End of Summer

I can't believe the summer is over! I find with each year, the two months with campers goes by more and more quickly. Both sessions were a blast this year! We had new programs and trips, great campers, good weather, and lots of good stories to tell. I hope you've been able to read some of the stories the campers have told on the posts below. I want to encourage campers or parents who have adventures and stories to share to send me an email, ashley@sanbornwesterncamps.com, and we can get them up on the blog!

Things are pretty quiet around here now. We are getting ready for school weeks to start in just a couple of weeks. Each camper that came through, returning or new, brought personal experiences, outlooks, and excitement to camp. These made this year a one-of-a-kind adventure with memories not to be forgotten soon!

I personally learned a lot from all the campers this summer. The Juniors kept me laughing and having fun. It was encouraging to see girls who had never ridden before and were slightly nervous, smiling from ear to ear on the final rides and talking about coming back to ride next year. The maturity with which the JCs worked with the younger campers and set an example for the rest of the camp went beyond any expectations I had. They are already planning their return as staff in three summers. I actually ran into a JC from first session yesterday and she excitedly told me about a mini reunion she and her camp friends are planning for this winter. It is great to watch friendships grow and develop during a month at camp, and continue far into the future!

I am already looking forward to next summer!

Camper Posts

While we've been extremely busy here at camp, several more girls wrote about their experiences.

YAY!!!

Here at Camp Sanborn everything is so exciting and fun! Especially all the wide variety of activities that we get to choose from. There is an awesome swimming pool with an amazing slide! I have already climbed a mountain that was 14,265 feet tall called Mount Quandry. I have also already made tons of friends who are very close to me! The dances are also super fun! The music that they play is usually really good! I have also grown a love for riding horses in the arena! I love camp Sanborn!!! I have grown a love with it that is inseparable! Come to Camp Sanborn and enjoy the best summer of your life!!!

--Gracie Hurley

Things to Know if You Want to Come to Sanborn

If you like adventure, horseback riding, hiking, camping, dancing, games and a whole lot more stuff than this is your camp. This camp has great food everyday! There’s Gymkhana where you compete against the boys in horse games like barrels. There’s always a talent show where you can show your talent. If you are in the month long session you can sign up for 4 or 5 day horse trips, or to climb big mountains. You can even sign up to climb Pikes Peak! The ages are 7-16. Don’t worry, you can always write your parents letters! You always get to go on overnights. Sanborn is awesome! Don’t worry if you don’t have a friend when you come, you will always make new friends! The girls’ camp is called High Trails and the boys’ camp is called Big Spring. Every Saturday night you go to Big Spring to have a dance with the boys! There’s always something to do every day! You can either come for a month or 2 weeks! So I think everybody should come to Sanborn! It’s a great camp!!!

--Olivia Seely

Things I Most Enjoyed

Camp Sanborn is the most thrilling, exciting, and joyful camp around. It’s been the best experience I have ever had! This camp has made me decide for myself. I love everything about this place! All the people, activities, and the fun trips are going to be in my memory forever! My favorite thing I have done here so far are all of the overnights. I mostly enjoyed my 4-day horseback riding trip. I love riding horses and this trip made me become closer to them. I also enjoyed my technical rock overnight. It was with my whole cabinside and was a blast! I got to climb real rocks for the first time! Even though I got lots of bruises, it was worth it. I even climbed Mt. Quandry! It was exhausting, but the view was spectacular! That is was I enjoyed most.

--Emilie Schaphorst

EHMAGAWD!!

I just came back from my amazing long trip. I hiked a 14,110 foot tall mountain called Pikes Peak. It was so tiring, but super fun. Also, we had a spectacular view. When we finally summitted, we ate donuts and french fries. There was also a huge gift shop. The last day, after hiking all the way down from the Mother Ridge to the base of the Crags, we were starving, so we ate pizza at Joe Mama’s. This is the trip that I have enjoyed the most.

--Ana Pichardo

Sanborn Activities

Sanborn is so much fun! We get to do all kinds of fun stuff; if you come for a month, you get to do stuff like Gymkhana, long trips, hiking, horseback riding, art, dancing, games, High Trails and Big Spring talent show, swimming, and a ton of other activities. If you come as a junior, you get to have just as much fun only you come for two weeks. If you love adventure, fun, and great friends and counselors, come to Sanborn and go home with a smile on your face. There are also dances, where you get together with Big Spring. Every dance has a theme. My name is Kate and I am at High Trails. It is awesome, and I am sure that Big Spring is just as fun. Meals are so yummy. The cooks are great. When you have campfires, you learn a bunch of new fun songs. You also get to roast marshmallows by the fire. Overnights are fun too. Like the one to Tie Cabin where the Juniors went. So come to Sanborn! It is great!!! (It is for 7 – 16 year olds)

