Jordan Craters

This February we decided to head over into Oregon to Jordan Craters. It is a big lava flow with some volcano like craters, once of which was active only 100 years ago! There are lots of caves and lava tubes to be explored. The weekends leading up to the camp out were sunny and almost warm so we thought the weather would be perfect. But just as we hit the Idaho Oregon border, the snow began to fall. Luckily, the further we drove the less precipitation we got. We were dry in our campground until morning. We awoke to icy snow everywhere. The boys had opted to sleep in a cave and were relatively warm and very dry. They did however have some little visitors (mice) that made their way into the Scout's bags in the night and helped themselves to M&Ms and other goodies. After breakfast we explored the craters and some good sized caves but soon the snow and wind picked up so we called it a day and headed home.

Loaded up and ready to go. The snacks were already open.

The boys setting up their sleep gear in their cave.

Other side of the cave. They really couldn't have fit any more boys.

The Grubmaster whipping up some Skybaby Special. It was delicious.

We tried out a backpacker cheesecake recipe. It turned out great!

No snow when we went to bed but we woke up to this.

It was more ice than snow.

The smart ones slept in the cave. This is the entrance.

Time to wake up! Everybody claims they slept warm enough. 

Maybe it was all the mice nestled up with them.

The mice got into this Scout's M&Ms and ate every one of them!

Our campsite.

The largest crater. We hiked down into the center. 

The picture doesn't do it justice, it is very big.

The snow actually accentuates the lava flow details very well.

Hiking around the crater rim.

Celebration Park

Still catching up with blog posts. This was a campout that we took in November 2013 to Celebration Park. This was the first campout to include both the infamous Sky Baby Special (dinner) and Hells Canyon Delight (breakfast). It was also on this campout that the Scouts were introduced to the legend of Maggie (the lone surviving member of a family plane crash in the Owyhees who has survived off of the land and scavenging from Scout troops since childhood). The next day we hiked around and looked at the petroglyphs and other sites.

The firemaster and leader working on the fire.

Dish duty after breakfast.

Chopping wood.

One of the Scouts improvising and using some socks as gloves.

Cheesy pose.

One of the many petroglyphs in the area. 

I think they found one of Maggie's hiding spots.

This was the alleged grave of the infamous De-Fabio. 

May he rest in peace.

Bruneau Sand Dunes

I've still got a few old campouts to get uploaded. This was a trip we took back in October 2013. Its funny to look back at the photos and realize how much the boys have grown up in a year. We were working on the astronomy and orienteering merit badges. There is an observatory in Bruneau and they set up multiple telescopes at night so you can look at the moon, planets and stars. It was a very cool experience. The next day the boys worked on a land navigation course and then we played in the sand.

Cutting some wood for the fire.

Our campsite.

The boys burning tumbleweeds. We eventually had to 

stop this particular activity as the fire grew to be very large.

Looking for their next point on the orienteering course.

Playing on the dunes.

The boys didn't seem to mind getting sand everywhere.

Waiving to the camera.

Made it to the top.

View of the surrounding area.

Walking back to the truck.

The Scouts did some races down the hill.

Givens Hot Springs

In November 2014 the Ice Age Bacon Patrol went to Givens Hot Springs for a little winter camping. We arrived after dark and quickly realized that camping space was at a premium. There were a lot of scout troops there! We found a spot, set up camp and went swimming. We tried getting some pictures but the steam inside the building fogged up the camera immediately. We played some water basketball, ran outside and rolled in the snow, and tread water to the point of exhaustion (all for a soda). Afterwards we ate, played some night games and slept. The next morning we played some mountain cricket, a favorite on scout trips.

We had our Young Mens President chaperoning to keep us out of trouble. 

I think we actually were the ones keeping him out of trouble! 

Meditating by the fire.

Getting ready to bed down.

Mountain cricket. Batter UP!

Looking like a pro.

Waiting for the pitch...or the bowl?

The ball consists of a rock wrapped in duct tape.

Ready to swing.