Today we rode 22 miles from Palmer lake down to Goose gossage park on the Santa Fe trail and had 3 scouts ride the distance (Zander H , Malcolm B and Geren M). We had one flat and no crashes. After the ride we had donuts, courtesy of Mrs.Burdick, then rode the jump park for a little bit. This route took right at 3 hours.
Geren M Troop Scribe
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0C4AADA829A7FE3-game
Troop,
It was voted on at the last meeting that the game night this time would be an escape room. We are researching the various rooms available here in the local area to find the best deal (groupon and all that). So, if you are interested in participating, please RSVP so we can get a good deal on a group price. RSVP at the link above the picture.
Dan
Troop,
Due to lack of participation sign up for the 14er campout, the boys decided to forego the campout and have a bike ride instead.
They planned to ride the same route we hiked from Palmer Lake to Goose Gossage Park. The route is just shy of 22 miles, but with a little loop at the end, we will round it out to the required 22 miles.
If you are interested in joining the boys for the trip and getting credit for the 22 mile mountain bike ride for the cycling badge, please sign up (RSVP) for the ride.
We will meet up at Palmer Lake at 7am and begin riding shortly after that, something like 7:15-7:20.
This is an easy ride, mostly down hill-ish and on a walking path (Santa Fe trail).
Required equipment includes a helmet and a pack with the 10 essentials. Also, bring a snack or two and maybe a light lunch.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0C4AADA829A7FE3-mountain
Dan
Troop,
This week we have camp prep for this weekend’s 14er. We will discuss camp location as well as first aid for injuries during this type of hike.
Right now there are very few folks signed up to go, we will discuss attendance at the meeting and what alternative plans may be available.
See you tomorrow night!
Dan
Troop,
Tonight I would like for the you guys to work on a rank progress outline. This is already in your Scoutbook, however, I would like you as individuals to lean a little more forward and plan on how you are going to progress either toward ranks or merit badge completion. I can give a little guidance, but I would prefer if you came up with your own method that will work for you.
Families,
If you have any photos from Summer Camp 2019, please feel free to share via Google Photos, or email them to me and I will drop them in there. I am still learning that process, so bear with me on that one!
Next week is 14er camp prep, and since the third week of the month falls onto our post campout game night, we will move our uniform inspection to next week. Sign up here:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0C4AADA829A7FE3-14er
4th of July Flags is this Thursday. There is a need for some slots to be filled, so take a look where you can help out. Only two more to go after this one (Labor Day and Veterans Day).
I probably forgot something.
Dan
Troop,
Here is an updated listing of available merit badges that I am a counselor for. i just updated my application and changed a few badges out. If you are interested in any of the badges below, let me know and we can start work on them. FYI: I always require the workbook to be completed before I sign off on the blue card; hand written or typed is fine. Maybe typed is better, I’ve tried to decipher some of your handwriting!
As a reminder for some of our new Scouts, the process for MBs is pretty simple: 1) Pick a badge, 2) get a blue card from the Scoutmaster (signed with start date), 3) find a counselor and conduct a meeting to go over the requirements (or, in some cases, show what you have already completed), 4) follow guidance from your counselor to complete the requirements to your counselor’s satisfaction, get initials/signatures/dates/contact info on the blue card from the counselor, 5) turn in the blue card to the Scoutmaster for recording, 6) reap the benefits of having an award ceremony for your accomplishments and look good in your uniform with your sash and neatly sewn on merit badges.
