Scoutmaster Shane’s Troop 560

This last weekend, we made our 2nd annual trip to Payson and toured Camp Geronimo in anticipation of our week-long trip in July.  We stayed at the Houston-Mesa Campground a mile north of the Payson Wal-Mart with picnic tables, running water and bathrooms - so we were really roughin’ it!  The scouts all bunked in one big tent and the leaders set up an even bigger tent which we dubbed "The Hilton".  Before dinner we drove out near Christopher Creek hoping to tour the fish hatchery.  It was closed but we started hiking a nearby trail.  Later, the boys found a creek and we spent the next hour trying to get each other wet by throwing rocks in the water.

Back at camp we started a fire and roasted polish sausages and marshmallows and re-christened Trace as the master roaster.  After a devotional by Connor we enjoyed the now famous Carmel Apple Crisp Dutch Oven Cobbler complete with a whole can of Redi-Whip!  At about 11pm we settled in for the night.

It was very cold on Saturday morning and Daniel couldn’t wait to get the fire going.  He was so happy to drop an armful of pine needles on the fire he didn’t realize that he had singed his hair.  But at least he kept his eyebrows!  We prepared a new dutch oven mountain man breakfast and while the scouts had fun roasting english muffins, Brother Layton tried to sign everyone up for Geronimo classes on the laptop.  Yes, Saturday morning was the opening of the Geronimo website so to ensure all our scouts got the classes they wanted, Bro. Layton brought his laptop to sign up.  After a few glitches and down internet signals we finally got everyone signed up.  Bro. Crane had to leave but Bro. Tingey came up as we were cleaning up camp.

We drove up to Camp Geronimo and spent the next couple hours walking around to our campsite, the dining hall, the swimming pool, all of the lodges where the classes are held, and of course the lake.  The obstacle course had a new addition of a huge rope swing that we had fun with.  Then we ate lunch in the parking lot and came home.  We had a great trip and it served to increase our excitement to come up in July.  During the course of the campout we decided on nicknames for each scout.  Some are self explanatory and some you might have to ask the scouts:

• Brandon: "Scarface" short for "Scarface the iPod Killer Pyro"
• Trace: "Cookie"
• Daniel: "Singey" (no relation to American Idol’s Sanjaya)
• J.T.: "Professor"
• Zach: "Tree Killer"
• Connor: "Face"
• Cameron: "Newbie" (although that will need to change now)

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OUR MISSION: Go on a campout and have fun.
THE REASON: All our boys needed another overnight campout for the Camping merit badge and the new scouts needed to set up a tent, cook a meal and other requirements for First Class rank.
OUR FIRST CHOICE: Snow Camping in Payson on Friday and sledding at Woods Canyon Lake on Saturday.
THE PROBLEM: Not enough snow in Payson for sledding resulting in just plain bitter cold camping instead of snow camping.
THE ALTERNATIVE: A modified campout in Bro. McCook’s backyard on Friday night then driving up to Flagstaff where they actually had snow for sledding at Cowley Pit. Some may say that we wimped out by “rouging it” in McCook’s backyard but we had a blast!

Even though the forecast called for rain all day Friday it was bone dry by the time everyone arrived and started setting up tents.  We borrowed Bro. Pike’s firepit and set up our “campfire” in the driveway. We cooked a glorious meal of roasted polish sausages, chips and root beer and we all agreed that Trace was the master hot dog roaster. We told jokes and stories as the fire burnt down, then we went to the school soccer field to play a game of Pitch Black Capture the Flag.  After a few bruises (and Bro. Layton’s and Bro. McCook’s bruised egos from getting taken out by 12 and 13 year olds) we headed back to cook our dutch oven dessert. An hour later at 12:30 we enjoyed a new creation of Bro. Layton’s - Carmel Apple Crisp Cobbler and a can of Redi Whip. By 1:30 everyone was asleep and all the neighbors breathed a collective sigh of relief!

