Camporee 2010

Saturday our family went up to Firestone Scout Camp to check out the 2010 Camporee. Besides the fact that both Jeff and I work at the district level and we were requested to be there, I wanted to know what this was about so I could 1) tell our scouts moving to Webelo rank and 2) perhaps get Camperall working with Camporee next year. Ambitious maybe but it never hurts to try. There were a lot of stations at this event. I thought Dee's eyes were going to pop out of his head when he saw the axe throwing station. Anyway, the patrols work toward completing so many points in the entire weekend and at the end of the event each patrol that gets over the required points earns the white buffalo patch. Which is basically the council shoulder patch with a white buffalo in it.

This is one of the stations called the A-Frame Chariot race. Basically what the boys are required to do is lash together four 2-inch diameter logs with 5 lengths of rope then carry a patrol member a certain distance without the "chariot" falling apart or loosening. You get points for how well this is done and penalties if it falls apart or loosens up. Another station that I didn't get a picture of was the Fire Starting station. Basically you are given 2 matches, pieces of wood to make the fire, bricks to hold the "grill," and a tuna can to boil the water in. Again you get points on how you build the fire and how fast you get the water boiling. Some other stations were archery, knot tying, and compass orientation. Anytime the patrols saw a "silver tab" (district volunteer) walk by they would give their patrol call and request if the silver tab was any one of the points to the scout law (trustworthy, brave, loyal, helpful, etc.).

The tent village is where all the troops set up camp. The big open area here is the center of one of the larger troops gathering areas. Each section of a troop's area is broken up into patrols and common areas. The flag, food, and eating areas are in the common area and each patrol area has the tents, fire buckets, and patrol boxes.

Only one small incident. A dead car battery. Quickly fixed and back to work.

This is the view on the verrrrry long road (about 4 miles) out to where the camporee was happening. It's hard to believe not far away was the city of Brea...