Summer Camp is the high point of the camping year.  We went to Buffalo Trails Scout Ranch west of Balmorhea, Texas [map link] in 2004 and went back this summer the week after July 4.  Our Summer Camp Scoutmaster, Mr Marlow, sent daily reports for parents and Scout who didn’t go.

Summer Camp Trip Summary–Installment 1
Saturday/Sunday (7/7/2007 and 7/8/2007)

We took off on time and continued on schedule. We watched one movie and most of the boys tried to get some sleep on the bus. The stop at IHOP for breakfast was a big hit with the Scouts. We arrived at Balmorhea State Park around 10:30 am and after instructing the Scouts on the Safe Swim Defense allowed the Scouts and (even some of the leaders) to swim. The water was great and everyone enjoyed the break before camp. They say that it is the largest spring fed pool in Texas. We had picked up sandwiches at Subway before we arrived at the Park and ate them after lunch. The Scouts had a great appetite after the swim.

We arrived at Buffalo Trails Scout Ranch (BTSR) around 2 pm. I went in to the camp office to check the Troop in for the week and the Scouts and other Leaders prepared to unload the bus for transport to the campsite. All of sudden the skies opened up and we had a 20 minute Houston gully washer. Fortunately we had not yet unloaded anything from the bus. The rain did several things for us. It cooled down the temperature by about 10 degrees, it increased the humidity by 40%, it made the ground a little softer to put the 12 inch stakes in and it made the tents at our campsite very wet since they were folded on the ground. Unlike other summer camps the Troop has gone to in the past, BTSR does not have wooden pallets to put the tents on, so we brought ground cloths. Most of the Scouts had never put up the big canvas Boy Scout standard tents so it was interesting to see them work together. If they did not put the stakes in deep enough, their tents fell over, but eventually they were able to get all 17 tents up and get their stuff under cover since it looked like it was going to rain again. You can imagine that everyone was ready to eat at 6 pm on Sunday night. After supper we finished the setup of the camp. Lights out were at 10 pm and no one complained.

Installment 2
Monday (7/9/2007)

The SPL (senior patrol leader) and his 2 ASPLs woke up the rest of the Scouts at 6:30 am to start the day. As you can imagine many of the Scouts were moving a little slow to start the day but after we arrived at the dining hall they were awake and ready to eat. The Leaders were awake once the coffee was served in the dining hall. Breakfast was great. The day was spent making sure everyone was in the classes that they wanted to take and to make the necessary additions and deletions. Finding the classrooms where the merit badge classes were being taught is always tricky when the Scout has not been to the camp before. The boys were all ready for lunch at 1:30 pm. The nice thing the camp has done was to hand out a red plastic cup with the BTSR logo on it to use at all meal times. It saves a lot of cups being thrown out. After lunch the boys continued their treks to find the merit badge class locations. After numerous trips back and forth between the main lodge and our campsite, the Scouts were ready for supper.

Our campsite is the farthest away campsite from the dining hall. After several days of going back and forth between our campsite and the dining hall, the Scouts are more efficient in taking things they need with them for the day and not going back to the campsite between some of their classes. Supper was great. They serve water at every meal. Oh, I forgot to tell you that it is hot here. Mid 90s every day and not much to stop the sun, so hats are a must. Most of the boys by this 2nd day carry their water containers everywhere (even when going to the latrines). At nights the temperature has been dropping to between 68 and 72 degrees. This night we moved the lights out back to 10:30 pm. The boys are working on any homework they have for their merit badge classes when they return to camp at 9 pm. This night we had a campwide campfire ceremony to introduce us to all of the camp staff. With all the rock formations here, the climbing instruction is excellent. BTSR as it names implies is a ranch setup so they also have a great horse program with 45 horses in their stables. Some of the boys are experiencing the fun of cleaning up the horse stalls as part of their Horsemanship merit badge.

Oh, did I mention the stars at night? The view is incredible with the Big Dipper, the Milky Way and Pisces all clearly visible along with a million of their closest star friends. This week there is a professional astronomer in the camp.

Installment 3
Tuesday (7/10)

The Scouts started their day again at 6:30 am. Still some slow movers but they seem to understand that if we get to the dining hall on time, they have a better chance of getting in first. So far no complaints about the food. This morning we had pancakes and bacon. Oatmeal is also served at every breakfast. The Scouts seem to be able to find all their classes and things are going smoothly.

The camp does not allow the Scouts to throw rocks (and rocks are everywhere). However, the camp does have a rock range where the Scouts can check out a helmet and throw rocks at a old Honda car for about 20 minutes during their free time. By this day the Scouts have seen several rattlesnakes and scorpions although not in any of the tents or close to our campsite. One thing our Troop has always done is a conservation project when we camp, whether that is a 2 day trip or 7 day trip. BTSR has a Pond Conservation project that gives the Scouts several conservation project opportunities. Instead of doing the typical brush clearing project that the camps offer, we volunteered to clear the rock range for 3 hours. At first the boys thought we had volunteered them to do "hard time", but once we got the bucket brigade and wheelbarrow convoy going, the 90 minutes we spent Tuesday night clearing the rock field went by fast and Mr. Miller treated the boys to popsicles at the end. I did not hear any complaints at the end of the night and the boys could see that they had accomplished a project.