Merit Badge Choice #1: Archery – 19
Merit Badge Choice #2: Camping – 1
Merit Badge Choice #3: Citizenship in the Community – 2 (Eagle Required)
Merit Badge Choice #4: Crime Prevention – 131
Merit Badge Choice #5: Emergency Preparedness – 6 (Eagle Required)
Merit Badge Choice #6: Cycling – 39
Merit Badge Choice #7: Family Life – 129 (Eagle Required)
Merit Badge Choice #8: Home Repairs – 62
Merit Badge Choice #9: Fingerprinting – 49
Merit Badge Choice #10: Metalwork – 74
Merit Badge Choice #11: Personal Fitness – 10 (Eagle Required)
Merit Badge Choice #12: Public Speaking – 90
Merit Badge Choice #13: Safety – 12
Merit Badge Choice #14: Skating – 103
Merit Badge Choice #15: Woodwork – 119
Many of the other Adult Leaders are merit badge counselors as well for a bunch of different badges (ahem-Greg-Personal Finance-Eagle Required). If you have an interest in any of the 130+ badges, one of the adult leaders is likely a counselor for it. But, just in case we are not, do not hesitate reach out to the listing provided by the council to other MB counselors (but always remember the buddy system and YPT when doing so). I can provide the link if you have any issue finding it on the council site.
Talk to you guys soon.
Dan
By now, may of you are probably tired of my posts. I get it, however, this is one of those things that has to happen. My apologies up front.
Anyway, on with the business: This coming Thursday is our third out of five flag posting dates for the year. We are lacking in some support, so if you can, please throw your name in the hat in one of the slots as a driver, navigator, or as a Scout: the ones who actually get a monetary benefit-the rest of us get to spend a couple hours during the day yelling at our kids to “hurry up” and “stop twirling the flags” and/orjust looking at the kids and saying, “seriously?”
Let’s do flags they said. It’ll be fun they said. All kidding aside, we need some help, and it really is a good program. I know, I know, i kid around…A LOT. Sign up genius link below.
Dan
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0849AAA623A13-flag
Troop,
In support of our Cycling Merit Badge, I would like to extend the invite to do a ride Saturday morning in Ute Valley Park. We will complete an eight (8) mile route in and around Ute Valley.
We will meet up at 7:45am at the Walgreens on the corner of Flying W Ranch Rd and Centennial Blvd, up the street from Ute Valley Park. We will start and end there since I anticipate limited parking at the actual park. We will head out from there at 8:00. If you show up, great, if not, there will be more rides available in the future
Required equipment: Helmet, water and day pack with 10 essentials. I will not let you ride without a helmet. Safety and all that.
Here is the sign up link:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0c4aada829a7fe3-mtb8miler
Date: 06/29/2019 (Sat.)
Time: 7:45am – 10:00am MDT
Location: Walgreens near Ute Valley Park
Parents and Scouts: remember to sign up for our next flags day on 4 July. There are a lot of open slots for all positions.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0849aaa623a13-flag
Parents and Scouts,
Today “officially” ended out summer camp excursion this year. I believe the boys had an awesome time with camp, hanging out with their friends, doing Scouting activities and learning a great deal. Overall, and by all accounts, they had a great time.
Chris and I wanted to thank you again for trusting us with your kids for the week. We enjoyed it as well. Since the Scouts were a little older, we didn’t have to be “as involved” this year, and we were able to ensure the Scout leadership was fully engaged with directing traffic.
If you have pictures or anything to post, let me know via sharing a link or however that works. Sean was better at that than I am. I will figure it out.
Our next meeting will be administrative for the adults, but mostly game focused at the church for the boys. I would like to catch up on all the rank advancement things the boys did this week and maybe even close out some SM Conferences for those who need or want them. We will pull them off one by one for those things. I will also be working on all those blue cards that the boys earned this week, and try to establish a scheme/develop a plan on completing the final requirements for those MBs that need them.
See you on Tuesday!
Dan
Troop,
We have 14 Scouts headed to camp tomorrow morning. We will meet at the barn at 1030 to load as much equipment in the trailer and my truck as possible. This is because Cris Dobbins only allows one vehicle into the camp; all others must be parked in the main parking lot. We will be able to drive up, drop the trailer, and then return the truck to the main parking lot for the week (bummer).
We have plenty of seats right now, with Blake (7), Paul (4), Chris (3), and me (3) driving. We will make seat assignments in the morning, and tent assignments will also be made in accordance with YPT and Cris Dobbins guidelines (Scout ages must be within 2 years).
Tomorrow, we sign in to camp at 1pm, which means there will not be a provided lunch. Please be prepared and bring a lunch for yourself to eat while all the check-in process is happening and we are setting up camp.
