Boy Scout Troop 648 Scottsdale, Arizona

Some come to Arizona in January to get away from the cold but not our troop!  For Troop 648, January is the signal for us to get out of the relative warmth of Phoenix and to head to the colder climates of Arizona.  9 brave scouts, 4 adult leaders and a scout in training headed up to Mormon Lake Friday evening.  The temperatures were near freezing as we reached our site, which led our scouts to unpack and setup quickly.  Getting to sleep for some was quick, others not so much.  Hindering sleep was one local resident, Sir Barksalot, who’s ability to bark for hours was quite noteworthy. 

After a breakfast of eggs and bacon on Saturday morning, the group headed up to Fort Tuthill in Flagstaff.  A few scouts went to Flagstaff Extreme while the rest played in the patches of snow nearby.  After some lunch, all the scouts went to play in the snow.  Since we were at a fort, the scouts seemed to be in WWII mode, building pillboxes and snowballs.  Some of the snowballs were cannonball sized.  Once a truce was established, a tall skinny snowman was built from the big snowballs. 

A big todo was made out of finding one scout’s hat.  He’s cries of “Hat! Hat!” were in vain as he’d left it right where we had lunch.

The troop made an early dinner of burgers with mac & cheese.  A decent sized fire was made and some of the troops had hot chocolate.  A few of the scouts retired early and most weren’t too far behind.  One adult leader was asked the time by a scout and when told it was 7:30, the questioning scout said, “It feels a lot later than that.”

Our scout leader made good on his word of wanting to get an early leave on Sunday morning and had the scouts up quite early to pack up their gear.  A quick pickup, thorns and roses and a prayer and we were on the road back to Phoenix.  One scout said they could feel their feet again when we reached our gas stop.

Thanks to all the scouts that made this a great outing.  Of note, we want to thank Drew for his attendance on his last official outing before he ages out.  We look forward to him joining us in the future as an adult.

Good Morning Troop 648. Isaac Engelhardt has helped in coordinating a Swim Session so that Scouts can get their Aquatics advancements signed off. Please look at the requirements that are required and study them in order to be prepared for February 15th at 12:00 (Noon). This will take place at the Blair pool in Equestrian Manor. The address is 12018 N 60th Pl Scottsdale, AZ 85254. The guard gate to get into the community is located at the South side of Cactus and 61st Pl. Please RSVP to my email if you plan on attending (including adults) – hornetdermdoc@gmail.com

Mr Blair
Scoutmaster, Troop 648

Below is a message from Pastor Kevin

I would like to invite you to our upcoming CPR/First Aid Class.  I hold one of these each year for anyone who is interested in maintaining their training and certification.  In prior years we’ve had several older Boy Scouts join us too which is always great!  Please share and let me know if anyone is interested in attending:

CPR/AED/FIRST AID CERTIFICATIONSaturday, February 15, 20208:00am – 11:30am (Andie’s Coffee will be open @ 7:30am!)Chaparral Christian Church – Kid Central, Room 10Reserve your spot IN ADVANCE with Pastor Kevin (simply reply to this email) along with cash or check made payable to “Chaparral Christian Church” for the amount due, listed here:Adults = $37.00/person or $22.00 for just the CPR portion only (CPR section ends at 10am)Youth* = $27.00/person or $15.00 for just the CPR portion only (CPR section ends at 10am)

*anyone under 18 years of age.

This single morning together will cover certification for performing CPR, AED, & First Aid skills on Infant, Child, and Adult subjects.  For the class portion(s) you complete, you will receive a certification card(s) upon completion and the certification is good for 2 years.  Please reply to this email and let me know you plan to attend – I will reserve a space for you.  Thank you.
PLEASE RSVP TO PASTOR KEVIN TO RESERVE YOUR SPACE: KEVIN.KRAMAR@CHAPARRAL.ORG

Thanks,Kevin

Kevin KramarChildren’s PastorChaparral Christian Church6451 E. Shea Blvd., Scottsdale, AZ 85254480.991.9878chaparral.org

Please disregard the announcement that we will be holding our next week’s Troop meeting  at the East Hall Student Center. It will be in the usual Meeting Room (The Forum). See everyone then.

Mr Blair, Scoutmaster Troop 648

Happy New Year everyone! I hope everyone had a fun and restful Holiday break. Just a friendly reminder that we have a PLC Meeting this Tuesday at 6:00PM in the Meeting room. That will be followed by our first general meeting of 2020 at 7:00PM. See everyone then!

