27 May

Kartchner / Tombstone Base Jan ’26

Posted by DCole in Normal.

Early riser Breakfast of Champions before heading to the Caverns
Huddling before the plunge below ground
A hurried lunch between the caverns and the gunfights to come
All this excitement wears a scout out!
Tombstone is scouting out some ‘wanna be’ gunfighters
Hanging out downtown with the local Tombstoners
Sure wish someone would find and hook me up a horse!

25 May

Vulture Mine Base Camp – Dec ’25

Posted by DCole in Normal.

Sunrise over T648’s tent city in the desert outside Vulture Mine
A hoodie huddle during breakfast-prep warms a scout’s cold bones riiiight up!
Once fed – ready to invade Wickenburg’s Western Smithsonian Affiliate
How much silver did she say is on that saddle???
They don’t let us on the fancy saddles, but these will do just fine!
Saddles, guns, apothecaries, saloons – everything you’d ever want in the wild, wild west!
We retire to a quick game of football (?) Uno, before the evening’s entertainment.
Tonight we practice exercising our vocal cords before tackling Vulture Mine
On to a semi-spooky night tour of the most productive gold/silver mine in old-time Arizona
A scout can work up a major thirst at these here desert outings!

25 May

Superstitions Lost Dutchman Backpack Nov ’25

Posted by DCole in Normal.

The few, the hardy – carbo-loading Pringles for breakfast!
T648 on the march along Dutchman towards Weaver’s Needle
Are we there yet??
Finally setting up Home Sweet Home in our cactus garden.
Rushing to tear down camp before the next morning’s showers!
A little weather is refreshing, right??
Wet boots and wide smiles, almost to the cars – with a warm shower in our near futures…

9 Mar

Geronimo West-O-Ree – Oct ’25

Posted by DCole in Normal.

A pair of dueling .22 T648 shooters happily blazing away
Our outing SPL flexing his way out of lock-up
Hatchets, hatchets everywhere, flung and flying through the air
You can’t have a western Camporee without bull ropin’
We got ‘im! Scout knot-apprehending the desperado Matt Moustache
Not yer everyday scout outing Uno. This is West-O-Ree cut-throat Uno!
Acting out our grand finale 3 scout play – at 100+ dB!

24 Nov

Mormon Lake Hike & Bike – Sep ’25

Posted by DCole in Normal.

Day dawns brightly – time to forage up some breakfast in the forest
Hiking in the Coconino Forest by Rogers Lake, and old logging railroad beds
Those who eschewed a hike in the forest, tore up the Ft Tuthill Bike Park instead
Who knew?! There are can openers which do not require electricity!
However, a huge pasta pot DOES require an appropriately humongous glove!
No burning wood nor charcoal, no problem! A portable propane fireplace takes off the evening chill
One final ‘police line’ to leave no trace of our camping. ‘No one go any faster than me!’

24 Nov

Flagstaff Extreme Outing – Aug ’25

Posted by DCole in Normal.

This troop is most definitely ready to launch themselves into the Ft. Tuthill Adventure Zone
All harnessed up and ready “two” go. Pull us up into the wild blue yonder!
Aww man! Pulling up a BIG chair, to wait out the lightning storm delay
Wahooo! Back up on the platforms, ready again to suspend gravity amongst the trees
Ultimate to the supreme, dude! Riding the wire on the Adventure Course
It takes a village of cooks, and a ton of pasta to feed these extreme adventurers
Those weather delays were somewhat of a thorn, but overall this outing rocked the roses!!

15 Aug

Emerald Bay, Catalina Island – Jul ’25

Posted by DCole in Normal.

First day of Summer Camp – Sleeping overnight on the battleship USS Iowa
Ahoy Emerald Bay, the T648 pirates have landed. Hold onto your booty!
Thumbs Up! One of our favorite daily pursuits – meal time!
Another fun thing to do with what limited spare time we had – cutthroat Uno card games.
After full days of merit badge classes, extracurricular excursions of snorkeling, biking, and HIKING!
And what is summer camp without the requisite flawless T648-led all-camp flag ceremony?
Landing the War Canoe for our overnight under the stars, surrounded by curious foxes on Parsons Beach
T648 gathers early under our tree for Friday night’s final campfire after an awesome week on Catalina
Front row seats on the ferry – 22 miles back to Port of Los Angeles, and then the long trip home!

25 Jun

Mogollon Rim Fishing Outing – Jun ’25

Posted by DCole in Normal.

Setting up in daylight, even after a brush fire closed Beeline Hwy for much of the day
Our fine fishermen ready to hike to a remote branch off of Willow Springs Lake
The first of 20 bluegill caught and released (mostly) throughout the day
Yep, there are a lot of these little guys in there!
Maybe if we hold them up closer to the camera, they’ll look more impressive?
Sometimes the best part of fishing is just hanging out with wonderful people in a cool forest.
The afternoon was spent in various places along beautiful Canyon Creek
Of course you also always set aside time for camaraderie – anyone for a quick game of cut-throat Uno?
And what’s a fishing trip without a Scoutmaster’s fishing story? – No, it was THIS big!

24 Jun

Slide Rock Outing – May ’25

Posted by DCole in Normal.

Staking our claim to the overhang & ready to head into chilly Oak Creek’s Slide Rock
Testing the water – should my ankles actually be turning blue??
Our first brave, freezing soul surfer!
Lunch break, and a chance to get WARM
Oh my, that’s COLD!
Looks like Slide Rock gets a two thumbs up rating for the day from the scout critic!

24 Jun

Fossil Springs Backpack – Mar ’25

Posted by DCole in Normal.

Six scouts and their adult leaders set out to backpack into the Fossil Springs Wilderness area at the confluence of the Tonto and Coconino National Forests. The trailhead starts out on Deadman Mesa west of Strawberry, and drops steeply down 1,500 feet into the Fossil Creek Canyon below over 4 miles of exposed switchbacks. Once in the canyon, however, the reward is access to another of Arizona’s spectacular riparian areas.

T648 ‘packers taking off at the trailhead on Deadman Mesa
The scouts’ best ‘pack mule’ impersonations during the 4 mile trek down into Fossil Creek
Ahhh – finally down to the refreshingly cooolddd pools above the dam
The bypass waterfall and deep ‘toilet-bowl’ whirlpool at the old unnamed dam
Back up on top after navigating the switchbacks and 1500 foot climb
After all that, we deserve a donut!…..Did somebody say BoSa DONUTS??

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