Troop 15 Scout Blog

Summer Camp 2012 Tres Ritos, New Mexico

Conrad — Sat, 21 Jul 2012 05:00:00 GMT

The base camp experience at Tres Ritos Boy Scout Summer Camp this year was one of the best of my scouting career. We won the spirit stick the first day and although we didn't win it again I feel we continued to be the loudest and proudest. The boys did a wonderful job of listening and carrying out their jobs. I was absolutely proud to be their SPL (Sr. Patrol Leader) for summer camp, and I couldn't think of a better final summer camp to have with troop 15. Yea!

See our Pictures at:

Summer Camp 2012 Backpacking Pacos Packers - 35 +/- mile hike

Kyle and Eric — Sat, 21 Jul 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Our Tres Ritos Boy Scout Summer Camp "Pacos Packers" experience wasn't like some of the others, there was a lot more walking and a lot less talking. We got to enjoy more of New Mexico than the other boys on a week long hike on a trail called pecos packers. The one we went on was a 38 mile hike through the glorious mountain ranges. We got to see fine elk trails and beautiful views. One great view, was the scenery from the top of Jicarita, a rocky climb that was worth the trouble. The food, oh the food, was horrific. Every meal was either powder or a chunky mess. The crackers that we used for the pb&j and other sandwiches were rock solid. Putting that aside though, it was all a great experience and we would recommend it to all the scouters that are going to be able to do it in the future.

See our Pictures at:

2012 Boy Scout Summer Camp, Backpacking the Pacos Packers 45 Mile Hike

Josh and Quinkie — Sat, 21 Jul 2012 05:00:00 GMT

On Monday we set out from the Tres Ritos Boy Scout Summer Camp base area on our 45 mile "Pacos Packers" hike. The next day, we climbed up a mountain to see the breathtaking view that was the Santa Barbara Divide, after a nearly a two hour break for lunch we worked our way down the mountain to Pecos Falls for the night. After a chilly night, we went on a day hike which was cut short by some summer rain and sleet. In the evening, Brent and James went to work getting a fire started to dry off by. Thursday we headed up the trail towards Middlefork Lake were our next camp was, in the process we crossed paths with the other long distance group which was camping a little north of us. On Friday, we climbed up to the ridge and hiked to Jicarita (which is the eighth tallest peak in New Mexico), we then hiked down to camp to immediately take a shower and chow down on hot dogs and hamburgers.

See our Pictures at:

2012 X-Treme Winter Camp at Tres Ritos

Quinkie — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 06:00:00 GMT

The Troop 15 (Yea!) boy scout winter camp at Camp Tres Ritos this year was the best and the coldest by far. Once we got there the cold mountain air hit us and we unpacked. We were surprised by the height of the snow, which was to our thigh and it was nearly impossible to walk through. We set up camp and prepared for a cold night. The next morning we defrosted by the fire and got ready to hit the slopes for an exciting day of skiing and snowboarding. After spending hours on the the slopes, we came back and quickly got ready for bed while the wind is quickly kicking up and the snow starts to fall. Some of us started to dig out the snow caves we had built the day before and slept in the snow fortress. The whole night people try to with stand the tough weather. The next day we kicked through the mountains of snow, packed and started our journey home.

Dave's closing blog entry

Dave Thompson — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Somewhere over New Brunswick. Our itinerary fortuitously saved the best for last. The rain couldn't spoil the goodwill that was evident everywhere at the Jamboree. Every one of our Scouts can recount numerous stories of meeting young men and women from every continent, and at least one of them did so in the other Scout's language. Several of our guys are already plotting how they might attend another event like this, or to travel abroad with a school group. As Hatcher remarked in the early evening drizzle on Friday, "it was the best day of the trip." I initially mistook him for saying it was the best day of his life, but he clarified THAT was the day he first tasted chocolate and peanut butter together. While the trip sometimes resembled a festival of moleskin and sleep deprivation, it laid down indelible individual and corporate memories. The parent in me hopes that our Scouts will go on to study European history with an appreciation for how great ideas and incomprehensible sacrifice painfully won democratic freedoms against enormous odds in societies that were often cruel and unjust. At the same time, the part of me that is a Scout leader will never forget the times I was present, in a chapel within the walls of Windsor Castle, at the American cemetery overlooking Omaha Beach, while running the trails of Brownsea Island, or strolling the narrow, crooked streets of the Latin Quarter, to hear our Scouts express wise and unexpected insights. The Scouts of Troop 15 can undoubtedly be goofy, and often downright gross, but on this trip, their radar was switched fully on when it really mattered. -Dave

