Graduation Day

Colorado Historical Society President Ed Nichols congratulates camp

graduates with camp director Lawrence Pacecho, Bobbe Hultin, camp administrator

and Kathy Schultz park ranger in the background.

Sand Dunes Day

After the Sand Dunes we came back to the fort for a fiesta! Luis, Lissette, Claudia and Rae'ven performed for our special guests and then we danced and danced to the wonderful music of the Mariachi San Luis group.

We hiked a new trail in the Sand Dunes National Park with our fantastic park rangers.

Exploring the arts

Today we learned about Hispano folk art and how it evolved from using leftover materials to make pieces of art. This was because the San Luis Valley was so isolated. Mr. Rick talked to us about this and then challenged us to make art out of our trash.

See what we made! We also visited Theresa Vigil and learned about the herbs you can collect in the mountains and what they can be used for.

Then after dinner we were given assignments to play specific people who were important to Ft. Garland. We had so much fun dressing up and acting our parts.

Buffalo Soldier Day

We watched the Buffalo Soldiers work with their horses. It was very impressive.

This is us doing battle with water guns. Once you were shot with a water gun you were wounded and had to be carried off of the battleground. We also learned how important it was to follow your commander's instructions in the heat of 'battle'. It was a blast. and we will probably do it again when it get's hot this afternoon.

Boy, we had a very full day. We learned more about Buffalo Soldiers, we rode horses, we practiced our drills, we had water gun battles, we designed our own forts and we even had time to sit under a tree and listen to music!

Back at home in our wonderful Ft. Garland. Tomorrow
we are learning about the Buffalo Soldiers that lived here.

Exploring the awe-inspiring Stations of the Cross in San Luis.

Baby piglets need a lot of care and love.

Collecting eggs

Austyn picking sweet peas. Yum!

COLORADO CAMP

Well, it is the second full day of camp and things are going great! We spent the first two days of camp living at the Quintana ranch in San Pablo, Colo. a few miles east of San Luis. We became ranchers taking care of the animals and the land. Check out these pics....

Texas Wagon Train

Whew! We just finished our wagon train in Texas and boy are we all tired. We walked or rode for 8 miles each day. It was an incredible experience. See for yourself......

We were able to see and experience the beautiful Texas scenery.

We were split into different companies and each company had a flag that they had to carry through out the trip.

The wagons were really cool and fun to ride in.

We also got to ride horses.

When you ride the horses you also have to take care of them.

We also did some walking on the trail.

With all of the walkers, horses and wagons our train became very long.

Our train even drew spectators .

We cooked like they did in the old days with dutch ovens and wood fires. We even learned old west dinner etiquette.

After dinner we got to listen to some real country music.

We learned a lot about history.

We learned what weapons people had in the past and how they were used.

Of course, games were played too.

We all had a wonderful time and will remember this trip for a long time.