We woke up at 5:30am when Bro. Crane joined us and we wolfed down a hearty breakfast of danishes and chocolate milk.  We packed up the sleds and our cold weather gear and started our for Flagstaff. We got to Crowley Pit at about 9:30 (about 16 miles north of SnowBowl) and realized just how cold it was.  Everyone decided we made the right choice by not trying to sleep in a tent in this weather.  We all had fun sledding down the slopes for the next few hours. After a little exploring, we found a steep drop at the back end of one of the surrounding hills - perfect for nose-dive sledding.  After a while the scouts started jumping over the ledge to land in the powder below. Just as we were beginning to think it was time to pack up, Connor took one last jump. He heard something pop in his foot as he landed and was down for the count. His Dad carried him to the truck and took off his shoes. The ankle was swollen and tender and we all feared that he had broken it. After a priesthood blessing, Bro. McCook and Connor went to the Flagstaff Walk-In Clinic and the rest of us went to McDonalds for lunch. An hour later we heard the good news that it was not broken but just a bad sprain. Bro. Layton was relieved to know that his tenure as Scoutmaster would not be defined by the number of broken bones his scouts suffered. On the drive home we got stuck in stand-still traffic for about two hours but finally made it back around 6:30.  What an adventure!

Setting up the tents - check out Brandon’s pup tent!

Campfire Fun

 
Sledding at Crowley Pit

The Leaders got into it too. Bro. McCook broke his sled and his bum

We closed the day with cliff jumping, hosptital visits and McDonalds

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On Thursday evening, every single one of our deacons (along with 2 teachers and 2 priests) went to the Temple to do baptisms for the dead.  What a great activity for us to do as an entire deacons quorum.  This was the first time for Trace Young and the last time for Nathan Fish (as a deacon of course).  Afterwards, we went across the street to Dairy Queen and ordered large dipped cones for everyone.  Particularly funny was when Brandon tried to share his ice cream with his pet dragon and Brother McCook acting twice his age with Daniel’s walker.

On Saturday Morning we met at a widow’s house on Whitten & Driftwood (the house that always used to have the garage sales) to pick oranges.  She has two big orange trees in her backyard and needed help picking them clean.  Of course, we started with donuts and milk and then got to work.  Her neighbors were there to help and we got it all done in less than an hour and a half.  You can see from the pictures how many oranges we actually picked.  We started out on the ground with citrus pickers but it wasn’t long before all the scouts were climbing up the trees.  After a while the rest of us played catcher as oranges would randomly fly out from the tops of trees to our waiting hands.  The only injury of the day was when Bro. Layton looked away at the wrong moment just as an orange came sailing down from above. He still has the bump to prove it!  The boys were also fascinated by the hummingbird that visited us.  We had a lot of fun and the neighbors were very appreciative of our help.  All of the boys got one and a half service hours towards their next rank.  Plus, we got to take home all the oranges we could carry!

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Tonight we made mini-marshmallow shooters.  Each scout as given a 3 foot legth of half inch PVC pipe and several fittings with the instructions to design and build their own.  Most started out with elaborate designs but after practicing at our makeshift target range, decided that simple was better.  We went to the Mountain View Park basketball court for team battles and ended up playing a modified game of marshmallow dodgeball.  Here are the names of our creations and pictures from start to finish.  Guess who got pelted with marshmallows after that last shot!
  Nathan: "Blowdart"
  Daniel: "The Tube"
  Connor: "Death Row"
  Zach: "The Demolisher"
  Trace: "The Killer"
  Brandon: "The Maze"
  J.T. "The Ambassador"
  Bro. McCook: "The Jimmy"
  Bro. Layton: "Mad Dog"

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On Wednesday evening we met at Brother Layton’s house for what has become a bi-annual video game night.  We had 4-player "Test Drive: Eve of Destruction" going on the big screen.  This game is commonly referred to as "Chicken Bombs" because you get to shoot exploding chickens from the grill of your car and wipe out other drivers in a destruction derby event.  It’s a favorite of all the boys…and the adults.  On the other TV we had "Guitar Hero I and II" going and Daniel Peterson schooled us all in the finer points of guitar work - broken hip and all.  Some of the boys played the gameboy DS and Connor’s PSP.  Everyone brought goodies and treats to snack on and the McCooks even brought a pizza!  And JT topped everything off by bringing eggnog.  What a blast!


