2026 Wrangler Summer

the WrangLer WrangLer

Teton Valley Ranch Camp Summer 2026

“TVRC has a way of growing stronger through every challenge, because it is held by people who refuse to let it be otherwise. That includes you.”

—JIM AND CORA LIGORI

Letter from the Directors

As the summer days are upon us, and we step into our 88th season, there is a familiar sense of anticipation in the air. We suspect many of you feel it too, wherever you are in the country. This off-season took us on the road for our Roundup tour, where we had the privilege of sitting in living rooms and gathering spaces with families across the country. Those visits reminded us of something we never want to take for granted: the deep trust placed in us each summer when, as parents, you send your children to TVRC or when, as alumni, you carry TVRC forward in your own lives. That trust drives the work we do each season.

We are thrilled to share that summer 2026 is fully enrolled, both boys and girls sessions, and we cannot wait to welcome back familiar faces and introduce a new generation of campers to their first TVRC summer. DEAR

For camper families, we want you to know that the Ranch is ready. We are putting the finishing touches on several meaningful facility improvements: a new Grand Bathhouse, a new Laundry Facility, and our Backcoun- try Basement (BCB). We share these not simply as construction updates, but because they matter to your camper’s experience. Better logistics behind the scenes means our staff’s energy stays where it belongs — on the trail, in the saddle, and with your kids. A smooth-running camp is a better camp, and these projects are a direct investment in that.

None of this would have been possible without the generosity of our camp and alumni families. To those who contributed: you will see

your investment in the faces of campers who arrive at a campus better prepared to serve them than ever before.

To our alumni: this summer marks a decade since the Lava Mountain Fire reached our boundaries. If you were here in those years, you know what that moment meant. Looking at those hills today — vivid and green and return ing — is a quiet and powerful thing. It reflects something true about this place, and about the people who have loved it across nearly nine decades. TVRC has a way of growing stronger through every challenge, because it is held by people who refuse to let it be otherwise. That includes you.

former Owners, Directors, and Board members — past and present — whose time and wisdom shaped what we steward today. You set a standard that we work every day to honor.

that also coincides with our country’s 250th birthday, we feel the weight and the privilege of this moment in TVRC’s story. Whether you are a first-year camp parent filled with equal parts excitement and nervousness, a returning family who has trusted us for years, or an alum for whom this place lives somewhere deep in your heart: thank you. Thank you for your trust, your generosity, and your presence in this community. We look forward to the return of the horses, the laughter in the cabins, woodsmoke in the pine, and the spirit of adventure that has always

Executive Director and

Camp

Director

SAME LEGACY. NEW HORIZON.

Our History from Kelly to Dubois

Descending the eastern slope of Togwotee Pass and exiting the Shoshone National Forest, ranch gates begin appearing on the south side of Highway 26. You can’t help but feel as though you have passed into a different part of Wyoming—far from the bustling summer streets of present-day Jackson. As you continue toward Dubois, you will find an arched gate on the banks of the Wind River displaying Teton Valley Ranch Camp in proud red lettering. The gate ushers you onto a driveway that crosscuts the hill on the opposite bank and disappears onto the sagebrush plateau above. Past the “Caution Campers at Play”

sign are four miles of winding gravel road leading you toward the heart of TVRC.

As you slowly navigate the curves, the landscape shifts between rolling sagebrush hills, forested areas, lowland marshes, a cluster of historic tiehack cabins, and the remaining markers of the 2016 Lava Mountain Fire. Antelope, deer, and elk sometimes skirt across the road as you drive, while regional birds fly overhead or perch in the trees. As the minutes pass, your curiosity about when you will see the first signs of camp segues into amazement at the raw beauty of the 2,360acre Crooked Creek Ranch. Just when you’ve

convinced yourself that you must be on the wrong driveway, the road wraps alongside Fred Wright’s Pond—finally bringing Camp proper into view. For many in our community, campers and staff alike, this is the moment when the emotional flood of returning home takes over. As the Barn, Dining Hall, and cabins take shape you could easily believe that TVRC has stood on this land since 1939.

