Whitesburg RAs Father-Son Campout

Talk about perfect camping out weather -- that's what the Whitesburg RAs had for their father-son campout this past weekend!

After a dinner of deluxe bacon-cheeseburgers, they took some time making a 'cabin' craft together.

While they worked, they also had a time of devotion, followed by flashlight tag!

A terrific group had a terrific time!

FBC Huntsville's RA Campout

The First Baptist Huntsville RA's have been coming up to the camp for a long time. I was able to spend a little time with Wesley Blake who was making his last trip. Wesley said that best he could recall this was his 14th year. 

Charles and some other guys I spoke with said they had not yet put together a plan for when he would not be with them....seeing how Wesley is not only the set-up man but also the cook. Things went well with a couple of tarps hanging up to block off the breeze. 

The boys made their way to the outdoor recreation area where they participated in some air rifle practice and a bout of archery. Nick Farrow from Willowbrook was kind enough to help the boys out with the bow and arrows.

They did have the Christian juggler and entertainer/missionary and his family with them again this year. There was a little late night flashlight tag and then folks made it to their tents.

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 !

Trail Life Campers

Trail Life has been coming to the camp for several years now and we always love to have them. 

David Collier was among them doing some cooking and who knows what all else. I asked him about how he slept when I saw him on Saturday morning and he said, "Great!" (I am pretty sure David went home to sleep and came back..:) 

They had a great group for their family camp-out and I also got to see friend Ken Boyd. Ken will actually be running for mayor of Huntsville next year and already he had a crowd of folks around him. I am trying to remember...Ken did you say you had already received a million in donations and were a strong second in the polls? Not sure that is exactly what he said; I will have to double-check. 

Anyway the group seemed to enjoy themselves and we hope to have them back again soon.

Central Baptist Visit

It was a pleasure to have Pastor Shannon Johnson and crew up at the camp. It was a small but very active group.

Brother Shannon led them on several trail hikes and plenty of good food was prepared.

The kids seemed to have a good time but the heat was not making it easy. Come nightfall, several didn't stay the night, but those who did all stayed in the one large tent.

Plans were to stay until late in the afternoon but the heat must have really taken it out of folks as they were all gone by lunch.

We look forward to seeing the group again...maybe in a little cooler weather.

Cub Scout Pack 391

It may have been a return visit for the boys of Pack 391, but they found ways to experience a couple of 'firsts' on their visit!  They came in on Friday afternoon and got settled in.  The campground is always at its best with the happy sounds of kids having fun and the smell of campfire smoke in the air!

They got off to a slow start Saturday morning, sleeping in a bit, but by early afternoon, they were ready for a guided hike down Beech Bottom Trail.  This particular group had never seen the Secret Creek before, so they were ready to go.  Once we got down to the creek, their eyes went wide . . . and shoes and sock came off in a flash -- especially when their tour guide went right on in!

They splashed and played and had a marvelous afternoon in the creek waters.  They even tried their hands (literally) at catching crawdads, but no one was quiet brave fast enough! We relayed the story of some of the youth guys who visited the camp weeks prior, who caught several crawdads and grilled and ate them!  That certainly sparked interest from the younger boys!

Soon the guys were traveling across, up and down the creek -- shirts were off and they were soaked from head to toe -- but everyone was having a marvelous time.  

The tour guides needed to head back, but the guys opted to stay down at the water and continue to play!  Truthfully, there isn't a better place to be on a warm summer afternoon.

The next morning, as we headed out to church, we were amused to see that the boys had once again headed down to the creek for some water play!  One of their leaders informed us that not only did they go back down, but they also caught their own crawdads and then cooked and ate them -- hmmm, we wonder if that counts toward a survival training badge?

So the Secret Creek is no longer a secret to Pack 391 -- we hope they'll be back soon to enjoy it all over again!

Alert Cadets

We hosted the Alabama 3rd Alpha Alert Cadets this past weekend.  This is their third annual Camp MACOBA camp out and we were very pleased to see them!

The guys set up camp in the area behind the pavilion . . . 

And along with some archery skills practice:

They also did some brush hauling to help clean up around the property.  

 

We really appreciate their hard work!

The group had a great weekend and we look forward to hosting them again next year (if we can't get them here in the fall)!

Flint River Baptist Community Group

Even though we'd had a little rain overnight and on Friday morning, and the temps were going to dip down into the 40's on Saturday night, that didn't stop the Community Group and their families (and some youth, too) from Flint River from heading to the camp!  

They arrived right around 4:00 and immediately there were tents going up, folks headed down to the ponds with fishing poles, and some *serious* cooking going on!

Y'all . . . that really was *serious* cooking.

I think it may have been the first time there's been a shrimp boil up here. Isn't that gorgeous?? We were so tickled to be invited over for dinner and then Bill, the group's coordinator, also asked if we'd speak a little bit about the camp and about our ministry.  We were delighted!

There was a good sized group that was there for dinner and then it whittled down a little to the serious campers.

And campfire lovers! We have it on good authority that a significant number of the adults spent the entire night around the campfire . . . who needs a tent??

It was the perfect weekend for camping in the elements and suffice it to say, they had a great time. We hope the camp made some new friends!

Whitesburg RAs

Cold temps didn't stop the Whitesburg RAs from having a good time at their annual fall camp out! They came in late on Friday and settled in quickly. Because of the cold, they set up around (and under) the pavilion -- near the fire!

Saturday morning was a pancake morning and then they settled into crafts and activities and games.

One of the crafts involved stockings . . .

And this young man worked very diligently on his.

All in all, despite the cold, they had a great time! 

This is a great group of fellows, and we always enjoy their presence when they visit!

RAs from First Baptist Huntsville

You never know what kind of weather you're going to have in November in North Alabama - temps in the 70's or temps in the 30's - but either way, as long as the rain holds off, you've got a good set-up for a camping weekend, which is just what the RAs from FBC Huntsville enjoyed.

They came in on Saturday after lunch and spent some time setting up camp

Then the group spent some time under the tutelage of archery guru, Chris Hester! Chris volunteered to come up and spend some time going over safety and basic archery instructions with all the young guys.  

Then it was time to head up to the field to put arrow to bow (to target) . . .

We really appreciated Chris taking time to come out and share his love and passion for archery with these young guys!

The boys had a marvelous weekend.  Sunday morning they woke up to a chilly morning and had worship under the pavilion with a blazing fire going.

Minister of Missions Mike Pearce even picked up the guitar and led them in their praise time!

This group has been a great friend to the camp and we enjoy it when they stay with us!