Dear Campers, Parents, Staff, Alumni, and Friends,
 If you're a camp parent, you already know that sending your kids away is really, really hard. Why do we do this? Because kids flourish in a community that supports their independence and inherent desire to learn. By building meaningful connections with peers under the guidance of caring adults, they have experiences that feed their soul and shape them into the people we hope they will be in the world. This is what makes the days of missing them worthwhile. It may sound familiar to you, but as a Camp Director, it was new to me.
It took us forever to get there. All that driving! Even after that, we had to travel several miles of two-lane road before we saw the front gate. On the drive, our conversations had been a mix of excitement (who will my friends be, who will I be living with?) and nervous anticipation (what will it be like to be away?) Finally…there was the sign, this was the place!
Walking up to the check-in table I had an uneasy feeling in my stomach. What were we doing? Would she be happy here? Other families were arriving, meeting the staff, finding their cabins, moving in. We emptied the duffle bag, made the bed, and arranged a few mementos from home and pictures of friends. Too quickly, it was time to say goodbye. By now, I should know my own advice: don’t linger, let her go. She would be home for the summer in nine months…
This fall, my daughter started her freshman year at Midland, a boarding high school in the Santa Ynez valley, north of Santa Barbara, CA. If you’ve sent a child to camp, you know well the emotions that come with being separated for the first time. Despite our every instinct to keep our children close, we still encourage them to take on new adventures. For families who’ve made this choice, the rewards for your child are tremendous: independence, new friendships, and expanding self-confidence are just the tip of the iceberg.
 It’s truly something to see children thrive in a community where tolerance, respect, and an appreciation for each other and the natural world guide their actions and the ways in which they live and learn. Midland does this very well during the school year and each summer, we do our darnedest to create just such a place here at the Bar 717 Ranch. I am always amazed to see the growth that occurs for campers over the course of just one short camp session. Just a week or two after arriving at the ranch, kids who were concerned about hiking to their platform bravely volunteer to climb Gates Mountain. First-time campers who reluctantly parted with their parents excitedly tour their families around the ranch and introduce them to new friends at pickup. I believe we need more of these places and experiences in the world, so boy is it a kick when your kid finds a gem like this for themselves.
If we happen to cross paths at camp this summer, I’ll have a deeper appreciation for the courage it took for you, whether camper or parent, to find yourself a home away from home. This summer will be the 88th year of Camp Trinity on the Bar 717 Ranch. We are looking forward to spending it with all of you here in the beautiful mountains of Trinity County.
Wishing you all the best from all of us here at the Ranch,
Kent
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