So session six started on Sunday and we are now fully under way! A great opening ceremony on Sunday night, and today was the first full day of activities for the whole camp, and it was a great day! We made it through a little rain this evening which dropped the temperature by about 15 degrees in 30 minutes. It was a nice change. Tomorrow is a big out-trip day for us with the rockclimbers, Teen Leaders, Teen Adventures, and Backpacking all headed out to explore various aspects of the Colorado Mountains.

It is hard to believe that 2 months ago all the staff were just arriving and we were starting staff training. Time sure flies fast in the summer. We also had our visit from the American Camp Association (ACA) on Monday. The ACA is an accrediting organization that visits camps every three years to make sure we are doing a good job. The visit is conducted by two camp professionals and they look over everything we do from our HR practices, to food service, to facilities, to program. We passed with flying colors!

On a fun note for me, I got to teach a little with the Trekker Wilderness Survival Skill track this morning. We built a 1 match fire, I showed them how a flint and steel works, we practiced making cordage from the inner bark of dead trees, and we steamed stinging nettles which tastes like spinach when it is done. We also started a burning out a small log to make a bowl. It was good for me to get out of the office after the ACA inspection and teach some of the skills I love to practice. Until next time, the weather is great and we wish you were here!

Shawn.

Well, we are half way into session 4 here at YMCA Camp Santa Maria and things are going well. We had a Staff auction on MOnday night where the staff offered various “prizes” to be won by cabins using play money. Hair braiding, astronomy sessions, being first in the hopper line, and tye dye shirts were just some of the items offered. Then last night we had a Dutch Auction which if you do not know what that is-ask your camper. And tonight is Color Wars!

The weather has been decent with afternoon rain, and last night we had a decent rain storm and a great natural light show and a rainbow. The good news is that the fire ban for our county has been reduced so we can use cook stoves and such on property, but still no open flame camp fires. Our Trekker Kayakers, and Backpackers are out on trips, and the rock climbers spent the day up on our cliffs learning some new skills. The Pathfinders hiked up to the ranch today for lunch, and our mid week Trekker skill tracks switched today. All in all it has been a great week so far and we are only half way through! Weather is great wish you were here!

The time between sessions is a unique one here at Camp Santa Maria. We had a great session here these past two weeks. We had a 1-week Pathfinder session and a 2-week Trekker and Teen Adventure Camp group of campers. A wonderful group of kids. And now I am here with NO ONE ELSE IN CAMP! It is a little odd, and too quiet! The stayover campers are off the mountain and all the staff have headed out to enjoy their time off. A group went camping, another group went climbing, and a third headed out to a concert and dinner. And tomorrow we are going to have the biggest check-in of campers in Santa Maria history! We have a a big group of Trekkers, three full Pathfinder cabins, and our first group of Teen Leaders. It looks to be a great session.

We are making a few changes to our programming here for the second half of the summer due to our large numbers of campers. We are still doing skill tracks for the Trekkers and we are changing them a little. Some of the skill tracks like Kayaking, Climbing, and Horseback riding will still be a week long. Other skill tracks will be 3 days long and that will allow Trekkers to choose 2 skill tracks a week. We are also adding Pathfinder skill tracks for the rest of the summer. The Pathfinders will be getting to experience a variety of skill tracks each day and throughout the week. We are excited about the new programming options for the upcoming weeks. It is nice to know that in less than 24 hours we will have a whole bunch of campers back in camp and getting into another session of camp. The weather is nice, wish you were here!