Weblows Campout and Pioneering At Rifle Range Cabin, Camp Resolute

December 4-5, 2004

By Justin B-K

After waking up very early Saturday morning, we drove to Our Lady of Fatima and were the first ones there – coulda slept longer! With the troop equipment packed into cars the night before it took us no time to get organized at the church and head off to Camp Resolute. We arrived at Resolute at about 10:00 and had three hours until our guests, the Weblows, arrived. The older scouts set up all of nine activities that they were going to run for the Weblows. While the rest of the troop went on a 5 mile hike to the Herbert Candy Store and were rewarded with fudge. For a skill requirement, the scouts navigated the whole way there and back. On the way back they picked up garbage on the side of the road! After we set up the games we had a little trivia challenge which had as prizes Milky Ways, courtesy of Mr. Harvel.

At 12 o’clock Mr. Matt worked with some scouts to start a sandwich line – bologna, cheese, mustard, jelly, peanut butter, and mustard on bread (scout’s choice, not all in one sandwich). And as much Tang as you could drink.

At one o’clock eleven Weblows and their parents arrived for their fun filled 24 hours with the boy scouts. We started with a flag raising ceremony by scouts earning their first class requirement (pictured below left)

This was followed by a great game of spider web. The Weblows and the scouts were split into three teams who then raced to get their team through the spider web without touching the web (see picture above right). This fun filled game was followed by a great speech by one of our newest eagle scouts, Kevin Harvel. He talked about what it means to be an eagle and how to get it.

The next game was an awesome game run by yours truly and it was called the minefield. This consisted of "mines" (a.k.a. cones) and the teammate was blindfolded and guided through the maze by his teammates. During the whole game there were only 3 casualties because of the great leadership of our scouts and the soon to be Boy Scouts.

The next game was a relay race in which you had to light a match with and axe (see next page), and believe me it is hard I can’t even do it. Very few scouts lost any digits! Next it was a race to make a can of soapy water boil over. The final game was a compass course. You were given bearings and you had to find out what the code was.

We also ran a race to see who could boil water over an open fire in a number 10 tin can filled with 4 cups of water and one tablespoon of soap. The stocking game where you had to sneak up to the blindfolded scout and take the candy bar was a big hit. This game is practice to getting close to wild animals with out spooking them. The next game was a compass game where scouts had to follow compass bearings to reach specific cones spread around the camp.

The final game was a game of stalking. There was a person on a hill with a blindfold on with a Milky Way bar in front of him on the ground. The object of the game was to sneak up on him across a large field without making a sound. If you made a sound and he heard then he could point to you and you had to start again. If he didn’t hear you and you got the Milky Way, you got to keep the candy bar. Only about three people actually made it.

After these fun filled games we had some time to kill while our gourmet chefs did their thing. These chefs were none other then boy scouts working to get their first class rank. While our chefs made us a snack of cheese (2 pieces each to start), crackers and pepperoni, we played ultimate Frisbee. I’m not sure who won but I do know that everyone had fun and worked up an appetite for the dinner were about to eat. After our snack we waited inside and played cards till we got to eat.

We had a great meal of spaghetti and meatballs for dinner, followed by apples – we scouts are so healthy! After dinner and dish cleaning, we played a game of capture the flag with glow sticks. It was 8:30 at night and very dark outside – no lights; and apparently a little cold but no one seemed to notice. It was a truly intense game with everyone having fun. I think a few scouts and Weblows bent the rules. People did everything they could to help their team. I should know since the other team (yellow) didn’t figure out that I was not on their team after I took off my jacket to reveal my long sleeve black shirt to look like someone new or at least not be seen in the dark.

After about an hour of that most of the scouts and Weblows decided to go back to the Rifle Range Cabin. With the 10 scouts left we decided to play our own version of manhunt. When it got too late for us we went back to the lodge to have cookies and hot chocolate waiting for us. Then soon after that at 10:30 we went to bed. Ten Weblows and their dads, and 27 scouts slept in the Rifle Range Cabin. Some scout masters and scouts slept outside in tents. Luckily it didn’t get below freezing. One scout went indoors during the night. After a great sleep at 7:30 Mr. Essington came into the Rifle Range Cabin and woke us all up. After we got up everyone hung around and tried to wake up by playing cards. For breakfast we had French toast and sausages made by our gourmet chefs again.

After breakfast we said goodbye to our guest’s hopefully the newest members of our troop. After a night in the cabin the Weblows were ready to go home (see below).

Then ahead of schedule we were ready to clean up and go home. After thoroughly sweeping and cleaning the inside. We carried our backpacks and equipment back to the parking lot and drove to Our Lady of Fatima. From there we all got rides and went home to end a great weekend.