--Kate Grylicki

Sanborn Camp

My name is Alivia, and this is my first year at camp. My experience here has been so fun. On the first day I came I was very shy, but after my mom left, I made lots of friends who are all very nice. Before the first day ended for sleep, our counselor reads a story. After that, we have flashlight time, where we can read, write, or just sleep. If we haven’t already fallen asleep at flashlight time, you go to sleep after. In the morning you have breakfast at 8:00 and then you have cabin clean-up to make you space nice and clean. After that, we normally go on a morning hike. After your hike you have lunch and after lunch is rest time where you are in your cabin doing quiet things. After this, you will have more activities, which are very fun. Then you have dinner. Then the cycle starts over with different hikes and activities. After a couple of days, you go on a camping trip. On my camping trip it hailed, so you have to bring warm clothes. Sanborn is very fun and you will enjoy this camp very much.

--Alivia Nelson

Long Trips

I just got back from long trips yesterday. I was on Pikes Peak. I really liked it, but it was really exhausting. The first day, we had an easy hike to our first campsite. On the second day, we woke up at 3:00! That day, we hiked the Mother Ridge. We met a guy named Brad who was 40 and had muscular dystrophe. Pikes Peak was his 8^th Colorado fourteener! After we went up the Mother Ridge, we hike down into a valley and set up camp. On the third day, we woke up at 3:00 again and hiked up Pike Peak! It was easier than I expected but the last 600 feet was entirely rock, so we had to rock scramble up to the top. At about 10 or 10:30 we summitted! There was a donut shop/gift shop up on top. There were tons of tourists who either drove up or took the train, and they looked at us like we were crazy. The donuts were really gross though. We went back to our campsite and crashed. We had dinner at 9:00 because it rained for like 5 hours. On the fourth and last day, we woke up at 6:00, we climbed up the valley, down the Mother Ridge and down to Lottie with the vans. Then, we went to get pizza at Jo Mama’s. I had a slice of cheese and 1 ½ slices of a pizza that is a vegetarians nightmare. It had pepperoni, ground beef, sausage, salami, bacon and ham. After pizza we came back to camp and crashed.

--Chandler Kropp

Tie Cabin Overnight

Juniper East went our first overnight on Wednesday. It took about 1 hour to get there. When we got half way, everyone was super tired, so we took off our packs and laid down. When the counselors told us it was time to go we all groaned, but we kept going. When we finally got there, we set up out tents and got settled in. After that, we ate bagels for lunch. Then we explored the cabin. When we were looking through the doors we found an old picture that was dated 1912. Then we ate dinner. We ate pita bread pizza. We had to stop and take our food into the tents early because there was a thunder storm. After a while, we went to bed. The next morning we packed and ate crepes. It was so good. Then we hiked for another hour back. Almost all of us fell asleep. Overall, it was a great first trip.

--Myriah Pitt

Sanborn

Camp has been great. It is my first year, and already I know that I am definitely going to come back. I love all of my choices of activities that we get to choose from like horseback riding, climbing mountains and so much more. I have met so many people I know I will be friends with forever. I love them all so much. An activity I have done was a four day horse trip. It was a blast, and I became so much more comfortable on horse and I am a much better rider than I was before I came to camp. The dances and Saturday Specials are loads of fun too because they are co-ed, long and you are always active. Colorado is beautiful and having camp here is great with such a gorgeous view. I love Sanborn and you should definitely try it.

--Tessa Oliver

My Long Trip

We rode in one of the vans, and it was about 2 hours long. When we got there, we set up tents and ate lunch. Then we unpacked. For dinner, we had chicken noodle soup or tomato soup. The people that were climbing went to sleep right after dinner. We wore up at 3:00am and started climbing at 4:00. We summitted and got back at 11:30. And for lunch, we had crackers. We did arts and crafts for the rest of the day until dinner, which were noodles. The next morning, we went to South Park City, and looked at the old buildings and we ate lunch and got ice cream. It was delicious.

--Vivi McNett

Sanborn is the most amazing experience EVER. We do white water rafting, horseback riding, long trips (3,4, and 5 day), swimming at the pool (which has an awesome slide), science and TONS more. I love it here.

--Sierra Zischke

They Pay Me to do This?

