The Sari Diaries- Tuesday 8/5/25

Dearest Chippies,

Well… here we are. The second to last night of the #TheRanch2025. I write to you this evening in a state of mixed emotions—a combination of disbelief, shock, sadness and gratitude. You could easily convince me that it was just yesterday that the buses were rolling into the Circle Drive, campers emerging in a similar state of mixed emotions—a combination of anticipation, nerves and extreme excitement for the summer ahead. If you’ve been keeping up with the Sari Diaries over the past eight weeks, you know that this summer has been as good as it gets. I have no doubt that campers and staff will look back on 2025 as their favorite summer ever. But before I lean too far into the sentimental, let’s discuss the details of the day… there are quite a lot!

The excitement of the day started early, before breakfast, with the 7 Wonders Quiz. Dylan B from Copper Stripes confidently and impressively answered the play-in question AND four questions in a row correctly, winning canteen for herself as well as a pizza party AND canteen AND a movie party for her cabin. The Quiz was cut short due to breakfast being called, but Dylan will resume playing tomorrow morning. As of now, she is still in the running for tubing and Cathy’s for her cabin… stay tuned tomorrow for an update on her progress!

After breakfast, we had our final activity period of the summer. Across camp, campers took advantage of this opportunity, making slime and banana bread and memories to last them until 2026. We also (not surprisingly) closed out the summer with some final ski achievements, including Harper L dropping a ski and crossing the wakes on one ski and Milo O lifting. As the period came to a close, I had the great pleasure of jumping in the lake with Ellie Wise, Lizzy, Lisa, Sari, Smargs and a bunch of campers from Boots, Cactus and Copper Stripes—many of whom had chosen to swim in their socks. It was a scene of pure joy and appreciation as campers soaked in their final minutes of Dam Lake— a bittersweet experience and a nice capstone to the activity portion of the summer!

Oh! And speaking of swimming… during our after-lunch announcements, Joyelle H was announced as a Blue Cap! She has been working hard over the past four weeks and her confidence and skill in the water have improved immensely. It was special to honor this hard work and achievement!

And then, after lunch, the whole camp convened at the Center Fire Circle for a Coin Ceremony. We honored Alexa D, Karina Ortiz and Sandy Villegas with Kindness Coins, as well as Reese L with the Generosity Coin, Leah S with the Cooperation Coin, and Coral S with the Empathy Coin. Each of these Coin recipients has been nominated by several campers and staff for demonstrating these characteristics on a daily basis. It is clear that they have made a positive impact on those around them this summer, and each of them is more than worthy of this recognition. We are grateful to have them as a part of our community. Chippewa is undoubtedly a better place because they are here!

This afternoon, we had the final Tan & White game of the summer: the highly anticipated Pony Express. From the very start, it was a neck-in-neck race, with teams swapping who was in the lead throughout. In the end, the Chief and Grand Sachems of both teams left in their canoes for Watermelon Island at nearly the same time; and after a thorough search of the lush island land, the Tan team returned to CRC soil just 24 seconds before the Whites, clinching them the victory for the summer. It was a fantastic and competitive race to end one of the most fun and spirited summers of Tan & White in recent history. A big thanks to this year’s Grand and Chief Sachems: Sophie B, Katie M, Lucy W and Julia E. It is thanks to your leadership and enthusiasm that this summer’s Tan & White competition was such a success!

And then, to cap off the night, we had Request Night—a longstanding Chippy tradition that allows campers and staff to relive their favorite moments on the big camp stage. Tonight’s show included lots of old Lip Sync dances, plus songs sung by Grace M and Maddie Z. My favorite act of the night was Cliff dancing as Gemma F sang Take Me Out to the Ball Game. And then, to close out the show, we had our camper and staff farewells. The camper farewells were given by Lakeview campers Noa C, Laney K and Summer K, who spoke of growth, courage and impact, respectively. They highlighted how such traits have developed throughout their camper years, sharing wisdom and appreciation with the CRC community. That was followed by staff farewells from 10 Year Girls Amari S, Julia W and Lily Z, who framed the lessons they have learned during their time at camp with verses from the Chippewa Creed. The finale of the night was a video of the summer, set to classic camp music that quickly gets you in your feels. As I sat in the Theater watching highlights from the summer, surrounded by the very people who made those moments meaningful, I was overcome with a deep sense of gratitude. In that moment of both remembering and actively experiencing, all I could think about was how lucky we are!

Back in February, I had the great pleasure of attending the Camp Owners and Directors Association conference with Cliff, Lisa, Sari and Ruth. We heard from many informative voices who offered guidance, ideas and perspective on how to make camp a safe and meaningful experience. In the end, my personal favorite speaker actually didn’t speak at all about camp—but rather, about impact. He emphasized that a big impact is just a bunch of tiny impacts, and that small changes over time add up. Raindrops make oceans, he said—and this phrase has been a guiding force for me all summer. We often talk about the impact of the camp experience as a singular one. But “camp” isn’t just one thing; camp is an ocean. And over the past eight weeks and 21 years, for myself and for those around me, I have witnessed how the raindrops of camp make an ocean of impact—the late-night laughter, the extra ski turn that leads to passing a level, the announcement of an achievement in the lodge, the “we’ll be friends forever” relationships between people that only met a month ago. It all adds up. In just a few short days, your campers will return home to you appearing more confident and independent and joyful and flexible and proud of who they are as people. That’s the ocean. That’s the impact. And my hope for all of us is that this impact is enough to carry us over to the summer of 2026. That is, at least, what will carry ME until 2026… until we get the privilege of doing it over again.

Thank you all for sharing your Thursday evenings with me this summer. It has been a joy to update you on the details of what has unquestionably been the best summer in CRC history. I look forward to sharing many more Thursdays with you in 2026!

Sincerely,
Soph Aloaf