Brent's closing blog entry

Brent Wheelbarger — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 05:00:00 GMT

At the beginning of our trip, en route to Paris, Dave Thompson loaned me the book, The Longest Day, Cornelius Ryan's famous account of the D-Day invasion of WWII. In the buildup to D-Day, the author described in detail the great amassing of soldiers from all over the world in Great Britain, preparing for the invasion. The book described it as "the youth of the free world gathering to save the world." I was fascinated with the depiction of the camps and accounts of camaraderie among the thousands of people, mixing from numerous countries, in preparation for that terrible battle. That same depiction overwhelmed me when our scouts first made their way to the entrance of the World Scout Jamboree. 40,000 scouts from 250 countries were amassed in one place, and we were right in the middle of it. But in contrast to the great gathering in the buildup to D-Day, we were entering a much different occasion, the largest display of good will among nations I have ever personally seen. It was as though Disney's "It's a Small World" ride exploded all over a field in Sweden. When we arrived, we were instructed to proceed to a central tower where we would take a tour of the jamboree. We never got there. Instead we were met by so many scouts from so many places; anxious to shake our hands, introduce themselves, take pictures, trade patches and such. We spent over an hour in the entryway...a jubilant atmosphere the likes of which I can't effectively describe. The rest of the first Jambo day was a whirlwind of international relations as our scouts made friends from places they can scarcely locate on a map. By the end of the day, we found ourselves on a sailing ship as the guests of a Polish Sea Scout Troop we had met earlier in the day. They invited us to share a small meal onboard their ship before they sailed off into the Baltic. I won't attempt to share all the stories and encounters we had at the Jamboree. Suffice it to say, I truly believe we were all changed in some way. We saw the very best of scouting. More importantly, we saw what the world can be on its best day. Brent

Sean's entry

Sean Johnson — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 05:00:00 GMT

By and according to Shaun J. This is day 11 and the day that the Jamboree started. We left Copenhagen and the trip there was long and several people slept on the bus on the way to the Jamboree. On the way there we crossed a 6-10 mile long bridge that we are crossing on day 13 again. In Ahus we met a man named Frederick who drove us to the Jamboree and back on both days. When we got there one of the first sights was a giant contraption made of logs and blue string and almost immediately we met some other scouts, we took a couple of pictures with them and made our way through the camp walking along wooden flagpoles with an assortment of flags from around the world. Then a few minutes later it started to rain and in Sweden when it starts to rain it rains for several hours. Several people traded their patches for others around the world, but another thing we learned was that trading neckerchiefs was also popular and a lot of people went after the Irish contingency neckerchief and Hong Kong contingency neckerchief. Then towards 5 o'clock we met back up at gateway or giant blue contraption and met some Polish Sea Scouts that invited us to their boat. They gave us a tour around their boat and we had some traditional Polish food. As we were leaving they told us they were about to ring their bell and they would depart shortly and that we could watch them. They had to contact the harbor master and get permission from him but they couldn't reach him by phone so they had to stay for a little bit longer. So we left after that and some of us had Swedish pizza. When we finished eating everyone went back to camp and fell asleep to the sound of an annoying moose or animal. The next morning everyone said that it was the best night sleep the have had in weeks.

