Father & Son's campout

I took Michael, Andrew and Jared on the father & son's campout on Friday. I started out in a pretty bad mood while packing. Work had been less productive than I'd wanted and that never leaves me happy. Angela straightened me out on the bad mood side before we left and then I had a much better time. I didn't even take a tent, we just pulled the two middle bench seats out of the van and slept there. I didn't want to contend with the drizzle, and our tent is a pain to set up. We took Caleb with us as well. He's a boy from the ward in my 11 year old scout patrol whose parents are on vacation in Europe at the moment. Barley the dog also came. I actually had a good time there. Greg, one of the medical residents in the ward, worked his way through med school in a bike shop, so we talked about bikes for a while. I shot the breeze with the other fathers as well. It was nice. I took the traditional hike with our boys and Caleb in the woods. The boys all grabbed sticks and beat on weeds while building an elaborate fantasy about ninjas. They were having a great time. No one got poison ivy at all this year and we were all grateful.

Barley was so well behaved I took him off of his leash for most of the campout. On the hike he was casting back and forth in front of us at a perfect range for a gun dog. He comes running full tilt when we call him (It looks like he's going to smash into you, but he doesn't) and he'll heel, sit and everything. It's amazing what the right combination of treats, praise, pinch collars and e-collars can do! Barley even went on point a few times. There aren't really any game bird where we went camping, but robins and pigeons were high on his mind. Once he pointed a bumble bee. I had to laugh. He tried to catch it, but luckily it got away. I don't want him thinking that pointing will get him stung in the mouth. We were stiting at the campfire and he locked up on point at something. We all looked around and saw three robins about 20 yards away. I walked up to him, encouraged him, and he eased forward as they moved off. Perfect. When he rushed them they flew away, also perfect. I don't want him to think he can catch game birds when we hunt, just find them and hold them with a point so we can get a decent shot, then fetch them when they fall. I hope to start training him on game birds soon, and this summer we'll leave him with my friend that trains dogs professionally while we are at Shelley's wedding.

Someone brought a projector and showed "Cars" to the kids once it was dark. That seemed to hold their attention for a little while, then the kids drifted off and mostly just adults were talking while the movie played in the background. The boys all ran around playing at lightsaber battles. Jared got whacked in the jaw and wailed loudly until I asked if it was so bad that he needed to lie down. In that instant he was cured and felt fine and jumped back into the fray. There was no bruising the next day so it probably wasn't a life threatening blow. It got a bit chilly out and we crowded around the fire and talked more. It was nice. Around midnight Jared actually asked to go to bed. I think his exact phrase was "I'm tired, my legs hurt, and I WANT TO GO TO BED!" So we did. I got all the boys (and Barley) into the van and we went to sleep. I took the only remaining bench seat, everyone else just made do.
At 3:45am Andrew woke me up and wanted to go start the fire. He told me he had just checked and the ashes were still warm. He got told that he wasn't to make another sound until at least 6:00. So he stayed awake in the front seat and pushed the button on the radio every five minutes to check the time. At 6:00 he got me up, and Andrew, Michael and I got the fire going. Only one other boy was yet awake, so I had to keep the boys from whooping and hollering as they got the fire going. It didn't matter much, though, as at about 6:10 a worker at the campground fired up a blower and walked all around the camp blowing non-existent leaves off of, well, dirt. Everyone else got up soon after that. We ate breakfast and chatted some more. After a few morning sprinkles cleared the bishop launched a few model rockets that drifted into the trees. We then packed up camp, put out the fire and policed the area.

Angela came up and got Andrew, Jared and the dog. Michael, Caleb and I went with the rest of the scouts on a 15 mile bike trip to cover requirements in both the camping merit badge and the cycling merit badge. Caleb had never ridden on a bike with "gears" before. He has a BMX bike that works great for kicking around the neighborhood, but not for going 15 miles. Andrew was kind enough to let him borrow his road bike, and we attempted to give him a "crash" course in both shifting and riding a bike with skinny tires and narrow handle bars. And it did result in a few crashes, but he caught on relatively quickly. There were seven boys and two adult riders, (Greg and I) with one adult standing by at base camp with the vehicle in case of a crash (Lane). We rode around Stony creek lake three times to get in the mileage. Caleb and Michael were the youngest ones there, and they were consistently at the head of the group. I was so pleased with them. Some of the older boys had a really hard time. Especially when we wouldn't let them quit and finish another day. They could have quit, but it would have meant they'd have to do the entire distance again another time. They opted to keep going, but only barely, and one in particular whined the entire time. I hope he outgrows that particular trait while yet in his youth. Greg and I raced down a hill on the last approach to the base camp, and we clocked 32.2 mph over the stretch. I think that's the fastest I've ever gone on a bike. On the way home Michael and Caleb crashed in the back of the van. They didn't even want to stop to eat, and for growing boys, that's saying something. All in all it was a great trip, and I'm really glad Angela brought me to my senses and helped change my mood.

After we dropped off Caleb and came home Michael went off to continue his nap. Angela and I went to the movies last night to see Spiderman 3. I liked the thematic elements in their attempts to acknowledge the foibles of human nature. Angela was annoyed by some of the CGI affects and that it wasn't true enough to the comic books she read as a child. On balance it was an OK show. Now I'm off to prepare a Sunday school lesson. I'm substituting in the CTR 6 class for the next month and am looking forward to it. TTFN.

-Troy