By Mark Mangels

I don’t know how many times I have visited Cedar Bluff at H. Roe Bartle Scout Camp, but this trip still carries with it new memories of a place that I consider special. My first trip was in 1971, and did not include camping on the bluff, but rather just exploring as a summer camper. In those days it was not uncommon to grab hold of some buddies and head to Cedar Bluff and Devil’s Staircase, via the "Blaylocks". There was no lake to walk around, only the Osage River. So, the trip was shorter. I recall the hike in 1971 as being somewhat brief. But, when you are 13, not carrying a backpack, full of energy and just going for the opportunity to explore, it’s just another afternoon scout adventure. As times have changed, and the safety of scouts on the reservation has become more important than ever, I understand the need to be cautious and follow the guidelines of our Reservation. To that end, it is still an awesome view to look across what is now the lake, to hear rain fall on the bluff around you, to see a soaring hawk above, and the usual "big" fish flop in the water below. More memorable are the fellow scouts who made the journey with you. Older scouts show their leadership in blazing the trail ahead, some who would encourage the younger scouts, and the weaker to keep going, because "you’re doing great". To see scouts extend a hand to help others up a steep hillside. To see a scout carry two backpacks to give a leader rest. To see a scout exercise patience while others caught up. The one thing that has never changed in all these years is the Scouting Spirit, especially powerful at our Reservation. I’m not sure how many more trips I will take to the Bluff, but if this were to be my last, it will be one that I may cherish most.

Cedar Bluff Campsite

By Gabriel Drake

We hiked 4-5 miles to Cedar Bluff, what an amazing view. Cedar Bluff is a large cliff and we spent the night under the bluff. The meals were freeze-died. The dinner was awesome but the breakfast was horrible. The hike was fun, I liked hanging out with my friends. On the drive home we go McDonald’s that was an absolutely awesome meal. Back on the road again after an hour or so.

Cedar Bluff

By Caleb Drake

First we hiked to Cedar Bluff, only a 4 mile hike, but it felt like 10 miles. When we got there we set up our sleeping bags and ground cloths, then we crawled around the caves inside the cliff, ate freeze dried food, got up,ate breakfast and left, it was lots ‘o’ fun.

Hiking to Cedar Bluff

By Jeremy Humphrey

Hi my name is Jeremy Humphrey this is what we did on our last overnight. We went up to scout camp and hiked three miles to Cedar Bluff. We ate freeze dried meals they don’t taste an different from food that is not freeze dried. When we got there we got to explore three small caves, but we did not go up Devil’s Stair Case because there was not enough spotters. Later we went to bed. It got extremely cold. Lots of us were in mummy bags with only our eyes poking out rolling back and forth frozen. I think that was the best camp out and best sleep I have slept on an overnight. I can’t wait to go back again.

Cedar Bluff

By Chris Toms

Ahhhhh!! I almost fell over the edge. Yes at Cedar Bluff. If you didn’t go then you missed out. We went caving and we tried to dig out the dirt. Mmmmm, food yes the not so good tasting freeze dried food. Splat, splat, splat, oh, my sleeping bag got wet from the rain during the night. Overall the over night was pretty good.

Overnight at Cedar Bluff

By Tim Phillips

I had a good time at the overnight at Cedar Bluff. It may have taken us four and a half hours to get to the overhang, but is sure didn’t feel like it to me. What I later realized is that we took the exact same route from the last time I went. I didn’t really do much when I first got there; I just set up my sleeping stuff and ate what was left over from my lunch. I did play with Jeremy Humphrey after I rested. He’s very funny and he seems to be one step ahead when it came to camping. He found a live scorpion and ended up almost killing it by dropping a rock right next to it! Fortunately, the scorpion didn’t come back for vengeance and nothing else happened. For dinner, I had lasagna with meat sauce (freeze-dried). It was pretty good, but there were some parts that were still dry, even after shaking and stirring. I also didn’t notice that the majority of the sauce was at the bottom! After dinner, I got into my sleeping bag and chit-chatted with a few other scouts like Jeremy and Tyler Hamm and Tyler Parker. After that and changing my clothes for Sunday, I went to sleep. We may have not gotten to see a sunset or a sunrise, but it was a good camping atmosphere in its own right.

