AAVE Trip BLOG » Colorado Discovery
September 16, 2008
Thank You AAVE for a Successful Summer!
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Every aspect about Nathan’s trip was extremely successful!!! Once we started packing, we had countless questions and no matter who we spoke with at your office, they were always pleasant and patient despite our repetitive and probably ridiculous questions! They addressed every possible and not-so-possible concern. Additionally, Taylor personally called us before Nathan left; spoke with us upon his arrival and again at the half-way point. He gave us details about Nathan, what the group was doing and how the trip was going overall. It was obvious he loves his job and it must have been contagious with all the kids. We relished the posts to the blog, even scanning some of your other trip’s adventures. We have the impression from Nathan that it was a priority to work as a team, that all the kids had important and necessary responsibilities and that none of it felt like work (which is key for Nathan, probably most 12-year-olds!). Nathan has stayed in touch with some of the kids, another positive reflection and gift that this summer gave him friendships that will last for a long, long time. We are so proud of Nathan for wanting to do this despite not knowing anyone. It taught him independence and resiliency. This trip will stay with him for years to come. At every point, we truly felt he was safe and undoubtedly having the best summer of his life! We are extremely grateful to the entire AAVE team. Yes, it’s true, you indeed exceeded our expectations. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!! -Lisa Weinstock
Backpack outside of Buena Vista
September 7, 2008
A Colorado Summer Adventure!
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Hi, Thanks so much for giving Kailtyn the opportunity to have this trip. The office was great to work with in getting everything turned in. I felt that Kaitlyn was well cared for and comfortable. I asked her who her favorite trip leader was and she said each of them had different areas where they were the best. I asked her what she learned one thing she learned was “that if you really put your mind to it you can accomplish things that are hard.” The week after AAVE Kailtyn went on a 50 mile backpack trip in the Sawtooth Mountains in Idaho. I have no doubt that the experience at AAVE prepared her for this challenging adventure and she continued to grow and learn more. Thanks again. -Jolene Hale
A little guitar playing while climbing
August 25, 2008
Colorado Discovery Adventure Camp
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Ulysse could not stop smiling on his return. He came back self-confident, obviously happy and looking forward to going back next year. He improved his English skills and very much enjoyed the team spirit. We appreciated receiving a very friendly call from Taylor giving us a mid-stay status report. A very smooth and successful experience for a first time away from a family environment!!! Many thanks from grateful parents. -Sylvie Kleiman
Mountain biking in Crested Butte
August 21, 2008
Terrific Colorado Summer Adventure!
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This was Ron’s first extended camp experience. We hoped he would come back with a better understanding of cooperative peer interaction and more self confidence. We were pleased he had both. He had a terrific time on this trip and still brings up stories and memories regularly. He is excited about next year which is the highest form of compliment. Thanks AAVE once again and a special thanks to Taylor for his personal dedication making it a successful trip. Sarah & Richard Bertasi
Colorado friendships
August 14, 2008
Summer Adventure Colorado
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Brant loved the trip! He especially liked the rafting, rock climbing, mountain biking, and helping at the animal shelter. He made some really good friends. He said the food was really good, too. His only complaint was that the backpack hip belt couldn’t be tightened enough to fit him, so he had to carry the whole weight of the pack on his shoulders. -Maile Feick
Now that's team work!
August 11, 2008
Wilderness Summer Adventure in Colorado
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Summer Fun
My Summer with AAVE was a very successful one. Along with having so much fun and meeting so many new people i learned so much about the wilderness in doing some things that i have never done before. -Robbie Ettinger
August 5, 2008
Colorado Discovery #3 Shout Out!
Posted by Nate at AAVE in : Colorado Discovery, General AAVE Trip BLOG , add a comment
Summer fun in the Rockies!
Hey Abbott, friends and family back home.
It’s CD#3 sending a shout out from the Colorful Colorado! Thanks for sending your kids on this trip they are amazing, funny and all around great!! We rafted the last two days down the Arkansas river in a beautiful section called Browns Canyon. All the kids had a wonderful time and some enjoyed it so much they jumped out of the raft in fits of joy and went down the river on their own solo rafting trip, WITH life vests! We pulled them back in the raft as soon as we could of course, it was so much fun!! We’ve been on some group hikes and swimming in a couple of rivers, cold rivers. We’re never to far from a water supply and we are either jumping in or dumping on each other.
