Sound Bites & Snap Shots

I couldn’t help but sing the Eagle’s song as we drove out to Old Ben’s in Winslow, Indiana.  Arriving there and driving back to the campsite reminded me of last weekend.  It was a beautiful, wooded area with wide open spaces to pitch tents. We arrived to a flurry of activities.  Bill and Walker had already set up camp and prepped the kitchen.

All of the boys in Mason’s Webelos den agreed to arrive at 11 to prepare lunch.  They planned this meal and shopped for the food at the last two meetings so all that was necessary to make their advancement was to actually prepare it.  The menu included spaghetti with meat and marinara sauces, corn on the cob, bread and fruit.

Each one took a turn stirring and they all participated in shucking the corn and cutting the bread.

Meanwhile the Boy Scouts made their lunches with the jet boil.  Walker is especially fond of the freeze dried meals on a camp out.

He and the other two Boy Scouts played a game that Walker learned at Lodge camp.  It uses dice, a bandana, a couple of bullet shells, seals and a fishing hole.  It’s one of those games that you have to figure out rather than be told how to play.  In our house, Bill and Walker know but Mason and I are in the dark still.

The flag pole was the gathering point for meetings.  Before we gathered for the pledge of allegiance, we had a good old fashioned game of tug-o-war.

Then the Boy Scouts marked the colors for the official start of the campout.

Then Bill explained the afternoon activities.

Best line overhead by a father to a son was heard here:  “Son, how is it that you can tie a half hitch but not tie your own shoes?”

Toward the later part of the afternoon, the Boy Scouts started preparing dinner for the entire gathering.  The deal was that in exchange for their service, they would eat for free.  Walker was in charge of the cobbler.  I learned that this was the favorite part of the entire campout for some of the dads. The recipe is very simple.  Dump a can of sliced fruit in syrup in the bottom of the Dutch oven.  Top it with a cake mix.  Cut up generous chunks of butter and scatter on top of the cake mix.  Cover and let cook until the cake mix looks like biscuits.

We met with another pack, Pack 331 from Resurrection Catholic School, at the chapel for Mass.

My family loved this location for Mass.  The wind blew in and rustled the leaves.  Father’s message was that Jesus was the best example of a superhero.  We were in God’s country.  It was all very spiritual.

After a huge dinner of sloppy Joes, green beans and hot dogs, we had cobbler, s’mores and stories around the campfire.  Some folks went off on a night hike while others stayed near the fire and chatted.  By 10 pm our family turned in as we knew we would be up early to get the fire going.

Sunday morning was the grand camp breakfast.  The dads prepared a hearty mountain man meal, eggs, bacon, biscuits and cereal.  No one left hungry!  By mid-morning, everyone packed up and headed home to unload, start the washing machines, and rest up after a full weekend of fun.