Troop 96 and Pack 391

We are very familiar with Troop 96 and Pack 391. For at least two years in a row now they have been our first campers of the year. The scouts have to earn their "Polar Bear Badge" which means they have to camp out when it is below freezing temperatures. Well that was not a problem as they temps were in the 20's. The older boys came up on Friday and the younger ones came on Saturday morning.

For the first time in a long time Mary Breeden was not with the group...understand she had some foot surgery. I did see Philip Anderson, Tiffany, Barry Sanders, Triston Stuckey and some others I knew. As always there was plenty of good food and probably some stories to be told.

Boy Scout Troop 96 - Eagle Project

Boy Scout Troop 96 with leaders Bob and Mary, were up here this weekend to help with an Eagle Project. 

While there was already another group here we always try and accommodate as many groups as we can...we love to see the camp full! 

Out of the potential projects presented, Hayden Langewischk chose the one everyone one else had passed on.....probably because of the work involved. His project, which was to build a dock on Silty Bottom Pond, was a big one but they finished it this weekend. 

I must say they did an outstanding job. They first came in a few weeks ago and cleared the brush and small trees out of the area.  Then they came back and set the posts.  When the troop arrived on Friday, the project looked like this:

When they left on Sunday, however, it looked like this!

Awesome job! This is a huge asset for the camp and the work is of high quality.

We always love to see Troop 96 up here and they have become some of our most frequent visitors. In addition to the building of the dock, they did a little dutch oven badge work, too . . .

It must have been good!

Mary was a little limited as she had a walking boot on...delaying surgery until January before all the activity starts in the new year. We wish her a speedy recovery if we do not see her again before then !

Family Camping Party

This group, mostly families from Farley Community Church, had the right idea!  They started pulling in on Friday, and by Saturday afternoon, they had the campground looking like a filled campground!  

A couple families stayed in pop-up campers, one pulled a (new) trailer camper, and one had a 5th wheel camper.  The rest of the families had tents all over the place . . .

We walked up during dinner time on Saturday evening (of course!) and there was all kinds of cooking going on -- folks using Dutch ovens for all kinds of foods and even grilling steaks.  We had to laugh -- even

with all that cooking and eating going on, one of the ladies was already looking forward to cinnamon rolls in the Dutch oven on Sunday morning!

There was even some sort of spit rigged over the fire and we wondered if they were going to have a pig roast!  But alas, it was just for drying boots.

Lots of happy kids road their bikes and hiked and played.  The families spent most of the day Saturday and Sunday playing in the creek, splashing and having fun.  They even brought and setup a volleyball net out in the upper field . . .

And then donated it to the camp -- we're very grateful for that addition!

This little fellow may not be the youngest camper we've ever had up here, but at six months old, he's got to be close!

We were very happy to have this gang up here for Memorial Day weekend -- they are welcome any time!

Boy Scout Troop 8

This past weekend the camp played host to Boy Scout Troop 8.  This was a repeat visit for this troop and these scouts are hard core.  They stuck to the main campground, using their wiles, Dutch ovens and the campfire to do their cooking. 

 Both the main course *and* the desserts (especially) look terrific!

This three-day weekend was all about training, skills, and dexterity . . . and the guys had a blast.  There were tent-raising contests:

Carrying an 'injured scout' races:

Foot races:

Runs through the obstacle course:

And even sack races!

Both teams had fun and worked their hardest.

We so appreciate this troop and especially two of their members, Dow and Ethan Canup.

Ethan is working on his Eagle Scout and has undertaken the "Nature Trail" at the Camp as his project.

All in all it was a successful weekend, with the scouts learning a lot.

This group always has a good time and we look forward to them coming back soon!

Boy Scout Troop 663

We always enjoy having the Scouts up at the camp. For this particular weekend Drew Prevost, who was one of the scouts, was the contact person and made all the arrangements. The day before they came we had a pretty good rain at the camp but during their stay the weather was nice. 

