The Sari Diaries- Thursday 7/21/22

Dearest Chippies,

Another week at #TheRanch2022 has flown by, and with it has come lots of laughter, excitement, activity achievements and so much more. The influx of second session newcomers has brought a fresh energy onto Chippewa grounds—and while I struggle to accept that we are officially over the halfway mark, I am grateful for that perspective. That is not to say, though, that the 8-weekers have any shortage of Chippewa love or energy. There is just something about midway through the summer, experiencing the “first day of camp,” and once again witnessing old friendships being rekindled and new friendships budding. As the summer progresses and we settle into the camp routine, it can become easy to take for granted how lucky we are—that we wake up with a lake view, spend 24 hours a day with our best friends, and that in the span of two hours we can climb the wall and waterski AND ride a horse. It’s actually surreal how normal it all becomes with time. But for me at least, this week has snapped back into focus the magic of camp. I’m feeling lucky all over again!

Anyhow… like I mentioned before… amongst much else there have been a lot of activity achievements around camp lately. Down at skiing, Liv K lifted for 10 seconds, Billie S crossed the wakes on two skis and Kedzie Z got up on two skis for 10 seconds. As a non-skier myself, I am extremely impressed by all the progress that campers have been making in skiing this summer. Day after day there are endless campers who are passing levels. It is so cool to see these improvements, and to witness the pride that campers (and their friends!) display when they are announced at meals.

On the other side of camp, at Pottery, campers were crafting silverware sculptures. Most were just artistic figurines with cute faces, nit some campers actually plan to utilize them to eat with. I will admit that very few pieces looked functional, but Logan W and Laken E are adamant that they will be bringing their oversized spoons down to the Lodge to eat cereal with once they are glazed and fired. That is something I will certainly be excited to see!

After a delicious dinner of sweet and sour chicken, the day ended with Cabin Night. Across camp, cabin groups participated in activities together. Bowed Legs, C-C and A-Frame campers competed in a slam dunk contest, tri-cabin campers challenged one another to a costume contest (using only non-clothing items… there were some very creative costume ideas!), and overall, campers and counselors alike enjoyed spending some quality time together. It was a really sweet scene!

And there you have it, friends! Another great day on Dam Lake. I hope you enjoyed this little window into Chippy life. See you back here next week!

Sincerely,
Soph Aloaf