Parrott's entry

Quentin Parrott — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 05:00:00 GMT

After waking up at 4:00am We took a 1 and a half hour flight to Copenhagen. We then met our guide for the day and our charter bus driver. The sights to see included the mansion for the queen and prince consort I believe hes called, the old harbor who's name translated into New Harbor, parliament, and an opera house donated by the Bill Gates of Denmark. After that we went to our hotel and the adults were kind enough to do our laundry. At 6:30 we went to dinner which was a dinner buffet with many choices. After dinner Jacob celebrated his birthday at the hard rock cafe with dessert. While the rest of us went to a closed Lego store that had life size Lego people in it. Now we are in our hotel going to sleep and getting up at 7:30

Copenhagen airport

Brent Wheelbarger — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 05:00:00 GMT

We got our first big glimpse of the international reach of scouting when we arrived at the Copenhagen airport. We happened to be there at the same time as waves of scouts from every corner of the world were arriving for the start of the Jamboree. The folks in Copenhagen must have felt like they were being invaded by a short army as hundreds of scouts made their way through the airport and along the hour drive across the sound to Sweden. We shook a lot of hands, but not much time to talk as we were busy going through customs, gathering luggage and such. At one point, Dave passed a scout in the terminal and said "America." In reply, the scout said, "Egypt." Just that short exchange paints a good picture of what we're likely to experience at the jamboree tomorrow.

Jaxon's entry

Jaxon Self — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Today we woke up to a glorious morning with sore backs. I was the first to wake up ,or at least get out of my tent everyone was awake from the loud obnoxious pea cocks that would not stop squawking starting around 5:00. Hatcher and I were first to put our tent away and started helping others.(including the girls in the campsite next to us) We finished packing everything around 9:30 and left Brown Sea island on the ferry at 10:00 and departed Brown Sea with a faint frown on all our faces once we docked on the shore of Poole we rushed to get to our wonderful COACH driver Brendin and slept until we arrived back in London and checked in to our hotel and our wonderful COACH driver Brendin took us to a fancy restaurant where we at some pasta with tomato sauce olives ( I hate olives) and this weird cheese. After dinner we met a guy in front of the restaurant who led us on our tour of Jack the Ripper where we learned many facts and conspiracies of the white chapel assassin the most famous and most mysterious cereal killer in the world after our tour which was very gross but interesting ending around 10:00 we went to our hotel and most of us ended up going to bed around 12:00 due to packing up our stuff and getting ready for our early wake up call for our trip to Denmark...

Jacob's post

Jacob Gilbert — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 05:00:00 GMT

AS usual we got up Very early, boarded a bus...wait, I mean a coach ( sorry Brendon). We headed the English countryside on our way to Stonehenge. When we saw it The thing that surprised me the most was the sheer size of it! It was HUGE. It was made from Blue Stone only found over 100km away. It was a really amazing cool thing to see. Next we drove to the town of Poole to board a ferry that would take us to Brownsea Island. When we arrived we ran into a troop of scouts from Britain. They told a story about how scouting originated in America and they talked with us about how scouting worked in Britain, which is quite different there then it is here. After we said goodbye to our British friends, we made our way to our campsite. When we had finished setting up camp, we went swimming in the English Channel which was a about 65 degrees. Afterwards, we met another Boy Scout troop from Brittain, and towards the evening we played a game with them that was quite popular with the scouts called letterbox, where we had to find hidden letters and place them in a letterbox for points. Afterwards, most of us were quite tired, so we went to bed and prepare to go to back to London the next day.

100's of T15 World Jamboree Pictures!

Lynn — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Check out some of the 100's of pictures our 2011 World Jamboree travelers have sent back on our Troop15 website at...