This summer marks two significant milestones in the TVRC story. It is our 25th summer as the TVRC Education Foundation (TVRC-EF), the 501(c)(3) formed between 2000 and 2001 to continue the legacy of TVRC, and the start of our third decade on the Crooked Creek Ranch. It is also a moment for reflection and gratitude for the community members, resources, and hard work that established a new home for TVRC and ensured its future for generations to come.

There are many individuals who were crucial

to the formation and leadership of the TVRC Education Foundation. TVRC is in a position of organizational strength today because of their commitment to camp and their belief in the lifechanging experiences it provides. Our reflection today focuses on the construction of our facilities, the opportunities offered by our location in Dubois, and the stewardship of our land along with the coinciding fundraising campaigns that created the foundation on which we operate today.

When the original camp property in Kelly, Wyoming, was listed for sale, the TVRC-EF launched the Ready to Ride campaign to save the camp. The initial hope was to purchase the 150 acres of the TVR Ranch in Kelly; however, as that objective fell out of reach, the goal shifted to identifying and securing a new property to build a permanent home for TVRC. For three years, camp operated out of the Double Bar J Ranch in Dubois while the search for a property ensued.

Unbeknownst to the team at the time, they would find the ideal property just a few doors down US Highway 26 at the Crooked Creek Ranch, a parcel of raw, undeveloped land (without even a road!)

In December of 2003, the TVRCEF closed on the land purchase and quickly got to work on bringing a camp facility to life. Building roads, installing bridges, and finding a place to anchor Camp proper had to happen quickly yet intentionally. Creating the magic of TVRC in 18 months on a new landscape could feel like an insurmountable task but, thankfully for all of our past, present, and future Rough Riders, was one very worthy of undertaking. TVRC celebrated its first summer at Crooked Creek Ranch in 2005. With sawdust still settling and a tent serving as the dining hall, we welcomed 214 campers back

We are proud of where our Ranch has been and what it is still becoming.

to Wyoming for a summer of Western adventure.

Surrounded by U.S. National Forest and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) parcels, the Crooked Creek Ranch is a perfect launching pad for TVRC trips both on and off the property. We have a number of on-site camp areas, including Grizzly Gulch, an on-property pack trip location that includes canvas platform tents, a corral, and a water well. Day hikes and trail rides can access either the Forest or BLM lands for added length to any adventure, all while taking in our remarkable view of the Absarokas. Situated just an hour and a half from Jackson and just minutes from the Wind River Range, the Ranch allows for the easy execution of our longstanding traditional TVRC trips.

The Heritage Campaign launched as we dug into the Dubois soil, in an effort to further construct the new camp facilities and to support Looking back at our move

the relocation of a number of buildings from Kelly. Through the campaign efforts, nine buildings were transported over Togwotee Pass and nestled into the landscape at Crooked Creek. As alumni visit, especially while camp is in session, we often receive the feedback that the feeling of being on the Ranch rings true to their TVRC experience, even decades later.

At the outset of the Education Foundation, an Endowment was formed to support organizational resilience and access to camp via scholarships. Once facilities were established and camp had a handful of successful years at Crooked Creek, the Foundation’s attention shifted to bolstering the Endowment. The significant contributions made over the course of the Endowment Campaign between 2008 and

2009 now have us positioned just below $10 million across the General and Scholarship funds. For the summer of 2026, we have awarded more than $100,000 in scholarship support across 22 campers. While Endowment growth will always be an area of emphasis, we are grateful for our current foundation and the opportunities it creates for successful operations every summer.

The Ranch is currently in a position of strength. We have replaced a handful of buildings, primarily bathhouses, and constructed a few new staff cabins over the years. Thanks to the care in construction and craftsmanship of those who came before us, we can now look forward to the type of projects that will only further elevate the camp experience. This summer we welcome the addition of a new perimeter fence encircling

camp proper, a laundry facility, and a reconstructed Grand Bathhouse that will better serve our campers and staff. We are proud of where our Ranch has been and what it is still becoming.

