Three times each year the Cherokee District Boy Scouts camp together for a big group outing with lots of fun activities for the boys. It's a big deal compared to a regular camp-out. This spring, we combined with five other districts. I couldn't get all the tents in one picture from the top of the climbing tower, but you get a little bit of the idea here.
The theme was an Olympiad, with each district representing a different country. The Cherokees drew Chile. I tried to get someone to make an Easter Island moai statue out of an oil-drum, but there were no takers. We did lash up a gateway. When the wind blew just right, you could read "CHILE" in the hanging letters.
I don't usually camp with the troop, having retired as Scoutmaster several years ago. With that many boys, you need lots of activities, so they asked me to run the climbing tower. I had some good help, including my brother, Will. Here he's belaying his son, Joe, up the wall. I was afraid the weather might stop us, but we made it okay. It was really wet, having rained the night before (and all week before, for that matter), but two sides of the tower were climbable (despite the mud the boys carried with them). It barely sprinkled during the day, so that was great. In re Chile, it was the Andes Mountain Range instead of a tower.
Here's a study in contrast. The dutch oven has sat on the coals for a while, and the finished product is being inspected. The boys cooked a traditional Chilean dish with corn, chicken, raisins and other difficult to identify ingredients. They were the overall winner in the Iron Chef contest.
Here's the Dad Patrol's method of heating the spaghetti sauce. "One less pan to wash". I'm proud of my brother's ingenuity.
There was a big campfire show with skits and songs and camp promotion, including next year's centennial year and national jamboree. I got to lead my new song (which I'll post here soon).
And here's my favorite photo commemorating the muddy (but fun) day. That's a tent floor (ugh). For more details, see our troop website and for more pictures check the link.