We headed out for another awesome summer camp adventure to Lake of the Woods.    After hiking about 1.5 miles, we arrived at camp.    The camp looked great and a huge thank you to all who helped prepare for our arrival!      There was some Thunder clouds so swim checks were delayed for a few hours.  When the swim check was finally held, all of the boys passed!  The first assembly was held and scouts got a chance to see how to handle the flags when they are run up a very tall set of trees.  Dinner that night was BBQ chicken and all the fixins.   On Sunday, Bugle call was early and 35 boys and adults turned out for Mountain Man swim call.  This is a quick dip in the lake before Call to Colors or breakfast.  The day was spent starting merit badges, with swimming being the primary badge.  A 1 mile orienteering course was set up for the trail to first class scouts.   For the day there were two flag ceremonies that were handled by the patrols.  The boys discovered that some practice is needed to get this to work well.  Dinner was Tri Tip with salad and many side dishes.  Bugle call was early Monday and 40 boys and adults turned out for Mountain Man swim call.   The weather has been cool, but the water temperature is nice.   Most of the scouts finished swimming merit badge and started canoe merit badge.  Scouts are also working on Environmental Science and the service project.  On Tuesday, the rain storm finally hit camp on Tuesday which delayed some events. The rain dampened the camp but not the spirit of the group.  It was Paul Bunyan day with all the boys participating in two-man saw, log chop, log lift, knot tying and many other team woods events.   There was also time to continue advancement.  Dinner was a very hearty Beef Stew.   The canoeing merit badge started in earnest Wednesday.  And also the day hike for the younger boys and 5 mile orienteering course for the older boys.  Thursday is “waterfront day”.  All the scouts participate in canoeing and swimming competitions.  This includes team and individual races, swamp wars, and gunnel pumping (you should ask if you don’t know what these are).  This evening is “thanksgiving” so there were whole turkeys cooked with all the fixings (stuffing, potatoes, cranberries) and pumpkin pies for dessert.  Friday morning, again 45 people showed up for the mountain man swim call!  Canoeing and swimming merit badges were all finished so many of the boys took on Lifesaving as well as other merit badges.  The older boys were working to complete Environmental Science Merit Badge.   The ceremony for patrol and individual awards was held.

Scouts left early Saturday morning for Coyote Lake near Gilroy.    We continued getting ready for summer camp by practicing maneuvering our canoes, rescuing our buddies from overturned canoes and navigating.    Scouts had great fun playing games while canoeing.   After a long day, scouts were hungry for a great dinner.     The patrols worked hard on making good dinners for everyone.    We were tired after a great day on the water!    Sunday brought more fun on the water and we are ready for summer camp!

We met at Skylawn Memorial Park and placed flags at all the tombs of Veterans to honor their service to our country.     Scouts brought hammers and screw drivers to use to plant the flags.   We started with donuts, juice and coffee so we would have energy for the day.   Afterwards we drove up to Clear Lake State Park for Family Camp.    Families and scouts pitched their tents on Saturday and had fun exploring the camp.   Sunday morning started with Scout’s Own then swim check and after lunch the scouts were off in the canoes.   Scouts practiced maneuvering canoes through the weeds and turning their canoes.   Sunday night we had a fabulous dinner prepared by many great adults and finished the evening with a campfire that kept everyone laughing with skits by scouts and siblings.   Monday morning brought more canoeing adventures then packing up camp.

The scouts met at the church at 4:30 P.M.  We drove up to Cutter and had a great time.  We broke into three patrols for meals which were the Hawks, Wolves, and Indians.  We had two competition patrols which were the Hawks and the Pandas.  It was great and everybody had a lot of fun.  We camped at Camp Horn.  The events were Radioactive fuel rods, mountain biking, pioneering, orienteering, canoeing, fire building, log lift, first aid, archery, tomahawk, rifle shooting and blindfolded tarp set up.  The Hawks won two ribbons, one was a 3rd place and one was a second place.  All of the scout skill events were required.  There was a Dutch oven cook off and the food we cooked was good.  The Adults cooked in the Dutch ovens.  Every patrol needed one skit for campfire.  At Scouts own we sang songs with a pastor’s daughter.  On Sunday after we left Cutter, we helped with Home and Hope Takedown.

Venture Crew 27 provided another spectacular event for the troop.   We started at the church and had to decode secret messages.    These clues led us to several different places.   Our first adventure started at Edgewood Park.    We hiked up the trail to discover the shield and our next clue.   Then we were off to Stulsaft Park where four events awaited us; obstacle course, walking the plank, stretcher carry and catapult.     Our next clue took us to Sheep Camp Trail where we built a tripod and decoded Morse Code.    That lead us to Marlin Park where we had a canoeing and fire building event.    The fun continued at Davenriche European Martial Artes School where we learned how to use ancient weapons.   Our final destination turned out to be Joseph D. Grant County Park in San Jose and we ate lots of pizza for dinner.   Based on the scores from the different challenges, we also got to compete for candy and soda.    Venture Crew 27 did a great job!    On Sunday, the troop did a service project to remove vegetation and restore pig damaged areas.

Scouts are working hard to reach the next rank advancement and will celebrate these accomplishments and more at our Court of Honor.

Scouts for food

We gathered at Marlin Park in Redwood Shores and had donuts and juice to get us going.   Scouts divided into cars and took maps of the area.   Many scouts brought wagons to help with the food gathering.   At the end of the day, we had collected over 1,100 pounds of food to donate to the Second Harvest Food Bank in San Carlos.  Not surprisingly, this initiative raises more pounds of food for needy Bay Area families than any other food bank vent. The Scouts enjoyed meeting so many generous people and a huge thank you to everyone who donated.

The troop left early Saturday and headed across the Bay to Chabot Rifle Range.   There was a gun safety lesson followed by the scouts shooting 22 caliber rifles.    The range is up to 1.5 miles.    Scouts practiced on the range and brought home their target papers.   Later in the afternoon, we were joined by a local cub scout troop for dinner and campfire.   The cub scouts had a great time joining in on the campfire skits.  After campfire, scouts took a night hike to view the stars as it was a clear night.  Many cub scouts spent the night also.    Sunday morning scouts participated in Scouts Own and took a day hike along the trail.

We joined the Council sponsored Zomboree for a fabulous time!    Friday night we ate in the dining hall at Camp Cutter.   Saturday’s activities included avoiding the zombies, shotgun shooting, tomahawk throwing and knot competitions.   The troop formed one Patrol (The Ogs) and earned many ribbons for their skill set.   Food highlights included zombie skin (bacon).