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Our Wonders of Water theme began very appropriately with the sprinklers going on at drop-off time on Monday morning. It was wet and provided a good opportunity to talk about the best time to water your garden or grass!

The first day we went to the Ski Basin where we had a blast playing in the river and exploring the mountain without (much) snow, and so many people.  It is fun to you have it to ourselves and see what lies under the snow.

The older campers decided to call themselves the Beavers for this session – a good choice given that we were studying the Beaver’s physical adaptations to survive in it’s environment the following day. Ezra and Grace very gracefully dressed up as Beavers for us to demonstrate.  Thank you, Grace and Ezra! It is always entertaining to illustrate these concepts!

The younger campers decided that they would call themselves the Whales. While this may seem strange, since New Mexico has no whales, we talked aobut how New Mexico was once part of an ancient ocean where many prehistoric sea creatures (including whales) once swam!

On Wednesday we went to the Santa Fe Watershed with our wonderful guide, Rich Schrader from the Santa Fe Watershed Association and Riversource. We looked for aquatic macro-intvertebrates in the Santa Fe river, (that’s a fancy way of saying water bugs!) It was fun to use nets to find these little creatures in the river, and then find and identify them using hand lenses. It’s interesting to learn that the presence, or absence, of these creatures tells us if the water is good, clean, healthy water.  We are lucky to have a clean and healthy water source from our mountain snowpack!

On Thursday, we went to the Rio en Medio, one of our favorite locations, especially on a hot summer’s day! We got to find and identify poison ivy and hike along the cool, shady river. The Beavers headed up to the waterfall, and then went beyond it to explore some some smaller waterfalls and do Sit Spots, quiet time in nature. 🙂 Sometimes hard for kids, but also an incredibly rich experience to introduce to children.

The Whales made it to a beautiful spot by the Rio en Medio with huge Ponderosa Pines and a nice place for games. We played in the river, ate lunch, and then played some games. Our C.I.T. (Counselor-in-Training) Skyler led us in a fun game with sticks and numbers which required good observation skills to solve the puzzle. We then moved onto practicing our sneaking skills by learning how to “Fox Walk.” Then using the Fox Walk to play “Firekeeper” which requires sneaking up on a blindfolded fire keeper without being heard. A challenging and fun game! We finished the day with a story and packed up to hike back along, and through, the river.

What a great week of watery adventures the Beaver and Whales had, learning about and loving water!

Enjoy the slideshow of the Beavers (8-12 year olds) below. The Whales (5-7 year olds) slideshow is above.

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On our overnight the kids built their own shelters and slept in them. The excitement for of this task was truly reflected in the amazing structures they built. The dedication, teamwork and effort was inspiring to be a part of.

That night we started our fire by bow drill  – Katie and Ezra demonstrated, and then the campers had the opportunity to try.  Some of the girls wanted to try it using the teamwork approach, which was great!  Once we had the fire going (after Ezra cranked out a coal) we made campfire nachos, yum! Our feast continued with corn on the cob, cooked in the fire, sausages and s’mores.

After feeding ourselves, we sang and played games and laughed around the fire until we could not stay awake any longer.  The short walk to our shelters was fun in the dark, and everyone settled down quickly for an evening in our shelters.

The week and the campout were a blast, even if we didn’t sleep too much!

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The Wolves joined the Chuckwallas on Monday at Norski for some fort building fun and everyone learned how to make fire with a bow drill from Ezra. Throughout the week we incorporated wilderness skills, such as the 5 W’s, what to do if you get lost and what to bring on a hike. On Tuesday, we headed further down the trail to continue work on forts we had stared the previous week. The tent caterpillars were back and the kids had fun making hotels for them. Wednesday morning we were surprised by the sprinklers at Alto Park, but the campers had fun running through them.  We spent the day at the Ski Basin exploring Easy Street without much snow on it ~ well, there were still a few small patches to play with! The week wrapped up with a trip to Deer Creek, where the water and shade provided a welcome relief from the summer’s heat. Page shared lots about the uses of plants that we saw along the trail.

At Deer Creek the Chuckwallas made it past the 5th pool, (which is an adventure on it’s own)! Yet again we witnessed the same determination, teamwork and effort as the kids took the lead in making it past the third pool. The mission took planning, innovation, inner strength, and trust. Every single camper accepted the challenge and conquered it.

Camper quote, at Deer Creek, by Melia: “After this I will be one step closer to enlightenment.”

Overall, it was a fantastic week!

