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Published often and occasionally by the campers and staff of Camp Trinity on the Bar 717 Ranch in the interest of news, fun, and ... Good Camping!

Vol 1  |  Fall 2013  |  No. 1

Dear Campers, Parents, Staff, Alumni, and Friends,

Welcome to the ‘new’ Campservations! Like an old friend whom we have not seen in a while, we are so happy to have Campservations back! And… we think it looks better than ever.

Campservations, our Camp Trinity newsletter, has gone through many variations during its 50-plus year history.  As it has always said on the cover, Campservations is published ‘often and occasionally by the Campers and Staff of Camp Trinity on the Bar 717 Ranch’ with the intent of keeping you, our big extended Camp family, up to date on all the news from the Ranch.

Early Campservations were printed using a hand cranked mimeograph machine which Grover Gates, our founder, had set up the Press Shack at Camp.  The ‘ka-chung,’ ‘ka-chung’, ‘ka-chung’ of that now archaic wonder was a familiar sound of my childhood. A photocopier replaced that mimeograph, and now email has replaced the photocopier, sparing a tree somewhere, yet still fulfilling the original intent of keeping the Camp Trinity community connected.

Staying connected is what’s important. The mechanics of how Campservations reaches you, paper or pixels, likely matters less than what’s contained within. For us, what it’s about is building and maintaining the Camp Trinity community. From September to June, Camp Trinity could be said to be wherever you, our campers, parents, staff and alumni, can be found. Spread across the globe, we can be connected electronically, but ultimately it is the shared experience of Camp Trinity that unites the community.

Fall at the RanchOctober on the Ranch this year has been one beautiful autumn day after another.  It’s quiet without the hum, buzz and bubble of Camp life, but fall is always a busy time. There’s lots to do as we prepare for the rain and snow we know are coming. Platforms and program areas get packed up and put away, the gardens must be disked under and planted to cover crops, and now is the time to cut and split enough firewood to keep our woodstoves going until March.

Former campers who come back to visit always remark that the Ranch looks just like they remember.  Hmmm, I always think to myself, the place is actually always changing, but I also understand what they mean.  Camp ‘feels’ the same, and that’s what people remember. What they see matters less, I believe, then how they feel about it.

Kent

Did You Know ... ?

Original Bell Tower…we had four calves born after Camp into our beef cow herd?  Also, Fern (our Jersey milk cow) is due to calve in January so we’ll be able to have fresh milk next summer?

…we are excited to announce we're working with Campminder (www.campminder.com) to provide online registration, along with a host of other services that will streamline registration for all Camp families?
 
…we’ve created a new Fourth Session? It will be one week long, from Aug 3-Aug 9, 2014. Interested Session 4 campers will have the option to participate in several special programs which will focus on building skills in Horsemanship or Primitive Skills or Backpacking.
 
…that last summer we launched a new option for 17 year old campers to return for an extended backpacking trip into the Trinity Alps?  Tessa Westfall, Joe Simon, Lisa Martinez, Hannah Tishkoff, and Maud Yon joined Counselors Lindsey Brady and Jessie Holtz for a tremendous trip during which they hiked to Caribou Lakes and then over Sawtooth Ridge before visiting Emerald and Sapphire Lakes.
 
…that we have 5000 Douglas Fir, Ponderosa, and Sugar Pine seedlings to plant this winter on the Ranch?   We spent two winters cleaning up brush and other forest fuels on portions of the Ranch that burned in the 2008 Miners Fire.  This land is now more fire-safe and ready for forest regeneration.
 
…that Paul Wills has fabricated a new bell tower out of steel which we designed to look just like the old bell tower that was made from Fir poles?

Get Ready for Summer 2014

CampThe summer of 2013 was full of adventure. From the swim hole to the craft shop and all the way to the Trinity Alps, we were amazed by the energy and enthusiasm of our Bar 717 campers this past summer. To get a sense for some of the highlights, please check out the Bar 717 Ranch Facebook page, where we have posted photos from all four camp sessions and from Family Camp.  Although winter has arrived here at the Ranch, we are already looking forward to summer of 2014. Enrollment for next summer's sessions is now open! You can register on the camp website. We are anxious to see the faces of new and returning campers beneath the apple trees!

How About Them Apples?

by Kristen Brooks

The cool thing about pressing apples into apple juice at Camp Trinity is that every inch of the process, from picking apples from our trees to pulverizing the apples into juice, happens right here within Main Camp. Many of the apples come from right over the grass where we sit after each meal for announcements!
Read More ...

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by YOU!

Did you like this issue of Campservations? Let us know! If you have ideas about how to make it better or what you'd like to see in coming issues, let us know those too. Most importantly, if you want to pitch in and contribute news, a story, a picture, a poem, we'd love these most of all. You can contribute here.

The Bar 717 Ranch

Mountain Ranch living for children ages 8-16
Established 1930
email: camptrinity@bar717.com
phone: (530) 628-5992
website: www.bar717.com
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