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Well the canoe trip was a blast this year. The days where mostly sunny and, with the exception of a couple slight showers, they were great. Yes that's right, it seems like only yesterday that we were all piling into the cars to get to the river. Yeah, those were some good times. Once we got there, after a long car ride with Mr. Burke (man was that bad), we arrived at our campsite. And to my great delight it did not have stray pieces of cars or other sharp metal instruments protruding from the ground. From there I could already tell it was gunna be great. I mean how can you beat not having to get a tetanus shot during a camping trip! After a nice long night's sleep we once more got into the cars to head to our canoe pick-up-station and begin our great adventure. Upon our arrival I immediately spotted a nice canoe for me and my canoe buddy, Dan Wanninger. After getting our gear piled into the canoe, we set off into the great unknown. It being a sunny day and all, me and my partner-in-crime decided to have a little fun. Our first victims, I really don't remember, but let me tell you they suffered at the hands of BIG MOMMA (a water gun the size of the canoe) for the whole trip. After a small shower and lots of destruction we made our way to the camp site. It was a nice little island where we had "good times." The second day it rained. Not that much but it still rained. After a while we decided the heck with it and had some fun by forging the river backwards. Yes sir me and Dan were the bravest of the bunch, let me tell you. And that's not all kids, we also conquered the X, Y and Z rapids with little difficulty. Although unlike some people we didn't get stuck on rocks. And even though 3 years after Dan lost his brother in those rapids we still were brave in the face of great danger. After reaching our campsite we dried off and sat down for a well-deserved meal. The last day was very short. You see to our great dismay the canoe pickup was not even a half a mile from our last campsite. So with this we left the river with heavy hearts and remembrance of the fun times we all shared. -Jeff Narus The canoe trip was definitely a blast, as Jeff explained. The weather definitely followed the old custom of sunny Saturday, soaked Sunday, but hey, it was educational. That's right, the weekend proved to be an excellent opportunity for many of the younger scouts to learn new outdoor skills and for all to brush up on old ones. One thing's for certain, our culinary skills reached their apex on this trip. The adults showed us a thing or two with Mr. Grimes and his chili and Mr. Moshier and his fajitas. Mr. Baumiller even cooked up a little of his secret family recipe for cobbler, though it resembled simple pancake batter and cherry pie filling. We caught wind of a few ingredients, but I'm afraid we'll never know the secret ones. Water battles were not as popular this year, compliments of the weather, but there were a few epic battles. Mr. Grimes owned the river with his Jolly Roger and its foreboding flag. The sites were excellent, particularly the island we stayed at the first night. Ahh, that was when we discovered that Brad had brought two right shoes. The area was beautiful, dotted with wild flowers and covered in a nice padding of pine needles. Overall, everyone had a great time, despite the omnipresent liquid sunshine. The canoe trip proved once more to be a favorite. -Dan Wanninger |