If you step into the Dining Hall today, you will find a sign on the mantle of the stone fireplace that reads “It’s Our Ranch.” The phrase takes on many meanings for our community, from the more obvious stewardship of our land and facilities to the subtle message that this is our community to care for, pour into, and sustain. Those whose passion and belief in TVRC led to the creation of the TVRC Education Foundation and the acquisition and construction of Crooked Creek Ranch laid the groundwork for the mantra “It’s Our Ranch” to become a defining part of the TVRC experience. As we embark on our third decade calling this property home, it is becoming clear that this is no longer the “new” Ranch; it is our forever Ranch.

Kelly + Matt Stirn

UNEARTHING THE PAST DEEP IN THE WIND RIVER RANGE

Where to pitch your tent?

A familiar TVRC backcountry question uncovered an archaeological discovery that altered the story of prehistoric villages and sent two TVRC alums—a father and son—into the backcountry. It was nearly dark when Matt Stirn reached for firewood. It was the summer of 2004, and he was in the northern Wind River Range on his Trailblazer backpack with TVRC. When his headlamp swept across the ground, something glinted back. A small arrowhead, resting in the alpine grass. He took a moment to appreciate its significance before he hustled back to the fire. He never expected to return to that exact spot.

He certainly never expected that when he did, years later, as a working archaeologist—he would find that the flat patch of earth where his tent had been pitched was, in fact, a prehistoric village. And he never expected that the person standing next to him when that discovery was made would be his father, Kelly.

Matt Stirn grew up at R Lazy S Ranch in Jackson, Wyoming. The mountains were always right there, but growing up on a working dude ranch during the busy season doesn’t leave much room for extended wilderness travel. They would spend time

rock collecting, riding, or hiking, but didn’t often have the opportunity for extended adventures. The deeper country beyond them was, for most of his childhood, somewhere other people went.

Then came TVRC. When the camp shifted operations toward Dubois, there was uncertainty in the air. Everyone had come to love the Tetons and Absaroka terrain, and nobody quite knew what the Winds would offer. What they found was something Matt still talks about decades later. “It was kind of this unexpected discovery,” he says, “this silver lining that turned into this amazing experience to have a place like the Wind River Range so close.” For a Wyoming kid who’d been on numerous weekend trips with his family, the Winds were something else entirely. “I didn’t realize anywhere could look like that or feel like that in my own state.”

His father, Kelly Stirn, a TVRC alumnus himself from the late 1960s and early ‘70s, had his own version of that same feeling on his very first trip into the Winds. “We’re going across rivers, up mountains, across what looked like desert, getting up in the glaciers,” Kelly recalls.

“And then after we were up there for ten days, we saw four people. It’s a remarkable place.”

A ROLODEX OF SKILLS

After his time at TVRC, Matt went on to work as a climbing instructor for Exum Mountain Guides in Grand Teton National Park before finding his way into alpine archaeology, a field that often combines rigorous science with the demands of a full backcountry expedition. When his archaeology mentor at the University of Wyoming began looking for students to help investigate sites at high elevation in the Winds, he wasn’t just looking for scholars. He needed people who could actually get there and function when they arrived. Matt had something most archaeology students didn’t: what he calls “a Rolodex of skills” built entirely from his years at TVRC. How to read a topographic map. How to choose a campsite. How to lead a group through difficult terrain. How to make people feel at ease when the weather turns or the trail gets steep. “There weren’t many people who could comfortably lead a backcountry science expedition,” he says. “I kind of had this skill set I learned at TVRC

that I didn’t know would be so valuable. Doing the exact same thing we did at camp, just with a scientific objective.”

The instincts that later led Matt to prehistoric sites began with the same curiosity that made a Trailblazer stop for an arrowhead in the grass.