(Go check out more pictures from Cedar Bluff in the 2013 Troop 282 Photo Collection.)

By Mr. Norton
Pancake Day Chairman

Now that the aroma of pancakes and sausage has left the parish hall til next year. I can say we had another successful Pancake Day. There was some first timers that blended in with some very seasoned veterans of Pancake Day very well this year. As usual I was late getting to the church by some leaders standards who were there as early as 4:30 in the morning. I say this because they jokingly sent me a text message saying "We need a boss". Well these veterans of past Pancake Days had it all under control by the time I arrived. Mr. Blann was manning the mixer making pancake batter.  Mr. Bennett was cooking the sausage. Mr. Howell along with Mr. Money were flipping pancakes. Mrs. Howell, Mrs. Moorman and Mr. Dudley were at the counter getting to go orders ready. Mr. Johnson was eagerly waiting for dirty dishes to wash so he could show his new helper Mr. Polina what to do til Mr. Gentry could show up to help wash dishes. The day went very smoothly. With the normal busy periods around breakfast, lunch and supper times as usual. The busiest time is supper time. This is when we usually serve 600 plus people in 4 hours. Also this is the time when the scouts start showing up after school to help out. And I am glad that they show up. Because they primarily bus tables, wipe them off, and set them. People commented to me on how well the scouts did their jobs. I want to thank all of the scouts, moms, dads, grandmas, grandpas, leaders and anyone else that helped make Pancake Day 2013 a success. To let everyone know this could not be done without everyones help and I say "Thank You". This is a great example of the troop motto "All for One and One for All". In closing the top three ticket sellers can have the prize money they won put in their camp fund or a gift card at a store of their choosing with the approval of Mr. Dudley and I. The top three sellers are listed as follows.
 
2nd place – 50 tickets sold – Brandon Muller – $37.50 Bass Pro gift card
2nd place – 50 tickets sold – Nicholas Arnold – $37.50 applied to Camp Fund
1st place – 76 tickets sold – Jacob Mcleod – $100 applied to Camp Fund

(Go check out more pictures from the 2013 Pancake Day in the 2013 Troop 282 Photo Collection.)

By Jeremy Humphrey

Hi, my name is Jeremy Humphrey. I am in scouts and 12 years old. This was my first year at the Klondike Derby. I went with my fellow patrol members and friends. We pulled a large well built sled. There were all kind of sleds there. Like one sled had wheels on it and another was too small and literally had bins that where tied to the sled and had many peoples stuff in it. Other than that it was great.

There were many events, some were really hard. Like we had to do something that’s called the Ravine Crossing. It’s where there are two big ropes with a zip line and your suppose to go to the other side by lifting your sled over and with all your patrol members and you were timed.

I think I liked it so much, I’ll do it again.

Klondike Derby

By Cooper Mangels

When I went to the 2013 Klondike Derby, I think it was the most fun I’ve ever had on any Klondike Derby I have been to. I am a Life Scout so, I am quite experienced with teamwork in Boy Scouts and that’s all it takes in the Klondike Derby, teamwork. But also, you’re freezing your tail off, but you are so involved with the task at hand that you can keep warming up your body. Furthermore, I think my favorite event was when we had to guide one of our patrol members across a designated area while they were blindfolded and they had snowshoes on, also we couldn’t talk to him, all we could do was lead him with the ropes that he was holding. Like I said, it was a pretty fun time at the Derby.

In conclusion, I did have a fun time with my patrol members in the Klondike Derby and am looking forward to the next derby.

(Go check out more pictures from the 2013 Klondike Derby in the 2013 Troop 282 Photo Collection.)

By Travis Simpson

On Saturday, November 3, 2012, I attended Scouting University, for the very first time. I attended a class on cooking, for which I am a merit badge counselor. I learned how to bake a meatloaf in a hollowed out onion, how to bake muffins in a hollowed out orange, & hoe to make bacon & eggs in a paper sack! Very cool!

I also attended classes on Crime Scene Investigation, Survival Bracelets, & Realistic First Aid. The CSI class was mostly old news for me, but I still enjoyed it, & the instructor was very good. Learning to make a survival bracelet was fun, & I will use that to teach my Wolf Den. The Realistic First Aid class was great. We learned how to make fake wounds to use for First Aid training. This will come in handy next Halloween!

