Making Cookies with the Campers

Had a great day yesterday. In the morning 4 campers and 2 counselors came to Chipeta kitchen with the desire to make cookies institutionally. Since I have kind of been labeled, "Miss Betty Crocker" in our kitchen I was assigned the duty of leading the pack. I had made " Grandma Dots Chocolate Chip" cookies for the full house one night for dessert and everyone loved them of course so decided to do that recipe with the campers. They were all about putting on the gloves and diving into the margerine, shortening, flour and sugar! Of course we used lots of chocolate chips! I did show them the proper way to lick the paddle and we had great success. Everyone wanted the recipe and it just might show up in the "Cheley Camp" newsletter as a camp favorite!

More Visitors

This past week I got to enjoy the company of friends from Manhattan and Kansas City. Missy and Anna Schrader came and stayed at a local bed and breakfast, The Baldpate Inn. Missy is my replacement at Food Stores for the summer. We went swimming, horsebackriding, toured my camp, and ate at several local restaurants. We met Doug, Jamie, Jack and Kate Miller at Poppys,
one of my favories, for pizza and chicken nuggets!! The Millers stayed at the YMCA camp in Estes. Doug is the Campbells soup rep in our area and Jamie is Whit and Blaises upcoming wedding photographer.

Sat 7/25/09

Christmas in July"

Lots of the locals celebrate Christmas in July and we were no different. We dressed up in red and green and decorated the dining room. Several of the campers also dressed up. Santa, Don Cheley, owner of the camp, also showed up to throw candy to the campers. The weather also corporated with a "little white stuff". (hail not snow but the same effect!)

Family Visiting

First term at Cheley is over and said goodbye to the first group of campers sadly. Had gotten to know quite a few of them and enjoyed joking around with them in the kitchen when they would come and get their food. Happily though I got two and a half days off and Mom, Bruce and Jeanne arrived to visit the area. Bruce had gotten a condo on line and it really turned out to be a nice one with a beautiful view of the Rockies. Mom and I are pictured here with the view in the background. We walked the streets of Estes Park and ate lunch at one of my favorite eateries, Poppys on the River where I took a picture of the 3 of them. On Monday we drove in the Park, stopping at Bear Lake and Sprague Lake to eat lunch and travel up Trail Ridge Road to the top of 12,000 feet where there still is snow!! That evening we ate at the Ballpate Inn and right before we got there we had a dark cloud pass over which is the dark picture posted. This area is really getting a lot of rain this year, more than normal so daily one has to be prepared for the rain showers that pop up.

Estes Park Parade

My day off today so went to Dads Laundry and then went to the parade. Our campers had a float and several got to ride in the parade. Lots of cars, tractors, horses and a couple bands. Headed to Boulder to shop around.

MY BIRTHDAY!!

At breakfast the Chipeta kitchen staff were just sitting around the table discussing the calendar and how many days were in July and I just announced it was MY Birthday! Everybody thought I was joking or just remembered it was my birthday. I wish I could have caught their expressions on film. After that the WHOLE camp knew it was my day and made it a great one! Lots of calls from home and family which always makes the day special, got to clean the ovens in the kitchen(afterall I was working and the inspector is coming this week), Ruth Ann bought me a cake I could share with everyone and Angie surprised me with a gettogether at Marys for wine, chocolate covered strawberries and creme brulee'! I topped it off with a piece of mixed berry pie that Theresa a fellow worker gave me for my birthday. Needless to say I needed to run the next morning! I ran to Marys Lake and it is so beautiful in the morning with no wind and the beautiful blue sky.

4th of July

It was really crowed everywhere in Estes for the 4th. Lots of tourists and lots of rain showers. It cleared off for the nightworks which were outstanding. We served fried chicken, corn on the cob, broccoli salad and a dessert pizza made with a sugar cookie base and strawberries and blueberries for garnish. The campers loved it all except the broccoli salad. We had if for several days after!! Got to do 48 dozen deviled eggs for the cookout the next day. Don't think I will be doing deviled eggs at home for awhile!

The Hike

On Friday I hiked with some fellow campers up Longs Peak for a couple hours and then back down. I really thought coming down would be faster but really about the same. We hit snow and got above the treeline. It was really cold and needed to wear several layers. I enjoyed the hike and can see why people get into it because the sights you see are beautiful. Later on in the weekend I treated myself to a horseback ride with "Romeo" the horse and once again saw some beautiful scenery. "Romeo" was kind of a old plug but he was having to do the hard work of the hike and I got to enjoy the beautiful landscape!! Thanks Romeo!