2014 Wood Splitting and Trail Ride

Well, you know what they say.  When life gives you lemons, split some wood and then go ride a horse!

The weekend plans fell apart soon after they were made.  The troop had planned on camping at Bodega Dunes State Park and then heading across the highway to Chancelor Ranch to do a trail ride at their corral.  Unfortunately, it turns out that the weekend we selected to go was the same weekend as the Bodega Fisherman's Festival!  There were no accommodations to be found anywhere along the coast!  They had all been booked months and months ago.  After trying for some time, we had to fall back on plan B.  Since the trail ride reservations were still valid, we decided to continue with those and put a wood splitting activity in the early afternoon hours since that requirement is usually difficult to arrange on our busy camp outs.

Starting at noon, all of the scouts who needed to complete the requirement showed up at the Scoutmaster's house and several of the senior scouts went over axe safety and then it was time to have at the wood rounds!  As always, it wasn't nearly as easy as it looks and the junior scouts had their work cut out for them.  Thankfully, there was plenty of time for them to complete the task, and the troop ended up with several more campfires worth of split wood.  

After the last axe fell and the wood had been stacked, it was off to Northwest Prep to meet the other members of the troop and Webelos from Pack 134 to take off for the coast.  A short half hour later, we rolled into the ranch.  Chancelor Ranch is at a lovely spot just north of Bodega Bay and had rolling hills to ride and stunning views of the ocean.  Oh yea, they also have 22 horses!

The troop brought 26 riders so they were split into 2 groups to fit the horses.  While each group was out on the trail, one of the ranch hands gave the other half a lecture on horse maintenance and stable knot tying.  Meanwhile the riding half was paired up with a horse, the group was mounted and took off for a ride around the hills.  The ride went over several of the hills and valleys with great views of the sand dunes and the sparkling ocean beyond.  One group even got to see a bobcat slink his way into the underbrush.  

After the last group finished, the troop mounted their steel horses and rode back into town having had a fun afternoon on the coast.

 Participants: Daniel, Bryce, Owen, John, Evan, Sebastian, Diego, Ewan, Quinn, Joseph, Brian, Carl

Leaders:  Mr. Polkinghorn, Mrs. Jacobs, Mrs. Delao, Mr. Frazee, Mr. Brisgel

Lessons Learned:  Don't go to Bodega Dunes in April.  Do go to Chancelor Ranch and Horsin' Around Trail Rides.  They do a great job!

2014 Camporee!

Wow is the only thing I have to say!  Just wow!  Troop 134 did a fantastic job at this year’s Camporee event.  Camporee is one event on the schedule that is everyone always looks forward to and why not?  You get to spend the day doing all of your scout skills in competition! 

The run up for this year was a bit frantic with three packs bridging into the troop this year and the last one at the end of March.  That and spring break pushed the New Scout Outing to the end of the month and gave us only two weeks to prepare (and no time to practice) for Camporee.  The boys did spend a meeting planning for the event, making cheers, flags, shirts, and plans for the gateway. 

 We weren’t sure we would be returning to Lake Sonoma this year.  Budget cuts forced onto the Army Corps of Engineers meant that as of last year all of the recreation facilities at the lake were shut down!  That included the picnic area by the foot of the dam that the Pomo District had used to host their Camporee for years.  Luckily, the Corps found enough funding to reopen the facilities just in time.  A good thing as it is just about the loveliest place to hold a Camporee. 

The troop arrived in good order, checked in and set up their campsite.  This year we were the second troop from the parking lot.  This was good and bad.  On the good side, the camp site was very close to the parking lot and that made loading and unloading easy.  On the bad side, the site was just about equally far (and I mean far) from all of the water sources at the park.  As dark set in, the troop pitched their tents and then started work on the gateway getting the major parts put together. 

