Jack Wright Campout – August 5-6, 2017
All of the scouts met up at 8:30 am and we started our 45 min drive to Jack Wright at Tannehill State Park. I did some summer reading to pass the time, but most people play cards. Once we arrived, you saw lush vegetation and large, strong rocks. The trees seemed to be as tall as skyscrapers.
One we arrived everyone formed a pack line by the bus. After unloading the bus, we all headed to the campsite and set up our tents and hammocks.
There was a cooking merit badge class, so me and a couple of other scouts headed down the rough rocky trail to attend it. Afterwards, it was time for the patrol competitions to start. It started off with orienteering. Our patrol ( Panther ) started the race and we started along the jagged trail. As we ran along the trail, we came to a field with 5 foot weeds. As we walked further we slowly started to realize that we went the wrong way. We realized it when we walked up on a large crimson barn and a light tan house. We retraced our steps and made it to the area were everyone else was. Then we found two more markers and headed back to camp.
We turned in our sheets and started our dinner that would be jugged as part of the competition. Our meal included Mahi Mahi, venison (deer), mashed potatoes, rolls, sweet tea, and asparagus. Everyone thought that our patrol would win but Hawk won with their cheese quesadillas.
In the end, Racoon patrol won and got the steak dinner provided by the adults. I had a lot of fun and it will be a campout to remember.
Patrick Skelton
Webmaster
Summer Camp Wrap-up – September 9-10, 2017
It was time for us to stop wearing class B uniforms and start wearing class A’s again. We all met up at 6:30 am at the church and we were on the bus by 7. It was an hour-long drive, and it went by fast. We pulled up to the camp and got everything unloaded. The campsite was perfect. There was plenty of trees, and it was flat.
I helped my patrol set up the tents and get everything situated. After that the new scouts had some things they needed to do, so me and a couple other scouts got the fire ready. When all of that was done, the patrols started dinner. We had spaghetti and meatballs, and it was probably the best I’ve ever had. After KP, we had a ceremony rembering 9/11. We started talking about the people and their decisions they had to make that day, then we talked about ways to honor the men and women that fight for our country. At the end, we had a flag retirement ceremony. You were allowed to stay as long as you wanted.
After this we all went back to her tents climbed into our sleeping bags and thought of the purpose of the ceremony.
The following day we got everything together, packed up and got on the road.
Patrick Skelton
Webmaster
The 50 Miles
It was Saturday, September 30th and everyone arrived with their bikes and helmets. When I arrived, there was a huge trailer with room for around 30 – 40 bikes. He waited for our Quartermaster to come with all of our food. Once he did arrive, we got all the food out of this car and loaded it into a cooler and loaded them on the bus.
We then loaded up the bus and headed to camp. It was a two-hour long bus ride that flew by because of cards and conversation. Once we arrived at camp, we unloaded the bus and began to set up camp. It only took about 30 minutes for everything to be set up including our tents and Chuck Boxes. Once every Patrol was ready the bikes off of the trailer we got with our buddy and rode up onto the trail. I immediately realize how flat and straight the trail really was. I had been led to believe that it was off-road and rocky but really it was flat and made of pavement. This made me believe that the 50 miles would be easy but I was wrong. Me and my buddy weren’t the fastest but we were not the slowest either. We rode for about two miles and then we ate lunch with everyone else.
When lunch as over, we all got back on our bikes and took off. Me and my buddy began to talk about school teachers, siblings, and other things. I didn’t know what time it was or how far we gone but soon would reach the halfway point but little did I know some we would make a wrong turn. We ended up going about 10 miles the wrong way into a city or we saw car wrecks and other things.
We then decided to turn around and try to go the other way, the right way. Thankfully Mr. Lloyd was there waiting for us. We drank some water and proceeded to ride our bikes until we came to the Georgia/Alabama state line. There we found some very kind dogs who love to be petted.
Then we saw the clearing where we would camp. We went as fast as our legs could carry us, burning adrenaline and filling our hearts. At the camp, I jumped off my bike and saw Aaron and all my other friends. We then made dinner which was chicken and cheese quesadillas spinach. After we had finished playing and eating, we got our stuff together and went to sleep.
The next day we woke up and cooked breakfast which was pancakes with M&Ms. We then did KP and had chuck box inspections.
Afterwards, we all loaded up on the bus and headed to the kayaking place. Once we got there we each got our own kayaks. The river was beautiful, you would see a turtle every now and then and Bass. There were beautiful birds flying up above and the water was crystal clear. There were a few rapids which were fun until you got stuck on a rock, it was easy to get off of it. We kayaked for about 6 miles. We got back on the bus, headed to camp, ate lunch, had a quick church service and then load up the bus and started home.
Patrick Skelton
Webmaster