www.troop15yea.com/11-07-world-jamboree-1

www.troop15yea.com/11-07-world-jamboree-2

www.troop15yea.com/11-07-world-jamboree-3

www.troop15yea.com/11-07-world-jamboree-4

Eli's post

Eli Jergesen — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 05:00:00 GMT

This morning we got up later than usual to go to a "coach" (bus) tour. We had a special tour guide that was really enthusiastic. We were dropped off at the Tower of London around lunchtime. We were then free to choose what we wanted to eat. After we had all finished eating, we entered the Castle, which was constructed by the French to ensure their foothold on Great Britain, though it has failed to do so. Inside the tower there are many museums, ranging from the famous Crown Jewels to the half-under- reconstruction armor and weapon museum. There is also the famous "Beefeaters" (I know, great name, no idea where it came from), which are the non-commission officers, which act as tour-guides. Close to the middle of the area is a lovely green field which you can walk on, yea! However, you cannot play with any type of ball there, aw man! Also near the center of the Tower of London is a cage full of ravens. A legend goes the ravens leave the area, the tower will crumble, the Empire will fall, and the monarchy will be abolished. So... Yeah, that would be a good reason to have a cage full of ravens, i mean, we wouldn't want that to happen! :) Once we finished touring the Tower of London, the group split and one of the groups went to the British Museum and the other went to a shopping center. The group that went to the British Museum had only to be there for 5 minutes before the museum closed. At least we got to see the Rosetta stone first! We then proceeded to a shop which closed 2 minutes after we went in. Finally we went to the shopping center and sat outside the Apple Store so Eric could get wifi on his tablet to send pictures. We then went to dinner and ate Steak and Ale Pie, which is really good! On our return to the hotel, we ran into a problem with our hotel cards as they did not work, but we talked to the front desk and they were working in no time, so no worries! Congratulations! You made it to the end of my blog!

Will's entry

Will Eskew — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Early this morning, we took the Chunnel from Paris to London. We checked into our hotel at around 11 a.m., then we had lunch. Most of us ate fish and chips. Just after 1:30 we went to the Imperial War Museum and stayed until 4:45. They had an exhibit on the holocaust, an exhibit about World War I and World War II, and had real vehicles and rockets. We went straight from the museum to the London Eye. The ride took about 30 minutes. After that, we ate fish and chips for dinner. We rode the tube back to Earl's Cross and went into our rooms.

Josh's entry

Josh Hill — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Today we visited Disneyland Paris. We rode rides from Space Mountain to Indiana Jones Adventure. We stayed till 10:00 o'clock at night to watch the fireworks and parade. Overall it was a very eventful day. Tonight we will stay up late to pack our bags for London, but that's the next bloggers day.

Elija's post

Elija Noley — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Today we went to the Normandy American cemetery and went to Omaha beach ( on the coast line) it was both happy and moving to see the thousands of graves of our american troop who died to Shape our society today. We also went to a fab restrant after we took a look at the English channel and most of the scout slept the whole time on the three hour trip there and back and so did the adults for that matter also. It was what Elijah Noley calls a good day over and out

Normandy

Brent Wheelbrger — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 05:00:00 GMT

I'm not sure how much the boys really know about WWII and the events that transpired, but I'm certain they were in awe at the sheer number of white crosses at the American Cemetery just above Omaha beach. After we had walked through the memorial, Will Eskew conducted a chapel service with the help of Dave and several other scouts. Afterwards we walked through and out of the cemetery in a straight line, in full uniform. Bystanders stopped and watched as we proceeded by, talking amongst themselves as to what the occasion might be. I can't help but contrast this with our boisterous "yea's" while on bikes the day before in the streets of Paris...very different expressions of who we are as scouts. Cheerful and reverent both come to mind. In these and other small ways, we have made our mark on this wonderful country of France...and I know it has made it's mark on us. Look for a scout posting first thing tomorrow morning. Brent

SEE MORE PICTURES HERE....

Quinton Impson's post

Quinton Impson — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Today felt like it would never end! From biking around paris to walking around the Eiffel tower, our day was non-stop. After breakfast we jump on the metro to DOMINATE the streets of Paris with our palms of power. Then we went to the lourve, where we saw the Mona Lisa "smile" and I got to explore napoleons apartment. After, we hiked over to notre dame where I witnessed a church service. After dinner at a local greek restaurant we made a trek over to the eiffel tower at night! Where I had a whole panoramic view of Paris. By then we marched over like zombie to the metro, where most of almost fell asleep. All in all it fun, even though the weather was a bit cold and rainy, but hey were boy scouts!