There were a couple of down sides to the day, though. Registration was disorganized chaos. We were unable to get into the knot tying class, which we (my wife & I) really wanted to take. In addition, the classes we took were spread out, so there was a lot of moving back & forth. Also, there were multiple classes in the same room, which was very distracting, making hard to hear the instructors, sometimes.

All in all, we had a great time, & we plan to attend again next year.

Blue & Gary Park
October 20 & 21, 2012

By Scott Howell

What a great weekend for an overnight at Blue and Gary Park!!! The weather was great. The Scouts and Leaders had a great time and lots of fun. The scouts did a great job setting up their patrol camp sites Six (6) in all and preparing their dinner and breakfast. The Leaders had a great meal Saturday evening steak, shrimp, baked potatoes w/ all the fixings, rolls baked in a dutch oven and green beans. What a meal.

Saturday evening to close our troop campfire 100 United State Flags which had been inspected and judged unserviceable were retired. These flags had reached their present state in a proper service of tribute, memory, and love. The troop had a very salmon service for these flags before destroying each flag in our campfire. The Troop would like to thank all the scouts, scout leaders and parents who took part in our flag retirement program.

Our troop is hoping to get more scouts and leaders out on overnights as this is where the scouts use their scouting skills that are taught in the scout room each Monday evening at Scout meeting. This is also where the troop can judge how our scouts and scout leaders are doing on their scouting skills as well as being able to work as a scouting family. So the troop is challegening the membership to have at least 80% of the troop membership on the next overnight.

(See more pictures from the October Blue & Gary Park Overnight in the 2012 Troop 282 Photo Collection.)

By Nicholas Arnold

The trip to Landahl was fun and exciting. I think the funnest part was the monkey bridge. This time it was longer and more fun with all the other kids from the other troop. Also, it was kind of cold but at least it did not pour down rain.

I didn’t go on the hill, but I heard it was fun with all the steep slopes! I also heard that the first years had ton of fun. I had fun when we did the skits around the camp fire. I would like to do the skits at every over night!

It was fun trying to build the fire because we got to throw logs on it and watch them slowly burn. The activities were fun. I enjoyed the hand saw and the tripod. The tripod was fun to learn and now I know how to do it. I liked the food, it tasted good. Finding the supplies and setting things up was easy but some things were a little hard to find.

I like the overnights and the trip to Landahl was a great one!

Articles From The Webelos
Below are articles from Webelos of Cub Pack 282 that were invited to attend the troop overnight. Boy Scout Troop 282 would like to thank them for attending.

Thank you 282 for letting me go to the campout. I had so much fun with the monkey bridge, the big hill, and the tents. Written by, Garrett Reinwald

Thank you for letting us go camping with you. It was fun. Especially the free time.

Dear Troop 282 Pack Leaders, thank you for our overnight it was fun. I bet the next one will be fun too. It was Epic! By, Logan Eckstein.

Dear Scout Troop, thank you for the place, the tents, the food, the drinks, the bus, and the activities. Sincerely, Colton Attaway.

Dear 282, I would like to thank you for letting me go out and camp. Your friend, Matthew Pease.

It was fun. Free time was awesome! We kicked the ball back and forth. Dinner was good the cheeseburgers were awesome. Sincerely, Will Little.

Thank you for taking us to the awesome camp with the EPIC hill it was really FUN! By, Tanner Scogin.

(See more pictures from the September Overnight At Lanahl Park in the 2012 Troop 282 Photo Collection.)

By Mr. Norton
South side Parker

Once again Santa-Cali-Gon has come and gone. And as usual we parked cars. On Friday it rained and rained, resulting in the Chamber of Commerce closing the festival at 5:30 on Friday. Then Saturday came with more rain, but not as hard as the day before. On the south side we still could not park cars in the grass even though there was a break in the weather.

But this did not stop Mr. Gentry or myself from parking a stretch limousine. You heard right. We parked a stretch limousine this year. As I was walking back from the executive bathroom, I saw a stretch limousine coming down the street. I hollered across the street "Mr. Gentry, how about the limo?" So Mr. Gentry went running up to the limo to let them know that we have room if you want to park. And once again we parked it.

