Today in River Running

Today in River Running – Bobby Haynes

Today was a big day for the river running crew as we had the opportunity to use the inflatable kayaks for the first time. We had the pleasure of navigating nearly 5 miles of river containing several class two rapids. This was one of the longest trips that campers have taken in inflatable kayaks. Many of the campers were quite proficient at navigating the river as they already had some experience with kayaking. Andrew and Jeremy were very confident in their abilities and even tried their hands at river surfing and standing while kayaking. This was Avery’s first time in an inflatable kayak, and though she had trouble navigating the river at first she definitely improved by the end of the trip. Overall it was a fantastic day for all on the river, and tomorrow all of the campers will look to improve their skills as they try to navigate the class three rapid Smelter.

A message from MJ

 

Thursday, July 10, 2014 10:06 AM

 

We had a great tutor meeting on Wednesday.  All tutors feel that they are dialed in with their particular tutees.  The kids are arriving to tutoring with some nice energy, and the results of their arduous efforts are beginning to show.  Of course my favorite time of the day is the evening reading.  The busyness of the day is behind us, the air is moist from the afternoon rains, and it's a perfect time to relax and share a good book.  Hopefully, this practice will develop into a lifelong pattern for many of the campers.

Try it out with your child when they return home!

MJ

The Singing Bee

          The Singing Bee

(A Limerick Poem by Adaley)

The shade of the old, old willow tree

Made the bee sing to me

He sang a song of love and light

It made me feel so right that very night

As the shade made the bee sing to me.

First week finished and what a fine week it was! Next weekend is our campout and boating at Vallecito .

 

Tuesday, July 08, 2014 11:38 AM

HI Parents and Friends of Durango Mountain Camp,

 

We just finished our first week at DMC, and what a fine week it was!  The weather has been great, the Outdoor Pursuits are lively and much enjoyed, the Tutoring and Academics are humming along, and the campers all seem engaged and enthusiastic.  Along with Austin Bass, I was the leader of the biking group and have attached a photo of the group atop Castle Rock near the summit of Purgatory.

 

This past weekend was full and fun.  On Saturday, we drove over three 10,000 foot mountain passes to the old mining town of Ouray, were the campers enjoyed the hot springs (see photo), explored the town, and had dinner out.  Just as we were leaving Ouray,  a rockslide closed Red Mountain Pass, so we had to drive an extra 2 hours and 100 miles to Durango via Telluride and Cortez, so didn’t get back to camp until 11:30.  A looooong day.

 

On Sunday, the campers enjoyed alpine sliding at Purgatory in the morning, then did various activities with the counselors in the afternoon.

 

Since this is our second week of camp, the campers have switched to their second outdoor pursuit activity.  About half the campers are involved with the scuba certification program, so the pool session yesterday was busy, but so fun as the campers experienced breathing and swimming underwater – perhaps for the first time.

 

This next weekend is our campout and boating weekend at Vallecito.  Along with the boarding campers, all DMC staff and Day Campers are welcome (see attached flyer). There will be s signup list and directions posted at DMC.  So come if you can and camp out, or join us Saturday morning for boating.

 

The campers are enjoying your mail and emails, so keep those coming.

 

It’s a great Summer!                                                                                                                                                                                    

 

Zane Bilgrav

Durango Mountain Camlp

970-749-5640 (cell)

Ouray Pool

Castle Rock 

Best of Photo

                                                                 

Last week our Art Teacher Katy Hoskins taught photography to our campers. The camper's produced many amazing photos! Friday afternoon the photos were judged for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place. The judges had a extremely difficult time choosing from all the amazing photographs.