You will also be glad to hear that all the boys took a shower after the project. We moved lights out to 10:45 pm but most of the boys were in their tents by 10: 15 pm. If I fail to say it, the food was great at all meals. You should start to receive some postcards from the Scouts in the next few days. They have been so busy with their classes and free time, they have not had much extra time to write. Keep your cards and letters coming.

Installment 4
Wednesday (7/11/2007)

We are now in a good routine where we get up at 6:30 am every morning, eat breakfast at 7:15 am and go to the merit badge classes starting at 8:30 am. The boys seem to be enjoying their classes and for the most part they don’t seem to mind there being no access to TVs or computers. Phone access is also limited for the Scouts unless they are with one of the adult leaders. Today, several of the adult leaders took some leadership training to work on their getting fully trained.

Some of the boys go back for seconds at each meal, others seem to survive on PBJ sandwiches which are available at every meal if the Scouts don’t like what is being served or want to supplement the main courses. Milk, water and juice are the breakfast drinks, water at lunch and gatorade mix and water for supper. This evening, though, the boys had corn dogs in the dining hall and the adults ate separately in Buffalo Hall (a sort of gathering place next to the office). The adults had corn dogs too (actually steak), baked potatoes, cobbler, etc. and they even served iced tea. Some of us are having withdrawal symptoms from the lack of iced tea every day.

After supper we went to finish our Pondweed Conservation project at the rock range and continue moving rocks from the range so that the Scouts can throw rocks again. By completion of the project the Troop has earned the Pondweed Conservation Award, which is one of the 3 awards that the Troop was working on this week at the Camp. All the Scouts are constantly on the move but they seem to have just enough free time to do what they want to each day. The boys stayed up fairly late tonight because we had worked so late on the rock range project.

Installment 5
Thursday (7/12)

This day the Scouts are working on finishing their merit badges. This is the last day of the normally scheduled classes. If a Scout needs to complete a requirement he can do it today or on Friday (which for the most part is a free day for the Scouts so that they can do hikes, swim, horseback ride, etc.). Today we won Troop of the Day for the condition of our campsite. There is a contest each day to see who has the best campsite and who has come up with new camp gadgets and campsite improvements. Unfortunately it rained off and on today so our Troop’s flag was at only flying at the main flagpole for a few hours after lunch.

We had the normal breakfast and lunch, but for supper we had sandwiches since we rented a bus to take the Troop to McDonald’s Observatory which is about an hour from the Camp. The boys were excited to get out of Camp for a few hours. Thursday is probably the hardest day on both the Scouts and Scout leaders since there is only one more full day at the camp. The trip to the Observatory tonight was great. We arrived around 8:20 pm with the show to start at 8:30. Unfortunately it rained during the day at the Camp and in general vicinity and was still cloudy when we arrived at the Observatory. It was Scout Night at the Observatory and they split the Scout troops into 2 groups, one inside and one outside for two separate activities. Inside the Scouts looked at some incredible space exhibits and sampled the junk food at the Star Café.

When we moved outside, during the presentation on the planets, stars and constellations, a few stars and planets were visible through the clouds. We were able to look at Jupiter through a 12 inch telescope, a 16 inch telescope and a 22 inch telescope. It was amazing and the boys also saw 4 of Jupiter’s moons. We also learned that there are actually 13 Zodiac signs represented by constellations and that there are 88 constellations in the night sky that we can see at various times of the year. We then went back inside to see a virtual star show since it was cloudy outside. The boys seemed tired as several of them feel asleep during the presentation. We arrived back at Camp around midnight. No problem having the Scouts going to sleep tonight.

Installment 6
Friday (7/13/2007)

Well it is the final full day of Camp. The boys seem to be excited about completing most of their merit badges. We had a cold breakfast at the Camp (since the staff was off until noon). The boys went to their various merit badge counselors to make sure they did not need to do anything else at the Camp to earn their merit badges. We had a great lunch. The Scouts had hot dogs and watermelons (served by Samurai Dan, the Camp Ranger) and the adults had bratwurst and sauerkraut. This afternoon we went for an hour hike to the Needle and the Notch, 2 scenic points to see at the Camp. At the Notch the boys went swimming in 65 degree water. We got back at 6 pm with Troop 266 handling the flag ceremony. We then had a campwide campfire at 7:45 pm which lasted until 10 pm and included an Order of the Arrow tap-out ceremony. The Scouts and leaders went back to camp to pack up their tents and get ready for the trip on Saturday back to Houston. One thing I forgot to note, all the boys had at least 2 if not 3 showers this week because of the conservation project earlier in the week and the hike we did today. The boys were up until 11:30 and we should be ready to head back to Houston in the morning after we pack up the equipment and take down the tents and cots.

You should be proud of your Scouts at the BTSR Camp. In addition to the Pondweed Conservation Award (for which we received a plaque), the Troop received several other awards, including the Troop Spirit Award, the Troop Campsite Award and the Troop Honor Patrol Award.

Final Installment

I am writing this around 2 am Saturday morning. We should be leaving Camp on the bus no later than 10 am. We will have a box breakfast at the Camp, Subway sandwiches on the bus and will probably stop for supper at Seguin. We still should be arriving between 8 and 10 pm Saturday night. We will have the Scouts call you when we get within an hour of the Church. It has been a great Summer Camp for the boys and was not as hot as it normally is out here in West Texas.