Cub Haunted Scout Camp

"Do Your Best"...It was time to go on our first overnighter camping trip with the scouts. Our destination was Camp Seqouyah near Mt. Cheaha. The boys were very excited, and so was I thinking about how great it would be to do this more often. Temperature in the upper 60s, and sleeping on a cot in an adirondack style tent...How bad could it get?

Our initial time at the camp included some games which were similar to a harvest carnival games. Not real impressed, but Sam and Davis are HUGE fans of cheap toys and easy games. :) Can you see Sam above in his disguise? Next Sam got to practice Archery. He first had to learn safety rules and then the proper way to load his arrows and shoot. I was impressed, he followed the directions well, and hit the target on his third try. He also gets to earn his first belt loop for his work in archery.

After Archery we had dinner at the dining hall. This was a great place and had lots of room for the 400 scouts and scout families staying the night. Unexpectedly had a really good dinner of chicken fingers (or they looked liked chicken fingers and had a yellowish tint I have never seen before on food), veggies and bread. After dinner, we went on a Haunted Hayride, and get this...the tractor "broke down" right near a patch in the forest that had strobe lights. So we had to get out of the tractor and walk through this area of ghouls and goblins.

Here is where I had a problem. Davis was frightened and saying he didn't want to go. Sam wanted to go but not without me. So I threw Davis up in my arms, and told him to close his eyes, and lean into my neck. Then we were on our way. Let me just say that I hate these events where stuff is jumping out every which way causing near bladder leaks and irregular heart beats, but we pressed on...Davis jumped and squalled the whole time, while Sam was laughing at every gross scene we passed. Sam waved at the Wolfman as he jumped out at us. I know he was scared too, but he played it pretty cool. Davis...not so much.

We finally made it back where "luckily" there was another tractor ready to pick us up and take us back to the campsite. Sam and Davis where then laughing as the tractor driver continuously could not figure out how to get back to the campsite, and we had fun telling him which turn to make and hoping we were right. :)

Back at the campsite, they had a crafts area set up. Perfect for Sam and Davis, we made a Scary Halloween House made of Popsicle sticks, a pumpkin made of rolled up string, and a Bat again made primarily from a posicle stick and stickers. It was then time for the BIGGEST campfire. This was a fun time to sit in front of the fire as the scouts performed some skits and even had a ghost story about a ghost that lost his "Hairy Toe".

After the bonfire, they had what they called a cracker barrel, which was basically cookies and hot chocalate. They also played a Scooby Doo Movie while we enjoyed the snacks. This would be the end of our easy going night. I knew with temperatures already in the 40s, and expected to be down to 30, we better enjoy this warmth as long as possible. So we did, we stayed in the dining hall till about 11 then made our way back to the tent.

So I got the boys some new socks and double socks and then sleeping bags and then blankets and we went to bed.

Then 12:30 AM I woke up freezing. So I checked on the boys and they were OK

Then woke up at 02:00 AM...to the sounds of coyotes...boys still OK

Then woke up at 03:30 AM...to the sounds of coyotes much closer...boys still OK

Then woke up at 05:00 AM...Davis whining...Sam basically snored all night. I squeezed close to Davis and he finally got back to sleep.

Up at 6:00 AM and then I went ahead and starting getting ready to leave. Sam and Davis were not so chipper in the morning as it did get down to 31 degrees as we read on Davis' thermometer he got at the trading post the previous night (Sam got a compass). But we made it up, and to make it back to church on time I loaded up everything on my back and we hiked back to the dining hall for breakfast, then on to the car to load up. Davis did not stop talking the whole Hike back..."My knees hurt...I can't make it...How much further..." Look at his face below. He was definately struggling, as was I, but we made it through, and except for the extreme cold, we had a great time.