The next morning, after breakfast, the troop put the finishing touches on the gateway and then it was off to the fun of the competitions.  This year in addition to attending the competitions, the troop also ran the teambuilding event as well.  The patrols cycled through the events from the obstacle course to the astronomy booth, to the leave no trace booth, to the orienteering course, to the nature booth, to the shooting sports area.  At noon, the patrols returned to camp for lunch and then it was time for the Troop 134 annual tradition.  We pulled out the tug-of-war rope for the annual Camporee lunchtime tug-of-war.  The troops lined up and took turns pulling each other into the dust.  After that  it was time for the patrols to do their afternoon rotations.

When the competition was done, it was time to return to camp for dinner and to prepare for the awards campfire, and what a campfire it was.  It started as always with skits from the packs and troops.  This year we ended up doubling up our skit with the staff.  It may be time for the troop to come up with another signature skit.  Still the Troop 134 offering was hilarious!  Then it was time for the ribbons.  Troop 134 always drags down a share of the awards, but this time the troops number was called again and again and again!  We even earned two second place awards in a three way tie for one of the events.  We still don’t know how that’s possible, but we did it!  When all was said and done, the senior patrol had dragged down 14 ribbons including the coveted Spirit award (for which they had to do their cheer for the whole crowd).  The junior patrol even got a half dozen ribbons in their first time out!  Finally the troop was awarded the ribbon for best gateway!  A great result for a great team effort!  After that the Order of the Arrow had their tap out ceremony for all of the newly elected members.  While the OA was greeting the new recruits, the troop headed back to camp and dug into the apple cobbler that was waiting.  Then it was off to bed!

The next morning, the troop broke camp and headed back to home after a fun and successful Camporee!

Participants: Zack A., Daniel, Gerrit, Devon, Matt, James, Bryce, Owen, John, Eric, Evan, Mitch, Landon, Sebastian, Diego, Ewan, Quinn, Josh

Leaders:  Mr. Polkinghorn, Mr. Baier, Mr. Reese, Mrs. Reese, Mr. Perez, Mr. Simmons, Mr. Talbot, Mr. Franceschi, Mr. Franceschi, Mr. Bell, Mr. Jacobs

Lessons Learned:  Let the scouts do everything!  They do a great job!!!!

2014 New Scout Outing

It’s March and that means bridgings and the New Scout Outing! 

This year we had a big disappointment long before we left for the event.  The troop for the last several years has gone to Lake Sonoma to do the new scout’s first outing.  The site has everything we need, room for many tents, pavilions to keep out of the weather, and a large fire circle.  Oh yea, and don’t forget “The Rock” to play on.  Unfortunately, with the Washington DC budget cutbacks the Corps of Engineers had not had the funds to open the recreation facilities this year (thanks Congress).  So the troop was out of a location to hold its outing and had to cast around for another.  After looking around, we settled on Spring Lake.

As the day approached, the weather turned south.  Rain crept in and out of the forecast all week.  The night before, the models predicted the rain to arrive in the wee hours and pitter out by mid morning.  So, the troop decided to go.

When the morning arrived, the weather was damp but not raining.  Sprinkles did move in and out as everyone formed up and the last bits of paperwork was filled out.  Then it was off to the park.  When the troop arrived, the mist had turned to a steady sprinkle and then to a light rain.  The troop raced to get it’s easy ups and tarps set up.  In no time, shelter was to be had.  With dry patches created and the rain beginning to come down harder, the troop moved to training the new scouts.  The older scouts, especially the Star Scouts needing their EDGE requirement to move up to Life split up with two or three of the new scouts and went over 2^nd Class first-aid.

It was here that the scouts showed their mettle.  Everything was sopping wet.  There was no dry place to sit.  So what did the scouts do?  They did their training standing up (without complaints)!  While that was going on, the scoutmasters worked with last year’s scouts on their advancement.  As the rain slacked off and the ground began to dry, the troop moved to set up their tents.  Then it was off to lunch.

