Ground Fog
August 24th, 2010 (6:52 am) by AndyWaves of floating ground fog in the morning are like moving pictures. Soothing to see but a reminder that Fall is on the way…
Waves of floating ground fog in the morning are like moving pictures. Soothing to see but a reminder that Fall is on the way…
Pictures on Facebook!
This past weekend up at camp, there was a gathering of men. Oh what a gathering it was. First off, it was a beautiful turn out- over 200 people! There were also multiple projects worked on! From the deck on the health lodge end of Torinus lodge, to the removal of the trap house on the shotgun range. Effort was put in all over camp. Wait ’til you make your next journey to camp, you’ll see that the bell tower got larger… just about twice the size- this bell ringer is excited! The large tree near the Outdoor Skillz area was also removed! The pictures in the Dining Hall were re-labeled according to year.
Quite an exciting update to camp! Thanks to everyone who pitched in. Congratulations to our 2010 Vigil Class, our newly inducted Ordeal Members, and those who sealed their membership in the Bro-Hood!
Dylan
Just about 15 hours ago southern Oconto County was scared into shelters! About an hour later, all of Oconto County was placed under a Severe Thunderstorm Warning with High winds reaching about 70 mph. THAT being said, we hustled campers into shelters, started singin’ some songs and got the party underway! Meanwhile (back at camp), we were experiencing some beautiful lightning and watching the rain fall sideways! After about an hour and a half later, we met at the numbered block to have… more fun!!
After sending the Scouts and Scouters to bed, and send the Order of the Arrow Candidates to the program center for a sleep under the guano, a select group of staffers headed out onto our beautiful detour to see how the roads were doin’! Question me this, friends: were there trees down on the road? Many. Many a tree lay strewn across our roads, winds up to 70 mph will do that, I guess. This morning, Ranger Andy mentioned that there were hundreds upon hundreds of trees with missing tops! Quite the storm!
Which makes me consider… does it never rain? Does it only just get damp?
I’ll ponder, until next time.
There is a new monster in camp and it makes the strangest noise. At all hours you can hear the crashing noise of the giant Jenga blocks at the Trading Post. The best part is that the sound of the six foot stack of wooden blocks carries all over camp. From the shooting ranges to the Fox Showerhouse, you can tell when somebody has won (or lost) a game. It is hard to resist the temptation to shout Jenga from wherever you are.
Well… for me it is time to turn back camp to those who care for it for the rest of the year. I am happy to report that Scouting is Alive in the northwoods of Wisconsin. Special thanks to all who took such good care of us on this visit, feeding us and making us feel at home. Best wishes for a great summer and a special acknowledgement for the creative canoeists who will be sharing their talents with Scouts for the rest of the summer.
May the great Scoutmaster of all Scouts be with us until we meet again.
The stories started before I got to camp The big bang. It was last Monday night and everybody was in the dining hall. And then BANG!! According to reports it was the loudest thing they had ever heard. The ground in the dining hall shook.
Investigation afterword found the strike. About 300 yards away near Saffran Lodge a white pine, older than Bear Paw, had exploded.
It is possible that the story has grown bigger than life, but there is no question about the power of lightning.
You never know when one might be lurking just behind a tree or sneaking up on your tent at night, but they do exist….
This place is great. I can’t wait for next year. Heck maybe I can even get on the list for the provisional troop the last week of the summer.
I finished 5 merit badges, went kayaking and biked 50 miles for cycling mb. Never thought I could do that. The trading post has a ton of fun stuff and good candy but I was so busy having fun I barely got to hang out with Mark and Brady. The staff is so fun.
Tonight was the water carnival and closing campfire. So funny. These people are crazy. Some day I hope to work on staff. Just have to wait till I am 14.
So tired. Best turn in for the night. Hope you have the washer and drier empty cause I smell bad. Love you… G’night
What a week. I wanted to let you know how every day went but haven’t had a chance. This place has been a blast. They even did our laundry. We have had a ton of rain and the best part of it all is it sounds like only adult leaders got wet, no scouts really. It has also been HOT. Unbelievably HOT, but hey it dried us out.
Last night they moved us from dinner into storm shelters because the sky wasn’t looking so hot. Turns out the radar was showing some purple growth over our area and there were some damages north and west of us. All we got here at camp was more rain. It was kinda fun though.
Well it is time to get up and wash my face. Yep. I am trying to not be like some of the other kids up here… Peeeuuuuuu! I can’t imagine what it would be like without the forced rain bathtime.
Well time to start aother great day mom… See you Saturday.
Temperatures hit 90 degrees on Tuesday for my afternoon visit to Bear Paw along with a fellow former staff member, Eric Mercier. He is currently on leave from the U.S. Navy and Eric dropped by with his father.
The sailor seemed impervious to the heat and he should have been after spending time in Nevada and aboard aircraft carriers.
Most of the 300-plus campers obviously did not have Eric’s tolerance for the heat but thankfully there are plenty of ways to stay cool at camp that do not require an air conditioner.
The swimming area had a good crowd taking a dip in the early afternoon and it began to grow as the C-Block merit badges began to let out.
The trading post was hopping with plenty of ice cream, slushies and frozen candy bars being sold from behind the counter. The trading post staff had little trouble executing a “Bear Paw Special” thanks to the heat. Ice cream cookie sandwiches (aka Chipburgers) were flattened with ease.
A few Scouts played a game of table tennis in the shade of the Adventure building while a lone staffer held down the fort. The rest of the Adventure staff was out tubing on the river with Scouts on a perfect day for getting soaked to the bone.
There was one person who got to enjoy some AC on Tuesday and that was the health officer. Days like Tuesday, when the mercury is popping out the top of the thermometer, are great days to stay inside and catch up on some paper work.
I hope the heat did not interfere with any all-important Scoutmaster naps.
~ Matt Wellens
I was fortunate enough to get to camp Friday evening after all the heavy lifting was done. Saturday started as a work day getting all of the final projects done before the staff departed for their 24 hour weekend.
It is now Sunday late morning. The staff is rolling into camp all ramped up and ready for the scouts to arrive for the first checkin day of the summer.
The day started with a gorgeous steam rising from the lake… and wouldn’t you know it; I again found a fish or two. The temp is steadily rising with a nice bit of cloud cover. Come 1:30 and the crazyness known as checkin will begin. Well off to enjoy some more of the last moments of serenity for 7 weeks.