Welcome to Ekone Ranch

GOLDENDALE, Wash. -- Deep in a valley about 10 miles east of town, a soft melody spills from a shack-style kitchen on a grassy knoll.

Inside, a girl sitting at the head of a table made of raw timber sings as a half-dozen other girls work on key chains, some weaving buckskin, others stringing colorful beads. At a nearby stove, another girl helps a woman stir solutions that will soon become a salve for cuts and scrapes and lip balm.

An eastward breeze sweeps through the open windows of this kitchen, where ceiling beams made of rough-cut logs protrude and plywood floors creak.

Welcome to Ekone Ranch. Here, about 60 boys and girls ages 8 to 17 come each summer to unplug from the modern electronic gadgetry of today and slip back in time to connect with nature.

They learn horsemanship, how to grow food and buck hay, the medicinal properties of natural plants and flowers in the area. They also conduct cleanup projects. It's hard work, and it parallels a homestead lifestyle intended to teach them what the earth has to offer and how to live in unison with it.

They grow lettuce, onions, cucumbers and other vegetables in a large garden just yards away from the kitchen.

More than 20 horses, most of them born and raised on the ranch, are kept in large pens north of the garden. The campers ride them after their work is done.

They gather at night in a round structure with rough plywood floors, a stage and an earth center for a fire, to tell stories, act out plays and work on crafts.

Yards away sits a rudimentary bathhouse.

The girls sleep in an A-frame structure made of cedar with straw insulation and a gravel floor called a longhouse by camp directors. The boys sleep in tepees.

"Most of these kids come from the city -- it's pretty significant to them," says camp director Caitlin Price, clad in blue jeans, cowboy boots and a ball cap. "It's the Wild Wild West for these kids."

Tucked in a valley where towering pines and oak trees mix with sagelands, the 160-acre ranch overlooks Rock Creek Canyon, a Columbia River tributary held sacred by the Yakama Nation.

Since time immemorial, tribal members have gathered natural foods, hunted and fished in the area -- all continuing practices that in some ways influence the mission of the camp.

The land the ranch is on is held in trust by the Sacred Earth Foundation, which was started by the late Ray Mitchell. He started the camp in 1985 and created a land conservancy.

Camps geared to getting youth in touch with the earth, often called green camps, are becoming more popular, says Peter Ross, co-founder of Choice Camps, a national organization that provides information on the top youth camps in the country.

"I'd say more and more across the board, families want to see their children having fun, staying healthy and understanding nature," he says. "Some offer water skiing in the morning and water biology in the evening."

It costs $750 a week for each kid to stay at Ekone Ranch, but the rate is discounted for longer visits. Some stay one week a summer, while others stay more than a month. The camp hosts up to 20 youth at a time.

*******

It's the first week of August, and the last week of summer camp at Ekone Ranch. This is an all-girl outing, and nearly a dozen have showed up.

After finishing their key chains, several girls break from the kitchen and head outside to pull firewood from a truck and stack it.

Thirteen-year-old Madeline Fraser of Portland stays behind to help pour the salves into small jars and plastic containers that will become lip balm.

Days earlier, girls picked various flowers with medicinal properties such as camphor and put them in olive oil. After shaking the jar for several days, the solution was ready to make salves.

This is Fraser's fifth summer coming to the camp. She says it not only makes her more aware of the environment, but also helps her better connect with others.

"Everyone is just so different, but after you're here for a while, everyone just molds into this big family and you don't want to leave," she says.

Meanwhile, the other girls finish stacking wood and head for the longhouse to take a breather.

Feet dangle from the loft of the structure as three sit together. Another girl straddles one of support beams. Roughly 15 feet above the ground, the girls reminisce about past camps.

When they're not here, they keep in touch over the Internet on Facebook. But while here, it's a time to slow down, connect with nature and each other.

Fraser laughs as she tells how one summer she fell asleep wearing her glasses and got a black eye after falling from her bunk. Her glasses broke and bruised her face.

She giggles about how she explained to her friends at home how she got the bruise: "I got punched by a bear," she says jokingly.

Aisha Abdoul, 14, of Corvallis, Ore., tells of the scenic beauty of the nearby jagged basalt canyon.

"We got to watch the sun go down and everything was red," she says. "It was really cool."

Although feeding horses, bucking hay, stacking wood, weeding the garden and cleaning up after meals is hard work, the rewards -- riding horses, swimming in a nearby pond, eating fresh foods -- are worth it, says 15-year-old Maggie McCulloch of Hood River, Ore.

"I see that some of the things we do here follow through for a couple of weeks at home," she says. "I mean, I'll do my own dishes and stuff."

At camp, the kids have the opportunity to talk about their families and things they necessarily wouldn't discuss at home, says 27-year-old Taylor Stevenson, a former youth camper who now helps run the ranch.

"You can really dig deep with them and help them," she says.

A few campers who have come here for several years are being groomed to become camp staff members, says Liz Coppola, 24, another former camper who helps Price and Stevenson run the ranch.

"That's kind of what's sustaining the place," she says. "I just want to come and help."

That attitude was apparent on this summer evening.

The dinner bell rang, and campers ushered the trio of staff members into the kitchen where a surprise awaited: new pajamas and thank-you cards made of recycled cardboard, stickers, bird feathers and yarn.

Each card was tailored to a staff member, thanking them for the specific lessons they instilled in the girls.

For Stevenson, it was creativity. For Coppola, recycling. And for Price, it was the toughness of hard work and handling horses.

"I realize that I'd be drastically a different person if I didn't come here," McCulloch says.

The girls then begin serving the trio a special stir-fry dinner made of vegetables from the garden.

"Seeing you all grow up into yourselves, it's just an amazing gift," Coppola says.

* For more information on Ekone Ranch, located at 401 Ekone Road in Goldendale, call 509-773-6800 or visit www.ekone.org.

* Phil Ferolito can be reached at 509-577-7749 or pferolito@yakimaherald.com.