Our motto is "We have room, We can park you". So that everybody knows we are still trying to park a semi truck and trailer. We tried to talk some into parking, but no luck. This is our goal for next year. So I would like everybody to mark down on your calendars next year the dates of August 30, 31, September 1, 2 so that you can help park cars at Santa-Cali-Gon Days. With everyones help we may reach our goal of parking a tractor trailer.

By Jeremy Humphrey

My name is Jeremy Humphrey and I went to Osceola Scout Camp for the first time this past summer. I’d waited 2 years for scout camp and this summer I finally got to go.

I think that people should look forward to scout camp and have as much fun as I did. My favorite part of camp was hiking and doing stuff that first years don’t usually do because we’re young.

There are things you get to do and don’t get to do. What you do get to do is run your own tent like a house that you live in. Something you can’t do is cross the white rocks. But other than that, I liked scout camp.

I think everybody should do scouts. So, if you are thinking about joining, going to scout camp is a good reason to be in scouts.

(See more pictures from Scout Camp 2012 in the 2012 Troop 282 Photo Collection.)

Boundary Waters High Adventure Trip

By Curren Gentry Troop 282

When we first started going on the water a storm appeared and it started raining on us. First we had to get through our first portage which was a lot harder than I thought it would be. Then after that we had to do 4 more portages which were also hard. Then after all of the portages we were trying to look for a camp but Robin’s Island was taken so we had to go farther to a camp on a point. It rained all day. On the second day it was a lot better and was dry that day and didn’t rain. But we had to do 2 more portages and we were heading for Spoon Lake. The first portage had a ton of ticks in it and if you walked once on it you would have a ton of ticks on you. The second portage was an easy portage and we breezed through it. Then after that all we had to do was find a camp site to stay at. The first campsite was okay but the second was the best campsite ever so we stayed there. Then the third day was the best because we didn’t have to move or do any portages all we did was fish, fish and fish all day long. This day was the best day out of all of the five days there. That day we had many bites and get aways but we did land one big Pike, me and my dad pulled it in. Then we cleaned it, cooked it up and ate it.

The fourth day was another sort of rainy day but we did eight portages on this day and we had the wind to help us go faster too. Then after all that, we had to try to find a camp site not far away from the Prairie Portage Ranger Station at the Canadian Border so we could go there on the fifth day. The Fifth day was a hard day because we had to go against the wind which is hard in a canoe. Then when we went to the Ranger Station it was just a bunch of officers sitting around but there was a cool waterfall that made it worth it. Then we went to our pick up point and went on some boats back to the Canadian Border Outfitters where we ate dinner and were on the road again. We were out Minnesota in no time and back in Missouri. That was the canoe trip to Ely, Minnesota.

Boundary Waters

By Garth Hendren, Group B

Honestly our trip to the boundary waters was one of the best things I have done thus far in scouting. We were split into groups of six or eight and dropped off at the other end of Moose Lake. With technology and any sight of civilization behind us we had to spend the next five days out in bear country with our lives dependent on scouting skills and our buddies. After two nights on two different islands we were able to see the beautiful Eddie Falls. All in all it was a great trip!

Ely, MN

By Jacob McLeod

In Minnesota my favorite part was fishing even though I didn’t catch anything. I also liked all the cool wildlife we saw, Eagles and Chipmunks. I didn’t like the rain because it was cold and wet.

High Adventure

By Matt Copeland

My group had a lot of fun on the trip. We celebrated a different person’s Birthday each day we were on the water. Portaging was hard and the weather was not good to say the least. But, I would not have had it any other way.

Boundary Waters

By Gabriel Engleheart

Our trip to the Boundary Waters was a fascinating and much-enjoyed trip. Portaging offered a nice place change of pace to the usual canoeing, as did camping. There were times when closed portages made us backtrack and made us reroute, and a fake portage made us travel out to marshland with knee-deep water, but these were rare occasions. Canoeing was easy when the wind was at our backs, but challenging when it blew at our faces and rippled the water and trapped us in large coves. Overall, however, it was an amazing get away from the hum-d-dum city life that I will never forget.

Canoe Trip to Canada

By Tim Phillips

I’d like to thank the adult leaders so much for giving me and the other boys the opportunity to be out in the wilderness. I’ve never been to any place like Minnesota/Canada before, and I probably won’t get another chance to do it again. I enjoyed experiencing unspoiled nature and getting out of the city for six days. I haven’t ridden on a bus that was so cool, either. Once again, thank you very much.

