The Ranch of a Lifetime

          Teen Ranch, a Christian Ranch founded many years ago and is currently in Orangeville, ON. Teen Ranch is a place full of fun and educational activities. The ranch offers amazing opportunities like horseback riding, frolf (disc golf), rock climbing, and wilderness survival. The Teen Ranch currently in Orangeville isn't the only Teen Ranch in the world. There is one, for example, Teen Ranch France. Their purpose? To spread and to teach Christianity. They also teach skills to help you be more independent. Teen Ranch is the most fun and educational place to be.

          The food at the ranch was amazingly DELICIOUS! The staff members there are very talented chefs. Every meal was always so different and always tasted great. My favourite part of the meal was that at the end of every meal we would get dessert and it's always different too. For example one meal we would have pastries and the next would be ice-cream. But before we could eat, everyday 2 groups have to set up/cleanup the meals. Then after the set-up is done, at least 1 member at of each group has to be at a table so they can clean-up.

          The life of living in a cabin is well COOL! In almost every cabin there are 4 bunks so 8 beds. Well except for the girls (Don't really know about the guys). The girls had 4 bunks and 1 extra bed but since nobody was sleeping on it we just used it for luggage. Anyways the bathroom in the cabins was really nice, well except for the shower it is VERY small. It's like you go into the shower and you can barely lift your arms up. Well enough about the shower let's talk about the bunks. The bunks are so comfortable. The beds on the bunks are just regular mattresses covered in a leather cover. Other than that the nights were quiet, everyone slept well, and we just made ourselves at home.

          The activities at the ranch were so magnificent. The activity that was really remarkable was when we went horseback riding because I thought it was a breathtaking view when we rode through the forest. The other activity I really enjoyed was skating. Skating at first was difficult but once I kept trying I learned how to skate. Then there were other activities like wilderness survival, Frolf, rock climbing, and predator and prey. For wilderness survival we had to make our own shelters and it was very frustrating because it was so hard finding and breaking sticks in half. We also played Frolf and the whole point of Frolf is that you have to hit the pole/sign in the lowest amount of throws and it was pretty easy. But then there was rock climbing which was difficult. It was difficult because there were particular rocks that were too small for me to stand on. Last but not least Predator and Prey. Predator and Prey was very hard, well for me since I was a predator. Everyone else, well let's just say they're really good at hiding.

          The night time activities were fantastic. At night there will always be some kind of theme. Like 1^st night was movie night, 2^nd night was karaoke/video dance party, and the 3^rd night was a bonfire/dance party. The 1^st night we watched "Karate Kid". 2^nd night was a karaoke/video dance party. Ms.Babb would put on a Just dance video and we dance along to and she would also play songs and everyone would sing along to it. The last night we went to the forest had a bonfire and then walked back to the ranch for the dance party. Lastly I would just like to say Teen Ranch was a wonderful experience.

          A Catholic Ranch filled with incredible activities and amazing experiences. That's what Teen Ranch is all about. They teach you magnificent skills while making sure you're enjoying yourself. The ranch also allows you to learn catholic ways and meet new people from different places. Like Bob, he's from Australia and is a staff member of Teen Ranch. Now, it's safe to say Teen Ranch is a phenomenal place to be.

by MJ