Parents, If there are any last minute meds or anything like that, please let us know tomorrow morning. Bring a signed note along with the meds, just in case the medics need something like that. I know a couple of kids are battling slight illnesses and such.
Parents/Family night is Friday night. Information can be found in the Cris Dobbins Program Guide as to directions, parking, check in times, and all that. If you want to or need to, you can take your Scout home Friday night (we have some Scouts with activities on Saturday and such). Plus, Saturday is a clean-up and get out day for us anyway, so no big deal if we lose a couple of Scouts.
I will do my best to communicate with a nightly text message to parents recapping the day’s events. You can use the text message to coordinate with other parents for car pooling or whatever on Friday for parents night. Or not, you guys can figure all that out. I just need to know by Wednesday who plans on coming up so the camp can plan for food and all that.
Anyway, enough rambling from me. If there is anything we are missing, we will try and remember it for next year. See you in the morning.
Dan
Troop,
Summer camp is here! At 1030, Sunday morning, we will meet up at the church (barn) to finish loading any required troop equipment and cross load personal gear into the vehicles we will be taking up to camp.
ASM Blake McTee will have seven seats available;
ASM Paul Durrenberger will have four seats available;
ASM Chris Gilkes will have two seats available;
SM Dan McGuire will have two seats available.
We can make decisions on who will ride where, but we will have limited ability to drive into camp all the way to our site.
Packing list if needed is available in the Cris Dobbins program guide (link at the top of the page to the 2019 Summer Camp).
Again, 1030, Sunday Morning at the barn.
See you then.
Dan
Troop,
We have all eight Scouts we need to fill the requested slots to post flags tomorrow morning and afternoon.
We only have three driver/navigator teams for the morning shift though the afternoon shift is full of all four teams.
This means we will have to split the “unmanned” route between the three teams, or have one team double up. Also, it means with only three teams driving, the eight Scouts will have to add a third Scout to two driving teams. I guess the thing I am getting at is we need an additional driver/nav team to make this whole thing really successful.
So, if there is any possibility you can drive or navigate tomorrow morning, please either shoot me and Renee a text message or just show up at the barn tomorrow morning at 6.
We are covered for pick up, we have four teams in the afternoon and it should go smoothly then, we need help in the morning, so if you can, please do.
Dan
Scouts and Families!
This Friday is our second Flag posting day for the season and we are in need of:
One more driver,
Two navigators, and
Two Scouts.
The sign up is below if you can swing it to help out and benefit the Troop in the only fund raising effort we have for the year! All the other fund raisers (Camp Cards, Popcorn, and Pizza Cards – coming soon) are to benefit the Scout only. The Troop only gets its funds from the Flag program. Troop funds go toward awards at the COH, reimbursements for troop funded activities, Scholarship funds, and pretty much anything else that the Scout is not responsible for paying for like binders, blue cards, printing stuff for COH, registration for the trailers, and serves to front money for our camp activities and pre-order of Class B uniforms and other miscellaneous items-Danny Reeves can tell you more, since he is the treasurer).
As an added benefit, the Scouts average about $70 per holiday for their Scout accounts which can be used for dues, camps, or Scouting related equipment and supplies.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0849aaa623a13-flag
Please, if you have the opportunity, sign up to help out the troop.
Yup, you’ll likely get at least one more email from me tomorrow night if the slots are not filled!
Dan
Parents/Scouts/Families!
We are in need of two drivers, two navigators and some scouts to help put out flags this Friday (14 Jun).
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0849aaa623a13-flag
Please help out the troop and sign up! Each Scout gets in the neighborhood of $70 per day that he puts out flags. These funds can be used for anything Scout related. Plus, the Troop gets operating funds so we can do all the great stuff we do throughout the year.
Dan
Parents,
On Sunday, 16 Jun, we head off to Summer Camp at Cris Dobbins, 22799 N Elbert Rd, Elbert, CO 80106.
We are in need of drivers for the Scouts. I will have myself, Chris Gilkes and our two boys in my truck, pulling the trailer.
We will need 13 more seats for the remaining Scouts. If you can, please sign up with as many seats as you can to deliver the Scouts to a place where you will not have to worry about them for a week.
