Troop 1131 at Raven Knob Scout Camp 2008

Troop 1131, Report 1

Sunday, 6/29/08

It took us about an hour to get organized, assign scouts to drivers, load gear, and by 7:30 a.m., we were on the road. We had a nice trip to camp, a couple of sprinkles on the way down, but otherwise comfortable temperatures. Everyone arrived safely thanks to a great group of parents who volunteered to drive. The two additional trailers made packing personal gear relatively easy. Once in the campsite, Piney Ridge, getting everyone settled was a challenge for our youth leaders. However, Brian Hess, SPL, and Jake Lieber along with the Patrol Leaders and troop guides managed to find tents and cots for all the scouts. James Tiffany and Nathan Sherrard helped with tenting for the adult leaders and some of the older scouts. We have eleven adults staying in camp for the entire week, and have at least another ten staying with us for a day or two at the start or end of the week. Our final count is 66 scouts in camp.

After unloading gear and selecting tents, we changed into bathing suits, and we headed off our medical recheck, and our troop picture (find a copy attached). Then, as we were about to head off for swim checks, we heard the rumble of thunder in the distance and the sky looked like we were in for some rain. So we went back to our campsite to wait out the storm and prepare for dinner. The rain let up as we headed to the dining hall. Dinner included spaghetti, garlic bread and salad, and the boys seemed to like the first meal. Some went back for thirds.

After dinner the troop attended non-denominational Chapel Services called Vespers, where we sung songs listened to an excerpt from David's Psalm 18, and said a prayer. I ask the troop to attend this first evening, and scouts have the option to attend other evenings. Following Vespers, several of our adult leaders and Junior leaders attended the orientation meeting where the staff is introduced and we hear about the program for the week. We also sign up for some troop events like rifle shooting and archery.

The opening campfire program included songs and skits by the staff, and an opportunity for the scouts to see the new OA Arena, and a great sunset across the lake. Finally, the event all the boys waited for: they opened the Trading Post and Snack Bar after the campfire. Most of our scouts wandered back to camp before Taps, but a few stragglers showed up a little later. We sent the younger guys off to bed, then our youth and adult leaders met to go over the schedule and activities planned for tomorrow. All-in-all, we had a very good day.

Monday Morning, 6/30/08

We woke everyone up at 6:30 a.m., Brian Hess has a great rooster alarm. Things got moving quickly. Chris Dills heated some water, and the leaders had coffee while the boys had hot chocolate in the campsite. Breakfast was French Toast sticks and cereal.

If you want to send your son an email message, just go to the camps web site, http://ravenknob.com.

Also, I got a pager from the camp, and you can send me a short message by going to http://www.rcscom.com (the pager id is 371-6158, or 336-371-6158), or you can call 336-371-6158 to leave a short message too.

However, for longer communication, just send me an email message, <philip.sternberg@verizon.net>.

Take care, more tomorrow.

Philip Sternberg
Scoutmaster, T-1131