Blazing saddles - last summer camp as a Cub Scout

The boy had a lot of fun at Blazing Saddles this summer. This was his last time there as a camper, as he is a Webelos 2 this year, and next year he will transition into Boy Scouts.

He passed the swimmer test. They upped the requirements this year, making it equivalent to the BSA swimmer test, in order to get into the open water area. He really wanted to swim out to the raft, so pushed himself the extra mile to get through it. Not all of the dads that took the test were able to swim that far. He also ran through the Aquanot achievement, learning some basics of water safety and how to throw a life ring.

They had a rule that each boat had to have a Swimmer in it. It was also really cool seeing him grow up from past years. This year, he was able to take a boat out with two other boys. He was very responsible out there on the water.

After camp, we're all a little tired walking out stuff out.

Here's a great shot of the boy after camp. There is a great vista behind him in this shot, taken overlooking a valey.

Challenges as a scoutleader

Challenges as a scout leader
Camp this year just felt a little different. The Boys had a great time I think. We had one unfortunate incident where one of the boys who has a little trouble respecting boundaries had an altercation with one of the other dads. The other dad got so frustrated that he ended up grabbing the boy, trying to take away a glow stick that had been taken from one of the other kids. Adults just don't grab boys in scouts, unless safety is the concern. The result was that this dad decided it was best to leave camp, which of course made it very difficult on his son.

A very tough spot to be in, and very sad too. However he had escalated the situation too far in this day of child protection. Years ago, when I was a kid, the other boy would have been given a spanking, and that would have been the end of it. The situation kind of put a damper on the last day of camp.