by Amber Anderson, Recreation
Coordinator
As we review and evaluate our summer season, I am reminded
of the numerous individuals and organizations that generously donated their
time and services to making the summer of 2013 a great season for the youth of
Pinedale. From off-site trips to on-site
visitors, the summer at the Pinedale Aquatic Center was positively enhanced by
the Pinedale community.
We launched our summer in Little Wrangler Day Camp with a
visit from the Sublette County Sherriff’s Office who led the group through bike
safety. These safety skills were put to
use as we biked around town for varies off-site trips including archery with
Mark Kroger from the Wind River Archery Club and attending free kids movies,
generously sponsored by the Pinedale Entertainment Center, the Pinedale
Preschool and the Sublette County Recreation Board. We visited the Sublette County Library to
check-out books, research our favorite super hero, and participate in a number
of their interactive youth activities. We
also had the opportunity to take a trip to the Daniel Fish Hatchery and Sommers
Homestead Ranch, although these trips did not include bikes!
Along with our off-site trips, we had the honor of hosting a
number of guest presenters on-site at the Pinedale Aquatic Center. We expanded our knowledge with projects about
nutrition, including cooking practice, with Sam Harnack and soil experiments
and wild fire demonstrations with Kari Bousman from the Sublette County
Conservation District. We panned for
gold with miner enthusiast Jon Crockett and were introduced to the farm with a
visit from Heather Grossman and her 4-H animals. We even learned about the various types of
trout in the area with the Wyoming Game and Fish and the areas wildflowers with
botanist enthusiast Lincoln Proud.
Our summer adventures continued with themed weeks that
included focused activities. Animal
week was enhanced with an educational visit to Faler Brother’s Taxidermy, while
Wild West week was enriched during a visit to the Mountain Man Museum as well
as a visit from a posse of Mountain Men from Rio Verde Engineering. Super hero week was made real with a visit to
the County Jail and a visit from the Pinedale EMS, which included a full tour
of the ambulance. We practiced our
tricks and skills during carnival week with a hula hooping challenge with
Michelle Fenn, a friendly game of bowling at Big Piney’s Flicks & Pins, and
watched live demonstrations at the Sublette County Fair. 
The above list is amazing!
All of these organizations and individuals volunteered to make the
summer of 2013 educational, adventurous, and memorable. Thank you Pinedale for your commitment to the
youth of our community! As the saying goes…
“it takes a community.”
