Just two weeks ago we had weather in the 80’s! Over the weekend a switch was flipped and today we face a high of only 45. What has happened?
We’re not really complaining though. This weather is perfect for roasting marshmallows, gazing into blazing hot fires and snuggling into a comfy hoodie.
A fall campout just might be in the works. There really is no better time to camp.
Our little rendezvous at Ingersoll Scout Reservation this past weekend was full of fishing, hiking and freezing. However, we had a fabulous time and despite our years of camping there were some lessons learned.
Now, we did not forget anything pertinent to our survival but there were some things that would have been helpful. 🙂
Lesson #1: Fire before fishing! Yes, fishing is important especially if you want to eat dinner. Nevertheless, locating firewood (dry firewood to be exact) is vital to warmth on a cold May evening.
Lesson #2: The age of a match! Busting out an age-old patrol box and replacing ancient matches with new ones is very beneficial! Thank goodness there were two boxes and two persistent ladies present.
Lesson #3: Know your friends! When the ladies who actually get the wet firewood burning are in need of warmer sleeping bags the gentleman should be willing to relinquish their own. Just when you thought you could count on your fellow man.
Lesson #4: Frying fish requires batter! The fish have been gutted and cleaned. Dinner is about to be fixed…no batter to fry the fish. No worries Venturers can make batter out of anything: Corn Chex and Graham Crackers to the rescue.
Lesson #5: Check for seasonings! Homemade sweet potato chips are the best! Seasonings for said chips make them even better! Never fear, the dregs from the pretzel bag will work in a pinch.
All in all a superb weekend! The hiking was amazing, the fish delicious, the potato chips seasoned perfectly, the nights still freezing and a patrol box soon to be updated!
Lake Roberts
A small band of our Crew spent a lovely weekend at our council Boy Scout Camp, Ingersoll Scout Reservation in London Mills. We were supposed to tent camp but at the last moment we got an upgrade to a new and improved campsite. Tent camping was quickly left behind as we drew near to the luxury of Buckskin. The Crew was asked to try out Buckskin’s platform four-man cabins. Let us just say they were pretty fancy. If you think platform tents are nice you need to try out the platform cabins!
the AMAZING platform cabins
Our merry little band ate like kings! Chicken stir fry, delicious bacon, eggs and fried potato wedges, and a killer dinner of fresh fried fish from Lake Roberts with fried sweet potato chips! There is nothing more satisfying than having dinner of a fresh catch of fish! Outdoor fried sweet potato chips just have an extra special taste of flavor, one that cannot be ignored. Enjoying meals around the campfire is the absolutely best way to enjoy dinner!
frying the day’s catch
before they were dinner
yep, ate the whole batch
Now it might seem like all we did was eat the whole weekend but we were active too. Fishing was the mainstay but tromps through the woods were in order and one crazy nut spent a half an hour in the FREEZING creek. Making sure we had to time for a service project was also squeezed in between the rain. And we can’t forget the turtles. Someone, who will remain nameless, terribly wants a turtle of his own and decided to see how many he could find. Now just a little sidebar: No turtles were harmed or mistreated this fine rainy weekend. One turtle, Franklin, quickly found its place in our hearts. While they only remained with us for a short while, Franklin the Venture Crew 91 Turtle will always be our friend.
the crazies
our turtle friends
yes, he was crazy enough
service projecting
Escape with Venture Crew 91 