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Three of our deacons, one teacher and two 11-year old scouts came to Merit Badge Advancement Day this morning.  Best of all, Daniel Peterson came!  Wearing a body brace and sitting in a wheelchair Daniel came to pass off Emergency Preparedness along with Brandon and J.T.  Ironically, all 3 boys actually passed off 2 prerequisites for the merit badge the night that Daniel broke his hip.  The requirements had to do with running an emergency drill with the troop - we just didn’t realize that we were going to do it for real.  Kaleb and Cameron passed off their First Aid merit badge so they will be all set for scouts when they turn 12.  We even got to see Drew Crawford - see if you can find him in one of the pictures below. And with all of the hot dogs, candy and pop the boys ate at the snack bar (it was a zoo) we are just glad they made it home - stomaches intact.

Last night we had a special Eagle Court of Honor for Randy Dayes.  Not only did Randy get his Eagle Scout award but it was also his 14th birthday and he was ordained to the office of Teacher in the Aaronic Priesthood.  Lots of family and friends came to celebrate this milestone event in Randy’s life.  Our deacon scouts made up the Troop 560 Color Guard for the flag ceremony and Brandon recited the scout oath and Connor recited the scout law.  As Brother McCook mentioned in his prayer, Daniel Peterson was there in spirit with us.  Brother Garner and Brother Layton shared memories about Randy as a scout and Brother Dayes gave Randy the Eagle Charge.  After receiving his Eagle Scout award, 15 priesthood holders encircled Randy as his father ordained him to the office of a Teacher.  And to top the night off, we all got to eat a piece of the "Randy Cake" (see photo).  Congratulations to Randy Dayes, the newest Eagle Scout of Twelve Oaks 2nd Ward Troop 560!

 
And here’s Connor showing just how happy his is that Randy got his Eagle Scout.  He can barely contain himself!

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We have been trying to put together an overnight campout for the last two months without success.  We finally decided on a "mini campout".  We would drive to Picacho Peak after school on Friday, set up a tent, build a fire, cook tin foil dinners, eat a dutch oven dessert, listen to a devotional, then take down the tent and then drive home at 10pm.  Not an overnighter, but technically a campout to count towards the camping merit badge.  We had everything planned and reserved Thursday morning and by Thursday afternoon reminder flyers had been delivered to all the scouts.

Friday morning we found out Arizona was under a high polution advisory and we could not build a fire at Picacho Peak.  We felt it was not worth the late night drive or the gas money if we couldn’t even have a campfire.  So we decided to have a "tin foil dinner activity" at Mountain View park from 6 to 9pm.  We had a nice big ramada with lights and two BBQ gills so we could cook our dinners over hot coals.  We prepared a dutch oven fruit cobbler (complete with traditional Redi-Whip) and the tin foil dinners were cooking beautifully. 

Unfortunately, Daniel Peterson tried a trick move on a skateboard around the basketball pole and fell down in pain.  Daniel was in agony and complained about his hip.  We couldn’t tell whether he had actually broken something or if it was just a really bad pulled muscle.  We helped him over to a bench and called his Dad.  Duane came right over and took Daniel to the emergency room.  That was the last we heard of it that night.  We played a game of "Bump", ate our fruit cobbler, listened to a devotional by Nathan then cleaned up and went home.

This morning we received an email from Brother Peterson telling us that Daniel had broken his hip - a nasty break, the worst kind.  They rushed him over to Phoenix Children’s Hospital and he had surgery at 3:30am.  They were able to put a pin in, but his leg was still off.  Daniel will be fitted tommorrow with a body brace that he will have to be in for 6-12 weeks.   Plus, he will have to be in a wheelchair or laying flat the entire time.  What a crummy way to spend the holidays.  We encourage everyone to keep Daniel and his family in their prayers and hope for a speedy recovery. 

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Last night we continued working on the Family Life merit badge by discussing the role of fathers in a family.  We also signed up for the merit badges each scout is taking at December Advancment Days.  You can see a full list by clicking on the "Advancement Day News" link over there on the left.  Each scout should have brought home a requirement list with the prerequisites circled in green.  Be sure to have these things done by December 2nd.

We all got service hours by helping Randy with the last part of his Eagle project.  We put together backpacks full of school equipment to be donated to needy children.  This sure has been a great project and Randy has planned and executed it all in true Eagle Scout fashion.  Randy is an example to every deacon that if you work hard, you can get your Eagle before you turn 14.

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