The mentorship dimension of TVRC showed up, too. “As a camper, you don’t realize how much impact the counselors and trip leaders are having on you,” Matt says. “It’s one of those things you realize later in life.” When he found himself on the other side of that equation, leading archaeology students who had never spent a night in the backcountry, he drew directly from those memories. “If there’s a student who’s struggling, not really adjusting well to being in the mountains, I’d think: how did I see this work out at camp? I just need to sit down and remember what was going on. You were always made to feel comfortable and confident on TVRC trips, regardless of the situation. Whether it’s on another wilderness trip or even a corporate job in the city, the skills you pick

up at TVRC are really valuable.”

Kelly sees the same thread running through his own life. The confidence that TVRC built, the ability to help people through difficulty without getting on their backs, to guide rather than push, became the foundation he brought to running a ranch with thirty employees. “I do refer back to camp and how that helped me,” he says.

TVRC LESSONS REVISITED

As Matt’s research in the Winds deepened, he developed a satellite-based predictive model to identify where undiscovered sites might exist across the vast northern range. The technical name for this approach is “predictive modeling.” But when asked how it actually worked, what mathematical insight explained its success—he tells a different kind of story.

“I sat in my college classroom thinking back to TVRC in the Winds,” he says, “looking at the same exact map of the same place, trying to remember: where were the various places we wanted

to set up camp, and why?” The model, at its core, asked the question any camper would ask, “Where would I want to put my tent?” On a more technical level, Matt’s model looked for factors like morning sun exposure, flat enough terrain, early snowmelt, shelter from wind, and access to old-growth whitebark pine for its pine nuts, which served as an essential food source. Every red X on the map reflected instincts built on a Trailblazer backpack.

When Matt, Kelly, and a team of five or six loaded those coordinates into their GPS units and rode and hiked into the backcountry together in the summer of 2010, every single X held a prehistoric site. “Sure enough, it worked flawlessly,” Matt says. “Every place that the computer program said would be a nice place to camp, we found a prehistoric village.”

Kelly describes the trip’s terrain honestly—challenging trails, deep river crossings, rocky slopes where you had to dismount and lead your horse. But that’s also what made it feel so right. “I just felt really comfortable doing everything,” he says.

A Significant Discovery

For much of the trip, Kelly was learning from scratch. He had no idea what he was looking for when they set out. But by the end, he was finding sites on his own. The process was that intuitive: you start to read the landscape the way you once

learned to read a topo map, looking for the places where you’d want to stop and stay.

On the final day, the group made their way back to the campsite from Matt’s Trailblazer trip. Remarkably, the arrowhead he’d seen all those years ago was still there, right where it had always been. But now Matt could see something he couldn’t have seen as a 13-year-old: the stone circle pressed into the ground around where his tent had stood. A village.

For Matt, the weight of that moment went beyond science. “As a camper, choosing a campsite and then finding that it was an archaeological site really enhances your connection to the land,” he says. “You’re in the middle of nowhere, really remote, but there’s been so much human connection to this land for a very long time. Finding things like an arrowhead is a reminder of that. The story that we have in places like the Winds, the Tetons, or even the TVRC property is a really long one. We’re kind of just a chapter.”

And it was Kelly who clinched it. He’d been studying a spot near the lake’s edge all afternoon, drawn to it the way any experienced camper would be—a beautiful, sheltered, south-facing area. He kept returning to one spot in particular.

ALUMNI IN THE FIELD

When Matt finally arrived, Kelly asked him: what exactly qualifies a site? Matt told him you need tools, something like a grinding stone. Kelly pointed at a rock by a tree. “Oh my God,” Matt said. “You just found yourself a site.”

The place where a TVRC Trailblazer had pitched his tent and found an arrowhead was a prehistoric village. The discovery that confirmed it was made by his father, a fellow TVRC alum.