High Adventure Trip

By Logan Simpson

It would have been more fun if it had not rained all the time. It was really cool that I got to see Canada. I had fun being with my friends and camping out with them. We got to see Bald Eagles in nature that was really cool. It was fun being in the canoe and hearing the loonies call. I liked the food that we had on our trip. Phil made us hot coco to warm us up, he’s really good at making hot coco.

I had a "Jolly" time

By Rick Hendren, Group B

What I considered the "Highlights" of our high adventure trip…
We were the first group on the water, and the last ones off!
We had two closed portages in one day, and still portaged over 8 miles on the trip!
We went "kirplunking"! Just ask for details.
We went out on a log over Eddy Falls!
We built a fire in the rain!
We played tug of war with the trees!
We did a conservation project!
We slept on an island two of the four nights we were out!
We had a Birthday Party everyday!
You might notice how I never used the term "I did…", but always "We". That is because we truly had a team effort, which made for a great trip! I had a "Jolly" time.

Boundary Waters High Adventure Trip

By Gary Leabo, Group D

Let the Fun Begin

After boarding the bus, the troop left about 2:30AM. The young ones (first timers) were very excited. Eventually they settled down with electronic games and movies. McDonald’s in Des Moines was our first stop – breakfast time, This was followed by more games, movies, and sleep until we arrived at Albert Lea, Minnesota’s McDonald’s – lunch time with great service. Back on the bus and heading for our destination.

We arrived at the Canadian Boundary Waters at 3:30 PM and changed into our class "B" clothes, that we would be wearing the next morning. Our evening meals was hamburgers, fries, pork and beans (Sleepy Bill o’ded on beans) and ice cream. We were divided into four groups. Each group headed to their bunkhouses for a good night of sleep. Some of the boys had a hard time getting organized, but we were in bed at 8:00 PM. We got everyone up at 4:00 AM and tried to finish organizing before our breakfast of pancakes, bacon, and orange juice. The equipment we were not taking was stored on the bus. We carried the rest down to the lake so it could be transported.

During this time, my canoe partner, Austin (11 years old) asked me how old I was. He guess from 50 all the way to 72. When I told him I was 71, he looked up at me and said, "Isn’t there an age limit on this trip?" I cracked up and told him no, but if he could keep up with me, he would be okay.

Let the Adventure Begin

May 24, 2012
It rained on us during the transport on Moose Lake to the first portage. After the first portage into the other lakes, there were no motor boats, no houses, electricity, or toilets. It was truly a wilderness. It was raining so hard our leader – who leans to the left – leaned too far to the left, and we ended up in Canada and quite a ways up in Canada. We were not supposed to be there at all. We canoed almost all the way to Nova Scotia. William, who had just finished his second year of French, could not understand their dialect. They also spoke too fast for him.

As a result we knew we had to get back to the USA. We went around some islands several times (everything looks the same in a rainstorm). At 4:00 PM we knew that we had to get off the water because there was lightning, wind, and thunder plus everyone was cold, wet, tired and hungry. We found a Canadian campsite with no luxuries whatsoever. We cooked steaks, dehydrated garlic mashed potatoes and blueberry cobbler. No plates were used. We passed the bags around and we used our spoons. Hot chocolate topped off the meal. Everyone got into dry clothes and sleeping bags by 6:30 PM.

May 25, 2012
Almost everyone was up by 6:00 AM to have a snack, pack up, and try to find our way back to the USA. We did a pretty good job of finding our way and finally the portage that we were look for. It was a great relief. At the portages everyone has to help carry all bags and canoes across the land to the next lake. It took a while to get the team work going, bu we finally found a campsite around 4:00 PM. After everything was set up, we had a delicious hot meal of steak, ham, hash browns, eggs, and a treat. We ate on plates with forks! The campsite was nice. Its was high on a point and very windy. The lake had one-two foot waves with white caps. I was glad that we were off the lake at that time. There was no rain so we strung up a clothes line and tried to dry our wet clothes. Since there was no place to sit down, we were to bed between 6:30 and 7:00 PM.

