The 27 scouts felt amazing about this overnight. We used the patrol method on this overnight.

We had patrol competition in the afternoon where we had to use our scouting skills to start a fire, boil a can of water, to go on a compass course, bake a 2-layer cake and decorate.

Each cake was judged on looks and tasted. The Stunning Fox patrol won for taste, the Stunning Fox patrol won for taste and the Fearsome Flying Frog patrol won for looks. Our patrols cook their own meals for dinner  Saturday night and breakfast Sunday morning. Saturday night we had a Troop campfire which was very good. Our MC was Emma. Each patrol had a skit and a song.

We are all looking forward to Mays  overnight.

What a great weekend for a hike. I really didn’t know what to expect as this was my first hiking trip to Cedar Bluff. I all started out great as it was all downhill, then I heard from the back of the line “If you go down you must go back up”. I really didn’t understand that saying till I got to the other side of the hollow then I saw and understood. We did this up and down hiking I think four or five times. The hike was tough but I felt it was a great scouting adventure and it was all worth it once we reached Cedar Bluff. I can not wait to do it again.

Cedar Bluff was very fun like always. I’ve been on this trip at least three times and it has been getting more fun the more times I go. Waking up at 6:00 AM to get there on time to get on our troop bus to head to camp.Once at camp we unloaded our backpacks and received our Saturday night dinner and Sunday morning breakfast to put in our backpacks. With our backpacks loaded we are on our way to the Bluff. On the way we will see a few beautiful sites and sounds of nature. But none will be comparable to the site at the bluff.In conclusion the Cedar Bluff hike was unlike any other scouting adventure. Devils StairCase still lives in my mind and this is why I think this overnight is my favor and have done it  at least three times.

As a new Jr. Leader in the scout troop I really didn’t know what to expect at the training.I just knew I was expected to show up to the training in my complete scout uniform at 8:00 AM and to be down in our scout room.

The training started with us saying the pledge of allegiance, Scout Law and Scout Oath and a prayer. Then we were off and running. We played a game called the Leadership game. Here we had to match up the different Jr. Leader position (SPL, ASPL, PL, APL, Scribe, Quartermaster etc.) with the responsibilities of the positions. I found this very useful in learning what the different leadership positions are to be doing. Then we learned about what is Leadership, how to prepare my patrol for an overnight, what does respecting others really mean, how do you gain respect from your fellow scouts, how to prepare for a demonatration, teaching the EDGE method, how to plan a troop meeting, how to run a PLC Meeting, how do we promote scout spirit, patrol spirit and troop spirit, then we learned the step of planning a troop campfire, and then we played several team building games. These games were great fun and I look forward to playing them with the entire troop.

All in all it was a very long day but I believe it will help me to be a better Jr. leader for my scout troop. I hope the rest of the scouts who were there feel the same way.

Last but not least we were each challenged by Mr. Howell to recruit one new scout. Mr. Howell said we were the best recruiters the scout troop could have. The scouts in the troop.

What a day our scout troop had at the 2023 Blue Elk District Klondike Derby. Being a first time scout at this event I didn’t know what to expect.

We met at the church at 7:00 AM and loaded our sleds and we were off to the Klondike Derby. When we arrived Mr. Howell got off the bus and checked the two patrols in. We were given our assigned events and we were off. I am so glad we were in the front of the check-in line. At the check-in pont they had us turn our sleds upside down to see if anything would fall off. My patrol made it through the first event with no problems.

Then we were off and running and when I say running I mean running as we had 13 events to complete before 4:00 PM. The events were as follows:Archery, Tomahawk Throw, Spider Hole, B-B Guns, Fire Building, Cooking, Bear Bag, Knots, First Aid, Splint, Stretcher, Lashings, Survival Shelter and Compass Course. These events were very challenging for our patrol as we were not working as a team and we had forgotten a lot of our scouting skills. We now understand why Mr. Howell stresses to learn so well that you can teach another scout.

When we got back to the church we unload our sleds back to the scout room. Mr, Howell asked everyone to be be seated and he asked each of us what we thought we needed to improve on and most of the scouts said teamwork, working together and scouting skills. I would have to agree.

I am hoping that we do this event again in 2024, I also hope that next year that we can bring all four of the troops sleds. I also hope that we have an overnight in the spring to allow us to work on these events again and to compete against the patrols in our troop.

I want our troop to do a better job in 2024.

The question has come up –  What’s after Eagle Scout? As an Eagle Scout your work is never done. After earning the highest rank in scouting, it’s time to take an even bigger role as a leader in your scout troop. You can start helping with organizing troop outings, working with the adult leaders and helping your brother and sister Scouts who aim to follow you in your footsteps. You can simply enjoy scouting as you no longer have to be so focused on advancement. You can actually sit back and see the scouting program from another viewpoint. As a Scout who has earned the Eagle Rank by setting the best example possible for others to follow, be willing to help others, to just enjoy scouting and have fun.

It’s not time to quit scouting.  It’s very important that you stay in scouts. You have taken a lot out of the scouting program. As an Eagle Scout it’s now time to repay your scout troop and the scouting program. Not to walk away. Your scout troop needs you as an Eagle Scout.

As an Eagle Scout you are the cream of the crop.

That’s what’s after Eagle Scout.

What a great evening our scout troop had Friday night December 9, 2022. We started out by helping the Fairmont Food Pantry put together  200 Christmas Boxes. I found out that our troop has been doing this for 25 years. This project was done in less than an hour. I could not believe we did all that work in that short of time. If you think about the Scout Oath and where it states a scout “should help other people at all times” I could not think of a better project to fulfill this statement.

Once we completed the Christmas Boxes and ate the pizza  that was supplied by the Fairmont Pantry We jumped back on our troop bus and headed back to Trinity Epicopal Church in Independence for a night of fun and a night of friendship.  The Scouts played games and talked until 11:30 AM when we were asked to go to bed. I was ready to hit the hay.

On Saturday morning we picked up our sleeping gear and cleaned up our scout room and headed upstairs to a great breakfast made by our troop leaders .

I would like to say thank you to all the scouts and especially our troop leaders  who came to the lock-in. Our leaders always see that the scouts have a great time on our troop activities.

I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and ask everyone to remember why we celebrate Christmas.

What a great overnight! The Scouts and Leaders gott to climb, climb and climb. We climbed till midnight. But before we got to climb the scouts and leaders went through a very detailed training course by the great staff at Ibex’s. All the scouts 13 years of age got to take part in the Climbing Merit Badge. The neat thing about this overnight was that I didn’t at first want to climb to the top of the wall. But with many attempts and lots of encouragement from my fellow scouts and leaders I made it. I was so glad that I was able to achieve climbing to the top of the rock wall. I hope the troop does another overnight at IBex’s in the future.

The Troop had a great campfire. Each patrol had to perform a skit and a song and the scouts did an excellent job. The campfire was one of the best that I have ever seen our scouts put on. Our MC for the campfire was James Robbins. James did a great job.

To close our campfire the troop retired 200 American Flags that had served the United States very well. Our veterans who were present oversaw the very solemn ceremony. The veterans made sure that the flags were totally destroyed in the fire before retiring for the evening. In the morning they returned to the fire to retrieve the brass eyelets from the flags.