Last week, I was able to summit Mount Shavano with our co-ed S.O.L.E. service trip. The boys were so supportive of the girls as we climbed the 14,000 foot mountain. All 10 of us, 3 boys, 4 girls, and 4 staff all took in the fantastic views at the top. After 7 ½ hours on the mountain, and after meeting about 35 different people along the way, one of the boys turned to me and said, “You six were the only women we saw on the mountain all day and definitely the only ones who summitted. That is so awesome. It’s so cool to know strong girls.” I smiled. I hadn’t even noticed, not only what happened that day, but how many opportunities Sanborn offers for kids to stretch themselves and learn to appreciate that in each other.

--Kira Runtzel

More Camper Posts

In between all of our trips and activities, several campers have been busy documenting all the fun that is happening at camp!

Art Page:

In art this year at High Trails, we have a great new art teacher named Joyce! We've made journals, done tie-dye, made gourd bird houses, gourd African shakers, and some awesome gourd bowls! We've also experimented with candles (supervised by Joyce or a counselor), made the best picture frames ever, and decoupaged everything possible. Joyce has the best ideas for crafts! One of my personal favorites is the orange juice wallet. When you come to High Trails for a month, go to the Art Barn for lots of fun!

- Virginia Owen

Swimming:

Grab your swimsuit, grab your towel, put on your shoes and run for the pool. 1,2,3 Splash! Up 10 stairs, zip, zap, zoom! Take a ride down the slide. In the middle, friends are needed! Find a ball and play...VOLLEYBALL with the built in net! To make it hard, play noodle volleyball. It's the same as volleyball except you have to stay on a noodle. If you want to relax, some noodles have string to sit in. There's this little place with swimming supplies. Splash! Have fun at the pool!!!

- Emily Driscoll

Bear Sightings:

The counselor hunt is a battle between the cabinsides to name all of the hidden counselors you could find. The more you name, the more points you collect. Our cabinside was off at the sound of the bell. We doubted we would win because or cabin had trouble with remembering names... and more important stuff too. After finding a bonus counselor (10,000 points) we passed behind Out Camp to name the wranglers sitting on top of a car. We came up to them laughing and talking loudly but we were quickly shushed by Reggie who was hidden in the top of a tree. She pointed toward the Aspen trees and we followed her finger directions. We all shifted around the trees to look at the object that had already gathered a small crowd. Little did we know that what we thought would just be a deer or rabbit was actually a bear! She was sitting 100ft up facing us with the least bit of aggression at all. She must have gotten bored and turned around to go back up into the trees. A small cub bounced out from behind a tree and chased after her and played with her tail. It reminded us of the cub "Koda" from the movie Brother Bear. It was nothing like anything on T.V.

Sanborn Horse Back Riding:

Sanborn has great horseback riding lessons. You can go on long horse trips and all-day horse trips. There is also something called gymkhana were you go on horses and compete against Big Spring boys; you go around barrels, poles, and rings. Also, there is a Saturday special where you can ride and there are three different groups at 7:45a.m., 9:30a.m., and 11:45a.m. At the end of camp there is a super wrangler all-day where you go to a secret place and go bareback riding.  

- Sophie Murphy

Why You should GO TO Sanborn:

You should go to Sanborn. Sanborn is the best camp I have been to. At Sanborn you can do swimming, horseback riding and much, much more! I love to go horseback riding. Sanborn is so awesome! On Saturday, I do drama. On Saturday, we have special things such as dances at Big Springs! At Sanborn, you sleep with girls your own age in cabins. It is so much fun! On Sundays after dinner, we have Vespers.

That's why you should go to Sanborn Western Camps.

- Natalie Glick 

Overnights:

Just recently, my counselor, Kimberly, my cabin-mate, Charner, and I all trudged back to our cabin after an outstanding Artsy Overnight at Tie Cabin. First, we set up our tents and unpacked our backpacks. Then, we explored Tie Cabin and told ghost stories referring to it. As we were looking in cabinets and drawers, I happened to find an old pastel drawing of a row boat tied up to a dock with a sunset in the background. It even looked like it had been through a fire because it was burned and singed on the edges. It said 1912 on the back. The rest of our group told me to go and show Kimberly. It turned out it was a prank from a previous overnight. After a little exploring we had lunch. Then we decided to explore more of the site. We found an old outhouse and grill. About twenty minutes after we got back, Joyce drove up with our crafts! She told us while she was unloading her car for us to go find lots of different types of flowers for our first project. By the time we had enough flowers she was all set up. She told us we were going to do flower pounding. First, we had to tape down the flowers and then we got in a line to start pounding them with a hammer. I was the last one and as soon as I was done this thunderstorm popped up and it started pouring! We just went inside Tie Cabin and make book marks and leather bracelets and key chains. When it stopped raining, we had to collect firewood for our stir fry dinner. Yum! Kimberly even made a single match fire! Even Joyce had dinner with us before she had to go. After s'mores, another thunderstorm came up! We had to stay in our tents until morning. But when we woke up it was clear; really nice weather.

