Dancing Coyote Camp — The Nature Awareness Experience for Children Ages 7-14

Meet Dancing Coyote Camp's Team

Founder of Dancing Coyote Camp, near Seattle, Washington.

Gayle Holeton, Camp Director

Gayle Holeton, Camp Founder & Director
Gayle is the founder and director of Dancing Coyote Camp, a nature awareness camp for children seven to twelve years of age. The camp combines all the great experiences of Gayle's past: Montessori Philosophies, music, arts, and all the natural sciences revealed through the animals, plants, and rivers of the Cascade Mountains. Each student camper gets a lifetime experience amid the drama of the mountains and the Wenatchee and Icicle Rivers.

The inspiration for Dancing Coyote Camp came from Gayle's life long experiences. Gayle grew up camping on the Icicle River with her family. In college, Gayle majored in music and voice. During the winter months Gayle lived at Stevens Pass and was one of four original women members of the Professional Ski Patrol. This required an intense mountaineering course. Gayle received full training annually as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) to help injured skiers.

Gayle was married and had two sons then launched a 20-year Montessori teaching career. This career enabled her to raise her boys both as an involved parent and teacher. Every summer the family was drawn back to the mountains to enjoy nature. When her sons were between the ages of 7 and 12 years, Gayle created "Discovery Camp" to include other children with hers. Discover Camp was a nature awareness experience. The camp was discontinued after Gayle's sons became teenagers. Through the years Gayle has focused her advanced training on children and nature, and their interconnectedness.

Gayle has come full circle by recreating her dream.

Nature enthusiast and summer camp teacher.

John Miller, Camp Teacher

John Miller, Camp Teacher
John is looking forward to his fifth year as a Dancing Coyote Camp Teacher. John has worked as a ski instructor and a climbing guide, leading trips to Nepal, Peru and Alaska. He's a graduate of the University of Colorado at Boulder with a double degree in English Literature and Education. He teaches 10th grade English Literature at Salinas High School, Salinas, California.

John loves sharing his enthusiasm for the mountains and nature with children of all ages. John has extensive knowledge of geology, nature, and many world cultures that he shares in stories and outdoor activities. A key to John's approach in helping children to develop respectful friendships is his belief in the importance of communication in solving interpersonal conflicts.

Mark Lotz, Camp Cook

Mark Lotz, Camp Cook
Mark Lotz--dubbed "Cookie" by Dancing Coyote campers, will be here for his third summer to delight campers with delicious meals. He has had years of restaurant experience and enjoys preparing and serving meals in the Skyline Diner.

Mark is a professional violinist and mandolinist. He can be heard in area orchestras as well as at Village Theatre where he recently played mandolin and fiddle in the national debut of the Nashville-originated musical 'Play it by Heart.' He has had a private violin studio for twenty six years and is the director of Cascade Youth Symphony's Prepatory Strings Program. As a father of two young nature loving children, Mark lends his rich background to all of us at camp.

Dave Ohlson, Camp Teacher

Dave Ohlson, Camp Teacher
This will be Dave's fourth summer at Dancing Coyote Camp. He works as a commercial photographer in Seattle and has also worked as an EMT and done mountain Search and Rescue. Dave has traveled in West Africa, Nepal and Tibet and loves to share stories about these experiences with the kids. An avid mountain climber, he has participated in expeditions to the Himalayas as well as climbs in Canada, Alaska and throughout the US. He has a B.S. in Biology from the University of Washington.

In camp and on our outings and hikes, Dave works to teach children the basic ecological principles that underlie everything they observe in nature. Our daily activities give ample opportunity for this learning about the natural world. By encouraging kids to think broadly about what they observe Dave hopes they can leave camp with experiences they'll remember forever.

Anna Spornitz, Camp Teacher

Anna Spornitz, Camp Teacher
Anna is eager to begin her second year at Dancing Coyote Camp. She is currently finishing her Bachelor in Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences from the University of Washington and intends to continue her education in the fall and begin a career in teaching. Anna has a strong background in music, having played the violin for eighteen years. Her area of study at University of Washington provided her with a broad background in culture, literature and the arts. She has done research on many of the Pacific Northwest native tribes; studied the affect oil has on our lives and the environment and ways to raise awareness through performance; and done work with performance and healing across cultures and in our everyday lives. Anna enjoys absorbing as many of nature's gifts as she can whether it is watching eagles fly overhead, running and hiking in the forest, or feeling the power of the ocean while surfing a wave. She can't wait to begin her outdoor experiences this summer at Dancing Coyote Camp.

Tye Nason Cruver, Camp Cook

Tribute to Tye Nason Cruver, Camp Cook 2007
Tye was a Washington native in every sense. Born in Ellensburg, raised in Pullman, he was living in Bellingham on the beautiful Puget Sound. A full-time cook, part-time writer and keen observer of life in our times, Tye anxiously anticipated the effects of the crisply alpine atmosphere on the cuisine he felt so privileged to prepare. Read complete tribute to Tye.

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Reconnecting children to the wonders of nature.

Dancing Coyote Camp, Inc.
3133 Sahalee Dr. West
Sammamish, WA 98074
Phone: 425-868-0407
Fax: 425-836-3129
Email: info@dancingcoyotecamp.com

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