New Adult Workshops, New Inspiration

When you picture camp activities at the A/U Ranches, you likely see horseback riding, whitewater rafting, peaking mountains, and other high-adventure pursuits. And we love all of these! But what about offerings for participants who would like more variety or something quieter? 

Two always-popular a la carte options are fly fishing and art workshops – so we thought, why not offer them as programs, too?

For the first time this summer, we included a watercolor workshop and fly fishing clinic during Adult Mini Camp in August. And, given how well they were received, we’re excited to offer more programs like this in future years. 

Fly fishing adventures

Participants in the fly fishing workshop learned basic fly casting at camp from local professional fly fishing guides. They then spent two guided days on the Arkansas River, either float fishing or wade fishing. Lots of new skills were learned, and many fish were caught! 

A/U Ranches co-director Aaron Morris, an avid fisherman in his own right, is already planning future fly fishing adventures for camp – some local, perhaps some further afield. If you have an interest in fishing (as a novice or enthusiast), keep a lookout for more opportunities to come.

Watercolor inspiration

For the watercolor workshop, we invited Kelly Foxton, a professional artist who leads monthly online watercolor classes for DiscoveryBound (DB) Outreach, to join us. Kelly brought her extensive skills and experience to camp and taught participants a variety of techniques and tricks to elevate their painting. 

Using our natural settings at camp as inspiration, our participant artists learned techniques such as dry vs. wet painting, color mixing, and brush handling. After spending three days focused around the art studio at camp, they took their new skills to Aspen for the day for some plein air painting! 

Kelly’s workshop has inspired us to include more artistic endeavors in our programs, in addition to the well-loved arts and crafts opportunities that participants already enjoy. Keep a lookout for more workshops to come – and in the meantime, give one of DB Outreach’s virtual watercolor classes a try! Check out the DB calendar for upcoming sessions.