It’s been a busy week….we hiked down into the canyon to spend afternoon in the Mermaid Pools, moved a load of firewood, stacked the last of our hay bales, cleaned water troughs, made barbed wire balls, and ate chocolate pancakes for dinner! 

We didn’t find any mermaids on this trip…but we did catch a rare sighting of Mogli!

Cleaning the water troughs serves two very important purposes: clean water for the horses, and pedicures for the rest of us….

What do you get when you combine 1 edible plant, 3 items that can be used to fix a fence, 1 horse hair rope, 1 oak chew stick, 1 bolt, 1 nut, and a lava rock?  The Ekone Wragler Scavenger Hunt!  At the end of the week the losing team has to bake cookies for the wining team (with enough to go around of course).

And it wouln’t be Wrangler camp with out lots of fast riding and long trails…..

Tonight we have a special guest apearance from the wonderful musician Monica Taylor (all the way from Oklahoma!). You can listen to her music here: www.monicataylormusic.com. 

Well, time to get out of the office and back to the adventures….see you all soon!

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Symptoms often include: a persistent desire to learn and hone new skills, an inexplicable determination, an intrinsic connection to and care for the horse, leading to a pervasive sense that horse and rider are one, being fully present in the moment and in one’s own body, and of course, the bravery required to eagerly try something new.

Uncontrollable grinning while on horseback is a SURE sign of Rideicusfastimusgiddyupophilia.

These girls have obviously got it bad: note the manes and tails of their horses blowing out behind them. Those with serious cases of the Need for Speed are often known to say that the winds of heaven are those that blow through the mane of a horse…

And as if loping around the arena with confidence and agility wasn’t enough…

You know, these girls sure make Rideicusfastimusgiddyupophilia look fun…

I guess if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em!

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Putting in hay is also an excellent opportunity to develop our grasp of physics… like, it’s a lot harder to life a bale if someone’s sitting on it… and, a person and a haybale can’t occupy the same point in the time-space continuum! 

Every time the hay truck pulls up and we look waaaaaay up at the top of the stack, it seems impossible that we’ll really be able to get all that hay from the truck to the stack with just our bare hands and willpower, but then all of a sudden it’s done in no time and all!

This hay crew sure makes it seem like a breeze to get 5 ½ tons of hay stacked up nice and tidy in only a little over half an hour. (That’s 11,000 pounds of hay!)

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Followed by the Hay Bale Double Toss…

And then the Team Firewood Stacking event…

Leading up to the Synchronized Music Made From Recycled Materials…

And the grand finale, the 100-meter Ice Cream Churn!

Team 1 was awarded the medal for Most Creativity and Cooperation, Team 2 the medal for Enthusiasm and Hustle, and Team 3 the award for Speed and Precision. A good time was had by all, and the gallant contestants were rewarded with big bowls of fresh strawberry sorbet before settling down for a sleep-out under the stars in the aspen grove.

WHEW! What a day! 

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From adventure trail rides through the creek drainage and up onto the Running Field to some off-trail exploring of the pine and oak forest north of the ranch, we’ve been able to check out some new territory and take some favorite trails that we haven’t done yet this year.

This crew has also been shining in the arena, challenging themselves on the obstacle course, as well as learning new horse training skills working with some of our younger horses.

And we’ve even been working with the lovely and talented Gracie, one of our 2 year-old fillies. It’s funny to think that every seasoned camp horses was once a frolicksome youngster like her!

Thanks for all the awesome riding, week four campers!

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As time progresses through the summer, each walk is a little different: new flowers in bloom, grasses drying up… and this week, all of the tadpoles of the week before had turned into frogs!

Which, of course, meant that there was frog-catching to be done; always a popular Ekone activity.

Stay tuned for more news of this week’s adventures!

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Followed by a Council of All Beings, where many different beings were invited to come speak for their plant, animal, or element. Some attendees included: Coyote, Butterfly, Rain, House Wren, the Shadows, Water, the Moon, the Cowboy, the Ocean, the Willow Tree, Horse, Banjo the dog, Time, Rabbit, Bluebird, Leech, Pollen, Mother Earth, the Buffalo, and Please and Thank You.

We were reminded of the many things each being brings to all of us and this planet we live on, and gave thanks for the wisdom and gifts of each creature or element. (Even Leech!)

Thank you to all of the awesome campers of Week Three for such a stellar camp experience!

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We wanted to make sure all our favorite summer camp friends and families know about the new Ekone Farmstand, which will be open on Saturdays and Sundays during camper pick-up and drop-off. This is an opportunity to take home a little piece of Ekone, as well as help more kids be able to come to camp, as all proceeds go to the Camp Scholarship Fund and are tax-deductable.

This summer the farm stand features such Ekone goodies as strawberry jam, delicious free-range eggs, awesome greens from the garden, and our famous Ekone T-shirts. Also featured at the farmstand are crafts made by the kids from recycled materials, and copies of a slideshow of photos from that week of camp.

Make sure to check out the amazing art and goodies at the farm stand during your visit, and bring a cooler if you want to take home some scrumptious veggies.

Looking forward to seeing you all this summer! 

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This ranch life sure ain’t an an easy job… but SOMEBODY’S got to do it!

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This camp also has an awesome sense of humor, and they had us rolling on the floor laughing with some skits, stand-up comedy,  and goofy songs.

We were even treated to a home-spun play about land conservation that had us in stitches: starring the treacherous Shaun Burrito, who was luckily dissuaded from bulldozing animal habitat by the talented Ms. Weedin and her friends, including a flower, a willow tree, an intrepid cricket, and a princess. Only at Ekone!

We wrapped up a stellar Creativity Night by surprising our camp cook, Miss Chris, with a group rendition of “Cookie”, a song written by Ekone campers many years ago to thank our awesome cooks for all the hard work they put in whipping up all our delicious, homecooked meals.

Thanks for a truly amazing week; we’re already looking forward to seeing y’all again next year!

Also: check back later for more information about the burgeoning Ekone Farm Stand…

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