The drive is about 55 mins according to Google, which is on the internet, so it is never wrong.
Here is the link for drivers. Bear with me, as I may have to adjust the sign up genius since I am not well versed at this quite yet.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0C4AADA829A7FE3-summer
Dan
Troop,
In support of our Cycling Merit Badge, I would like to extend the invite to do a ride tomorrow morning in Ute Valley Park. We will complete an eight (8) mile route in and around Ute Valley.
We will meet up at 1145 at the Ute Valley Parking lot and head out from there at 1000. If you show up, great, if not, there will be more rides available in the future. Remember, summer is just beginning!
Required equipment: Helmet, water and day pack with 10 essentials. I will not let you ride without a helmet. Safety and all that.
You can RSVP at the link below. If you sign up, please show up. We are riding at 1200 sharp from the parking lot.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0C4AADA829A7FE3-mtbride
Dan
Troop,
Our meeting this coming week will focus on individual equipment prep and finalize troop equipment load-out into the trailer.
Below are the links for the individual and troop gear lists. If you are attending summer camp (especially if you are a first time summer camper), please ensure your packing list is completed and bought to the meeting so your leadership can conduct an inspection. While not a requirement, it provides the leadership the opportunity to get used to this type of activity.
Any candy, food, snacks, etc., should be brought in a separate bag/container for storing in the trailer overnight and while we are away from the tent sites (access will be granted while we are in camp). The use of bear bins (our trailer) is required and a safety concern. At no time is food allowed in the tents to prevent the boys sleeping with unwanted companions.
A sign up genius will follow for those willing to transport Scouts to camp. We have a roster of 15 Scouts, and will need to seat them for the trip. I would like to meet up at the church on Sunday morning to head up there as a group. Accountability is way easier that way.
https://docs.google.com/document/?authuser=0&usp=docs_web
https://docs.google.com/document/d/15CQ6iFkOiTt_gKXZO105FRw9mWTFPm6pa2UKRfsPKvk/edit
Make sure all those Scouts who attended last week need to bring their books so we can give credit (mostly so the adults don’t forget when it comes time to do SM Conferences).
There were a couple of parents looking for additional information on the Flag Program. It can be found at the link below.
https://portal.clubrunner.ca/3236/SitePage/club-service-programs/flag-program
See you guys on Tuesday!
Dan
Troop and Families,
On our next meeting, we have a couple things going on.
First, we have a guest speaker, Mr. Jacob Anderson, coming to speak to us about Civic Responsibility. Mr. Anderson is from the City of Colorado Springs Civic Engagement Office, and will discuss with us the responsibilities we have inherent to living here in the USA. This will fulfill rank requirements for the citizenship portion for First Four Scouts (First Class Req 9a). (Plan for about a 30-40 minute discussion)
We will also discuss our patrol/troop equipment needs for summer camp and sort out what needs maintenance of the selected equipment. There will be some opportunity for rank advancement stuff too via breakout sessions. (Plan for about 20 minutes).
IPA: Plan for remaining 30 minutes or so.
Troop,
Today I met a few folks from the organization Focus on the Forest. (www.focusontheforest.org). They are based out of Woodland Park and basically go through our local National Forest System cleaning up after those people who leave trash around and really have no clue what Leave No Trace is all about.
As Scouts, part of our mission is to leave any area we visit in better condition than we found it. This is basically what these nice folks over at Focus on the Forest do. They have several programs which include Scouts of all kinds and even have their own “Scout Day” in September. Last year they had 94 Scouts show up and clean up parts of our forests.
The reason I am blabbering on is that this organization is a non-profit that could use all the help it can. Including Eagle Projects for those of you who may be approaching that time.
So, as there are many organizations and opportunities to serve our local area and help out with your projects (Eagle and non-Eagle, or just obtaining volunteer hours), please consider adding this organization to your list to make decisions about future opportunities. Again, this is just one of many organizations to volunteer with. I had never heard of them, and just think their mission is right up our alley, do with this information as you deem appropriate.
Yours in Scouting,
Dan