May 26, 2012
When we woke up it was almost cold. There was some frost around. Wood was gathered, clothes were rehung, and water was collected. Another great meal of French toast, bacon, hash browns, and hot chocolate was enjoyed. The boys fed the chipmunks the leftovers. The boys fished from their canoes after lunch and we set up camp. Around 3:00 a pontoon plane crossed over us several times. That is the only way to get help if you have a real problem. Our gourmet dinner consisted of prepared hamburgers, peas and carrots, Mac and cheese, and treats. The dry clothes were gathered and we went to bed early because we were going to have to get up early.

May 27, 2012
Out of bed early in order to move out by 7:00 AM. We had to make four portages, and we decided to take the first campsite that was empty. Which we did around 1:00 PM. It was still raining. The boys gathered firewood so we could cook a meal of English muffins, eggs, sausage, and two pounds of bacon. This made a great sandwich topped off with hot chocolate and treats.

May 28, 21012
We packed up in the rain and headed for the last portage. When we were at the US-Canadian port, we saw a waterfall that was a great sight. Our schedule for pick up was 2:00 PM. We arrived at 11:30 AM and unloaded the canoes, many treats, and anything else we left. They picked us up and we headed down Moose Lake. When we arrived at our destination, we unloaded everything and were given towels and soap. We all had a hot shower. The departure meal was steak, pork and beans, fries, and ice cream. Hot shower and good food and it was time to get on the bus.

Let the Memories Begin

More rain, movies, treat, and sleep as we headed for home. When we left we had some boys, but when we arrived home we had some young men. It was a great trip! The boys were already talking about the next trip.

Remember: "Hands Up!" and "I needed that!"

My Boundary Waters Trip

By Nick Dunlap

On the first day it was rainy, our group was unable to maintain a fire so we all wanted to go home. But the next morning it was dry and sunny and with a fire we were ready to stay a while. During our free time we all did different stuff like skip rocks, fish, explore and sit and talk.

What I enjoyed was being at a place that was untouched by people and buildings. I spent my free time skipping rocks, fishing and exploring. I liked not having electronics for distraction, I would have missed a lot if I did have them. Like the chipmunks and the sound of the loons and Ryan and Jacob sounding just like them loons.

I liked having a loose schedule and laid back leaders. The leaders made the trip more fun by telling stories and jokes.

Also one of the leaders dreaming of picking berries, but picking them out of someone else’s hair in there sleep!

In the future I would definitely go back and take more fishing line.

A Trip I Will Never Forget

By Chris Toms

I don’t know about anyone else, but that was amazing. At first I thought it would be bad, but when we got back to the outfitters I was thinking about coming back next year. So all in all I thought is was one of the best trips we’ve taken. It was nothing like I thought it would be. If I had to write a letter back to the outfitters I would definitely say that I would never forget this trip.

The High Adventure Trip

By Simon Englehart

I thought the trip was awesome. When we went on the high adventure trip we went to Minnesota. We went there on a bus witch took 12 to 14 hours to get there. Once we got there we settled in a bunker and changed in to different clothes. When we were there we ate dinner and breakfast in the morning. After that we packed our stuff and put it in a motor boat. Canoeing was easy but we canoed for a while till we found a camp site. We ate three meals all 5 days. It took the same amount of time to get back as to get there. That’s when I went on the high adventure trip.

(See pictures from the Boundary Waters High Adventure Trip in the 2012 Troop 282 Photo Collection.)

By Mr. Gentry

It was a terrific overnight at Landahl Park. I think every boy young and old had a great time! With so much to do and the perfect weather, who wouldn’t? Exciting patrol events included a rope bridge, an obstacle course, hatchet throwing, shelter building, and a "burn the string" fire building contest. After the patrol events, the boys got to play in the park. "The Hill" was the main attraction. There was even geocaching with Mr. England.

There were many great meals prepared. All the patrols worked very well together from cooking to cleaning up. After dinner, some of the boys played football in the field until it was time to prepare for the evening campfire that was fun-filled with a lot of great songs and skits.

Did I mention that the weather was great? I don’t think it could have been any better for an overnight. There was even a breeze at night.

Thanks to all who attended. Everyone did a great job in making sure things went smoothly. I look forward to the next scouting event.

(See more pictures from this March overnight in the 2012 Troop 282 Photo Collection.)