Sunday, November 12, 2017

Hunters

Oct. 2017.

Got a couple good hunting pics.  Kiowa and Zach both got their deer this year.  Both are responsible young men and took their deer humanely.  The Boy Scouts teaches boys to respect and take care of the environment.  These are the types of hunters that do not give us a bad name.





Tuesday, October 31, 2017

False Paintball and Horseshoe Canyon 10/21-10/22/2017


We were going to go camping and take the paintball guns.  Two things went wrong.  It snowed about 4 inches and our little man in charge of the paintball guns forgot to put in the CO2 canisters.  It was a fun trip despite that.  We were originally going to go over by Conant Creek but the way the wet snow was coming down I figured the roads would be too greasy for a trailer.  As it turned out, going to Horseshoe Canyon instead, we had a little bit of trouble on the greasy wet road but we made it there ok.   Good idea we didn't go to our original place because those roads can get awful muddy and deep.

Those who came were, Chase, Kiowa, Dalton, Josh and Zach.  Myself and Andrew were the leaders.  It was snowing really heavy for awhile so we stretched a tarp out for a shelter since our awning got destroyed last year by some kind of whirlwind.  We cooked dinner which was hamburgers.  As usual we had hot dog buns for hamburgers.  Typically we have some sort of funny thing happen like that.   The boys were good-natured about it.  

The boys went to bed early which is weird for a campout.  Me and Andrew stayed outside around the fire, which for some reason, kicked out the perfect amount of heat.  I was going to sleep under the tarp originally but because of the snow I decided to put up my tent.  The snow made a nice cozy soft bed under the tent.  Andrew slept under the tarp and did very well.   

We got up that morning and had oatmeal for breakfast.  I put my paintball gun together and started popping off shots to get the boys moving out of bed faster.  Then I realized we did not have any CO2 cannisters.  The boys were a little bit disappointed but we will have to find time to do it some other day.
Kiowa brought a box of completely frozen hamburgers.  We just kept flipping them over like one big pancake until we could break them apart and cook them.

The boys tents.  Josh and Zach in the first one and Chase, Kiowa and Dalton in the far one.

Not sure why but this fire really kicked out the heat and dried out clothes out fast.

Our makeshift awning


cooking

my tent

Morning comes and we  find Andrew under the tarp








This is a video of Chase trying to throw my paintball grenade since we had nothing else to do.  It turned out to be a dud and just spurted to the ground

Somebody found my phone




Sunday, October 1, 2017

Mike Harris Campout Sept. 2017

Kiowa helps Heber catch a fish

This was actually the funnest and easiest campout we have ever done.  We only had Gabren and Kiowa spend the night.  Chase came up for dinner and to fish but left around 10 pm.  We were bummed that we didn't have the majority of boys, but it was still fun.

 I brought Quinn and Andrew brought Heber and Henry.  They all had a blast even though only a couple brought a fishing pole.  If they weren't fishing they were spearing or just playing in the water.  We had a spare fishing pole in the scout trailer and the boys that didn't have poles shared that.  Only a couple fish were caught.  
We found some new entertainment around the fire with sprayable sunscreen which turns out to be quite flamable.  We roasted hotdogs and had chips for dinner and then for breakfast cooked sausage and eggs.  Kiowa and Gabren had to leave really early for football practice so we had to get up really early but we had breakfast done and camp put away in time.





Andrew catches a log that has somebody's lost bobber on it.

All the boys on the pier thing.  You could see quite few fish down there.












Sunday, September 10, 2017

Gravity Factory, Sept. 8, 2017

Playing dodgeball, Andrew looks formidable
Those that went to Scout Camp and got at least 2 merit badges were allowed to come to Gravity Factory.  We had other incentives for who got the most merit badges and other things but I figured that everybody would at least be able to get 2 merit badges so we could go to this.  In other words, I set the bar quite low, so it was a given that all could enjoy bouncing on the trampolines.  It took us awhile to be able to come up with a day that all could attend, but we finally did it.  This was a blast.  I enjoyed watching all their antics and the stuff they came up with.  By the way, the prize for getting the most merit badges at scout camp was an AR looking pellet gun with a scope, and it was handed over to Zach this evening.

