Spring Camporee

"The hint is in the name..."

We did it! We pulled off our 2nd Spring Camporee with perfect weather and nary a hitch. We didn't even have any mosquitoes!

Around 90 Scouts and parents from the Pere Marquette area and beyond camped out for the weekend. We had another 60 Cubs and parents join us on Saturday for games, dinner, and campfire fun.

Oh, where to begin?

While setting up the day before the big event, three of our intrepid leaders failed to notice a 1500 pound moose sneaking through the campsite. Who knew a moose could tip-toe?

Throughout the event, Pete cooked up some fantastic meals for the "Parent Patrol". Ladies, if you want breakfast in bed, this is probably your best shot.

The boys didn't do so bad with the, either. Not surprisingly, we had a lot of sausage and pancakes to work through Saturday morning. Hats off to DJ, by the way, for volunteering to help with dishes. That's the spirit!

North Country Trail presentation

Speaking of cooking, Carl & Robert entered the Dutch oven competition for adults, but there were too few entrants to award more than participation ribbons. The judges looked happy with the entries and walked away quite full. I'm pretty sure the other Scouters were just too intimidated to try.

But nevermind all that, the Scouts had a lot of Scouting fun. Events included first aid, single line rope bridge crossing, and a bunch of team building activities culminating in a super-long-pokey-thing.

Our special guest speaker explained our nation's trail systems and introduced the newly created North Country Trail. We'll be hiking ten miles of it on June 6th, by the way. Perhaps one day one of these Scouts will venture forth to hike the whole route. That would be quite an adventure!

Security!

When the Cubs arrived, Chad taught the little guys how to make popcorn in a #10 tin can. Gary hosted a bean bag toss. Other Troops set up a human billiards game, fire making stations, round ball games, and more. This was a really great way to show off our area's Troops to future Boy Scouts and their parents.

As the Troops settled into their dinner chores, the Cubs dug into hotdogs and beans and fruit salad for dinner. There were s'mores, too, right? There are always s'mores!

The Cubs (or parents) who weren't completely knackered by this time stayed for the Scout's campfire - and what a campfire! Songs, skits, and walk-ons galore gave everyone a good laugh. We even had a mystery visitor, but you'll have to visit the photo album to see him for yourself. Any guesses?