What made that possible, Matt reflects, traces directly back to camp. For decades, archaeologists from California and New York had overlooked places like the Winds entirely, unable to imagine why ancient peoples would choose to live at high altitude when gentler landscapes were available. They simply never looked. “When we started to do work, it was kind of this amazing journey, because we were really the first people to look for archaeology in places like the Winds. That never happens. You’re never the first.” The difference, he says, was perspective: a genuine love of the mountains, and the conviction that they weren’t a place to merely survive, but a place you’d want to be.

“That perspective we kind of learned from camp not only better trained me as an archaeologist, but really shifted how archaeologists in the whole western U.S. think about mountains. TVRC had a big impact on the field of archaeology.”

Matt has since spent season after season in

the Winds, eventually logging what he estimates to be close to 100 nights at that original Trailblazer campsite.

The Same Frequency

Kelly’s time at TVRC and Matt’s time at TVRC are separated by roughly 40 years. They each built their own relationship with Wyoming’s mountains. Kelly recalls exploring every canyon above Jackson in his early years at R Lazy S, while Matt’s time in the mountains laid the foundation for his archaeological work. Their backcountry experiences ran parallel for decades without really crossing.

The 2010 expedition changed that. “We each had our TVRC experience, and that was kind of both in our paths at the time,” Matt says. “Getting to do this one together really allowed the TVRC components of our life to light up again and become relevant. That was just extremely special.” This trip marked the first time they could embark on a longer adventure in the mountains together.

Kelly describes it as being on the same frequency. The small things—how you stake a tent, where you put your boots, how you read the weather coming over a ridge. All of it came back,

shared across a generation. “I could have stayed up there for a month or two,” he says. “Just so nice. I remembered this from camp. How great it was.”

That’s what TVRC builds in a person. It doesn’t expire. It waits for the moment you need it again.

And it’s already being built in the campers heading into those same mountains today. Matt thinks about them often—groups of kids moving through terrain that holds thousands of years of human story, most of them not yet knowing what they’re walking through. “They’re kind of like little scientists running around the mountains,” he says. If they happen to spot an arrowhead or a stone that looks out of place, his ask is simple: take a photo, have the Trip Leader note the GPS pin on your phone, and leave it exactly where it is. It’s what the Shoshone and other tribes ask of all of us, and it’s what allows archaeologists to understand the full story a site has to tell.

As for the experience of being out there at all—the cold nights, the uncertain terrain, the moments that don’t go quite as planned—Matt’s advice to any first-time camper is the same advice that could have been given to him on that Trailblazer trip in 2004: don’t worry, and embrace being uncomfortable. “That’s often when the greatest and most memorable things happen,” he says. “Those are the ones that stick.”

THE SPIRIT OF TVRC ACROSS JACKSON

Long after time spent at Camp, the influence of TVRC continues throughout Jackson Hole. Former campers and staff members lead local businesses, contributing to the sense of community first cultivated around the campfire and actively shaping the future of our town.

Bubba Albrecht

TVRC Connection:

Camper 1996-2000, Staff 2004-2012

Business:

Give’r (Based in Jackson, WY, est. 2012)

How long have you owned a business in Jackson?

We just recently celebrated Give’r’s 13th birthday! It has been a wild, rough, rugged, and a weebit Western ride for sure, but we wouldn’t change anything about it! None of it would have been possible without the support and cheering on from the TVRC community, and the many team members who have put in the sweat at the ovens when baking gloves, the interweb stoke from users across the globe, and the work ethic and drive instilled over many years while at camp. Just as the course of the river changes over time, our team and brand continue to evolve with each season as new products are brought to market!

Catherine and Tom Holland

TVRC Connection:

Former Staff, Former Directors, & Camp Parents

Business:

Wilderness Adventures, Camp New Fork, Base Camp Jackson Hole

How long have you owned a business in Jackson?

We have owned a business in Jackson for the past 11 years.

HOW HAS TVRC INFLUENCED YOUR LEADERSHIP AND CAREER?

