Back from our patrol campout this weekend. Had a great time as usual!
Friday night arrived at the campground only to find that the only tent in the whole campground (the only one camping period) is right smack dab in the middle of where we set up every year. That kind of threw me for a loop since we need such a big area for our stuff. So, we drove around looking for other sites and waited for Mark to get there so we could decide on a spot. We ended up setting up our tents in the dark and then got the fire roaring for heat and supper. We had roasted wienies and baked beans as well as Oreos (double stuff and peanut butter) for dessert. We sat up around the campfire until about 11:30 and then went to bed.
The night was a long one. Even though it was a cool 28 degrees we were toasty in our sleeping bags. About 3am I realized I needed to go to use the bathroom but I didn’t want to get out of the sleeping bag. I had just made my mind up to make the move when the pack of coyotes we had heard earlier started barking and howling. I heard them running closer to the tent then retreat a little. Needless to say it was about 5:30 before I finally got the courage to get out of the tent!
With plenty of coals left from the night before, starting a fire was easy. As the rest trickled out of their tents we made Breakfast Burritos, cleaned up and the older boys spent the morning biking the campground while the two new scouts worked on their Scout and Tenderfoot ranks.
After a lunch of ramen soup and sandwiches the boys and their assistant Scoutmaster took off on their 15 mile bike ride. I was the pace car. I counted off the miles, kept the bike pump and tools in the car as well as the drinks. I wanted to attempt the 15 mile myself but I was afraid my old knees wouldn’t take it. They all did awesome!
Resting up their jelly legs was a necessity before starting supper. Alvin, one of the dads, gave each boy their own P-38 can opener and they each had to give it a try. We made Cabin Casserole (not hotdish, Eric!) in the dutch oven as well as caramel sticky buns in the dutch oven for dessert. Our cooks did a fantastic job because it was all very yummy!
The rain started while we were making supper but it was light so we got through supper and sat around the campfire for a while getting wetter. At about 8pm we decided the rain wasn’t going to give up so we did. Two of us took our radios into our tents to listen to the Wild game before falling asleep.
The rain pelted our tents all night. Most of us woke up wet. We decided to tear down early, skip breakfast and head for home. Because one of the 12 points of the scout law is a scout is “reverent” we had a short worship service before we left. Even though the rain cut our weekend short I think all will agree we had a great time. Thanks Austin for getting in and cooking at least part of every meal. Thanks Josiah for trying and completing the 15 mile bike ride. Thank you Mark for keeping us in wood and the fire roaring and to Alvin for having everything we needed and forgot in your vehicle. Eric, Andrew, and Zach- you guys always supply the fun. Can’t wait for our next campout!
