We left home at 6:30 am Saturday and headed for McDonalds for our traditional egg McMuffin for the road. We drove east and got to the camp at 8:00, then hiked our stuff to our campsite. After quite a bit of talk about where to set up our tent, we chose a spot, cleared the sticks, and set up our tent. Our old two-person tent will likely be retired this week since several of the poles have cracked. Thankfully, I was prepared with a first aid kit that had enough band-aids to tape them together enough to keep the tent up. Also, both zippers on the door have broken -- we were able to get in and out, just not easily. I either had to fight the fabric flap to open it and shut it, or we squeezed through a half open door. We weren't sure if the tent would be waterproof or not, but since it didn't end up raining on us, it didn't matter....this time.
As we were setting up the inside of our tent, I gave Will this special quilt I made him. Though he chose most of the flannel fabrics awhile back, he didn't realize I had been working on the quilt when he was at school. He was thrilled to get his quilt for his scout patches. It was the perfect warmth for the cold night, too!
After setting up our little home, we helped a few other moms and boys with theirs, then we got to do the fun stuff. Our den had four boys and moms there, but we sometimes participated with some of the other kids from our pack (who were 1st, 2nd, or 4th graders). First, we hit the chess station and the boys learned to play chess. Will already had that belt loop, but we made sure his friends learned enough about the game to earn theirs, too. The boys all already had the marbles loop, too, but they stopped to play for a bit anyway. We headed down for the BB gun range since we missed that last year, but we had to pass on the archery (sadly) because the line was so long. Will and I both got off a few great shots with the BB gun, but then we learned it wasn't actually shooting. The bad news is we had no proof that we were aiming so well. The good news is we had no proof we were not aiming so well.
We had an hour or so between activities and lunch, and our camp group decided to build a fire circle. We got permission from the ranger to rebuild one (the previous one was wiped out by some downed trees). So, from nothing, we swept clear an area for the fire rings. The boys helped gather the right size logs (also from the downed trees) to make a fire ring and an outer ring to sit on and mark the caution zones. It was really fun for me to watch the boys figure out how to work together to move some large logs that were short enough that only two boys could carry them, but they were too heavy for two boys to carry. They used their brains, their muscle, their friends to create a really awesome seating area for all of us -- the moms patted them on the backs and congratulated them on some great work!
Our afternoon filled up pretty fast. One of my peeves is that our pack (or others) never taught/teaches the boys fire safety. It frustrates me to no end to have campfire with a bunch of uneducated parents, boys, and siblings and a lot of accidents waiting to happen. So, after I discussed that with the moms (and several from our group already knew my opinion on it), we used part of our hour-and-a-half of free time to teach. All the boys (at our campsite) and moms gathered around the newly built fire circle and we talked about why we built it with three circles. We talked about fire safety rules inside the circle, about not throwing stuff into the fire, about how to keep ourselves and each other safe. It was much easier talking to the kids in the daylight before they were tired and fascinated by flames. After we were fairly certain they understood the safety rules, we talked about what we needed to build a fire -- the tinder, kindling, and fuel. We talked about how to find all those without destroying nature, then we broke into four teams to gather tinder, kindling, fuel logs, and water. After we had a healthy supply ready, we showed them how to build a log-cabin style fire (without adding the flames yet.)
After dinner, we went to the big campfire ceremony. Several leaders and Boy Scouts did some skits and recognitions and retired an American flag. We got permission to light fires at our individuals camps (due to wind, we weren't sure we'd be allowed to light ours.) When we got back, we tried to light it, but the first match didn't get the wood hot enough. The second through twelfth matches didn't light, and several boys started heckling the four of us moms working on lighting it. It was really frustrating when a dad from our group (there helping staff the event) boasted that if he was in charge he would already have a big fire. I bit my tongue before commenting he was welcome to do the fire while we all headed to bed early. He left. We found a lighter and had a beautiful fire -- the perfect size! It was starting to fade just as we finished the bag of marshmallows. It was barely glowing when moms started telling boys to get ready for bed. It really went well -- no one got hurt, a lot of kids learned how to have a safe campfire, and all the moms and boys worked together to pull it off. I, again, was asked to consider being the safety officer for the pack. I, again, am considering it because I like teaching the kinds of lessons that matter.
Will and I talked for awhile before we fell asleep. I really do enjoy the times in the car -- just the two of us -- the times in the tent, and the times we are working together to set up the tent. We have such special moments of shared triumph! ... taking down the tent and packing up after a late night of being cold and sleeping on the ground, well... that part wasn't so fun, but we survived! :)
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