TVRC helped shape both of us as leaders and as people. The camp taught us the power of community, responsibility, adventure, and investing deeply in young people. So much of what we value in our businesses today—creating meaningful experiences, building strong teams, embracing challenge, and helping young people grow in confidence and character was influenced by our years at TVRC. The camp also connected us to a community and a lifestyle rooted in the outdoors, service, and relationships, which ultimately inspired us to build our lives and businesses here in Jackson.

HOW HAS TVRC INFLUENCED YOUR LEADERSHIP AND CAREER?

The most important lesson learned that remains #1 through today is teamwork. No trip, ceremony, activity, or campfire is a solo mission. The power of what becomes possible when working together and leveraging strengths is truly spectacular. I have grown to appreciate the spectrum of strengths from others, my own non-strengths (I am eternally grateful to all kitchen staff who have prepared meals for me—I know my limits in the culinary world!), and the benefits of each person having their own unique traits, skill sets, and passions. While many share a love of the outdoors and appreciation for off-grid time with a crew of all stars, I believe that in life, there are indeed different strokes for different folks. And whatever it takes to encourage or empower someone to wholeheartedly pursue their passion and what really makes them tick...such efforts are worthy and essential, for they are responsible for the magic that changes our world!

Chris Watters

TVRC Connection:

Camper 2009-2011 & Barn Staff 20162018

Business: Wolverine Creek Outfitters

How long have you owned a business in Jackson?

Since 2020

HOW HAS TVRC INFLUENCED YOUR LEADERSHIP AND CAREER?

My time at TVRC played a huge role in shaping both my leadership skills and success as a young business owner in Jackson. It not only instilled in

me many of the core interests that eventually led me toward working with and taking ownership in WCO, but it also taught me many of the values that are essential to being a leader, including hard work, accountability, professionalism, and the importance of treating people well.

One of the most impactful parts of TVRC is that it is full of incredible role models. I had the opportunity to learn from people who truly embodied leadership through the way they worked, carried themselves, and led others. Being surrounded by those examples gave me something to strive toward and allowed me to follow in their footsteps throughout my own career.

I’m especially grateful to still work closely with TVRC today. Their continued support of me as a business owner has been a very unique and meaningful opportunity, and it’s been incredibly rewarding to carry on some of those traditions and relationships into this next chapter.

Daryl MacGregor Peightal

TVRC Connection:

Camper 1987-1990, Staff 1993-1996, Camp Parent 2022-2025, Board Member 2018-Present

Business:

We own Cafe Genevieve, Orsetto & Genevieve Catering

How long have you owned a business in Jackson?

We opened Cafe Genevieve in May 2010.

HOW HAS TVRC INFLUENCED YOUR LEADERSHIP AND CAREER?

My years at TVRC were the reason I found my way back to Jackson after college. The pull was so strong, and I knew we could make it work here. TVRC gave me the strength and courage to do something as bold as opening our own businesses — and the TVRC alumni community in Jackson supported us from day one.

The day before drop-off and the day after pickup are my favorite days at the restaurants. You can spot the TVRC families coming in for one last meal together before camp, or see a breakfast table completely taken over by a camper flooding their family with stories from their season.

Des Jennings

TVRC Connection:

Camper 1998-2001, Staff 2005-2009

Business:

Real Estate Broker, Jackson Hole Sotheby’s International Realty

How long have you owned a business in Jackson?

I have been an independent contractor in the real estate business since 2011.

HOW HAS TVRC INFLUENCED YOUR LEADERSHIP AND CAREER?

TVRC has been an immense resource for me both personally and professionally since I moved to Jackson in 2008. I came in with a deep knowledge of the area, particularly the backcountry that I explored through camp programming, and had a strong network of friends and families that I met while at camp. When I mention TVRC as the catalyst for me living in Jackson it is almost expected that someone has a friend or relative who attended camp and it is a great point of connection.

