Tent City
As Pack 82 descended on Campsite #1, the small outpost blossomed into a metropolis of nylon. By Friday night, a dozen tents could be seen blanketing the landscape. By mid-day Saturday, the count had tripled.
Breakfast of Champions
The Pack 82 Kitchen was open for business Saturday morning after an hour of cooking over three propane stoves. Baconmeisters Mr. Kevin and Mr. Jason fried the pork, while Mr. Jeff flipped sausage on the griddle. The cholesterol was supplemented by hash browns, eggs, and toast. Mr. Kevin: "You can have your eggs any way you like 'em. As long as they're scrambled." Roughly 30-40 people chowed down.
Loopapalooza
Oh yeah, there were some beltloops for the boys to earn. Marbles. Volleyball. BB Guns. The usual suspects.
Mercury Rising
The early October weekend was unseasonably warm and humid. Some might characterize it as hot. Maybe even sweltering. It was darned uncomfortable. But we still had a fire, mind you.
March Through the Night
After the sun set and dozens of marshmallows incenerated, most Cub Scouts found their second wind and began running throughout the camp with sticks. In order to vent this excess enthusiasm, Mr. Jeff, Mr. Chris, and Mr. Rick (among others) led the Scouts on a perilous hike down the road and back in the dark. The trek included flashlight-free zones, cricket listening, and ghost stories of the Absolutely True genre. Some of the more true elements of the stories: Mr. Jeff was in fact once a Cub Scout, did in fact have a pickup truck, did grow up in a town with railroad tracks, and really had a great-great grandfather who fought in the Civil War. How much more truth can ya stand?
The midnight-ish march was such a hit that it was repeated Saturday.
Campfire
This year's mercifully concise Campfire featured Indian dancing, songs, skits, and jokes of both the audible and inaudible variety; and tributes to all who worked so hard to make Akela Camp 2007 an unmitigated success. Pack 82 contributed a rousing round of "Ravioli" in lieu of Bug Juice Reloaded.
Creative Cooking
The "A for Effort" award goes to Mr. Rick, who braved both humiliation and hunger to fix the most unique lunch of the camp - pizza on a stick. He was 50% successful. Get that man a sandwich iron.
Blackmail
Ben, I ran into your mom in the store this afternoon. She asked me if anything interesting or even dangerous happened while at camp. I told her I couldn't think of anything offhand.
By the way, my yard needs mowed.
Notes to Self
Next time we camp:
- Do breakfast again. It worked. Everyone seemed to like it.
- Use a fourth stove to cook breakfast.
- Maybe cook a breakfast casserole in a Dutch oven.
- Find some new ghost stories.
- Encourage boys who can't stay overnight to just come for the Saturday activities
- Prepare an impressive (but simple) campfire presentation ahead of time
- Recycle all aluminum cans
- Take a group picture
