Down on the Blackwater River

Another awesome boy scout adventure.  I can truly say this now a few weeks later, but after that first day canoeing 18 miles with a small bottle of warm water...not so cool.  This was one of those trips that seemed better for me once back in civilization retelling the funny stories that happened.  But when I take my self back to that trip, the first thing I remember is my aching shoulders.  But a few memories in no particular order that make me, Sam and Davis laugh... 

This was Riley Sams first trip with the boy scouts, and me and Sam laughed watching him washing sand off all his camping gear only to bring it back onto the sand to get it packed up...and once on the sand, the gear got sandy again.  You could NOT avoid the sand...Sam was still shaking sand out of his tent at our campout 3 weeks later. 

My buddy Davis was also learning about being a boy scout, and kept asking me what he could and could not do, but my philosophy on these trips is to try and stay out of their business, so I told him to do whatever he wanted...in all cases but eating snake.  That story comes later, but puke and poop are not fun in the car going home, so I was avoiding any sanitary issues with snake eating...anyway, this was a long intro to say that Davis began his coffee drinking on this trip.  Don't know if you are still drinking coffee Dave, but here is where I first saw you sitting on the river sipping coffee, and looking cool. 

Davis and cream soda...I wrote this down, but don't have more than this...Davis will try about anything, and cream soda is just nasty...but he got it when we were back at the canoe shop, and tried to drink it.  I think the coffee probably was better for him. 

Near the first of our journey, one of the recent Eagle Scouts jumped out of his canoe and chased after a cottonmouth swimming thru the water.  Harley Gerald ran thru the water shouting with joy "This sucker will kill you".  I have never seen craziness like that outside of TV, but that guy is fearless, and he actually cut the thing nearly in half with his oar.  Then picked it up to show the other boys, and let them know also that "This sucker will kill you".  I felt bad for the other guy in his canoe, Eli, who just kept rowing and hollered back at Harley "I am not stopping, just catch a ride with someone else".  Harley later cooked and ate that snake...some guys have more scoutness than others. 

I rode in a canoe with Dirk, and he could steer the canoe pretty much anywhere we wanted to go.  So I noticed that we were heading right at one of the scouts canoes that was turned horizontal to the river.  I think we could have missed them, but Dirk figured we would give them a love tap.  That tap came right as Cole Anderson was peering over the edge staring at something in the river, and that tap changed his direction just enough to make him faceplant into the river out of his canoe.  And onward we went laughing at our accidental steering event. 

Scott can’t steer a boat...I could explain that the technique is backward logic, and it makes no sense to me, but I will just leave it that I can NOT steer at boat.  I don't think Dirk will ever let me in the back of a boat with him ever again, as I took him into about every tree that we could hit.  I mean, all it took was for him to say don't hit that, and sure enough I steered us right into it.  Dirk basically said that if I was his kid, he would have had to beat me.  The next morning his son did the morning devotional on the river, and had an excellent lesson on "Who is in the boat with you", then talked about only a fool couldn't steer a boat...I immediately looked at Dirk who was looking at me smiling. 

Cole Anderson walking up to the new scout Everett and saying in his monotone humor "What's the matter with you, you can't be a boy scout letting your daddy cook all your meals".  Then Cole went one to cook about 5 courses of food on his jet boil.  Me and Sam cracked up laughing at him pouring out some of his food right into the river.  Don't really know all the rules here, but watching his spaghetti noodles dripping into the river just was funny. 

I remember running to Sam as he was the last one in the first night, and seeing his face as I handed him an ice cold water. Yep, we have learned an entirely different way to pack for next years trip on the water. 

Davis can’t stay out of water...just look at the pictures...that boy was in the water with every chance he got...and rode in the canoe with Mr. George the scout master.  Mr. George would let him jump on the bank and run along the banks then jump back into the boat...that is where he found a turtle shell, boston red sox hat, and pink float. 

Prior to boarding our canoes, we stopped for breakfast at Hardees.  All were instructed to get a Combo #1 thru #8.  Well I was at the very end of the line, and the Hardees Breakfast Platter (Not a combo) looked so good, and I figured no one would even notice because my meal would come after everyone else was eating, so I ordered it.   Then wouldn't you know, they called out VERY FIRST "Hardees Breakfast Platter, this was the ONLY one, so we fixed it first".  I quietly grabbed my breakfast as everyone else was hungrily staring at my meal...then walked past all of them and began eating my meal. 

A quick stop at Priesters on the way home

Hot Lunch on a hot day on the river.  We cooked our lunch with a jet boil...and watched others pull peanut butter and jelly and cold oranges out of their coolers...We will do better next time. 

Poor Packing...see all stories above...We did not pack food/water very well.