The food is really good too we had fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, salami with baguette’s for lunch with banana’s, mangoes and guacamole with chips and salsa. The evening before we said ‘como estas?’ at the Coyote Cantina where we all stuffed ourselves with the classic colorado mexican food and competed in intense games of fooze ball!! The Italian girls, Clara Ballerani and Elena Bellocchio and the spaniard Javier Pereira seemed to have the game dialed.
We have awesome circle up meetings as well! Last night we each answered Tristan’s question: Do you believe in love? and What is love to you? We also talked about the influence of music and lyrics in supporting healthy lifestyles. Wow!! I was impressed these kids are very mature.
So for those of you who don’t get to meet all the kids, except your own. Here are a few things that have happened to show you a bit about each of the group members. We have two girls from Italy, Clara and Elena, both are very sweet and fun (and give good lessons in italian ‘boun pomeriggio!’). We were in the cold river yesterday evening when Clara came running around the corner and jumped in the cold river while the rest of us were slowly getting adjusted. Elena was in the van (which we generally aren’t allowed to eat in) when I saw her eating some chocolate bar so I went to the van to grab it from her when she took the rest and shoved it in her mouth and with a big smile ate the rest. Then handed me the wrapper like all was well. I couldn’t help but laughing. 
Rob Ettinger is a determined boy, he is really strong and would only climb the hardest climbing routes, he even attempted a overhanging problem!!! It was hot in the sun and we had to put sunscreen on Rob, we didn’t know the sunscreen was purple so he had purple sunscreen on him while he climbed, it was pretty funny. And he’s not sunburned. Max Newman is our California goof ball, so funny, you should see him dance! It’s not uncommon to have the van cracking up with Max in the middle!! Stuart Stanley is our ball of enthusiasm. It doesn’t matter if we wake up at six in the morning or go to bed at midnight he has a ton of energy and excitement. Tristan Litre, Brian Cook and Jeremiah Hassett (Jere or Jerememiah) all from Georgia are all funny kids. We were on the tarp during the first of the trip and they started the TWF (tarp wrestling federation) soon everybody was tangled up in a sleeping bag battle. These three boys have a lot of strength and smarts. They can speak fluent French and when we go climbing they always choose the ‘hard routes’!! Javier is our mature boy, and real quick one two, he has mad foot skills when we play soccer. When we were playing soccer and frisbee he was quick and agile. Plus he as a such a funny laugh; when he laughs you have to start laughing because it’s so great!!! Now Sam Moore is such a rad kid! Sam is super funny and does awesome dance moves, and he’s a friend to everyone. He has a witty humor and is always helpful! Jacob Richmond (he and Max came together) is such a amazing kid. I was putting water on the kids this morning to get the sleepy ones out of bed when Jacob comes out of the sky with a nalgene bottle and soakes me right in front of everybody. They all thought it was really funny! Next you have to know about Ali Marks, ‘not Allison, it’s Ali’, she’s fantastic, she’s a really good climber and she has a ton of energy!! Ali is really optimistic which is such a bonus (and mom she has a really good photo of her with pig tails and a rock climbing helmet that you have to see cuz it’s so cute, I’ll make sure she doesn’t delete it!). Okay last story, this is about Demeatria Olah from Texas, she is our little ‘Qween Kahuna’ (that was her name when we went bowling), she is a cheeky little water girl who probably got the whole group soaked our first night at Ruby Mountain, including myself, and wouldn’t stop soaking everyone till we all just stood there because we couldn’t possible get more wet. It was so much fun!!!
So as you can see we have an amazing group!!! Everybody is rock climbing as I write this message and tonight were going to SHOWER!!! and swim at a hot spring at the base of the 14,000 ft Mt. Princeton!!
having fun in the sun living the AAVE life!