Fire Lava Mountain

This summer marks 10 years since the Lava Mountain Fire encircled Teton Valley Ranch Camp and brought an early end to our 2016 Girls’ Season. For those of us who were here, it’s a vivid memory: the sky turned dark, we smelled smoke, ash fell from the sky, and our community came together quickly and calmly. No one was harmed, no structures were lost, and what made that possible wasn’t luck. It was preparation, strong partnerships, and a team that knew exactly what to do.

That experience continues to inform how we prepare for each summer season.

Wildfire is a significant conversation in Wyoming, particularly in years with below-average snowpack and above-average temperatures, which describes where we find ourselves today. But the question of what the fire season will look like is genuinely unanswerable. There are too many variables and

too few certainties to predict any season with confidence. What we can control is how prepared we are if fire, or any other emergency, comes our way.

On the land side, we’ve spent years working with Wyoming’s State Forestry Division to thin wooded areas and mulch underbrush across our 2,600 acres, reducing fuel loads and creating defensible space for firefighters. We completed treatments on another 50 acres in 2025 and are planning similar work in the 2026/27 off-season. The burn scar from the 2016 fire itself continues to serve as a natural buffer to our southwest and west: a landscape still regenerating, but one with far less fuel to carry a fast-moving fire toward camp.

On the facilities side, we’ve incorporated fire preparedness into building design, site layout, and added water access. Those considerations carry forward into any new construction or renovation planning.

Beyond fire, our Emergency Operations Protocol covers a wide range of scenarios, from wildlife encounters and lightning events to medical emergencies and security situations. We don’t publicly share these plans in detail, for security reasons, and we can’t catalog or plan for every contingency. What we will say is this: our team trains on these protocols before the first camper arrives, our staff understands their roles, and we maintain active relationships with local law enforcement, the Forest Service, Search and Rescue, and Medical Response agencies in the Dubois area. When something happens, and in 88 years of camp, things do happen, we are not working it out in the moment. That matters.

We know that parents follow the news. We know some of you have read stories about hantavirus on cruise ships, bear maulings in Yellowstone, widespread drought, or whatever unusual event made headlines this

spring. We take those concerns seriously, and we’d rather you ask us directly than wonder. If you have questions about a specific scenario, reach out. We’re happy to talk through it. What we hope you’ll carry into this summer is something our campers come away with every year: an appreciation for the western landscape in all its power and complexity. The hills around the Ranch that burned

in 2016 are growing back. Aspen stands are rising again. Grasses are greener. The land that looked devastated a decade ago is teaching a lesson we try to pass on: fire is not only destruction; it’s a healthy part of forest renewal. We’re prepared for the summer ahead, and we’re always looking further down the road. The work we do today is what makes the difference when it counts.

TVRC-Inspired Art

presley goode + Staff 2016-2017

I’m a NYC-based painter working primarily in acrylic on canvas, known for a signature flowing figure style that emerged during the pandemic. That period profoundly shaped the way I think about connections, relationships, and what it means to be human.

Raised by an artist mother, I later studied Fine Art and Psychology at the University of Denver, a dual influence that continues to guide my work today. I want viewers to see themselves in my figures and contemplate the network of people who define their lives and sense of belonging. While my figures are inspired by the

movement and character of New York — theater, ballet, dog walks, and everyday moments in the city — my use of color and composition is informed by the natural world and photographs I’ve taken while hiking, camping, and skiing.

The works shown here are inspired by my time at TVRC. The Seeker draws inspiration from nights beneath the Wyoming stars, while Darling Plum holds memories of pack trips and long days on the trail.

These paintings will be featured at The Collective in Dallas starting June 11, 2026.

News from the Pony Express

Haley (North) Loose, Camper from 2009 to 2012, moved to Utah in 2015 for college and is now a Registered Nurse. In August of 2025 Haley married Jake Loose in a Westernthemed wedding—a direct tribute to her ranch roots. They bonded over a love for the outdoors and their dog, Alpine, named for their love of skiing. Jake is currently finishing Physicians Assistant school, and they can’t wait to get back to adventuring once he’s done. Haley shared that TVRC stays with her daily— often telling herself: if I can climb the Grand and hike the Teton Crest Trail, I can do anything. I owe so much of my grit to my time at camp!

