albums for you to enjoy in your Camp InTouch account or on your Campanion app. These pics do not represent the full week, however, and the rest of the photos will be posted on Sunday night. Our photographers will also post the unit photos tomorrow.

For our month-long campers, we will also upload individual Camper Calendars by tomorrow evening, so you can see which trips your camper chose for the summer. The campers have opportunities to change their trips as the session progresses, so some of these trips may change during the month.

In addition, we will upload a letter from your camper–these are form letters that the campers fill in, so they won’t be as informative as the letters you receive via mail but we also know it is nice to get at least ONE letter from your campers while they are at camp (we may have them do another one or two before the end of the session as well).

In order to access the letter, please click on the “PRINT” icon to download the letter from your camper…otherwise, you will just see a blank letter. If you do not have Adobe Reader installed on your computer or laptop, you may not be able to read the letter.

Our staff members will be writing you a letter this weekend, which we will mail out on Monday or Tuesday next week–so keep checking your mailbox. Additionally, this is the week where you may receive a Sad Letter from your camper, and–if you do–know that is normal. As campers transition into camp, they sometimes miss the simplicity and ease of Life At Home–but, for the majority of them, they start really finding their groove at the exact moment the Sad Letter arrives in your mailbox. AND, if you are concerned, please do not hesitate to write us an email or give us a call. Check out this blog post to find out why getting a Sad Letter might actually make you feel good.

Thank you again for sharing your camper with us this summer–we are so glad everyone is finally here!

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Ariella Rogge
About Ariella Rogge

Ariella started her career at Sanborn when she was twelve. After five years of camper and five years of Sanborn staff experience, she continued her work with kids in the high school classroom. Ariella and her family returned to Sanborn in 2001 to take on the Program Director role which she held til 2012. She and Elizabeth Marable became co-directors of High Trails in 2013 and then Ariella became the High Trails Director in 2020. In the fall of 2022 she became the Director of Sanborn Western Camps, overseeing the director teams of both Big Spring and High Trails. She lists mountain golf, Gymkhana, climbing mountains and making Pad Thai in the backcountry as some of her favorite activities at camp. Ariella received a B.A. in English from Colorado College and is a certified secondary English educator,an ACCT Level 2 Ropes Course Technician, an ARC lifeguard and NREMT and WEMT. She lives in Florissant in the summer and in Green Mountain Falls during the school year so she can stay involved with the busy lives of her husband, Matt, and two sons, Lairden and Karsten.