 

In previous years on this outing, the troop had returned to first-aid training in the afternoon.  This year though, we were at Spring Lake Park which is one of the Redwood Regional Challenge parks.  So the second class 5 mile hike with map and compass requirement was inserted instead.  The troop took off from the campsite and circled both Spring Lake and Lake Raphine in Howarth Park taking multiple trails to make the 5 mile requirements. 

Limping back into camp, tired but happy, the group prepared to start dinner.  This is always a frightening moment for the scoutmasters.  How will the new scouts do on their first meal they have to cook themselves?  The answer was, just fine!  The patrol gathered around and shared the jobs of cooking and cleaning and had their dinner done and cleaned up before most of the other patrols even had their food cooked!  Then it was time for some infection tag in the parking lot before dark.

As dark was setting in, an enormous campfire was lit and the new scouts were brought to the circle for the welcoming ceremony.  Afterwards, the group did some ice breaking  exercises and then a reflection circle.  Then it was time for bed.

The next morning the troop made breakfast, packed all the gear up and headed back home with the new scouts having gotten their feet wet for the first time with the troop. 

Participants: Carl, Zack A., Daniel, Andrew W., Gerrit, Devon, Matt, James, Bryce, Owen, John, Eric, Brian, Zach F., Evan, Mitch, Landon, Sebastian, Diego, Ewan, Quinn, Josh, Sam

Leaders:  Mr. Polkinghorn, Mr. Frazee, Mr. Brisgel, Mr. Peacock, Mrs. Arcato, Mr. Baier, 

Lessons Learned:  The Spring Lake Group site is really good, but has little shelter from the rain.

2014 Scouting For Food

The troop formed up again this year to sort the incoming donations for the annual Scouting for Food Drive.  The

troop has been doing this job for several years now after discovering that there was no sorting help at a past food drive.

This year there were some big changes!  The biggest change was the move for the drop off point from the CVS parking lot at 4^th and Farmers Lane to the new Redwood Empire Food Bank facility off of Airport Blvd.  Another change was expanding the hours to a 5 hour window from the 3 hours it had been in the past (more on that later). 

The new location had some benefits and some deficits.  On the negative side, the new drop off is out by the airport on the extreme northern side of town, no longer in the more central location in the middle of town.  This may have discouraged some folks from participating.  On the positive side though, the new facility was perfect for drop offs, we had direct access to the warehouse and also use of their staff BBQ! 

Also on the negative side was the new hours for the drop off.  The event pulled in about the same amount of food as the years before.  So, with the longer drop off window, the spaces between deliveries were spaced out more.  In the past we had some dead time between drop offs.  This year the breaks were noticeable.  Still, the scouts did their best with the challenges.  They took a tour of the facility and worked on advancement when things were slow.

Speaking of which, the new Redwood Empire Food Bank facility is fabulous!  They have a quality location for collecting, sorting and distributing the food donations.  In fact another scout troop was in the warehouse sorting produce for distribution to the needy.

Outside, the scouts were taking care of business.  As each driver arrived, the boys unloaded the donated food.  Then it was into the weigh bin to tally the total for the Pack or Troop.  Once the weight was recorded, the troop sprang into action, sorting the food by type.  Dry goods went into one bin, while cans went into another and drinks into a third.  While that was going on, the food collectors were invited over to the BBQ for one of the hot dogs that the crew had ready.  As the cars and trucks rolled in, the bins filled to overflowing. 

As the afternoon wore on, the traffic slowed down to a crawl and then ended altogether.  With the day wearing on, the group decided to call it a day.  They cleaned the site up and packed it away.  When all was said and done, the drive netted about 9000 pounds of food!

Participants: Brian, Ben, Andrew P., Matt, Carl, Bryce, Owen, Zack A., Eric, James, John-Robert, Payton, Devon

Leaders:  Mr. Polkinghorn, Mr. Frazee, Mrs. Lara, Mrs. Haase

Lessons Learned:  The longer window didn't improve donations.  Setting the bags out 2 days before didn't work.  The new facility is fantastic!