Camporee

Here are a few pics to catch up...

In April we went to the High Desert Camporee

Below are Jacob, Tyler, Tofer, Andrew, Keanu, Sam & Adam

with leaders James, Brian, & Jer

We made all our own rope for our "camp gadgets" and took 2nd place best campsite.

 Below is our awesome catapult.  

April 22, 2012


The Scouts returned late last night from the the High Desert Cowboy Camporee. We camped out Friday night but we didn’t see any cowboys. In fact, it was at the Apple Valley Horseman’s center and we didn’t even see any horses. We did horse around a lot, so maybe that’s why they call it that.

We had a great camp spot up the hill on the grass so we got busy setting up camp. Bro. Jorgenson and Bro. Willmott set up the camp kitchen and we started to set up the big tent that the Weijlands sent for us to use. We rolled it out and it looked like a really big tent that all 7 of us could sleep in so we thought it was pretty cool. As we rolled it out on the grass and started to set it up we realized that they forgot to give us the tent poles. So, anyway, it was a nice tent and we slept right next to it under the stars. I think that’s the way the cowboys slept anyway. I don’t think they had really big tents.

Anyway, we got up Saturday morning and got ready for the day. We were supposed to build camp gadgets to practice lashings but first we had to make all our own rope. We spent a long time making a lot of rope and then we finally got to work on our gadgets. We made a tripod to hang our Tang cooler from which was cool because we could just lay on the grass under the cooler and let the Tang pour into our mouths. Then we built a flagpole and also two tripods with a crossbar that held our troop banner. So maybe I should mention that Bro. Jorgenson forgot our Troop flag so we hung up a Troop 159 t-shirt for banner, and ran another t-shirt up the flagpole for our Troop flag. It was really hot so we did a lot of the work under the tables as that was pretty much where the only shade was. Then we had to straighten up camp and put all our gear in a row because they were going to judge the camps and award prizes. Some of the camps were pretty nice with long rows of tents and big kitchen areas and some pretty big camp gadgets like towers and benches and stuff. So we figured we didn’t have much chance to win a ribbon.

After lunch we went on a 5 mile hike and were supposed to follow an orienteering course with a compass. We got lost, and that’s all I’m going to say about that. Except that it was really hot.

When we finally got back to camp we had to take apart all our camp gadgets because we needed the rope and poles to build a catapult. Not a cannibal like some of the boys were saying, but a catapult. They are different things. We used 10 poles and all the rope we made to make our catapult, and then we used the catapult to throw water balloons at the other troops and their catapults. We had the best catapult there and had to slow down a little because our water balloons were going all the way over the heads of everyone in the arena and landing about 20 feet beyond the intended target which was Phelan Ward’s troop. We finally got it dialed in and smacked them a bunch of times with the balloons. It was really hot, so they didn’t mind.

After dinner we went to campfire for the awards. There were a lot of big troops there with lots of fancy scout equipment so we were still thinking we didn’t have much of a chance. Most of the awards given were for the Dutch oven cooking but we didn’t do that because Bro. Jorgenson is a backpacker, not a car camper and he doesn’t know how to cook in big heavy cast iron pots. Not that he doesn’t have one… he does, because 1) every good Scouter should have one, and 2) they were on sale at Costco. He just doesn’t know how to use it! Anyway we weren’t paying a lot of attention when they called our Troop number for 2nd best camp at the Cowboy Camporee. Yeah, we were pretty shocked. But we found out later that we got a lot of extra points because we were the only troop to build ALL our camp gadgets with home-made rope. So then we didn’t feel so bad for having to make all that rope. Except that it was really hot.

A. Scout