Long time camp director Mary Ellen Wilson Towne once said what made Teton Valley Ranch Camp so unique. ‘It was simple,’ she said. ‘Send youngsters on pack trips into the Wyoming wilderness with just a horse and their good friends, and they will have memories that will last a lifetime.’
For many alumni of TVRC, their memories of camp have lasted a lifetime, and many of these memories came from their time on Teton Valley pack trips.
For you - what memories draw you back to the trail?
Maybe it is the smell of Jack Davis’ pipe that brings you back. You find yourself walking down the street many years removed from your days at the Kelly ranch and you smell that old smoky smell of a campfire out west and you’re brought back to the Bridger Teton Wilderness. Maybe it’s the clanging of the bells on horses. Hearing a cow bell in your life now reminds you of the horses coming back to camp in the morning as you sip hot chocolate and watch mist rise from the North Fork of the Buffalo. Or maybe it is just a packed lunch in a brown bag that will get you thinking of a squished peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a juicy orange. These sights, sounds and simple pleasures bring you back to a favorite time in your life.
Now, we want to bring you back. At TVRC our alumni network is just taking shape. People have been involved with the historic changes that have occurred at the ranch, but now we want to reconnect people with what made them so proud to be a Rough Rider all those years ago. Now we are inviting you to be a part of this backcountry alumni trip experience. Welcome to the newest TVRC program: TVR-LEGENDs.
We will venture out on a pack trip, back into the Buffalo Wilderness to not only reconnect with the place that we love, but also to share the stories of our youth that we all hold so dear. With familiar faces and trip leaders guiding us, the alumni pack trip will kick off the new TVRC Alumni Network, which will seek to ensure that campers do not come to TVRC just for a few years, but rather become a part of the TVRC community for life.
Please tell your former cabin mates about this unique opportunity this summer.
Dust off your boots and pull out your lariat-we look forward to welcoming you back to the ranch again.