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Our two weeks of Forts & Forests at Mountain Kids! was an incredible journey of exploring, engineering, team building, and discovering all of our individual capabilities. Along the way we learned and practiced important survival skills such as finding the directions, making shelter for different scenarios, watching for/ understanding weather and wilderness safety, signaling for help, and starting a fire without matches by hand/bow drill.

I am beyond impressed with the Mountain Kids!  The maturity, thoughtfulness, respect, and unique skills/talents of each camper has really shown through; allowing us to accomplish and discover some really amazing things in nature. ~  Morgan, affectionately known as “Morgie”

Below, I caught up with the Chuckwallas at the Big T to grab a portrait for each camper and some group shots, and Morgan and Ezra shared some action shots for the blog. Enjoy! ~ Katie

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I also got to hang out for our end of day Circle time, which was so sweet. I love to hear what the kids have to say about the week and what they learned.  You can see that they bring a good amount of humor and also pride when they are speaking to the group.  I love to witness the growth happening each week at camp. ~ Katie

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Ezra teaching fire making with a hand drill

Mud henna tattoos!

We started our week at the Beaver Ponds – creating forts in the existing thickets and playing Eagle Eye. Learning how and where to find shelter, without having to create something is an important skill. The Wolves noticed an abundance of Horse Tail and we talked about why we never over harvest anything even if it looks cool or is good for us. Much was explored by all in this new terrain that seemed so varied along the trail from dry to wet to dry again. On Tuesday we really got into building, and learning about shelters at the Norski trail. Some of the Wolves made little fairy houses and noticed the lichen and moss on the rocks and trees.  All the Mountain Kids!, big a small, worked together to create some amazing forts!  On Wednesday we went to the Big Tesuque where we hiked up to a meadow, explored a huge fort and played some games. The wolves played in a gorgeous bank area where the water was so fresh and clean that Rebecca taught them all how to filter it! Page made fairy crowns for some of the Wolves out of the abundance of wild dandelion blossoms. There was an area covered with so, so many butterflies it was astounding –  some of the Wolves sat with Page and noticed how they danced upon the flowers.  Thursday we went to the Little Tesuque Creek where everyone enjoyed the wild nature all around. The wolves had a sit spot and listened to a story while the Chuckwallas really extended their limbs and explored the canyon in their own way.  Overall, it was a wonderful week of fort building and fun in the mountains, and playing with snails, art making and games at Alto Park!

Enjoy the photos of the Wolves below, including a portrait of each little Wolf!

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Rebecca got some action shots on the trail too:

Three years ago we started doing overnight camping and backpacking trips with campers ages nine and up.

One of my counselors remarked after one overnight: “I want to be involved in all the campouts, as that is when the big learning happens.” It’s true. Having been a part of dozens of campouts with kids, I am always amazed at home many ‘firsts’ we have in each group, and how rich the whole experience is with learning and growth.

Two summers ago, we were camping out in survival shelters that the kids had made during our Wilderness skills week (this year called Forts & Forests). For one of our campers, it was her first time camping. Ever. She was so excited and nervous, arriving that afternoon with a giant smile, and an air mattress to match. We managed to wedge the air mattress into the shelter, and find just enough space for the other girls to create their nests too. We chatted and told silly stories at bedtime, bonding in a way that one only bonds through new and boundary pushing experiences. She slept like a baby through the night, and woke up with a deep love of camping and the outdoors. (She is returning to Santa Fe this summer to do the same camp this year!)

On our two-night backpacking trip last summer, we hiked from Santa Barbara campground, hauling heavy packs and enduring rain and weary muscles, some kids hoping all the work would be “worth it.”

I witnessed the layers of civilization peel away the farther we hiked. After a few miles, the chatter of video games disappeared as the kids attuned to the real world in front of them: birds chattering, the rushing river below, trees spiraling impossibly tall above us, and mountain weather shifting from sun to rain.

The rain was steady for the last hour of our hike. We donned our rain gear, checked in, and forged ahead. We worked together to cross a river and set up tarps to keep the rain off of us while we waited out the storm.

Sure enough, the clouds lifted shortly after our arrival and we were left with a glorious evening surrounded by tall peaks, misty clouds clinging to their flank.

These are the experiences our kids will remember from their childhood. The hardship of wet clothes and heavy packs followed by a beautiful sunset and an evening around the fire turns into a life experience that builds confidence and a belief in their ability to overcome challenges anywhere in life.

At the end of the trip we asked the kids, “What is the ideal amount of time spent in nature for you and your family?” Every single person expressed a desire to spend MORE time in nature. Here’s to more time in nature!!

And yes, the verdict was unanimous that the challenge of hauling heavy packs up the mountain trail was definitely “worth it.”