We made pretty good time starting this year, so good that when we arrived we were surprised to see that the gate to the parking lot was closed. (Since Mr. Mazur was not joining us, I suspect that the absence of his Scout Master “send off” talk had something to do with our speedy departure). But did we get there too early this year? Well it turns out we kind of did. The counselors start their weeks on Sunday at noon with a meeting that can last 45 minutes. They were just breaking up and we had to have one of them quickly come and open the gate…..This was great because it meant that we wouldn’t have to wait in the long health inspection line again this year……except ….since they did the inspections at the new dining pavilion, we would have to walk over there and lo and behold, we were far from first!! Seems we didn’t get that memo.
However, the new dining hall looks very nice,
but we weren’t looking forward to another 2 hour wait to check in like last year. Someone must have heard the complaints and they seem to have made some changes. This year only took about 30 minutes.
In all my years of camping at Napowan – 3 as a scout and now 2 as a leader – I can’t say that I EVER remember it being COLD there! Global warming, El Nino, or whatever, this was definitely not a normal year. Although I might not have been the only one shivering on Sunday night, overall I think the boys were happy that they didn’t have to trek all over camp dripping in sweat like years past. One drawback was the swim test. Even though the water was warmer than the outside air, the line to get our buddy tags was COOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLDDD. Anyone who didn’t pass can simply blame the weather – the wind was blowing rather good, making for some chop in the swim area.
All was not lost as we got back to camp early and were able to set up and relax before dinner and the fire bowl.
TENT ROW
Still, quite a long day nonetheless. We were once again in Souix A. While in years past this was an excellent location due to its proximity to the dining tent, we now have to walk up the road to get to the hall for meals. Compared to other locations, I think we are still in a good place. We also noted that they have removed a couple of the large pine trees in our site ( must have been termites ). This allowed us to put up the other fly in “leader land” and this came in quite handy.
Leader Land fly
Our first fire of the week was a roaring success – thanks Mr. B.
We were also reminded of how clear the skies are up here in the evenings. Great place for all future astronomer!
Some of the boys didn’t really care about the stars – the chess set was a huge success this year and there always seemed to be a wait to get a turn
As we awoke the next morning, we heard reports that we had some visitors in the night. Apparently some raccoons decided to join us and see why we didn’t invite them to our cracker barrel. That explained the strange noises in the night!
Monday saw the boys off to start on all their merit badges and the weather was great
Ok, Verona had a really lame cheer this year – probably because Little John was no longer there : Verona – “Anchor Everything” ( because it’s windy there). I pointed this out to a few of the counselors there and they said they might change it to: “Verona We’re Artsy Fartsy”.
Mark N, doing his play for theater!
Basketry, always a favorite.
Look who joined in this year.
Someone really likes Basketry:
Jimmy Connelly went for the Horseman Ship badge this year, which required him to go offsite to the LuWisMo camp next door. He had loads of fun and he earned the badge.
I’m having SOOO much fun at NAPOWAN.I want to live there!!
Rocket man
Our Chain Gang (Service project- Sorry Mr. Mazur, no tornado chasing this year)
We had a new friend join us this year, her name was “Susie”. Susie was a little token that when given to a leader or counselor, required them to sing a song at lunch time to the entire camp. Mr. B was a very excited recipient of the token one day and treated us to the “Worm Eating” song.
We think he might be considering giving this as his next sermon.
He was a big hit.
That evening we saw our little furry neighbors return for a quick bite to eat BEFORE we turned in for the night. Not to fear, Guitar man came to the rescue – Andrew Cichon chased them away with his guitar.
Many scouts signed up for the fishing merit badge this year which required them to catch and release 1 fish and catch, clean and eat one other one. And once again we had the spectacle of “fish surgery” at the camp site, complete with loads of EEEEWWWWW’s and “look his head is still moving after you cut it off!!” Who doesn’t love scout camp?
Wednesday saw a repeat of the five mile hike with the promise of “steak and eggs” at the halfway point. Three new scouts and a few old leaders joined in. Troop 175 made it back first, but was exhausted to boot!
Many of the boys did aquatic merit badges, including swimming, lifesaving and water sports. I heard that one of our boys tried water skiing for the first time ever – all I heard was “It was a blast”!!
The nature area was once again very popular – Nature Rules. Nature so rules!
Ask your scout if he hugged any trees!
One of our camp site requirements was to create a camp gadget, little did we know that a clothes line qualified – yes Mom they did practice a little hygiene ( over 100 showers this year)
Another Great Year at Napowan with a great bunch of scouts!!!