Five or six of the boys were here to earn their Wilderness Badge which involves them making their own shelters and providing their own food for a night. I was not able to get a picture of their shelters before it got dark as they were still in the process of completion. 

One of the instructors did build one as an example and went ahead and slept in it himself. 

They invited me over for dinner which was very good and plenty of it. 

There were demonstrations of building fires and various other things taking place during the day and I did manage to get a picture of one such time.

Three Days, Three Groups!

This past weekend (the last in October) was packed with groups and people enjoying wonderful fall weather at the camp!  The first arrivals were the fellows from Boy Scout Troop 8, who were here for wilderness/survival training.

They came in after dark on Friday and got their tents sent up quickly in the main campground and spent their first night around the camp fire.

Saturday morning brought daylight and an opportunity to check out their tent village . . .

 Everyone was busy doing something.  Chopping wood, collecting water . . .

 Working on and in the "kitchen" tarp.

Already water was boiling for Saturday night's dinner!

Which we did come back for!  By that time, all the work had been done and everyone was kind of kicked back and enjoying a lovely Saturday afternoon.

 We took the opportunity to check out the shelters that the boys had gotten set up.

They looked pretty good -- and I daresay, out in the middle of the woods, they'd have been near impossible to find.

One of the utilitarian chests in the kitchen area:

Everything the outdoorsman needs to cook up a tasty meal!  Speaking of which, the spaghetti served up that evening was from an old Italian family recipe and was very, very good!

While we enjoyed our spaghetti, the guys were preparing dessert in the Dutch ovens . . .

 We had some of that, too.  Peach and blueberry cobbler in one bowl and strawberry cobbler in the other.

YUM!

This was the first time Troop 8 had been out here (Cub Scout Pack 8 had visited several years ago) and they were all so impressed with the Camp, the beautiful setting and how perfect it was for the kind of camping they enjoy.  One of the men mentioned that his favorite part of the day was sitting around the camp fire, after all the boys had packed it in.  Several men agreed!

Talk about opposites . . . our second group arrived on Saturday morning, full of giggles and laughter!  It was the GAs of Hillwood Baptist Church, who were here for the FIRST EVER campout!

First thing they did was get their sleeping quarters up and in order.  They camped out around the pavilion.

Saturday afternoon they enjoyed some great crafts (painted frames and pillowcase prayers), a nature hike, and even some small group Bible study out in the field.

Come dinner time, the girls had really worked up an appetite!  They had roasted hot dogs over the fire and had baked beans and chips and s'mores to round things out!

It was fare fit for a queen!  Or lots of princesses!  And their Children's Minister (Jeff Whitehead), too!  He'd come up to share dinner and a time of worship with these beautiful faces.

 And after dinner was the perfect time for a couple of rounds of checkers, in front of the big fireplace!

 The braver girls sat around the camp fire and did Bible drills from their lessons earlier in the day:

We were so pleased with how excited all the girls were to be camping and how much they each enjoyed it.

And as a service project bonus, they planted a lovely bed of pansies to help us get through the fall and winter with a splash of color!  We certainly look forward to their return and appreciate all their hard work and kind words!

Last up was Cornerstone Baptist Church with their annual church picnic on Sunday afternoon.  By that time, both of the other two groups had already headed out and CBC had the camp to themselves.

We'd asked the GA group to not douse their fires, so it was nothing to re-kindle them both.

And so it didn't take long for the group to congregate around the fire!

 The children headed straight for the playground!  Love this sweet smile!

 And this smile too .... who says swings are just for littles???

And of course, the day was perfect for a little football tossing.  And a little attitude tossing, too!

It would seem that a church picnic is also a good spot for a little church business discussion?

They had a great afternoon and enjoyed the ponds, trails and creeks.  Not to mention a great feast of hamburgers, hot dogs, and loads of home made goodies!

It was a hugely busy weekend ... of the best kind -- filled with lots of happy campers!