Fat tire bikes

Brent Wheelbarger — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 05:00:00 GMT

We just completed everyone's favorite part of the trip so far, our Fat Tire bike tour of Paris. Our tour guide, who was a scout from Troop 98 in Portugal, was very cool. Once he discovered our "yea" after Troop 15, he abused it regularly. It was particularly interesting yelling yea as we rode under the arc de carousel in front of the Louvre and all the tourists looked in bewilderment. When our scouts share with their friends what they did this summer, they can tell about riding their bike...through Paris. Pretty cool. More later. Brent

Day one smooth

Gerilynn — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Bon Jour! Today was a wonderfully exciting day so full of activity I can’t begin to describe. It is very late here, & I’ve put out the last of the little “fires” and ironed out the electronic bugs. I need sleep. I wanted to quickly let you all know that the flights and arrival couldn’t have gone smoother. Everyone arrived with all their stuff and in one piece. We dropped our bags off at the hotel and set off. Nicoli, our guide, is AMAZING, and helped us break up into 3 groups to do our “free time” activities. Some visited the Arch de Triumph, some went to the catacombs and the rest went to…….okay, I’m wiped out and can’t remember or begin to spell the name. We met back up and went to dinner, cruised the river Seine and took a bus tour of Paris at dusk with a stop at the Eiffel Tower. The boys are great and were very well behaved today. We have been treated with kindness and welcome everywhere we went and everyone had a blast for our first day. I believe Hatcher blogged to the troop web site tonight and I am sending photos to Lynn next. We’ll get more detailed with these updates as we get acclimated but I just wanted to reassure all parents and family at home that we are here and fully enjoying ourselves. More to come… Gerilyn

July 19th entry: Hatcher

Hatcher Matheny — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 05:00:00 GMT

I will tell the truth, and nothing but the truth. Well, my truth. There are good things about Paris, which are pro, and bad things about Paris,which are con. 1st is the weather of Paris. In OKC it's hot and dry and everybody hated it there. However, in Paris it is nice and cool about 65 F which is a huge pro. But it rained all day long, so thet means the we were nice, cool and soaked. 2nd, are the people in France. The weird thing is that no one smiles in France. So it seems that they are hateful people. No,wrong, our guide said to us that you smile a little when you meet someone but not a lot because of some France thing a bobber I didn't hear. But if you say a few French words( like hello in French) they are nice and very kind to anybody. So all and all no one has lost anything(yet), no fights, no hurt feeling and everyone is as happy as they can be. -Hatcher Matheny

MORE PHOTOS HERE...

Atlanta report

Brent Wheelbarger — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Just a quick update. We're preparing to board our plane in Atlanta bound for Paris. Here in Atlanta, we ran into a huge group of scouts from Mexico on their way to the Jamboree. They'll be heading to Moscow first and then to Sweden. So we've already started meeting scouts from other countries and we haven't even left the United States yet. Maybe we'll see them again in Sweden. On a side note: Jaxon says he loves his mom, Elijah says he'll miss his mom and little brother, Quinton Impson says he appreciates the high five from dad, Will says no comment (then he said just kidding) everyone else is on the plane. We'll report again in Paris! Brent

Daily Jambo Updates

Brent Wheelbarger — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 05:00:00 GMT

On July 18th, Troop 15 will embark on an incredible journey to the World Scout Jamobree in Rinkaby, Sweden. Along the way, we'll be making stops in Paris, London, Brownsea Island, Denmark and the Jamboree itself in Sweden. Throughout this two week adventure, our scouts and leaders will post blog entries and pictures on this section of the Troop 15 website. Each scout in our group will have an opportunity to blog at some point in the trip.

Make sure to check it daily, or subscribe to the blog and it will come to you.

February Campout - Weather Center

Conrad, X15 Scribe — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 06:00:00 GMT

Norman weather center

Just this last weekend we attended camp Lexington near Norman Oklahoma. Saturday the scouts arose to fix breakfasts consisting of every thing from pancakes to breakfast burritos to grilled garlic chicken. At noon, we set out for the National Weather Center on the OU campus. There we got a full tour of the building and how it works. We then returned to the campsite to await our departure the next day.