I live in Texas and at Sanborn Western Camps in Colorado, it's a real treat to beat the summer heat! I love this camp so much it is my fourth year. If you want to be caught up in something adventurous, yet peaceful Sanborn Camps is your place to be over the summer!

- Savannah Phillips

Colorado Kids' Outdoor Bill of Rights

Before they grow up ALL Colorado kids should have the opportunity to:

1. Camp out under the stars.

2. Follow a trail, ride it or walk it, and be respectful of everyone’s right to use the trail.

3. Play in a creek or river: fish, wade, paddle, or skip a stone.

4. Experience the wonders of Colorado’s four seasons: wildflowers, abundant sunshine,

the changing aspen leaves, and fresh powder snow.

5. Visit a working farm or ranch.

6. Enjoy the view from the top of a mountain.

7. Identify Colorado’s official state wildlife and plants in their natural habitat.

8. Explore one of the dozens of local, state, and national parks in Colorado.

9. Play in the dirt and learn about the world from the ground up.

10. Plant a seed for other Colorado kids to enjoy in the future.

Developed by Colorado’s youth and the Office of Lt. Governor Barbara O’Brien

2nd Session Camper Posts

We have already had a blog writing activity this session and the girls were excited to share their stories of the first few days with you!

At camp we went on our cabinside overnight! All of the campers had a LOT of FUN! When we came back from our overnight we had hamburgers, fried, and sodas. In Ponderosa West we went Beyond A-Bluff for our overnight. The people that are in Ponderosa West are Vivi, Hannah, Savannah, Natalie, Rachel, Emily, and me Katie! We had a really fun time. We were going to go squirt water guns at Silver Spruce West! Also, we were going to steal their s'mores. Instead we went to Top of the World and got turned around. When we got back to our tents we went to sleep. Zzzzzzzzzzzz!!!A lot of the campers dressed up in camouflage and went to steal candy from the Big Spring boys today. I think they had a lot of fun.
-Katie O'Hara

On the first day of camp, I was both psyched and nervous. I was worried that I wouldn't get along with my cabinmates. Naturally, I wasn't the first person in my cabin. That's when I met Hanna and Mackenzie, both from different parts of Connecticut. They seemed really nice, and I was glad at least 2 people could be good friends with me. It also helped a lot that Hanna has been to camp before. We hung out in the cabin for awhile and Caitlin and Meghan arrived. I was pretty surprised that there are so many people from different states in my cabin. Caitlin is from Alaska and Meghan's from Iowa. At my other camp, the majority of the campers were from Colorado. I was one of the only ones from Texas. We went to eat lunch after they arrived. At 2 or 3 we all had to go down to the barn to go riding prep and learn how to tack up our horses. That's when we met up with Anna and Carley. We later returned to the cabin. Around 4 o'clock, Calire came. She's very quiet, but extremely nice. Everyone that hadn't already unpacked did, and we headed to dinner at 6 o'clock. That's where Lea met up with us. We ate lasagna, which was phenomenal. By then, we were all curious as to where Ellen was. She was supposed to show up at the same time as Claire. Then at 5:30, then 7, then 9. She ended up arriving at 10:30. We were all ready for bed. That's pretty much my whole first day. I've found Sanborn to be extremely fun!
-Shylie Miller

Today we got back from our cabinside overnight where we had so much fun. Yesterday, after eating a big breakfast of pancakes and sausage, our whole cabinside set off on our first camping trip of the session. We hiked for a little while before we arrived at our campsite. At first glance, it seemed like a random spot by the edge of an aspen grove. Within a few minutes it would look like a whole lot more! We quickly set about pitching our tents. Lunch never tastes as good as when you have just finished a hike. We spent the afternoon talking and relaxing in tents before we met up with two other cabinsides to play Capture the Flag and relay races. Then we returned to our campsite for dinner and s'mores. The evening was great, from a debate of golden brown vs. black marshmallows to a peculiar outbreak of uncontrolled laughter. Some of us chose to spend the night in the field to see the stars and find constellations. When rain started to fall, we moved back into the tents with the hopeful thoughts of wishes upon shooting stars.
-Claire Dolin

