The Sari Diaries- Monday 7/16/18

Dear Chippies, Parents, Family and Friends,

Things are feeling good after our first full day of second session at #TheRanch2018. We were lucky enough to have another wonderful day of sunshine and warm temperatures that allowed us to have a full day of fun. Much of this action-packed day was in preparation for the first day of regular activities tomorrow, and campers and staff alike are excited to dive into all the awesomeness that a typical day brings. Here are the details from life at CRC today…

It all began with a birthday wake-up for Jane C and a Seven Wonders Quiz over the announcements. After breakfast, we had our first graded cabin clean-up and campers seemed to be working hard and committed to health and cleanliness…or at least committed to winning Honor Cabin so that they can go to Cathy’s…either way, cabins were clean! The rest of the morning was spent doing activity rotations including swim tests, fun at tennis, meeting the horses, and play try-outs. A highlight for me was seeing the cabin of Bowed Legs on the aerobics court in an intense Spit (card game) tournament. Sarah D, their counselor, had created a bracket to document the tournament, and quite honestly, it was pretty serious! Congratulations to Lila K on her victory!

After lunch, new campers arrived back to their cabins to find a letter on their beds welcoming them to either the Tan or White team. There was lots of excitement and campers were very happy to find out which team they would be on…for the rest of their lives! The Tan Team elected a new Hunter Sachem- congratulations to Emma G on receiving that honor and leadership role! Throughout the rest of the afternoon, cabins signed up for activities and did various bonding games. I was elated to walk into A-Frame only to see a giant circle playing Jacks! It seemed as though Maddie F had organized this event and I am relieved to know that the Jacks culture at Chippewa is alive and well :).

At dinner tonight, we cheered for Tan and White because tonight was Sandstorm. It was very cool to see both returning and new campers singing at the top of their lungs for their teams- the spirit in the lodge was electric. I loved watching Blackfoot emulate the older campers as they cheered along whether they knew the words or not. Overall, the cheering tonight was a definite indication that the remainder of Tan and White this summer is going to be filled with enthusiasm!

As for the game itself, Sandstorm was awesome. The Braves moved their sand pile towards the north end of camp using bowls while the Hunters used cups. Once the sand got to the Warriors, they used tennis ball canisters to get it to the Chiefs. The Chiefs had a long distance to cover and they got the sand from one end to the other using pillow cases. Finally, as the end neared, the Grand and Chief Sachems from each team loaded their team’s sand into a garbage can that was lifted in the air by a set of weights. The first team to have their sand weigh down the garbage can would win the night…it was close but the Whites finished first!

And now, from Blackfoot to Lakeview, campers are asleep likely dreaming about the day ahead. It was a wonderful day around here and I have no doubt that tomorrow will be even better! Thanks for checking in tonight- talk to you all soon!

Happy Camping and Love,
Sari