Camp Lassen

It's been a crazy fun summer for us.  So much going on, it's hard to keep track of it all.  One of the highlights was going to Camp Lassen with the cub scouts.  All told there were 26 scouts and 24 adults participating in the Wed-Sat trip.  The camp was packed full of activities that left the kids and adults tired.  While the schedule was packed and didn't allow for a lot of downtime I usually associate with camping, I had a blast and can't wait to do it again.

While we brought our own tent, we could have chosen to stay in one of these pre-setup 2 man tents, or a 4 person Adirondack.  Brian and Wyatt, Frances and Ethan both chose the tents.

Here are the kids listening to the safety lecture before putting on gear and getting ready for the rock wall.

Maria went inside the building where the rockwall was and took some pictures from a different perspective.

Nate's ready to climb.  He felt he needed to try a second time after Wyatt was the first boy to reach the top, Nate has to prove he could do it too.

There he goes, this right about the spot where it got really hard and he nearly gave up.

But he got up and gave Maria the high 5 before heading back down.

Jimmy, Wyatt, Nate and Ethan waiting in the shade while the adults held the spot in line for dinner.

Nate and Ethan at the nature station, getting ready to make plaster molds of animal tracks.

Here's Nate with his mold all set and waiting for instructions on what to do next.

While the molds dried, the boys got a chance to go on a nature walk and then pet a snake.

The final result of the plaster mold.

They had an outdoor BMX track that the kids could ride the bikes around.  This was one of the more popular activities. .

Nate of course jumped at the chance, although he did have a bit of difficulty when the course was going uphill. It was hard for them to understand that BMX bikes are not meant to be ridden sitting down.

The helmets they had were a bit big and Nate's kept falling off. He was always trying to adjust it while riding.

We found out Nate is left eye dominant, which made aiming the gun a bit more difficult as he's a right hander. These glasses were supposed to help, but he though it just made it harder to see.

In this station, the boys got to shoot BB guns, bow and arrow and wrist rockets (slingshots). Nate was a little disappointed with the BB gun as he wanted to see the BB's explode when they hit, sort of like a paintball hitting.

The number one favorite activity for Nate was the Bow and arrow. We'd put him in a class, but you have to be 7.  

Jimmy, Nate and Wyatt taking turns with the slingshot.  While fun, the least interesting of the three shooting activities.

Nate got his whittling card, which allows him to carry a pocket knife to scouting events. Here he is practicing with Brian's knife.

Tom and Jimmy in one of their few moments of rest.  Tom was up every morning with a waist high fire by 6am.

More practice whittling.  This came after Wyatt had a mishap and cut his thumb pretty good.

Pack 1592!

Brian and I waiting for the kids to get ready before we head off to flag ceremony and dinner.

All the boys lined up, ready to cheer.  Whoever cheered the loudest or most creative was allowed to go first to meal time.

The morning and night flag ceremony to raise and lower the flag was cool to watch

On our first night at camp, there was a skit put on.  The whole theme was pirates, but they interrupted the skit for a commercial about "Tan in a can".  This guy came out and talked about how great tan in a can was and how quickly it made him dark.  It was so good he could even eat it.

Nate loved the skit.  I loved seeing him laugh and get all excited about seeing the performance.  

The camp theme was all about pirates, so was the first skit. Now this little lake they got the boat on is cold. We found out just how cold, 52 degrees when we first arrived.  One of the first things you have to do is the swim test.  4 25 foot laps in this water.  3 on the belly and 1 on the back, then float for 10 seconds to get a full swim pass.  Nate and Wyatt made it two laps before they were just too cold to continue.  I'm so proud of both of them for making that far as it was very difficult and stinging cold.  

The adults got a chance to do somethings the cub scouts have to wait until they're boy scouts to participate in.  You could shoot a 22, the high ropes course and in this video we got to try and throw a hatchet.  Brian and my first attempts were captured here.

Nate got a chance to make sparks in an attempt to build a fire.  It didn't work quite as well as a lighter, in fact our little group would freeze and starve on survivor as we didn't come close to getting a fire going.

Here's Nate's shot with the bow.

I already mentioned Nate really enjoyed all the skits and singing.  Here's one of the last dinner time songs, where all the counselors sing about what they really liked about camp Lassen.

One of my favorite things in camp had to do with hearing the bugle play while the flag was lowered each night.  Not sure why I liked this, but it tickled me in just the right way.  Of course I kept thinking of the kid in Indiana Jones 3, during the opening that played it as part of the cub scouts.