Greetings from BRMC Scout Reservation
Troop 854 when on the highly anticipated rafting trip in West Virginia and had a terrific time. The weather was perfect for rafting and the river was very scenic. The troop bought photos of our wet and wild excursion and will include them in a cd for everyone. They will also be posted on the website. As far as picking up your scout or scouts tomorrow, we will meet in the Holy Cross Church parking lot. We will be stopping for lunch, but not for dinner. We expect to be in between 5 p.m and 6 p.m. on Sunday, but we’ll have the boys call you when we are about 40 minutes from home so you can be there on time.
Can’t wait to see everyone…

A quick note here from the Webmaster - next time you see Peter, let him know how much you enjoyed these updates. Also, let Jason know. It would be good to have a sense whether parents were using this site to keep up on the scouts during their week away.

Greetings from BRMC: 

Well, our fabulous week at BSA summer camp in Virginia is nearing the end. And it’s safe to say they’ve saved the best for last. There are a lot of fun and exciting things happening today and tomorrow. The Mountain Men have returned from the wilderness smelling just about as you would expect them to smell after a week without bathing. BSI scouts completed their five mile hike today and graduate this afternoon. Their hike was through the Mountain Man camp, so they got a chance to see how folks lived in the 18th Century. Fish camp scouts earned their merit badges after catching 23 fish yesterday. The rest of the merit badge boys are finishing up their merit badges today.  Bruce will get a merit badge package for review at campfire tonight. The High Knoll crew is due in this evening, too. And tomorrow is the big rafting trip.
We’ll be seeing you soon…

Greetings from BRMC in Virginia
We had a second day of rain yesterday, but today is a beautiful cool day with blue skies and a temperature in the 70s. The BSI scouts were not able to do their overnight camping trip because of the weather. We hiked in to the woods and set up tents but had to leave the tents and hike out because the scout guides were concerned that the weather might be too severe. It turned out to be a false alarm, but better safe then sorry. They did manage to cook their aluminum foil meals however. Today the boys are learning knots.  The older scouts are working on merit badges.  It was cool last night so we had a nice warm campfire going. The High Knoll guys and mountain men checked in at the halfway point last night. All the boys are looking forward to more swimming and a camp picnic.
More later…

Greetings from the Blue Ridge Mountains Scout Camp:
Well, it finally happened… rain. A little storm came through Camp Ottari last night, but except for a few leaky tents the boys came through it just fine. The weather is much better today. The Brown Sea Island scouts are going out on their overnighter. They’re going to make boiled dinners to cook on the campfire. The High Knoll guys came into camp at the halfway point. They look tired and dirty, but no worse for wear.  Mountain Men should be checking in later. We got a 103 percent score on our camp inspection today. Woohoo! Today’s update is short and sweet. We’re halfway through our trip and having more fun each day.
Talk to you soon…

Greetings from Camp Ottari:
Breaking news from fish camp. David caught a fish on the New River campout today and cooked it tonight.  It reportedly tasted pretty good. There are conflicting reports about the size, however.  But they all agreed they’re having a great time.  BSI boys practiced first aid and fireman carry techniques. They had a practice water rescue and free swim. Some of the boys went to the archery range fror a free shoot. Two of the boys qualified for their rifle merit badges today on their first try.  Congratulations to Zach and Alex. Some of the boys went to the snake show last night and watched a snake feeding. Everyone is having a great time. Tomorrow BSI boys will go on an overnight camping trip so you may not get an update, but that just means we’ll have more for you on Thursday.
That’s it for now…

Greetings from Camp Ottari Day 3:
Bruce and Jason walked out to Mountain Man today to see the boys. They were all having a great time in their period costumes. They made their own knives and were splitting wood. They were one ax short, unfortunately, so some folks had to split their wood with a metal wedge and a bowling pin. Now that’s really roughing it and improvising in true Mountain Man tradition. We were late for breakfast this morning and were forced to eat last as a punishment, but we learned our lesson and were first at flag ceremony for dinner.  The boys have been getting high marks for their work. We got a 99 out of 100 score on our camp inspection.

The fish camp crew was spotted out by Lake Ottari fly fishing. Don’t know if they caught anything, but they looked like they were having fun. Brown Sea Island boys spent the day earning rank requirements and doing team building exercises. In one they formed a human knotof boys holding hands and had to undo the knot without speaking and without letting go. It was really fun to watch them work as a team. Boys are doing the flag ceremony on Thursday for camp. Weather was a little warm today, but no rain. It’s really a fantastic place, as long as you don’t mind a few hills.
More to come tomorrow,

Sunday 7/20/08
Greetings from the Blue Ridge Mountain Scout Reservation: We had hoped to upload some photos to you, but the signal and the wifi bandwith at the camp has been very limited and we have not been successful yet. We will keep trying, but if we don’t succeed, we will post them when we return home. The boys had a very busy day today. The Mountain men and High Nole group have gone off on their adventures. The fish camp scouts are getting ready to hit the lake bright and early and the brown sea island scouts start their classes in the morning. The scouts are all having a great time. Today we went on a tour of the camp. There is so much to do here and so much to see. The boys all took their swim tests and had their first meal in the dining hall. We had ham steak, sweet potatoes, peach cobbler and stuffing.The general consensus is that the food is better than Camp LaNoche but not as good as mom makes. I’m happy to report that there have not been any mishaps and the boys don’t seem to miss TV, ipods or xbox360. The weather has been great although we might get a shower tonight. But so far it’s been Sunny days and cool nights. John Denver was right it’s almost heaven west virginia blue ridge mountains shenandoah river.
More tomorrow,
Peter R.. Communications officer:

Greetings from Virginia:
Troop 854 made it to Camp Ottari safe and sound. No problems, no worries. Trip was smooth sailing. The weather is great. Everyone is fine. Some problems with cellphones. Many boys can’t get a signal to call home, but all is well.
We’ll be sending more information on Sunday.

I hope camp is a great experience for everyone. I looked at the weather and it should be perfect.

This blog will be used  by anyone able to get out to the internet during a campout.  They can use this website to communicate how things are going to the outside world.  I hope it becomes an easy way to keep up to date on your scouts.