X15 Tres Ritos Winter Camp

Conrad, X15 Scribe — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 06:00:00 GMT

Tres ridos winter camp.

This year on Martin Luther king Jr. Weekend, we attended tres ridos scout camp in the mountains of New Mexico. Many of the scouts built and slept in snow caves in the -16 DEGREE NIGHT for both nights. While this itself was fun, to add icing to the cake Sunday we went skiing at sippapu ski resort. On return, we ate dinner in the commissary then turned in to rest for the drive home next day.

Trapper's Rendezvous January 2011

Joseph - Troop Scribe — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 06:00:00 GMT

This is what happened at Trappers. Before I get started let this blog tell you what Trappers is about. Trappers is a camp in Newton, Kansas where thousands of scouts came here every year to trade what they don’t desire anymore. From badges to actual swords people will trade anything to get anything. It was also very, very cold.

On the Friday night it was cold, dark, and white with snow on the ground. We put our tents together 1by 1. We got done faster than you think. Then there were 4 layers of ground we had to sleep on: 1st snowy, wet ground, 2nd tarp, 3rd hay, 4th another tarp; it wasn’t that comfortable. When we woke up Saturday morning when a bugle was playing. Zilla in the Ghost patrol said “That not for us, go back to sleep.” When we woke up and it was trading, snow fights, even snow boarding all day. Not really, it was just someone pulling you on ice.

Sunday morning we packed up and got stuck in the snow. It stunk because we in such a hurry. When we left it was a long way back we were happy any way and we had traded a lot of stuff. Our memories are still there from frozen shoes to frozen hats. This was the first and most interesting camp out of 2011 this year.

Check out our pictures on this campout here...!

Troop 15 Winter Camp December 2010

Joseph - Troop Scribe — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 06:00:00 GMT

This blog is about the Galveston, Texas winter camp. From the long drive from Oklahoma City to Galveston, Texas it was long. The views were great and the people were nice. The first night on the road we slept at a church in which a lot scouts were playing ping pong. We ate Dominoes Pizza which in my opinion was great.

After we left we were heading for the Huston space center. It was amazing seeing all of the historical and not so historical exhibits were people have dedicated there lives to reaching beyond our atmosphere, some of them were boy scouts by the way. After that we went to the campsite right next to the one of the Gulf of Mexico’s bays and next to bathrooms! Next day we were soaked by the rain, and saw Ellis, a famous cargo ship, and ate shrimp made by Mrs. Johnson. The day after we went to the Moody Gardens, which we say a 4D movie version of Happy Feet where they splashed water on us and did all of these special effects and we saw an IMAX presentation of a movie called sharks were we learned about the endangered species of sharks and then we went ice skating! Also that day the new patrols tent site was flooded and so were some other campsites. The last was short and fast, but then began the long road back to Oklahoma City which lasted 12 hrs.

The trip was exciting from the long road there to the long road back home. This was also the last camp of 2010. This was a campout a lot of us scouts will remember. So as we say hello to 2011 we should always remember the times in 2010.

November Campout at Turner Falls

Joseph, Troop 15 Scribe — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 06:00:00 GMT

The campout was very windy with teaspoon of chilly weather. The cool thing was the webelos came to camp out with us. They were full of spirit and excitement from the start. Hatcher and Quentin did a good job of being SPL and ASPL for the first time on a camp out. A lot of parents and grandparents of the webelos and scouts came, making it fun. Also some exciting guest from Oklahoma University came to teach us about geology.

When we came to our campout on Friday it was dark and cold! In return we got a cracker barrel where we ate summer sausage, crackers, cheese, and drank koolaide. The night was windy making it hard to sleep for some people. The morning after was ok. We were getting ready for the duck tape Olympics in which we made items out of duck tape like wallets and hats. Cobra patrol won the wallet making competition and Ghost patrol won the hat making competition and the whole Olympics. After that Dr. Dave Thompson took us on a 6 mi. hike through Turner where we saw castles, caves, and water falls oh my!!! The hike was fun and exciting. We met up with a geologist from OU named Zaheb Rickins and one of his students named Jesse Bluementhol. After that Kyle taught the webelos orienteering while we rested. The views from the mountains were so beautiful.

