Day 1- Saturday July 3, 2004
Troop 746 landed safely in Utah. Upon arriving at the airport, the Troop was approached by the Utah tourism group and interviewed about their uniforms and the trip they were about to start. The scouts traveled 250+ miles to a camp site called Deer Haven. The Camp Site was surrounded by groves of Aspen Trees (like White Birch)...truly beautiful and breath taking. The site was 9000 ft above sea level. No major issues...just a few minor adjustment to the high elevation. All scouts slept peacefully. Day 2- Sunday, July 4, 2004 At 9:30 am Utah time (11:30am eastern), the vans were packed and the Troop was on the road to Zion National Park. The day was started with church services ( 2 readings and a gospel reading). Before leaving Deer Haven camp site, the Troop had a 4th of July celebration with the US and POW flags. The Scouts are excited for their next adventure. (update as of 12pm eastern time)
DAY 2 - SUNDAY, JULY 4, 2004
The Troop arrived at Zion National Park, Utah. The park was surrounded by beautiful majestic cliffs and breath-taking scenery. The scouts took numerous hikes through the park. Some of the boys waded in the Virgin River. The landscape was right out of a John Wayne western movie. Later in the day the troop left Zion National Park and headed to Jacobs Lake, Arizona. Here the crew discovered the bonus of hot showers.....Yeah, no more smelly campers!!! The boys settled in for the night trying not to get dirty to fast and preped for their adventure to the Grand Canyon on Monday. More adventure to come.
DAY 3- MONDAY, JULY 5, 2004
Off to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon...WOW what a scenic back drop. Many scenic sights of the Canyon Wall. The perfect place for a group trip picture. After a long day of touring the Grand Canyon,where they toured indian ruins, the troop settled at the Grand Canyon Lodge for a delicious dinner....YEAH.... no camping food!!! With full tummies, everyone returned to Jacob Lake and preped for a good nights sleep, ready to travel to Bryce National Park. More adventure to come....
DAY 4- TUESDAY, JULY 6, 2004
Rise and shine, after a hearty breakfast, the troop traveled to Bryce Canyon. Toured Bryce Canyon -- a smaller version of the Grand Canyon. The Canyon had distinctive rock formations called HooDoos -- like sandart, as if someone poured wet sand from the top of the rock to form pictures down the walls of the canyon. To get a better view, a few of the boys hiked to the bottom of the Canyon, looked up to the top waving to the rest of the crew.
After lunch, the troop left Bryce for their campsite. A minor travel delay occurred....several times the caravan was stopped on the road by free-roaming cattle, who moved across the road at a snails pace....only about an hour of travel time was lost. Eventually all arrived at the Singletree campsite. This campsite's weather was the most pleasant to date....not as hot in daytime or cold at night. The campsites to date have averaged 6-10 thousand feet above sea level...So close to the stars they could even see the milkyway that looked like a night cloud. Another successful day, more adventures to come on Wednesday....good night from the scouts!
DAY 5--WEDNESDAY, JULY 7, 2004
Hello from Capitol Reef National Park. Today the Troop explored rock formations from a new perspective...from the bottom looking up. Capital Reef was home to the Freemont Indians. The reef contained sheer rock faces. The troop took a hike through Capital Gorge. A number of the boys did some rock climbing. The rock climbing scouts successfully made it to the top....however, the Troops' fearless trip leader, Jack Amrhein, needs a little more training as he sustained a few minor scraps trying to keep up with the young scouts. After an acitve day, the caravan headed to Moab, Utah. Where tomorrow's adventures will include a tour of Arches National Park. However, the Arches are second in the scouts minds as they anxiously wait to arrive at Moab's location for the three hot tubs, hot showers and washing machines......Yeah a briefly clean troop!!! Time for soaking the tired muscles. During the trip the Troop has observed various types of wild life......numerous mule deer, 1 porcupine, several western chipmonks and wild mountain goat. Now tired from another day of excitement and adventure, it is time for bed.....Everyone in Utah, says hello to their families in Baltimore and wishes they were with them in Utah. TA-TA for now...good night...Looking forward to tomorrow's visit of Arches National Park.
DAY 6- THURSDAY, JULY 8, 2004
The day was spent in Arches National Park. The boys went rock climbing again. This time it appears Jack, kept up....no word of minor scraps...ha!ha! The park provided some great backdrops for picture taking. While there has been no rain to dampen the Troop's adventure, it has been very hot. It was 102 degrees on Tuesday and 98 degrees on Wednesday. The heat is wearing everyone out a little but it is not spoiling anyone's fun. During conversation today, it was discovered a group of Calvert hall men were on the trip. A photo was taken to send to The Hall. There were 5 grads, 3 current and 3 future Hallmen. Also, a group picture, with the Troop Flag, was taken at the Skyline Arch. The Troop's trip leader, Jack and a few of his fellow leaders are lonely for their Harleys.
Norbert was convinced to up the limit for dinner tonight and the group had dinner at a local favorite called Eddie McStiff's......Yeah! another night of no camp food. With full bellies and tired legs the troop settled in for the night. More adventure to come tomorrow as the boys rest up for their white water rafting trip. See you tomorrow!!!
DAY 7- FIRDAY,JULY 9, 2004
The Scouts rose early.....just a "little" excited about getting into the Colorado River. Today's adventure appears to be the best to date for most of the boys. White water rafting was a blast. Everyone got soaked and more than a few went overboard though mostly on purpose. The Troop's hats were off to the guide crew who sweat through the entire 6 hours of rowing the troop's rafts. Lunch was awesome. It was a Mexi-salad prepared riverside. Everyone is trying to get the recipe. With a short recovery period, the group split up for different destinations. The majority of the troop went off to Dennys for dinner. Also, a group of 4 boys and 8 adults hiked 2 miles up a mountain, 482 vertical feet up, to see the sunset at Delicate Arch. Despite the difficult hike, everyone loved the twilight hike and the sunset. Now water logged, it time to rest for Saturday's adventure. More to come later.
