Weekly Update: August 11th, 2024
The peak of the Perseid meteor shower is between midnight and dawn tonight. The night sky is giving us one more opportunity to be immersed in wonder: waiting for the ephemeral streak that makes us gasp, grab our friend and say, “Look! Look! Did you see it?”
One of our favorite quotes from our Words of Wisdom quote book is from Robert Francis:
Keep me from going to sleep too soon
Or if I go to sleep too soon
Come wake me up. Come any hour
Of night. Come whistling up the road.
Stomp on the porch. Bang on the door.
Make me get out of bed and come
And let you in and light a light.
Tell me the northern lights are on
And make me look. Or tell me clouds
Are doing something to the moon
They never did before, and show me.
See that I see. Talk to me till
I'm half as wide awake as you
And start to dress wondering why
I ever went to bed at all.
Tell me the walking is superb.
Not only tell me but persuade me.
You know I'm not too hard persuaded.
This session has been full of incredible moments and this last week was no different. At High Trails, campers were thrilled by the “Sanborn Choice Awards” themed JC Dinner, and the dances they performed were some of the more choreographed and fabulous we had seen! They also had overnights and last-chance all day trips, with rock climbing and horseback rides, river trips, final mountain climbs, a theatrical Broadway experience, fishing excursions and the Pikes Peak Bomber–plus creative cabinside all days and time hanging out by the pool and finishing projects at the art barn.
All of the Big Spring campers were out on their long trips which included “peak” moments such as: a successful sunrise summit of the highest mountain in Colorado; climbing above and looking down on the clouds from Pikes Peak; being completely immersed in the craggy, surprising wilds of the Tarryalls; scrambling down steep scree fields on Mount Columbia; riding hill and dale with the Knights of the Night; and portaging canoes through a gale at 11-Mile Reservoir. These were only a few of the “wonder”-full adventures the campers shared with us upon their return.
Along with the successes, this last week was also the stormiest of the summer to date. Almost daily, every trip navigated rain and thunderstorms, yet all of the campers came back filled with pride and excitement for everything they had overcome and everything they accomplished. We had an (almost) full day of sun on Saturday which allowed our Gymkhana rider showcase to go off without a hitch and featured campers who had been practicing their skills and drills during their weekly Saturday Special. It also featured our 4th term Sanborn Junior campers, who managed to show everyone that participating in egg relays and inflatable pony races may have been more exciting than barrel racing!
In all honesty, our Sanborn Junior campers may have had the most fun of anyone at camp these last two weeks: we cannot remember a happier, more easy-going, excited, motivated and energized group of kids than (almost) all of these first-time campers at High Trails and Big Spring. They floated down the South Platte River, went on horseback rides and overnight trips, and explored the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument while also making the most of their time in camp–with the youngest campers in Redcloud inviting all of Big Spring over today for an afternoon party.
Every day this week has felt like a celebration, including the Holiday Breakfast at Big Spring on Saturday morning…we are not sure we have ever heard a group of boys and men sing Frozen’s “Let It Go” with more gusto…and the Closing Campfire tributes at High Trails had everyone laughing and smiling about all of the indelible memories that were made at camp over the last month. Packing Day started off right at both camps with brownies for breakfast–a surprise, post-meal treat from our baker, Bernie to help make a sad day a little more sweet. It ended with Closing Campfire at Big Spring and a final Vespers at High Trails, with robust (and weepy) singing of John Denver classics like Rocky Mountain High and Leaving on a Jet Plane, closing thoughts on the summer and the JC’s “Dear Sanborn” letters, plus a collective and shared appreciation for each other.
Right now, the celebrations continue, with those same boys singing karaoke in the lodge, even though it is after 10pm. The chant “There is no tomorrow!” rang out throughout the day at Big Spring and, at High Trails, campers sang to their counselors, friends and to the cooks at every meal and are, even now, walking from cabin to cabin, passing out carefully written “plane letters” to their friends. Many campers will not be “going to sleep too soon” tonight because they are trying to stretch out these very last moments of time together under this spectacular, star-filled sky (and while discovering their counselor’s karaoke penchant for Jon Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ On a Prayer”).
The hiking has been “superb” and we have all been “persuaded” to be awake, alive and aware of ourselves, our friends, the natural world and all the magic and wonder it holds. Tonight Mina Talebi, a Junior Counselor at High Trails, said, “Someone once told me we are all just mosaics. Little pieces and habits we have picked up from the people we’ve loved…these girls have made my mosaic so incredibly vibrant. They have given me parts of themselves that I will never let go of….If this sanctuary of summer camp has taught me anything it is that–in so many ways–we are insignificant. And, in so many others, we are miracles. This place is truly the greatest miracle of all. I will never forget these summers.”
We will never forget this summer either. Thank you for sharing your miracles with all of us.
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