Photos from around the grounds

We had a great time at camp this week!  I tried to take some pictures to give parents an idea of the grounds and facilities, to hopefully help future generations of 'knobbers.  It is a great camp, and the boys enjoyed all the available activities.

The closing ceremony at the amphitheater.

View from a trail across the lake to the aquatics area.

Here are some of the kids at the local watering hole.  The slushie machine was ever popular. 

Boys getting ready for swimming.

Beautiful ring wreathed in grape vines.

Panoramic shot from the top of Raven Knob.

A bunch of boys during the free swim time.

Meals are picked up on ready-made trays from the back of the cafeteria.

Meal time!

Zip-tied wooden dowels to the cot to hold up his bug net.

First aid merit badge class taught the boys how to use a back board to carry an injured person.  Most of the boys on the back boards were not dropped during this exercise.

The awesome sailboats and paddle boats.

Nice view of the aquatics area.

Past the amphitheater, there were more merit badge class areas.

Closing ceremony and bonfire.

The stairs to the dining hall that all the boys _loved_ climbing before every meal.

Farewell to Raven Knob!

Many thanks to all the parents who significantly contributed to the success of the week.

Special thanks:

Chip and Alfonso - attended camp all week and helped in every activity.  Chip was our medical commissar which was a critical job with daily meds as well as dealing with the normal scratches, scrapes and stomach aches of camp. 
Jim and Rusty - strong leadership most of the week. Their rapport and experience with the Pack 1864 boys was brilliant and a nice compliment to my experience with the Pack 873 kids. 
James - early help setting up camp.
Nathan, Dominick and William - fresh relief for the last couple days.  Nathan's help was especially crucial cajoling the boys to clean out the site and to be their best.  

With a group of mostly young boys, the adult help was especially important.

Andy Gay and Diane Raffaele spent many hours organizing the pre-camp paperwork.  That was a significant job.  And it was all perfect. Thank you!

Andy Phalan was missed, but his extensive notes and guidance at the pre-camp meeting was greatly appreciated. 

Final pics below (I expect other the other dads will be posting more from home) -

Mushrooms

Working on the mushroom merit badge -

Drone Videos

https://photos.app.goo.gl/5YkgfPsp2P7GgvxL8
https://photos.app.goo.gl/tcAPwgyXY8JGWM7f6
https://photos.app.goo.gl/6D2kjP1U4VpbQHSd9

Wrapping Up

The boys are in their last afternoon of merit badge classes.  I sense a smidgen of sadness about leaving camp, but they are also quite ready to go home, or at least to take a shower.  A few of the boys have showered this week, but I'm quite certain some have not.

After dinner last night the boys built another campfire.  They told jokes, not-so-scary stories and sang corny songs.  A few boys went to the climbing wall for open climbing and a couple boys went on their overnight wilderness camp out for camping/survival classes. The older boys spent some quality time with each of the  younger boys going over  books and completing advancement  requirements.

This morning we had a couple minor downpours of rain.  Other than that, we have had fantastic weather, especially the last three days since it has cooled down.  The days have been in the lower eighties and the last couple nights have been perfect outdoor sleeping temperature, seventies with a cool breeze. 

This morning after breakfast another set of adults hiked up to Raven Knob. With just a few puffs of clouds in this valley in Blue Ridge mountains, it was quite spectacular.

It is remarkable how collegial this set of boys are. They are polite to adults and each other. They help each other out and look out for one another.  And at this late date, no adult has had to correct any behavior.  Nice work, parents!

Busy Campers

After a full day of merit badge classes yesterday, the camp delivered each troop a fried chicken dinner to our campsites.  The fried chicken got rave reviews from our kids.  And in keeping with a Troop 1523 summer camp tradition, we invited another troop to join us for an ice cream social.  We invited our neighbors in camp who are from Culpepper, Virginia.  Mr. Dunn graciously drove out and brought the ice cream and genuine Cherry Wine soda.  We served the ice cream from the back of his truck to our 32 boys and their 26.  The two troops took turns performing skits and telling stories and jokes. It was a great time.  After ice cream we headed to the amphitheater for an elaborate Order of the Arrow all-camp campfire ceremony involving Native American chanting, fire arrows, canoes and ceremonial costumes.  To cap off the busy day, we had our own troop campfire after the ceremony.

The pictures of the adult leaders with dummies have an explanation. Some of the adults at camp have been busy getting trained in various skills.  A few of us are now certified in CPR. 

Today, before Mr. Buch left us, we all sang happy birthday to Ben and ate yummy brownies and cookies prepared by Mrs. Buch and brought down to us by Mr. Dalton.  It was a fantastic surprise for Ben. 

Today was a bit of a changing of the guard as Mr. Dunn and Mr. Buch were replaced by Mr. Dalton, Mr. Sanders and Mr. Petrella.  All the adults have been fantastic leaders and support for the patrols.  I thank them for all the great support and camaraderie.