What a great week for all at Camp Powhatan. Mountain Men have been working hard on their own using only turn of the century tools. And living in the wild. Four of our other scouts have been running from one merit badge class to the next all week while earning important badges for advancement. Brown Sea Island Scouts (the newer scouts) did their over night trip and like fantastic scouts followed it with a 5 mile hike around the mountain with several of our adult leaders that attended both events. My feet hurt. They all Graduated with great pride and honor reflecting on the friend ships made and skills learned and perfected. They should practice those knots. Who knows they might grow up and want to sleep in a hammock some day;) Or maybe sooner. Tomorrow is white water rafting and then head back home. See you soon!

Friends and family of Troop 854. We are having a great time at camp. The wether has been great. We had a little rain Monday AM and the boys making it up and down the Mtn. just fine. The camp is beautiful. The new scouts have all been given walking staffs and are earning beads to put on the them. They also earned the finger printing merit badge!!! The meals have been very good and all boys are learning what KP DUTY is;). Internet is very slow up here. I’m writing from Town so I hope you get this. Hopefully I will get more posted later in the week. Rick

The scouts and adult leaders can’t believe the week is almost over. Time sure flies when the boys are having fun. The scouts are finishing up their classes today and are looking forward to the final campfire tonight. We’ll be reviewing merit badge information this evening so that we’ll know where each boy stands. We should be able to resolve any discrepancies before we leave. We’ll pack up the trailers this evening and hope to depart Camp Thunder at 7 a.m. on Saturday morning. That will get us back between 3 and 4 p.m. We’ll have the boys phone from Daytona when we are about 45 minutes from Lake Mary. We will be dropping the boys off at Holy Cross Church. Please be on time to meet us. See you on Saturday.

The boys are having a fantastic summer camp. Last night was the delicious ice cream social followed by a high-spirited game of troop vs troop dodge ball that the scouts really enjoyed. Troop 854 did themselves proud. Afterward, the boys built a crackling campfire back at the base camp where some scouts worked on rank advancements and others completed merit badge homework. Most of the merit badge classes are finishing up today. Luckily, another afternoon class on fingerprinting became available and many of the boys were able to fulfill the fingerprinting merit badge requirements. Mr Hamilton and Mr. Blanton have been taking lots of photos that will be posted when we get home. Speaking of home, many boys were delighted to get cards and packages from home delivered today. We’ve got one more day of fun in Georgia where it is sunny and 83 degrees today. Then it’s back to Lake Mary. We’ll wrap everything up in tomorrow’s blog and give you the details of our return on Saturday. So long until tomorrow.

The boys really enjoyed their watermelon party last night. It was juicy and sweet, not like the ones you get in Lake Mary. They’re all looking forward to the ice cream social tonight. They really seem to be having a great time. The Buckskin scouts are working on knots and requirements for rank advancement. Several older boys had a blast at rifle and shotgun and they will be shooting Black Powder tonight. The scouts in the law merit badge class held a mock trial today and did a great job. Looks like we have few future attorneys in our group. The motorboat scouts got on the water today and were cruising the lake. We had a Magic card tournament at the pavilion last night, while other boys worked on their basket weaving, leatherwork and textile projects. The weather is a bit warm today, but not too hot. That’s all we can think of, but there’s so much going on, we’ll have plenty of more news tomorrow. Stay tuned.

I Talked to Kevin they are in Biwabik MN at their 1st night’s lodging . The flight was uneventful.

The rain held off all day but is coming down hard now!
The boys were running off energy in the stairwell.  
Cindy
 
 
 
 

Greetings again from Camp Thunder
Day Two and the boys are enjoying themselves even more than yesterday. The weather has been cool for this time of year and the mosquitos continue to be on vacation in Florida. Each bunkhouse has a fan, so it’s been very comfortable. The scouts are doing fine. They all know where their classes are so things are running like clockwork today. The first year scouts in the Buckskin program are learning a lot and progressing swiftly. The boys earned their whittling chit yesterday and are very proud of the accomplishment. We’ve seen Dragons and Berserkers making baskets and working with leather, while others are learning about rockets and practicing archery. And when their classes are finished there is an open swim at the lake each day at 4 p.m. The water is cool, clear, clean and refreshing. Speaking of swimming, the last of the boys will be swim tested today. Great fun all the way around. Which brings me back to the subject of this post. The staff at Thunder have been great and the camp has provided the boys some nice amenities: the dining hall is air conditioned and has a salad bar which offers the boys a selection for fresh vegetables and fruit. The scouts and leaders are eating well and everyone seems to like the food. Another nice touch is the new shower and changing rooms that have been built at the lake since Troop 854’s last visit in January. The camp is beautiful with rolling hills and plenty of trees. And then there is the general atmosphere of the camp which is fun and friendly. Mr. Hamilton is treating the boys to some fresh and juicy Georgia watermelon that we picked up in town at the WalMart next to the McDonald’s with WIFI where I filed this post. Sure beats climbing that mountain. And Wednesday is the ice cream social. Talk about Southern Hospitality. That’s all we have to report today. More tomorrow.

Camp Thunder is great!
We made it safe and sound and the boys are having a wonderful time. The bunks are very comfortable. No mosquitos to speak of. A little rain at night but the sun came out today and it is a beautiful breezy day in the 70s. The first year boys Corbin and Noah are doing fine in the Buckskin program. The Dragons are having fun at all their Merit Badge classes. The Berserkers are doing great, too. All of the boys are enjoying camp. We didn’t get to take our swim test yesterday because we got here a little late. But all the boys are being tested today. The adults are all doing fine, too. I’ll have more good things to tell you later now that I have found a spot on the top of a mountain by a water tower where I can get a signal. We might even be able to post some photos. Talk to you soon.

Test for summer camp

TEST POST

This is a test post in preparation for troop 854 leaving for summer camp in Georgia.