The annual Pack 82 Spring Family Campout was held March 14-16 at Ross-Rhodes Scout Reservation on Lake DeGray. Over 60 people with over 24 tents participated. The short version is this: Nobody got hurt, nobody got burned, nobody got arrested, nobody was bored, and nobody went home hungry. Now for the longer version:
HorseshoesThey say, "Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades." But even in horseshoes, close is relative. Nevertheless, we enjoyed throwing the shoes of large Chinese horses while listening to the Razorbacks play in the SEC tournament. Speaking of Razorbacks...
How 'Bout Those Hogs!The Arkansas Razorbacks had two surprising wins in the SEC tournament. How did we know this? Because we listened to the play-by-play on our very own wireless radio set. In addition to tuning in basketball games, our Emergency Receiver told us the weather, played music, charged cell phones, flashd a red warning light, and emitted an alarmingly loud warble if properly activated while half-asleep. The primary benefit of this device was also its primary drawback: it had to be charged up by cranking a handle. 100 turns were good for about 10 minutes. The capacitor seemed to run down coincident with an exciting play, causing Mr. Jason to furiously crank the generator so as not to miss a moment of the action.
TigersWe believe there were 200 or so Tiger Cub Scouts as this camp. However, we cannot be sure, because as Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle predicts, they would never be still long enough for us to count them.
Cleanup! Cleanup! Everybody, Everywhere!Pack 82 set aside one hour of the weekend to undertake some cleanup and maintenance at Ross-Rhodes. The Webelos spiffed up the Weyerhauser building inside and out. This included the extermination of a large wasp colony, as well as washing windows. The windows were washed twice for good measure. The rest of the Pack hiked the Orange Trail with trash bags and picked up litter. Hopefully we left the place cleaner than we found it.
Free-for-all Camp CuisineThese were the many dishes prepared, cooked, and eaten by scouts and their families Friday night: Vegetable beef stew, roasted hot dogs, pie-iron pizza sandwiches, mashed potatoes with bacon and cheese cooked over a catfood can stove, s'mores, hobo dinners, hobo platters, and potato chips.
The Weather Started Getting Rough...It snowed the weekend before. In March. Severe thunderstorms rocked the area just two days prior. The Den Leaders debated for the previous 24 hours whether to cancel due to impending Precipitation and Doom. Tempers flared, names were called, and manhood was challenged. We were under a tornado watch, with a 50% chance of severe thunderstorms. Lightning illuminated the sky at the southern horizon. As the wind shifted, the smell of storm wafted through the camp. The Weyerhauser building was unlocked and prepared as a refuge should Mother Nature get angry. We settled in for an uneasy sleep. Then we woke up Saturday morning - dry as a bone. Someone had activated the UmbrellaField around our camp during the night and deflected the tornadoes, hail, wind, and heavy rain all around us. One scout leader's mom claimed it was a miracle in answer to her prayers. Maybe she's onto something.
The MysteryPack 82 continued our tradition of a pre-bedtime hike to The Point - in the dark. At the hike's midpoint, we halted, formed a circle, and spent some time listening to the nighttime sounds: crickets, frogs, motorboats in the distance, bodily noises. We then opened a letter that had allegedly been sent to Mr. Kevin, our Cubmaster, from Mr. Farrell, the Council Scout Executive. This letter contained a suspenseful story about an experience the camp caretaker had this past New Year's Eve. (While the story was not intended to be frightening, the suspense turned out to be a bit much for at least one scout. Sorry.) The story concluded with the unveiling of a dirty brown journal that contained a puzzling message and several pages of encrypted clues. Here is a link to the Mysterious Letter.
The PackageSaturday morning, the Scouts broke into eight groups to solve riddles, decipher messages, and hunt for clues to the whereabouts of The Package. A couple of hours and a lot of tangled string later, Pack 82 became the owner of a new First Aid Kit (thanks Mr. Roberson) when the Scouts - working together - followed the clues to The Package's hiding place.
Breakfast, Take I10lbs Bacon, 10lbs Sausage, Lots of Hashbrowns, and Lots of Toast. Eggs - any way you like 'em, as long as that’s scrambled. Kids - don’t let me see you throw any food away.
Dutch Oven ExtravaganzaThe Dutch showed up in force with their ovens Saturday night. They prepared everything from peach cobbler to chocolate cake to home-made chicken noodle soup. There was even a pepperoni cobbler. Mr. Jason and Mr. Dan boiled a cauldron of leftover Blue and Gold BBQ over a roaring fire. Nobody went away hungry.
Breakfast, Take IIPancakes Pancakes Pancakes Pancakes Pancakes Pancakes Pancakes Pancakes Pancakes Pancakes Pancakes Pancakes Pancakes Pancakes Pancakes Pancakes Pancakes Pancakes Pancakes Pancakes Pancakes Pancakes Pancakes Pancakes Pancakes Pancakes Pancakes Pancakes Pancakes Pancakes Pancakes Pancakes Pancakes Pancakes Pancakes Pancakes Pancakes Pancakes Pancakes Pancakes Bacon Pancakes Pancakes Pancakes Pancakes Pancakes Pancakes Pancakes Pancakes Pancakes Pancakes Pancakes Pancakes Pancakes Pancakes Pancakes Pancakes Pancakes Pancakes Pancakes Pancakes Pancakes Pancakes Pancakes.
Field of DreamsCongratulations to Mr. Eley for holding a pack of energetic scouts in rapt attention for the better part of the afternoon. The Games launched with a contest - to the pain - of Save the Bacon. Just as that was getting interesting, the playing field quickly morphed to Ultimate, then to Kickball. By dinnertime, the boys were more than ready to eat.
CampfireAs the sun set Saturday night and our BBQ and Cobblers continued to digest, all campers gathered for a closing Campfire near the dinner pavilion. Mr. Kevin kept the pace moving, and each den presented a skit or a song. Several awards were given. The lowlight of the evening was a couple of den leaders passing gas. (Oh, GAS! I get it.)
Notes for Next TimeAgenda is posted here.