Robin Schafer, Camper from 1981 to 1984, currently lives in Scarsdale, NY, where she works as a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner with licenses in NY, NJ, and WY, and as a professor at Mercy University. She is building a home north of Jackson with the hope of moving to the valley permanently. When she relocates, she hopes to continue working in the mental health field and possibly in academia as well. She and her husband, who is also a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, have two daughters, ages 26 and 14.

Mateo Boyd, 2026 Wrangler, will be starting as a freshman at Cate School this Fall. Parents, Lolita and Zach shared, “He’s worked hard, grown so much, and we’re incredibly excited (and proud!) to see him take this next big step. We can’t wait to see all that he’ll accomplish in the years ahead.”

CLAIRE (BECK) KEELER, CAMPER AND FORMER STAFF MEMBER FROM 1960 TO 1968, has been living in Colorado for over 50 years and has retired from teaching skiing at Vail. Thanks to Teton Valley she still has a great love of horses and has four of her own. She holds great memories of camp with Jane McSwain, Leslie Dixon, George Sproule, and of course Mary Ellen and Weenie.

Teagan Bluemel, Summer 2025 Staff, is graduating from the University of Wyoming with a bachelors in Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, minor in Early Childhood Education and an ASL certificate this May.

Julie (McGowan) and Connor Honea, Staff in 2010, 2011, and 2014, met while working at TVRC. During their first summer, Connor was a Rough Rider counselor and trip leader, while Julie was a nanny and van driver. The following summer, they both served as Trailblazer counselors, and in 2014, Connor led an expedition group. The two married in 2014 and welcomed their fourth child, Callum Ridge, on October 7, 2025. Julie shared, “TVRC will always be a special place to our family! Campfire tunes can often be heard in our house as bedtime songs. We are forever thankful for the way God has orchestrated our lives, and Teton Valley Ranch is a beautiful part of that story!” Pictured are three of their children: Milla, Darcie, and Callum. Their third child, Canyon, is in Heaven.

W. Christian Adams, Camper and Former Staff Member from 1992 to 1999, is retiring from the Coast Guard after 26 years of service. Christian, his wife Rebecca and daughter Evangeline live in Leesburg Virginia.

Hannah King, TVRC Pack Trip Leader from 2021 to 2024, graduated from Veterinary School at NC State this Spring. After years of going between school and summers at TVRC, she has finished her degree and will be moving to Montana in May to work as an Equine Veterinarian.

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25/26

Our Teton Valley Ranch Camp team spent much of the off-season on the road—every trip reminded us how special the TVRC community truly is. Each summer, campers and parents travel great distances to join us in Wyoming. In the fall and winter, our team strives to return that gesture by bringing a piece of TVRC to communities across the country. We expanded our Roundup Tour from 13 events in ‘24-’25 to more than 20 in ‘25-’26, which allowed us to reconnect with familiar faces, welcome new families, and share the growing excitement for another summer ahead.

25/26

Denver, CO Bozeman. MT Cincinnati, OH Columbus, OH Chicago, IL Charlotte, NC

Palm Beach, FL Los Angeles, CA

Roundup Tour Stops

San Francisco, CA

Scottsdale, AZ

Newburyport, MA

Washington, D.C. New York City, NY Darien, CT Jackson, WY

26/27

We are well into planning our 2026–2027 Roundup Tour, carrying with us the momentum and warmth of this year’s travels. If you are interested in hosting an event next year, please email Haley at hpreston@tvrcamp.org. We look forward to seeing you on the Ranch this summer, on the road next season, and to welcoming even more new faces into the TVRC family.

Summer 2027 Application Opens to New Campers September 15, 2026