The Sari Diaries- Sunday 7/21/24

Dear Chippies, Parents, Family and Friends,

As week five comes to a close at #TheRanch2024, I am feeling fully energized and excited for what is to come. I am also feeling super grateful for these past five weeks- they have truly been amazing, and while they have passed all too quickly, the fun & love that we have packed in seems just right! As for today, here are the details…

Meals:
-Breakfast- Sunday Morning Breakfast…Pancakes, Omelets & Scrambles to order
-Lunch- Town Day Lunch in Minocqua!
-Dinner- Pizza

Details of the Day
Bright and early this morning, there was a line of campers at the lodge…waiting for the doors to Sunday Morning Breakfast to open at 8:30am. I always love to see the crew of campers young and old who are committed to being some of the first in line for their pancakes, omelets and scrambles! Campers enjoyed a wonderful breakfast for about two hours before getting ready to board the buses to head to Minocqua.

Town Day in Minocqua was just so very cute. Chippies flooded the street (or two) of Minocqua- browsing the shops, drinking smoothies and eating some of the Northwoods finest foods (fudge, sushi, pizza and ice cream mostly). Campers were eager to purchase fidgets, boxer shorts, books and more…but mostly, they were just loving their time together.

Once back at camp, Tans and Whites had a Songfest meeting…rumor has it both were very productive! And then cabins chilled, practiced for the Lip Sync and partook in a water fight on the basketball court. It was a fairly relaxing afternoon, which is just what we needed to prepare for the week ahead, and to recoup from the action of this past week.

But then tonight, we got right back into the Chippy spirit…it was Tan & White All Camp Capture the Flag. And it did not disappoint! There were six scores in regulation- two from Leah C, and one from Sydney J, Ava Gaddini, Emma S and Maddyn C. At the end of the hour long back and forth of capturing flags, the game was tied at three to three. At that point, we went into sudden death overtime. Each team selected five Braves, five Hunters, five Warriors, five Chiefs and five staff members to participate in this final round. The round maxed out at five minutes and there was a jailbreak halfway through. The Tans defended the North side of camp while the Whites defended the South. Each team had five minutes to strategize…should all twenty five team members play offense, should all twenty five team members play defense, should they split it evenly, should different age groups be assigned different locations? These were all questions they had to answer in their five minute strategy session. It was intense and it was exhilarating! In the end, Leah C scored one final time to put the Tans over the edge to victory.

As I walked around for Goodnights, I got to spend some time in the Colt Village. Rafter^X was thriving…hair was being braided, friendship bracelets were being made and teeth were being brushed. Sutton G had put a t-shirt on her stuffed animal dog she bought in town today (named Sandy) and Caroline M was making a funny/scary noise that Dylan H & Olivia G couldn’t stop laughing at. In Lucky-X, they were enjoying flashlight time on one another’s beds…and in Silverspurs, I tried to guess who each camper was in the dark- not to brag, but I was pretty good! Soph-Aloaf stopped by Trailriders, where they were all showing off their blankies. How amazing…where else in the world are a group of 14 year-olds sharing this sacred possession with one another. That is Chippewa Sisterhood!

And there you have it- life at 8258 County O is special! Thanks for reading…goodnight, Chippies!

Happy Camping and Love,
Sari