This weekend 14 scouts, 3 fathers of scouts, and two other leaders who will jump at any excuse to go camping headed north of Payson to this year’s Halloween weekend Camporee (Vampiree!) – a gathering of 550 people in scouting from our district in a celebration of scouting skills, camaraderie, and costumes. Getting up close and personal with other troops and packs from the valley was quite literal, as four troops were housed in our campsite built for one. We also had a wonderful time getting to know better our brother Pack 647 Webelos, a pack recently started at our charter organization. But with activities planned almost all day, and with well timed free periods to take a break and play in the creek, follow elk tracks, eat wild blackberries, or spend money at the make-shift trading post, not much time was spent in the campsite. Things I heard – the scouts didn’t really bat an eye at hanging out with the district’s first all-girl boy scout troop (still an explorer troop until 2019) who cooked, knotted and shot right next to them as part of our group all day. One of our patrols lauded its creative menu planning as ‘unique’ – wienies and hash is an interesting combination, or turkey and bacon on white bread sandwiches for breakfast anyone?  However, when it came time for serious competition, the dutch oven delights our young cooks pulled together had the judges drooling, and our troop clearly had two of the top five rated costumes in the whole camp. They also were successful in defeating the vampire apocalypse by getting everyone in their group across the field without anyone touching the ground. At the end of the day, when the only times that our boys had to use their personal first aid kits were for a skinned shin, and a cut forehead, the trip was trending positively. And when the only thorns from ‘Thorns and Roses’ were the ‘cold weather’ (45 degrees is cold??) and everything else was a rose, you know the time spent together was once again primo!
