I really do have the best job ever. Last week, I traveled to sunny Colorado with 18 girls and 3 other adults to partake in adventures galore. Below is an account of our fun from email excerpts that the girls wrote to their parents. Enjoy!

6.14.14

We’ve arrived in beautiful Colorado! After a short, yet somewhat turbulent flight, we hopped on a two-hour bus ride to Snow Mountain Ranch. We arrived just in time for dinner, then did a group activity and a map orientation of the camp. We’re on our way to bed now in order to get up nice and early for a ropes course.

6.15.14

All of us want to wish you a happy Father’s Day. Today in Colorado we did many interesting things. In the morning we went to the low ropes course and learned to work together as a team. Whether it’s from going through a rope spider web to balancing a teeter totter, we did all together, well those of us who signed up for low ropes. After having some lunch us Scouts were back out to do different activities. Next we did a one hour horseback ride on the wild trails of the Colorado Snow Caps. Some girls even did a night hike later. But for the first day in Colorado every Scout wishes their dad a happy Father’s Day!!!

6.16.14

The main part of our 2nd day in Colorado was white water rafting, which everyone learned from in different ways. Our guides taught us about different parts of the Colorado River, going from facts about Native Americans from decades before that used to live in the area, to learning about a girl that got stranded on a rock by the river the week before. In addition, all of us were able to practice teamwork skills. The girls in the front of the raft had to be looking at each other to make sure that both girls would paddle at the same time. Also, the girls in the rows behind the front had to make sure they were rowing at the exact same time as the girl in front of them. All of the people in each raft were extremely “in sync” with the Scouts and leaders around them. Guides would instruct the girls which direction to paddle (forward or backward) and how many times to paddle (usually between 1 and 3). Each guide had a very “fascinating” nickname. These nicknames were ranging from Cookie to Captain Zach Sparrow to Princess. We all shared jokes, stories, and most importantly, a good time. White water rafting will definitely be one of the highlights of our Colorado trip.

6.17.14

Today we went rock climbing and we did the high ropes course. During rock climbing our goal was to reach the top of the climbing wall but only a couple people did which were Camryn, Colleen, and Joanie they were very proud of themselves. When we went to high ropes everybody did well even Ashley [side note: yes, that’s me haha], and Mrs. Stevens. The high ropes course involved climbing up steps 40 feet and walking across ropes to the other side in the air. This morning the troop took a hike up to the Homestead cabin to make walking sticks. Today was a very eventful and tiring day! See you guys at home in 4 days!

6.18.14

Yesterday we ended the night with a false fire alarm. But, this morning started much better! Half the girls went on a breakfast horseback ride and it was the best breakfast we have had this whole week. The other half went on a waterfall hike. They saw amazing jaw dropping sights and wildlife. The hour walk there was so worth it.

Later that day, we adventured to zip lining; many girls were scared and many of them were brave. We all conquered a fear today!  The climb up was very tiring, but the ride there was so amazing that we almost hit a guy in the face. He ducked (luckily).

One of the girls’ favorite activities of the day was the food.  For dinner tonight, we were allowed to go to a pavilion.  Here, burgers, hotdogs, steak, and bratwursts were offered, all of which were delicious.  After dinner, we traveled to a campfire and roasted marshmallows.  Camp counselors and other girls taught each other songs such as the campfire song and the cookie song.  After this, another amazing day in Colorado ended. It’s hard to believe its half way over…

6.19.14

Today we went to Rocky Mountain National Park. It was so fun!  We saw so many Elk, White Tailed Deer, and a Moose (no bears) – it was cool. There was a trail to go up to the top of the mountain.  Some of the girls and the leaders made it to the top –  Anna and Becca almost made it to the top but gave up… it was too much.  Mrs. Timko counted, it was 274 steps and estimates it was 500 feet.  After the RMNP, we went to this old fashion town, and it was classy. Everyone got ice cream, which was really good. We returned to the Snow Mountain Ranch, had dinner, then free time!  Some girls went swimming, some to the craft cabin and many girls hung out in Camryn, Estelle, Anna, Jackie, and Becca’s room and had a lot of fun. Then at night we went to the “Mountain Man Stories” which was really funny.  Four of the counselors sang and danced around, while playing instruments such as the guitar, washboard, and the blow jug.  Savannah and Rachel even got to volunteer and play the blow jug and the spittoon.  Tomorrow is our last day of adventures. Then we have to end our fun trip on Saturday. We will miss Colorado, but will enjoy coming back to our families!

6.20.14

Today we did lots of exciting things on one of our last days in Colorado. We started the morning off with a group canoeing where we played lots of fun games like battleship and capture the flag. The water was very cold and we all tried to stay dry and not tip the canoe. After lunch, some of us went to archery where we even got a chance to shoot at a Styrofoam coyote! Then we went zip lining where we had to make to scary climb up the giant pole and then make the terrifying step off the platform. Most of us that went agreed that we had a great time! For our dinner we went on a horseback ride to a steak cookout. Some of us had mellow horses, but others had more aggressive ones. The dinner was delicious and we all left very full and happy. Lastly we all went to our last group meeting where we got a surprise photo scavenger hunt. We were all running around trying to find things like a golf ball, a horseshoe, and a green light. Overall, our last day was lots of fun with adventures that will leave us with memories to last.