Taylor Allred, Tara Allman, Katie Arnold
Colorado Rocky Mountains
Colorado Discovery #2 - Adventure Camp
Posted by Nate at AAVE in : Colorado Discovery, General AAVE Trip BLOG , add a comment
Hello to everyone back home, not camping under the stars,
We’re nearing the end of our adventure in Colorado. Last weekend we rafted some class 3 and 4 rapids on the Arkansas River. Jason shined as a lead paddler and Mo, Kofi, and Aaron were instrumental in beginning splash wars that everyone enjoyed.
Yesterday we completed a 3 day backpack in the White River National Forest. Our trek included some challenging terrain and the kids handled it like pros! Great attitudes and a great experience for all. Steven enjoyed encountering the marmots when hiking above treeline, around 11,000 feet! Gaby, Zoie, and Kaitlyn took time to smell the roses (literally!) as we hiked through beautiful alpine meadows.
Today we will celebrate all of our accomplishments by traveling to Boulder for a day of fun in town and our final barbecue together!
We hope you enjoy the pictures!
Meghan, Allison, and Takeo
July 25, 2008
CD3 - Greetings back home — A breath of fresh Colorado air!!
Posted by taylor allred in : Colorado Discovery , add a comment
Wow! What an energetic crew! When everyone met at the airport, it was as if we were instantaneous friends. Couldn’t believe it. All smiles, with many outgoing personalities, and a desire for adventure! Just what we LOVE to see.
Upon departure from the airport, we headed to Cherry Creek State Park for a quick picnic with games. Luckily we beat the afternoon showers, and drove into the mountains and up to Kenosha pass (10,000 feet), where we had our first night of camping. Everyone has a great sense of teamwork, because they are able to work hard and, best of all, PLAY hard.
The first evening, we ate a wonderful spaghetti dinner, and had time for three games of capture the flag! The next morning we all ate cereal with berries. Yum! The earlier risers were able to go on a quick morning jog, but the activity doesn’t stop there! No one could decide which game they liked most, so we played them all: kickball, soccer, AND ultimate frisbee!!
Lunch and horses came with Ralph, the authentic, tall mustached cowboy with chaps. Gotta love the west! We will be camping back at Kenosha Pass tonight, hiking tomorrow, and then doing our first service project the next day. We will be in touch with details soon. Hope all is well at home!!
Lovin’ Colorado!!
The Colorado Disco Crew
CD1 - Final Farewell!! CD#1, 2008!
Posted by taylor allred in : Colorado Discovery , add a comment
Horseback riding in the Rockies
Hello to all you beautiful shining campers! I hope you have all arrived safely and are happily rested up and sharing some of your most favorite Colorado Disco summer moments!
As leaders, we sure enjoyed the last few days. We got a “real” taste of what it is like to survive by ourselves in the mountains on our finale backpacking trip up Gold Dust Trailhead, on our way up to Mt. Silverheels . . . With a dusk start, the night hike in was lit by starlight most of the time. We admittedly backtracked during the night, but the path during the daylight was even more gorgeous. The long uphills were a true test of our brute strength as a team, and we were rewarded with a mountain top campsite and sunset, followed by a game of “Zombies”. Truly hilarious!! (Of course, no match for the many versions of “Cream of Wheat”!)
The weather did not hold up for our summit that evening, but our biggest successful challenge came the next morning, on Day 3 of our backpack . . . Young & brave Brant hurt his knee and we all got our chance at carrying him and our 2 backpacks. Wow! Mom and Dad, you should be so proud!! This organized rescue was accompanied by positive attitudes, and followed by . . . showers!
We headed back to Denver and decided to have an Odessey dance party, dinner at the Macaroni Grill, ice cream, and a camp out with bittersweet goodbyes at the airport.
In the words of Jeremy, all I’ve gotta say is, “Te amo!” You all rocked it on this trip, and we cannot wait to hear about what adventures you are up to next! We look forward to seeing many of you back next year, but in the meantime, enjoy school (yes, enjoy it), friends, and family back home!!
Cheers mates!
Taylor, Tara, & Katie
Lovin’ Colorado!!
The Colorado Disco Crew