On Friday, July 18 the risky girls of Silver Spruce West wrote a letter to a Big Spring cabin and got a letter back 4 days later. On the letter the girls sent they included the following sentence: "We now have to go ride pretty ponies over sparkling rainbows!" Do you think that the boys would take that seriously? Well they didn't and they started to joke with us too. "We want to ride our white stallions with you girls." The girls did write another letter back and said they would like to meet them at the dance. I wonder what the boys will say next.
-Jordan Claire Wagner

On our cabinside overnight we ate s'mores and they were really delicious. It was so fun to sleep outside. We ate McDonald's lunch when we got back. When I first got to camp I was nervous. But now camp is really fun because we do things that are really active and fun. I get to do a lot of fun stuff here that I have never done before like eating s'mores and sleeping outside. I am having a really good time. All of the campers are having fun. The counselors are really having fun with us.
-Camila Bouffier

The Art of Letter-Writing

The secretaries in the camp office were alarmed when the first batch of mail written by campers to their families was collected. Stamps were stuck in random places on the envelopes, including on the back, instead of the upper right-hand corner of the envelope.  Addresses were incomplete, illegible and also found in strange and confusing places. It was a shock to realize that many young people (including staff!) do not know how to write and post a letter. Is Letter-Writing becoming a lost art?

Imagine what the world would have missed if the correspondence between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson had been via e-mail? What if Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning had communicated via text message? And, how sad it would be if Jane Austen, Henry James, Abraham Lincoln, and Benjamin Franklin had tweeted, instead of producing the volumes of elegant prose, which preserve and enhance their legacy.

Camp is one of the few places where letter writing is still encouraged (and taught!). Campers are required to turn in a letter to their families to gain admission to lunch each Sunday. Counselors compose hand-written letters each week to send home to the parents of each of their campers describing the camper’s achievements and adjustment to the camp community. Hand-written letters flow freely between the girls’ camp and the boys’ camp.

Parents have told us for many years that they value these letters written by campers and counselors and save them along with other treasured mementos of childhood. Some parents have shared them with us, and these are a valuable piece of the history of the camps and of the family history of each camper. 

Technology today is encouraging short, superficial messages, rather than the deeper, more meaningful communication that occurs when letters are written. Text messaging is fine for letting your Mom know when soccer practice ends, and tweeting works to find out how Lance Armstrong is doing in the Tour de France. But if you want to let your parents know how it feels to stand on top of a 14,000’ mountain, or you want to tell them about your new friends, or you want to describe the sunset you saw last night from Top of the World, then letter writing is the only way.

More Camper Posts

Again, this week we want to share some of the things our campers are doing and writing about!

Rain, Emily Burnham

On some day, we had an outdoor dance party in the rain with Cedar Lodge. It was fun! Then we all took hot showers. YAY!!

How to play Pass The Cup

1. Clap 2x

2. Tap the cup

3. Clap

4. Pick it up and set it down

5. Clap

6. Swipe your hand and set the open end against your hand

7. Set it down

8. Hand it to yourself

9. Put your hand down

10. Pass to the next person

First 2 Weeks, Alex Wyeth

My first two weeks at High Trails were fun and eventful. During the first week I rode a new horse, Justin, had a water fight, and learned where more states are (California). During the second week, We played a hardcore game of Capture the Flag, bonded with cabinmates, had fun in drama, saw deer, and heard coyotes. Overall, Sanborn has been amazing and super fun!

First 2 Weeks, Catherine Shepherd 

I just finished my first two weeks at High Trails. Since it doesn't rain very much in California, I love to see the rain. Here, it rains a lot. I love it when it thunders and lightnings! Yesterday, it hailed! A few days ago they picked us up in vans for dinner because there was a storm. It was really fun! I love the rain!

Overnight Trips, Mariah LeBeau

When we were on a horse overnight, we saw cows and rounded them up until they were on a hill. When we were on our cabinside overnight, my friend and I couldn't sleep, so we told each other stories. 

Riding, Gloria Deignan

I take riding lessons for my Saturday Special and I got to ride the most amazing horse! Usually, I ride a white mare called Cirrus. This Saturday I got to ride Tiny!! One of the biggest horses I know. He's supposed to be difficult to ride, but I loved him and requested him!!

Cabin Bonding, Jessie Foreman

Half way through the week, Ponderosa West lost a pet inch worm. Luckily, Cedar Lodge West had a kind heart to make them happy. Soon the girls in Ponderosa West were dancing! The next day Ponderosa West decided Cedar Lodge West were their bcffl (best camp friends for life)! One of the girls said, "Their awesome bcffl!" So now they always say, "hi," walk to each other's cabin, do make-up, and more! And now they are bfffffff (best friends forever forever forever forever forever forever)!