Girl Scouts feel the magic in RFL

By Linda Bell
Correspondent

After dedicating the flagpole circle and new facilities at Magic Sky Ranch on June 23, most of the 200 Girl Scouts rushed off to new adventures.

During this first summer season at the new camp near Red Feather Lakes, junior and senior scouts are horseback riding, climbing the rope course, practicing archery, hiking on the camp's many trails, scrambling up the indoor climbing wall, or attending a science and nature class.

Inevitably, some scouts have to briefly stay behind on "kapers," or cleaning duty.

According to Rachelle Trujillo, public relations manager for Mile Hi District Council in Denver, which built the $16 million facility, it is still "camp" and scouts wash the tables and clean the dining room after meals, while other crews set up for the next meal. They must keep their cabins clean, too, she said.

"We often hear back from parents when the scouts return home that the girls have become more responsible and help more with household chores after their experience here," Trujillo said.

The scouts themselves give the camp high marks--horses, warm showers and flush toilets being some of the most popular amenities. A scout from Centennial, who is participating in one of the three horse units, is hooked on a horse named Pita. Another from Broomfield likes the many new friends she's met at camp.

The girls said their camp counselors come from all over the United States and the world--Finland, Thailand, New Zealand and England--and give themselves "camp names" like Nerd, Pineapple or Lucas that are fun to remember. Resident camp director Stefanie Lawhorn is known as "Tweezer."

Through the summer, the girls in each camping session will choose names for the six new year-round cabins that accommodate 24 campers each. The first summer session chose "Little Thunder" for what had been cabin #2.

The 750-acre camp was purchased by Mile Hi Girl Scout Council in 1969 but was only recently developed to become the council's main outdoor camp that provides year-round facilities rather than just a summer camp, said Trujillo. More than 85 percent of the land area is set aside as natural habitat, ranchlands or open space, she said.

Besides the new cabins and dining hall, Magic Sky has an activity center with an indoor performing arts stage opening to a mini- amphitheater; classrooms for arts, crafts, science and natural history; a large gym with a climbing wall; and a small store called The Trading Post.

Outside, there are playing fields for softball and volleyball, an astronomy trail with telescopes, a rope and challenge course, an archery range, extensive hiking trails and a campfire circle.

The equestrian center with two outdoor rings and an indoor classroom has 55 horses leased from Sombrero Ranch, a large horse outfitter with stables throughout northern Colorado, Trujillo said. When the council closed its camp in Deckers, the camp's horses were given to Sombrero on condition they be part of the herd to be relocated to Magic Sky, she said.

Scouts can sign up for one of three intensive horse units during a two-week camp session--Blazing Saddles for the advanced riders, Happy Trails for intermediate riders and Boots and Saddles for beginners.

Two shelter units with two bath and shower houses each accommodate 28 tent campers and are available seasonally. The original Magic Sky Lodge on the property accommodates another 40 people and has its own fully equipped kitchen and indoor plumbing.

Behind the scenes are offices for administrative staff, a professionally staffed health center, a huge kitchen and a state-of-the-art water treatment facility with an 800-gallon water tower fed by two deep wells. The council was granted a water augmentation decree in 1985 to cover this eventual build-out.

On Oct. 1, all Colorado Girl Scouts will come together in a new statewide council--the Girl Scouts of Colorado. It will encompass the existing five regional councils and eight Colorado counties not currently served by councils. Trujillo said this will make Magic Sky Ranch equally available to all Girl Scouts in Colorado.