That Saturday night we had campfire where we did skits, songs, and speeches. The Webelos taught us why we don’t drink out of cups that aren’t ours. The cobras told us what they wanted to be if they weren’t a boy scout. Brent and Hatcher taught us not to climb trees and there aren’t trees in Oklahoma more than 1000 ft. tall. Sunday morning Ian preached his sermon and we did a service project by picking up trash and cleaning grills. This was a campout no one will forget. :)

See pictures of the campout here:
Slideshow #1
Slideshow #2

Flight Simulator at Octoberfest

Kyle — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 18:13:55 GMT

On Monday, October 11th our Troop went to the Sportsmen Country Club for this year’s “Octoberfest”. Octoberfest happens once a year and allows Webelos to meet Boy Scouts and Scoutmasters from various Troops around our District. It provides an excellent opportunity for them to see the exciting adventures that await them in Scouting, and also hopefully helps them consider which Troop they would want to join after they “cross over” into Boy Scouts.

Our setup is always one of the most memorable and elaborate of all the Troops attending Octoberfest. This year our outstanding leaders created by far one of our best ever! Our theme this year was a space exploration to the North Star –using a flight simulator!

Our Troop 15 experience for the Webelos started with some instructions on how the Webelos could find the location of North Star (otherwise known as Polaris), and how knowing where it was may help them in times of need. Following those instructions the Webelos proceeded into another room where we built a special, moveable flight simulator. The boys leaned back and stood on a platform in front of a huge screen where a video showed some of our Troop 15 Scouts flying the space craft and telling how they could accomplish some different tasks they needed using the knowledge they learned while getting their merit badges (Communications, First Aid, Hiking, Space Exploration and other badges). The platform, or scout-powered simulator moved in sequence with the video giving quite a thrill! The exciting experience was obvious as each group of Webelos were heard screaming and laughing from all the fun. I should also say the Science Museum of Oklahoma was great and let us use their space area to film the video.

Other than our flight simulator, one of the great things about this year’s Octoberfest was that it didn’t rain! (It seems to always be a rainy, miserable evening during Octoberfest.)

If you are looking for a wonderful and exciting troop, you should take a look at Troop 15. YEA!!!

Camping at Fort Washita

Kyle — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 18:26:03 GMT

For our October campout our troop went to Fort Washita, which was an old Confederate Military fort in southern Oklahoma. The fort has a couple cemeteries, a tribal burial ground, and some old military ruins that were all pretty cool to learn about.

During the day Saturday, some of us went on a hike down to a river (which I believe was part of Lake Texoma) followed by some of us going on a hike to find a local geo-cache.

Being our October campout, it was a very spooky and mysterious campout with ghost stories being told here and there. One of the greatest parts of the campout was going on a night tour of the old fort and hearing the stories about the people who used to live there. There’s said to be the spirit of a headless woman haunting the fort, which had almost everyone scared out of their wits! The best thing for me personally was what I did to try freaking everyone out before we went on the night tour. I ran out into the dark woods next to where we were camping, and lit a candle. I waved it around while our Scoutmaster, Brent, who was in on the joke too, pointed out the mysterious light to everyone. All the boys grabbed their flashlights and came out in my direction to investigate the waving, flickering light, but luckily they never found me.

While we were enjoying the fort we met a friendly abandoned dog that followed us around everywhere we went. She (the dog) was given a lot of interesting names throughout the weekend. On Sunday morning as we were leaving, one of our Scouts, Conner, and his dad decided to adopt the dog. Conner really loved that dog and was thrilled with the opportunity of taking it home!

We worked on a few different merit badges while on the campout including Signaling and Camping. A few Scouts also caught, cleaned, and cooked some fish to work on their Fishing merit badge.

This was a fun and different campout that will definitely be remembered!