Those present were Chase, Dalton, Kiowa, Zach, Gabren and Josh.  Carson and Robert were not able to attend.  Me and Bro. Andrew Leavitt drove.  Andrew bought an hour's worth of jumping while the rest bought 2 hours of time.  I did not jump as I was a little worried about the extra crack and my temporary crown as this last week I had broken two teeth.  I'm not that nimble anyway.

This is a great place to go.  From all accounts it is much better than I-Jump.  We may do this again sometime depending on how well these guys behave over the next few months.

The boys jumped and played and they were pouring sweat the whole time, but they barely slowed down.  The highlight was a contest to see who could jump the highest over a stick that one of the workers held.  Everybody lined up and they got three bounces to get their height up and get over the stick.  Quite a few got out the first few tries.  Dalton, Chase and Kiowa made it a little farther than the rest.  At the end though, it was Dalton who dominated the game.  I call him the "Vertical Deer".  I have below a few videos of the event.  I didn't catch on to  what they were doing until most of them were out,  but at least I got some videos of the last few attempts.  You will notice in the video that the guy was standing on a block to get the stick up high enough.  At the end it was between Dalton and another boy and a girl and you can see that in the video, until Dalton wins.

We ate some ice cream at Dairy Queen on the way home, and rather than being dead tired they chattered lively the whole way home.  If a boy falls asleep on the way home, or they don't talk much it means it was just an ok activity.  If they chatter the whole time when they should be dead tired, it was a great activity.




Dodgeball.  This video cracks me up.  If you look at the upper right corner you can see Kiowa jumping in his own world.  They should have been playing the song "Dancing with Myself" by Billy Idol.
Dalton and Kiowa make it and then Chase hits the stick


Dalton messes up but they give him another go and he gets over fine.  Kiowa hits the stick.


The girl gets out


Its now down to another boy and Dalton.  Dalton gets over fine


The other boy doesn't quite make it this time.  Notice that the worker is standing on a block and the stick is as high as his head.  Dalton gets over and just touches it.


Dalton finally misses




Tuesday, August 1, 2017

Teton Valley Lodge District Event, May



Those present were,
Dalton, Chase, Josh, Kiowa, Robert, Antonio, Bowdy

Leaders:
Aaron, Myself

Kids:
Alex, Brayden

Fathers: Shane


Not sure what dance Shane is doing


The Grand

Camp at sunset


My backpacking tent

The Kearsley clan and our trailer.  Alex, Aaron and Josh



Robert and Bowdy



There's a good chance I'm going to catch a fish!





And here it is

Chewy Chase strikes again









Bowdy still showing off his fish.  Cody Kaufman in the back, Kiowa, Dalton and Alex



Chase brought us deer steaks





Not Chewy Chase now but Chef Chase




They slept around the fire all night









Gmorning Chase

Shane, Cody somehow ended up sleeping in our chairs even though he's not in our troop, and Chase


Kiowa the cook and Aaron

Shane, Dalton, Chase, Brayden



And Little Teapot Josh is born.

Josh had left his phone lying around and the leader of the event found it.  In order to get it back Josh had to sing "I'm a little Teapot" in front of the whole group.  I wish I would have video'd it but it caught me off guard and I wasn't ready





Learning the basics of fly fishing



First aid with Bob Foster



Learning to cast a flyrod


















Did he die?

Kiowa wake up!






Robert hangs on for dear life while riding the trailer to learn  how to tie flies






Brian Berry explains how a fly rod is like a bow and arrow





Learning to tie










and now we get to put our new found skills to the test



Chase, with the help of Brian almost catches one