A/U Ranches
The A/U Ranches came to our family over Memorial Day weekend during my 5th grade year, and it was magical. I don’t know the circumstances – probably a flyer distributed at church – but we loaded up the car and headed to Buena Vista for a work weekend (now called Service Weekend).
MoreIt is the early 1960s. A greenhorn nine-year-old boards a train in California and rides off to camp on the Santa Fe midnight flyer. No sleep, lots of card games and the next day a Greyhound from Denver to the A/U Ranches for a six-week tour of duty.
MoreAre you looking for something in 2017 that will light a spark in you? Check out these upcoming opportunities for alumni to get started. Youth events: Spread the word Tell your young friends about these activities (and maybe help get them there!): Tahoe Teen Winter Weekend has been rescheduled to March…
MoreZipline catches up with alumni from the A/U Ranches and DiscoveryBound programs, including four of the eight new members on Adventure Unlimited’s National Alumni Board. Beate Hathaway Beate first came to the A/U Ranches in 1982 as a camper. She was on a trip through the United States as an international…
MoreIn this recurring column, alumni of the A/U Ranches and DiscoveryBound programs (including the formerly named A/U Chapters) share why they’ve stayed involved or reconnected with Adventure Unlimited and its programs. We’ve all heard it or said it: “I’m sooo busy!” While the pace of daily schedules can seem to…
MoreLeading up to the 2016 summer season, the A/U Ranches management team prayed deeply about how to improve camper engagement by more clearly communicating staff expectations. “We wanted to help the staff clearly focus on what is most important about camp,” explains the Ranch director, Alison Peticolas. The first step…
MoreI watched my son pedal away on his new bike with little help from me or my husband. Our role was only a matter of holding the seat while he climbed aboard, and then he was off in a hurry. He had gracefully transitioned from a small toddler’s balance bike to what he deemed his “big boy bike with pedals” with little interruption, and we were so proud.
MoreAs my cab emerged from the Midtown Tunnel into Manhattan, I noticed a Christmas tree lot at one end of an overpass. As long as I can remember, I’ve associated New York City with Christmas, though not on a personal level. Rockefeller Center, ornate department store windows and holiday musicals have always come to mind when thinking about holidays in the city.
MoreMy favorite part of Mini Camp this year – and every year, for that matter – is the sense of appreciation these campers feel at the end of each day. At the close of dinner, the dining room is opened up for sharing of gratitude and highlights from the day. You cannot contain the joy that percolates in that room.
MoreBefore that summer, I was a girl who lived like a raindrop at the end of a pine needle. Playing fast and loose with time, a loner orb stained by rebellion, questioning my worthiness, searching for my voice. Funny how when God calls, plans melt. Mine dripped all over the points of the steely mountains while the wide Colorado sky opened in torrents of holiness.
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