I took August to Cub Scout Winter Camp again this year, and this time I was going in prepared. Since our minivan is getting to a point where it needs to be replaced and the Millennium Falcon is simply too big to take to where we were going, the decision was made to rent a car for the weekend. Last year with snow and ice on the roads I didn’t want to take any chances getting stuck. Or worse.
We were signed up to arrive Friday night and the kids had that day off from school, so we would be able to get an earlier start than we did last year. I dropped off Déla, Ciárán and Xavier with Laura after her school got out, then armed with the knowledge of our destination’s location (since we did get lost on the way there last year), better maps, and a brighter head start, we were off. Traffic was thick and we took a major detour to get dinner on the way.
Arriving a little later than expected, but not lost once along the way, we were disappointed to find no snow on the ground. None. It would appear there would be no innertubing down the hills this time around. That’s alright, August had decided going in that he would focus more on advancement activities this year, and we did bring a couple of board games for those down times.
Getting settled into our cabin and attending the orientation it was a long time until lights out. Somehow 11pm just couldn’t come soon enough.
Getting up bright and early the next morning we had breakfast (our cabin was on the first meal rotation) and we figured out which activities we were going to do. After breakfast August and a den-mate Andrew were in the parade field directly behind the cabin trying to see if there was any snow on the hills. While they didn’t find any snow they did find a number of puddles with layers of ice.
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The two of them spent a considerable chunk of time exploring what can be done with a sheet of ice. From throwing to kicking to punching the two of them worked through a veritable resume of Hollywood stuntman activities.
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Then it was finally on to the actual activities. That was when the rain started.
It was a cold rain. And the first activity was outside. And it took a while. After that we went back into the cabin to warm up and dry off, then we went to the craft shack/trading post and worked on a crossbow kit (powered by rubber bands and shooting straws). Then it was lunch and another activity, and this one was also outside. In the rain. That cold, cold rain.
How cold? There was the threat it would turn to snow as night would fall.
I wasn’t feeling great at dinner and the rain just kept coming down. I almost left early, but there was still stuff to do, particularly with regards to the big campfire. August’s troop had picked out a song to perform, and doing so would also fulfill one of the requirements for advancement.
After dinner I asked his den leader if he would take August to the campfire when the time came so I could lay down. Everybody was in the cabin, so it wasn’t like I was going to get a lot of sleep, but at least I could just lay down and rest. The sun went down, and there was so much rain and cold the camp’s campfire was cancelled. Instead each cabin would have their own campfire in their own fire pit. This worked out great because it did start to snow.
With campfire cancelled and snow starting to fall should we leave? Well, no, because it was dark and I wasn’t feeling good. I decided to wait until morning. After getting up early because I didn’t sleep well I spent an hour trying to get the chains on the car and ultimately failing to do so. Thankfully the rental car was an all-wheel drive and the snow was still falling, which meant there would be more traction on the road than if it were bare ice.
We left early, before the closing ceremonies, which we were disappointed about, but we also knew we had a long drive ahead of us because I was going to go slow. Heck, I averaged about 20 miles an hour. I wasn’t in a hurry. We made it home and it turns out Laura and Ciárán were sick while we were gone.
So this year’s Cub Scout Winter Camp may not have gone as well as the previous year we did get more advancement activities done, didn’t get lost and still had a good time. A little disappointing but a success.