DAY 8-- SATURDAY, JULY 10, 2004
Today was a hard day for a few folks. Between a lot of sun, and just being worn out from a week of on the move; things just went a little slower. The Troop toured Canyonlands National Park. The park showed another perspective on the geography of the Colorado Plateau. The group had a park ranger explain how different layers of material make up a mesa, butte, and needles. (be sure to quiz you kids about what these mean!) . Later in the evening, the troop went to the Bar M Chuckwagon for gunfight, dinner, and a western concert. We celebrated a few birthday's and had a good laugh. After returning to camp, the troop cleaned up and enjoyed a treat of rice pudding from Mr. Henry. With 10 of the adults leaving in the morning, the troop presented gifts to Mr. Luken, Ms. Holmes, and Mr. Henry for their efforts to coordinate the tour week and see that we were all taken care of.
DAY 9-- SUNDAY, JULY 11, 2004
Troop broke camp early to get to the airport for those parents returning home after the first week. It was a little difficult leaving Moab as the troop stayed there the longest. However, many were happy to leave the red dirt campground. The group arrived at the airport safe and sound and boys and departing parents said their goodbyes. The troop left for Hill AFB via a nice relaxing lunch on the grounds of a school in Salt Lake. The boys had an opportunity for a rousing game of dodge ball follwed by our Sunday Service. Hill AFB was very nice. Our camp site was in a field of soft grass (very nice.) After setting up, the troop went to the base mess hall for a filling and tasty dinner complete with ice cream for dessert. The evening was capped off with merit badge review for camp.
DAY 10-- MONDAY, JULY 12, 2004
Monday started very early- 4:45am. Routine has set in quickly and the troop is coming together well as a unit. Tents were down and gear stowed in about 15 minutes. The group had breakfast in the Hill AFB mess hall. The mess director told us it was a pleasure having us and we were welcome anytime. We got underway at 7:00am headed for Bear Lake Aquatics camp. All of the boys were asleep before we left the base.
Bear Lake Aquatics Camp is situated on a beuatiful blue lake. The boys got accustomed to their surroundings quickly. Merit badge classes began immediately after lunch. The troop had KP after dinner and the camp staff remarked that the area hasn't been as clean in 4 weeks. The highlight of the day was the evening campfire at which Alex King and his dad (Mike) were called out for induction into the Order of the Arrow. Good night!
DAY 11- TUESDAY, JULY 13, 2004
Tuesday began at 4:00am, for some of the boys working on astronomy observations. Unfortunately, the sky was overcast and stars were not visible. Offical activities started with a flag ceremony that included raising the Maryland flag to mark our attendance at camp. The boys competed for the Spirit Paddle with their cheer but fell a bit short. The boys went from the ceremony to merit badge classes and completed the first three of the many the signed up for. Late afternoon the camp experienced some of the same kind of weather as back home. They experienced a gale with 75 knot gusts. As it is very dry in Utah, the wind was accompanied by only minor rain. 4 tents collapsed with broken and bent poles. All were repairied thanks to the expert attention of Mr. Mike and Mr. Henry.
The Acting Scoutmaster and Camping Coordinator completed the first day of SCUBA training and arrived at camp worn out. Thanks to Mr. Henry's telescope, the troop viewed Jupiter and 4 of its moons. This really peaked the boys interest in astronomy.. Four of the men (feeling a bit bored) repaired two tables and rebuilt two additional tables for the camp. More to come.......! Bye for now.
DAY 12--- WEDNESDAY, JULY 14, 2004
Wednesday was an average day at camp. That is if you can call completing 21 merit badges average! The weather was better- mostly sunny. The boys were busy with boating, shooting, and archery among other scout skills. Some of the men went to town for ice and things while others continued to work on maintenance items. It looks like two adult members of the troop are in line for the camp Maintenance Director position (not really....). Today they welded one of the staff tent poles broken by the storm, repaired a broken cot frame, and re-installed a halogen lamp in the mess area that was hanging over a table where the kids eat.
The two SCUBA candidates continue to work hard at it. Their classes seem to last all day long and tire them out. This morning, one fell asleep at the flag ceremony. One of the boys celebrated a 14th birthday today and the troop had cupcakes to mark the occasion. The boys have been receiving mail and packages from home are quite happy to get them. More to come tomorrow!!!!
DAY 14-- FRIDAY, JULY 16, 2004
The end is in sight! The boys reaped the fruit of their efforts today. A total of 133 merit badges were accomplished and 4 partials out of 137 attempted. That's an average of over 5.7 per scout. In addition, some scouts completed CPR training as a last requirement for the First Aid merit badge they started at home. Three scouts also completed their requirements for rank advancement. In the afternoon, the boys participated in camp games of challenge. The troop came in 3rd in the sandcastle competition, and one boy was singled out for climbing the cargo netting faster than anyone else including the instructor. Two of the boys suited up in wetsuits and donned tanks and fins to dive in the lake. The two will make application for the BSA SCUBA patch when they return home. The Troop was assigned color guard duties for the closing ceremony and performed flawlessly. This despite the fact that several boys were changing into their class A uniforms as they came out of the dryer. The evening ended with the closing campfire where the troop was awarded the spirit paddle to take home as the troop that demonstrated the most scout spirit all week. Everyone is in high spirits and looking forward to returning. Many troops passed on good wished for safe travel home. Stay tuned for more news........or we will see you Sunday! |
