BSA Troop 451, Lewisville, TX

What a glorious day, beginning with yet another cool morning and beautiful sunrise greeting us on top of our hill. Just before breakfast a cool front blew in, dropping temperatures and causing some of our crew to break out the jackets. The boys took merit badge classes under a beautiful blue sky, with temps in the 80's and a gentle cool breeze blowing. The boys wanted to sleep in this morning and had to have a tent to tent wake up call to get everyone to breakfast on time. Along the way we picked up the early risers from the fishing merit badge class and were treated to a couple of really good fish tales. Apparently Ben R. caught a 4 foot long, 35 pound bass, along with another fish. You can ask him about it when you see him. The routine is pretty much set for the week. The boys have merit badge classes right after breakfast with a break for lunch, then it's off for more merit badges until 4:00. First year scouts take "Trail to First Class" in the morning to help th...

Small miracles happen every day at summer camp. Yesterday, while we were talking to Marvin for the tomahawk blog we posted yesterday, a young man from a troop in Maysville, Missouri stepped up and threw his four tomahawks at the stumptop target in front of him. Three never had a prayer and the fourth bounced off the front. No sticks. As is his way, Marvin stepped in and explained to the boy why he was having trouble hitting the target and how to correct his technique on his next set of throws. Turns out the little guy was standing two paces too far away from the target. When Marvin finished with him and called for the next group, the young man pulled his hat down over his face and quietly started to cry as he slumped against the picnic table sitting outside the throwing area. As easily as he could, one of the assistants plopped down on the picnic bench and slid toward the young man from Maysville. "It's really hard to stick a throw," he said. "You'll get it on th...

What does a scout typically do after a nice hot meal in the mess hall at dinner? How about repelling down a 35 foot wall! Several of our scouts headed over to the rock/repelling wall, some with experience others having none. They donned safety harnesses and helmets, were double and triple checked by the amazing Tony, our repelling expert, then they were given the basics on the ground, each scout showing they knew how to hook themselves properly, and how to handle the rope for the trip down the wall. Once they were ready to go, they followed the maze of stairs to the top, coming out to a glorious view of the camp all around them, with the sun setting to their backs. They were hooked on to the tower so no one would fall. Then their two instructors proceeded to hook one scout at a time to the rope for the trip down. After being attached to the rope, they were instructed to stand backwards and keep backing up until half of each of their feet hung in the air, the other half touching what ...

Every day at the pool, the kids have a "Check In/Check Out" board they have to use to let the lifeguard know who's in the pool. Each kid swims with a buddy and every camper is taught to respect the water and water safety. Swimming isn't an Eagle-required Merit Badge for nothing. O.K. For all the Moms, let's get the nutritional concerns out of the way right out of the gate. Yesterday's menu was as follows: Breakfast: French Toast Sticks, Sausage and Apple Juice Lunch: Hot Dogs, Potato Chips, Sugar Cookies and Peach Kool-Aid Dinner: Pasta Surprise (we call it that because I'm sure if we had any idea what was in it, we'd be completely surprised), Garlic bread, Green Beans, Peaches with Whipped Cream and...Peach Kool-Aid. Clearly we are eating well (:]) but truthfully, it's hot and when it's time to eat, the taste really doesn't matter. Yesterday was a full day with the kids starting their Merit Badges and Trail to First Class Activities. They ...

Marvin Atkins has been at Camp Geiger for more than 35 years. To put that in perspective, he started here when Richard Nixon was President. And some of us were taking our first steps. Put another way, when you look at his necklace, he got one set of those beads for each year of service here. Talk to him for even a few minutes and it's easy to understand why Marvin is a favorite with both the kids and the parents. He oversees the shooting and archery sections of camp and runs the "Buckskin Games" area at the base of the hill where our campsite sits. He'll tell you it's the most popular spot in the whole camp. He's probably right. Then again, what's not to like? A former soldier and policeman, Marvin is like everyone's favorite grandfather - patient, sarcastic and eager to teach. All with a healthy dose of curmudgeon thrown in to command respect from the kids who need to understand both the fun and safety requirements of throwing tomahakws and knives and...

What a beautiful day to be in Missouri! Pretty hot today, but the sun was shining and the bugs were few. This morning all the kids got checked in at the pool and tonight, they all got checked in and signed up for their Merit Badges. In between, there was plenty of time to check out the camp, loiter in the Flaming Crow coveting a new knife, T-shirt, hat or some animal pelt that's sure to make it to the top of the trunk for some unsuspecting Mom to find on Sunday. Also, this just in - Slushies are now $1 a piece, but in cups that are 30% larger. Yea!!!! In addition, the lineup now includes Huckleberry (a very refreshing blend of grape and raspberry with a lovely bouquet and a pleasant aftertaste), Lemon-Lime (not great. It's Toxic Avenger green but a few kids have already had 3 so what do I know), and of course, Strawberry, Blue Raspberry and the ever popular blend. Tonight was our first night in full Class A uniforms and everyone looked super sharp. Apparently, the staff agreed ...

It's been said that Lord Baden Powell, the founder of Boy Scouts, once commented that "summer camp is where boys go to be men, and men go to be boys." Nothing could be more true. At 7:58 a.m. yesterday morning, (officially, 2 minutes early) the prep team and our giant Penske truck packed to the gills, left Grace for another incredible week at Camp Geiger and enjoyed another easy, enjoyable trip up I-35, across Oklahoma and Kansas and on into Missouri. As expected there was bonding worthy of a SuperGlue endorsement and despite all the talk of "dropping a few" this week, we feasted on mouth-watering cake balls in every amazing flavor, brownies, cookies, rice krispy treats and lots of other delicious goodies! Thanks Moms! For 548 miles it was sunny and perfect driving weather, but as if on cue (for those who remember the storms from last year) the second we hit the Camp Geiger front gate, it started to rain. Not hard. Just enough to let us know where we were. For a...

Spring Camporee - May '09 This year, for our spring Camporee, we headed to a great piece of property in West Flower Mound a few miles north of Texas Motor Speedway. It was a huge, grassy field with plenty of space for all the Camporee events and activities including archery, a pond crossing on a wooden raft, lessons on taxidermy and blacksmithing, tomahawk and knife throwing and much more. Late Saturday night, all the troops present held their tapout ceremonies for Order of Arrow, but not before the Eagle Award for Outstanding Troop based on performance in all the Camporee activities was awarded to... Troop 451! Mr. Taylor and Mr. Mussman prepare for a great non-stop weekend! Tired? Who's tired? We're ready to bring home that Eagle trophy! Now, where's breakfast? That's right! We're the senior leadership! A couple of the first year scouts cookin' up a fantastic breakfast! No Pop Tarts for this patrol! Before the Troop heads out for all the Camporee activitie...