Want to know more about the state you live in? Do you want to find out the crazy events that have shaped the landscape of Washington State? This camp will be perfect for your family. Join us this Labor Day weekend as we find out more about the Pacific Northwest!
Tiffany Michaels has a Master’s degree in Social Work with a focus on research, small groups, and communication. She has worked with teenagers in a variety of settings, including juvenile justice, at-risk youth programs, and education. Since having children, she has been homeschooling for over 15 years, directing Co-op programs, and teaching classes on many different subjects. Most recently, she spent three years traveling around the Pacific Northwest and writing her curriculum: Pacific Northwest History from a Christian, Creation-based, Young Earth, Apologetics Worldview. She is passionate about this topic and excited to share about the history of this region and how it is still relevant today. Check out her website!
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Invite a family who has never been to the Ranch, and you'll receive $50 off your registration! Or register by May 31st and receive $25 off!‍
SCHEDULE:
Friday:
5:30 pm - Dinner
7:00 pm - Evening-Family lecture #1: Creation and the Worldwide Flood (1 hour)
Saturday:
8:00 am - Breakfast
9:00 am - Kids' activity for lecture #1: Pointillism Mammoth Acrylic Painting (20-30
minutes)
10:00 am - Lecture #2: Volcanic Activity in the Pacific Northwest
11:00 am - Kids' activity for lecture #2: Play-Doh Layers of the Earth and/or
Graham Cracker Plate Tectonics (30 minutes)
12:00 pm - Lunch
1:00 pm - Lecture #3: Volcanoes, Mount St. Helens, and Epigenetics
2:00 pm - Kids' activity for lecture #3: Sand Dough Volcano Experiments
2:30 pm - Free Time/Camp Activities
5:30 pm - Dinner
7:00 pm - Lecture #4: The Missoula Flood, the Bonneville Flood, and the Cascadia
Tsunami
Sunday:
8:00 am - Breakfast
9:00 am - Kids' activity for lecture #4: Canyon Carving Activity or The Great Wave
Watercolor (30 minutes)
10:00 am -Lecture #5: Paul Kane and the Indigenous Peoples of the Northwest
11:00 am - Kids' activity for lecture #5: Watercolor Longhouse Activity or
Watercolor in the Style of Paul Kane (30 minutes)
12:00 pm - Lunch
1:00 pm - Lecture #6: Indigenous Peoples, Early Explorers, and the Fur Trade
2:00 pm - Kids' activity for lecture #6: Estuaries or Water Purification Experiment
2:30 pm - Free Time/Camp Activities
5:30 pm - Dinner
7:00 pm - Lecture #7: A Life Worth Living - Lessons from the Life of David
Thompson
Monday:
8:00 am- Breakfast
9:00 am - Kids' activity for lecture #8: Bas-Relief Sculptures (30 minutes)
10:00 am - Lecture #8: Missionary Efforts to the Pacific Northwest and Why They
Failed
11:00 am - Kids' activity for lecture #8: Stained Glass Watercolor Activity
12:00 pm - Lunch
1:00 pm - Pack Up and Clean Up
WORKSHOP DESCRIPTIONS:
1) Creation and the Worldwide Flood (Friday Night)
This workshop will cover Pangaea and how the one landmass broke apart into the separate continents during the worldwide flood, how post-flood conditions were perfect for the Ice Age, Ice Age mammals that lived in the Pacific Northwest, evidence for people and dinosaurs/dragons living at the same time, and Rudolph Virchow’s theory about Neanderthal and Rickets disease.
Children’s Activity: Pointillism Mammoth Acrylic Activity (Saturday Early
Morning) Children will learn about Pointillism as an art form and dab the acrylic background for a 5x7 painting. They will add a mammoth silhouette to their background to finish the painting.
2) Volcanic Activity in the Pacific Northwest (Saturday Morning)
This workshop will cover the lava flows from fissures along the borders of the three states, what caused these lava flows, how the Yellowstone Hotspot moved across southern Idaho, leaving a path of basalt that became the Snake River Aquifer, and how the mountain ranges were formed.
Children’s Activity: Play-Doh Layers of the Earth or Graham Cracker Plate Tectonics (Saturday Late Morning)
Children will either learn about the layers of the earth and use Play-Doh to create the layers, or they will use graham crackers and frosting to learn how plate tectonics
work and how plate movement causes earthquakes, mountains, and volcanoes. If there is time, children may be able to do both activities.
