COLORADO.

After much waiting and anticipation, I finally made it to Steamboat Springs! The flight from Columbus to Denver was a little more turbulent than I expected and, as always, that freaks me out. Surprisingly the flight over the mountains (from Denver to Hayden, the airport 30 minutes away from camp) was LESS turbulent. I was thankful for that...we JUST missed the storms! It was still pretty rainy though and cold. This adopted Southerner no longer has the ability to stand 50 degree or below temps for long periods of time. Very sad fact, but true.

I've only been here since Sunday, but I feel like it's been much longer than that...maybe a month? Or two? I've adjusted pretty well to the altitude without the aid of any drugs, just tons and tons of water...which makes me pee quite a lot. But I feel super healthy and cleansed all the time, so that's a wonderful benefit. The mud and rain that was present the first 2 days of camp has now pretty much dried up and I'm staring at slightly cloudy (but sunny skies)...it's probably in the lower 70s. Much better than hailing, rainy 50s! The nights are still pretty cold. One large reason would be because the screen on my door leading to the outside doesn't have a glass in front of it so I had to "ghetto rig" it, as I like to say. Basically that consists of a thin cloth tacked in front of the screen, most of my hanging clothes, and then a towel strung over that. I haven't noticed much help from that...I'm sleeping in a sweatshirt, multiple shirts and pairs of socks, and sweatpants. Sadly my parents are in North Carolina right now and can't send me any of my warm clothes from home. Only a few more weeks and then I won't have to wear my same old Belhaven College sweatshirt all the time!

Like I said, so much has happened in these past few days and it's really hard to wrap my mind around it all. I've met tons of new people and continue to meet new ones daily. The Technical Director here is from Ohio-I knew I had to meet him when I saw he was wearing a Buckeyes sweatshirt! I've also had the immense pleasure of meeting my fellow counselors...we come from ALL over and all walks of life and backgrounds and such. It's eye opening, beautiful, difficult (at times) and crazy, all at the same time! I was a little lonely a few nights ago but now we're all meshing and blending more, and I can honestly say I love each one of them. We laugh and laugh and laugh until we're practically crying and peeing our pants. Belly laughter is my favorite! We have inside jokes all over the place and I bought a pair of $5 "State Trooper" aviators...I call them my authority glasses. Basically I look REALLY authoritative and official in them...those kids won't know what's coming to them!

We've done a few different counselor activities each night, which are totally necessary after all of the meetings we have all day. We got to go to the hot springs the other night, which was super awesome! It's basically natural hot baths in the earth...kinda like an earthen hot tub. We went to a place where clothing is optional after dark but we left before then. Someday when I'm old, I WILL return there and partake of that! Last night we went into Steamboat and walked around and got coffee. I LOVE developed downtowns, and that is certainly one of them. It's adorable, and there are a lot of fun shops. We're going to be taking the kids there once a week, so it was good to be familiar with the town. I don't know how that's going to work exactly, but they've been doing it for years so I'm sure it'll all flow once we get the hang of everything.

Another interesting experience I've had is learning how to drive a 15 passenger van! It's not as scary as I initially thought and it makes me feel like I own the road, which I love. Combine that with my Statie sunglasses and I'm basically unstoppable!

(Sooo I started this many days ago but I haven't been able to get on the internet lately...so now I'm going to finish it!)

I also rode a horse the other day for the first time in a long while and I forgot how relaxing that is. Sometimes it's just nice to sit on a horse and not really have to do anything, except move the reins occasionally. Plus it's a really beautiful way to observe nature and breathe in the fresh air. I can't get OVER how clean the air is here. It's unbelievable.

The 11th, 12th, and college age kids arrived the other day so that's been interesting and fun. Except at the same time, I'm feel a bit useless because the counselors for the older kids are taking care of their kids and I'm just doing random office work and such. Or crocheting...quite a lot. I'm on my third hat so far and it's REALLY fun. I'm trying new patterns and making them for people here. Inspiration is just FLOWING!

I got placed in Jazz I and Tap I and those classes start tomorrow...yippee! I've taken tap before but never Jazz-it's going to be great.

This post has taken me far too long to write, so I think I'm just going to end this. Basically I love life, nature, the out of doors, and people. And Jesus. I think this whole experience is going to bring me closer to him. I'm happy to be alive!