Mr Blair

Scoutmaster Troop 648

A Big Thank you to all the Scouts, family and friends who came out to support the CPK event. I’ll let everyone know how well we did once I hear back from the restaurant. Another special thanks to Mr Cole and the selected Scouts who headed out to hang (or learn how to hang) a c/hristmas Tree Upside down. I heard it was a great success, and another good deed done.

Next week’s meeting is going to be lead by Arjun, and he plans on having a speaker from the Orienteering Club of Phoenix come and speak about different aspects and back ground on Orienteering. Should be a great talk. See everyone at the usual meeting place, and have a great week.

Mr Blair

Troop 648 Scoutmaster

Seven T648 scouts with a couple of adults in tow headed out of the valley and into the cloud-filled canyons of the Superstitions for their much balmier than normal December outing. Camping lakeside at Canyon Lake, we soon discovered that we would be the only humans daft enough to be tent camping this wet weekend, giving the feeling of being out in the wild even though we were only down the road from an RV Park and the dock for Dolly Steamboat. I say ‘humans’, because as we arrived, it was like a scene from Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Birds’, we had ducks invading camp, and even waddling into open tents, with the sky and trees filled with grackles. The scouts immediately set upon naming the ducks, leaving the black birds nameless, and thereafter were calling out to Vinnie, Alfred, David and friends and often getting responses back – especially from Vinnie, whose quacking approximated a hysterical laugh. We felt so remote, that one scout began urinating on a tree right next to a building, until being told that the building was actually a full restroom. After lunch was an exceptional hike along the canyon walls with beautiful views of shimmering Boulder Creek and distant views of Weaver’s Needle, and a two-hour football game with an unusual ball – a water bottle. The first few attempts were with an empty Kirkland one, which wasn’t very effective when passed. Using full water bottles worked much better, but after a few times hitting the ground, began leaking. The final solution (a Gatorade bottle), survived the next hour and a half, even when bouncing off of foreheads. While blissfully laying on the grass under a tree watching kayaks and ducks glide past, the following was randomly heard by an adult leader – ‘Can I play UNO if I’m color blind?’ ‘Where are my socks?’ – ‘Have you checked your feet?’, and when called ‘fearless leader’, our outing SPL would launch into Boris Badenov impressions: ‘hmmm, vee muss keel zee moose und zee squirrel.’ Dinner was a smashing success for the hungry hordes, topped off by ginger snap cookies from a boys’ grandmother’s secret recipe, and peppermint bark sent along by another mom angel. From listening to ‘Thorns and Roses’ the next day, the evening to follow was a kind of good news, bad news deal. We had all day with good weather, but it rained at dinner time. However, the good news was we had eaten, cleaned up, and had a fire early, and so went to bed dry at 6:30 when the sky opened up. Bad news – it rained until after midnight, and then started up again before dawn. There were coyote serenades before the morning rains, and duck ones during it. The boys decided that the coyote wails were so unusual, they sounded like they were confused as to whether to laugh or cry – sort of like they had ‘broken their leg, but then had been told a funny joke.’ Good news – the morning rain died down enough for extra-meat burritos to be cooked and consumed by the boys, before bad news – another sprinkle led to an earlier than planned trip home. Strangely, three different coyotes confronted us on the way out – one even in the middle of the one-way bridge, seemingly daring us to stay just one more night.

Just a reminder that this coming week’s Troop meeting on 12/10 will be held California Pizza Kitchen located at 10100 N Scottsdale Rd. The PLC has determined that the uniform of the night will be Class A’s. Please wear your usual Troop Meeting uniform for the event.

There will also be the usual Troop Activity Meeting that night, but Also help at CPK. Usual time of 6:00 PM

See everyone there

Mr Blair
Scoutmaster Troop 648

Six scouts and two adult leaders headed for Nevada last Friday night, making it to Kingman for dinner just before they closed Taco Bell and rolled up the sidewalks at 10PM, and then cruised into Boulder Beach, setting up camp right before midnight. The next day was spent playing at the lake and touring the dam creating the lake, and most definitely, a better time could not have been had!

Unfortunately the guest speaker Katey McPherson needed to reschedule so parents don’t need to come back for the parent portion of the meeting tonight. In her place, Will is pleased to welcome Allison Tiffany. She’s a full time volunteer at White Tank Mountain Regional Park and an avid animal and nature lover. She’ll be speaking about tracking and animal migration. See you tonight!