Camplore

I wear a Boy Scout uniform at least once a week, usually twice a week, and frequently on the weekend as well. It’s not my best color, khaki, but I have a hard time coming up with anything more appropriate when I’m headed out with my favorite group of camping and activity friends.

I grew up in scouting - Girl Scouting, mind you. I frankly was at a loss when God blessed me with two boys and it was clear that if I was going to resume scouting, it was going to be Boy Scouting. Thankfully, the organization finds a place easily for moms and other volunteers who aren’t only of the “dad” variety, as my sons’ father is certainly not cut of olive cloth, or khaki for that matter. Being a divorced mom, I sought a place to nourish my need for the outdoors with adventure and fun for my boys, and found it in Boy Scouting.

It’s pretty easy to fit into Cub Scouting as a mom. The challenge gets to be as the boys get older, such as in Webelos and Boy Scouts. There are certain guidelines and rules that really must be followed in order to make campouts reasonable for everybody - after all it is Boy Scouts. But I’m amenable to 2-deep leadership, with at least one other woman on a trip. And we found a Boy Scout troop that welcomes involved parental leadership regardless of gender, for which I will always be grateful. I participate in our district as a training chair, and continue to make sure I am abiding by the rules to make this scouting experience the richest for those it’s intended to enrich - the boys.

My eldest will age out of Boy Scouting soon, but I’m happy to say he continues to be involved in a local Police Explorers crew. With my youngest just starting Webelos, I’ll be in Boy Scouting for several more years, no doubt. It’s hard to imagine not being in Scouting… it’s just in my blood. I love the adventure of getting outdoors and sharing what I know, as well as learning something I couldn’t possibly have expected every trip. I treasure the values my sons are applying, as well as learning, and look forward to what they could mean in their lives in the future. I hope my sons will remember the support I gave them doing what they enjoy, too, and how we were able to share fun times.

And to tell you the truth, I’m glad the uniforms are being updated. It’s a reminder that times change, and scouting still brings something to the table that our children would have a hard time finding without it. Bring on the changes!

What a great day I had today. It’s beautiful in North Texas, if a little cool for the time of year. Heading out to the park I had to return for a long sleeve shirt. At the sprayground (the water was on and a few kids in it - amazing how they don’t feel the cold) I found a warm refractive section of concrete edging that had soaked up a little heat. It was lovely and quite pleasant and very busy.

Then the boys and I decided to go Geocaching. I’d read about it and threatened to go a few times with a friend, but never actually tried it until today.
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I am amused and quite intrigued to try starting a wilderness fire with a coke can and a chocolate bar…

We’ll be heading to the Lincoln National Forest in late May, when the winds start drying out the forest and all kinds of fire danger notices are issued. This looks like yet another good reason to keep those soda cans in the recycle bin where they belong, too!

By the way, what a waste of good chocolate. Make sure to use the cheap stuff.

Do these look intriguing to you? I have an itch to try them out, but haven’t managed to yet. We used to make hobo stoves, which consisted of a tuna can, emptied and cleaned, with a coil of cardboard, then paraffin wax poured in it. Then you’d take a #10 can, punch a few can-opener holes in it for ventilation, turn it over the flaming tuna can, and there was a nice hot surface to cook on. You just wanted to make sure you were going to need that heat for a while, because they could burn for a couple of hours.

But look how classy these look!
Aluminum Can Backpacking Stove
They operate on a couple of tablespoons of denatured alcohol. Too cool.

Ever smelled a Ponderosa Pine tree? Not just your average pine tree – like the Scotch pine or Blue Spruce you dragged into the house over the holidays that dropped pine needles and sap on your floor (though they are lovely in their own right). I don’t imagine many people would want a Ponderosa to decorate – they typically have a long tall bare trunk before the clump of long needles at the top.
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Corn syrup, sugar, starch, gelatin. Doesn’t sound that fascinating does it? But whip those ingredients into a 1 inch cylinder (better yet, just buy a bag of marshmallows), poke a stick through one, and suspend it over a heat source, and you have a marvel of camp lore.

Long before s’mores became the preferred camper’s sweet tooth fix was the marvel of the marshmallow.
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