Sign up now for our March Group Activity – Bowling at Salida Super Bowl on Saturday, March 14th!  Buena Vista matches can bowl from 1pm to 3pm.  Meet the bus at Avery-Parsons Elementary at 12:15 pm (Make sure to eat lunch before you come!).  We’ll return by 3:45pm.  Salida matches meet us at the bowling alley.  Remember to email hbarron@chaffeecounty.org or call us at 539-2630 to sign up.

Thanks to Monarch Mountain, Mountain Sports Haus, South Central Racing, Chuck Rose, and all our fabulous volunteers who made our annual skiing and snowboarding trips a huge success!  Mentee Jesse H (shown on the left) works for Monarch and helped out with our group.  Meanwhile, a number of youth, including Emily L, Charlotte R, Morgan R (shown in group photo), took a lesson and skied for the first time!  Other matches, like Josh L and Andrew Fahrney (below), enjoyed a great day honing their snowboarding skills.

Mentors & Youth at Monarch last January

Mentors and youth enrolled in Chaffee County Mentors should sign up now for our annual Monarch Mountain days!  Matches can choose to attend either Sunday, January 11th or Saturday, January 31st.  Lift tickets will be provided for all youth and mentors (who do not already have a season pass) and a limited number of lessons will be available to those who are skiing or snowboarding for the first or second time.  Volunteers are needed to ski/board with youth during the day.    Youth who are renting gear must complete the  Mountain Sports Haus Gear Rental Info and Release and those taking lessons must complete the Monarch Mountain Lesson Release.  Don’t forget your parent/guardian signatures!  See the newsletter (page 2) for more details and call us at 719-395-7006 to sign up!

On Saturday, September 13th, 22 youth and volunteers joined us for a jaunt along Twin Lakes to the restored resort of Inter-Laken.  Our adventure began with a bus ride down the bumpy dirt road to the trailhead thanks to our heroine, Kay Blum, head of Salida Transportation.  (Kay later told us proudly that those driving their 4WD trucks down the road were astonished when they pulled into the parking lot and saw a school bus!) 

After a short snack outside the bus, we set off for Inter-Laken.  This resort from the late 1800′s (read more about it at this site) proved to be quite a treat, but not without the treasures of the walk out there.  The mountains were coated with a white from the storm the night before and the aspen leaves were displaying the first shades of yellow.  The sky was clear blue and the lake was shimmering in the sunlight . . . it was one of those perfect Colorado days. 

Andrew and Josh

I started in the back with Andrew Fahrney and his mentee, Josh.  We enjoyed a nice conversation, watched the ripples on the water,  and looked for fish in the lake (we saw a few).  During a stop I joined up with Steve Phillips and his mentee, Josh (a different Josh from Andrew’s mentee), where we spied an osprey on its nest.  Meanwhile, a nearby bird wouldn’t stop shouting its alarms.  Perhaps others could comment on this blog with other sightings and treasures of their walk to Inter-Laken. 

Randy, Ryan, Josh, & Steve

As Steve, Josh, and I started up again, Josh took off at a sprint and then stopped at the top of the hill for Steve.  Josh enjoyed regularly running ahead, each time stopping some distance ahead to wait for Steve.  It seemed we were at Inter-Laken in no time.  I was impressed by the structures.  Many of us enjoyed going to the highest level in the main building — for the view and the fun of going up and down those steep stairs.  We also played with the dogs of other hikers and played by the lake.  Somewhere in there, we ate lunch and hung out. 

Hiking Back to the Bus

We decided to return to the bus as a more cohesive group and offered different kids the opportunity to lead.  Those who took on the role did a great job; meanwhile others were put to task taking photos.  You’ll see some of those on this blog. 

Our time at Twin Lakes reminded me of the simplicity of mentoring.  You don’t need to spend any money.  Just go somewhere and experience it together.  Talk to each other.  Honor each other’s unique ways to experience a place without losing sight of the goal of spending time together  (like Steve and Josh).  Enjoy the journey and, if you get there, the destination.  Remember to try new things and new roles when you’re hanging out (like our hike back).  Photos are a great way to remember your time together, and cheap in this day of digital photography.  We have scrapbooks you can have if you want to make one together. 

Thanks, Barbara & Bruce and all our volunteers!