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3) Volcanoes, Mount St. Helens, and Epigenetics (Saturday Early
Afternoon)
This workshop will cover how the volcanoes were formed and will focus on Mount St. Helens and its mudflows, canyons, Spirit Lake, and faulty carbon dating. While talking about the Northwestern salamander at Mount St. Helens, the workshop will also introduce DNA coding, junk DNA, microevolution, and epigenetics, which is the way behavior and environment can cause genes to change the way they work.
Children’s Activity: Sand Dough Volcano Experiments (Saturday Afternoon)
Children will learn about acids and bases as we use 3-4 different combinations of
chemicals to simulate volcanic eruptions.
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4) The Missoula Flood, the Bonneville Flood, and the Cascadia Tsunami
(Saturday Night)
This workshop will cover the Missoula Flood, the Channeled Scablands, how J. Harlen Bretz was mocked for 40 years for daring to suggest a flood and how his theory is widely accepted today, glacial erratics, the Bonneville Flood, the Cascadia Earthquake of 1700, and the cause of the Cascade Rapids in the Columbia River.
Children’s Activity: Canyon Carving Activity or The Great Wave Watercolor
(Sunday Early Morning)
Children will complete an activity where they learn how canyons were formed quickly using cornmeal and ice. They will see how glacial erratics dropped boulders
as the ice melted. Depending on ages and if there is time, they may also complete a Great Wave Watercolor Activity.
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5) Paul Kane and the Indigenous Peoples of the Northwest (Sunday
Morning)
This workshop will cover the unique landscape and deep-sea canyons off the coast of the Olympic Peninsula and the Puget Sound, the Indigenous peoples and their lifestyles, and artist Paul Kane’s art and travels. As we talk about Paul Kane, children will be entertained by some gross stories and an embarrassing painting Paul Kane created, making fun of himself on a buffalo hunt. This is part of a talk for teens about setting goals, finding a meaningful life purpose, and having a sense of
humor.
Children’s Activity: Watercolor Longhouse Painting or Watercolor in the Style of Paul Kane (Sunday Late Morning)
This activity will depend on children’s ages and ability levels. They will either watercolor a simple ocean background and then add a cardboard longhouse cutout to their painting, or older children might watercolor a slightly more difficult painting in the style of Paul Kane.
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6) Indigenous Peoples, Early Explorers, and the Fur Trade (Sunday Early
Afternoon)
This workshop will cover the Indigenous peoples by language group, early explorers to the Pacific Northwest, why explorers were looking for the Northwest Passage, and the early fur trade.
Children’s Activity: Estuaries or Water Purification Experiment (Sunday
Afternoon)
Children will learn about estuaries and why the ocean is salty, and then either an estuary or water purification experiment.
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7) Living a Life that Matters: Lessons from the Life of David Thompson
(Sunday evening)
Explorers David and Charlotte Thompson took three children under age of six across the Rocky Mountains having no idea what was on the other side. As I was researching, I could tell by the way that David lived his life that he was a Christian. He is now my favorite historical person of all time. This workshop examines David’s life and key takeaways today about trusting God, strengthening family, homeschooling, handling setbacks, and living lives of integrity.
Children’s Activity: Clay Bas-Relief Sculptures (Monday Early Morning)
Children will use clay to make Bas-Relief sculptures. Young children will make a mountain, and older children will make David and Charlotte Thompson. This activity may be skipped if it seems that children would prefer time for extra camp activities.
8) Missionary Efforts to the Pacific Northwest and Why They Failed
(Monday Morning)
This workshop will cover why the Indigenous people sought out Christian missionaries, the efforts of those missionaries, why some of the missionaries were more effective than others, why their missionary efforts ultimately failed, and what we can learn from their experience about Christianity and ministry.
Children’s Activity: Watercolor Stained Glass Activity (Late Monday
Morning)
Children will use watercolor to paint a picture that looks like a stained glass window.
Family for the whole camp - $650
Couple for the whole camp - $400
Single for the whole camp - $275
Family per day - $150 (includes meals, sessions)
A couple per day - $80 (includes meals, sessions)
Single per day - $55 (includes meals, sessions)
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Have questions about lodging? Look at our cabin options at the bottom of our facilities page.
Note: Don’t let cost stand in your way, we want you to come! We do have scholarships available if needed. We can provide alternatives for dairy and gluten free, if you have other allergies please let us know and we can provide you a menu for the camp.