Below is a link to some photos which show our first couple of days at Hidden Valley this year.

http://www.hankmanz.phanfare.com/4792675

It rained one night, but by the morning the rain had stopped and it is now back to warm and dry weather.  Bugs are close to zero.

Everybody has been in the water at least once as the pictures will show.

I will publish a much longer slideshow after we return from camp, so if you have any pictures let me have them.  You can send them to me by e-mail (a slow process), you can put them on CD or DVD or even a flash drive, or you can simply upload them to the dropbox associated with the Phanfare site I am using.  Look for the squared-off U in the upper corner of the front page.  You can upload pictures for me to look at.  There is no cost associated with that and you don’t have to have a Phanfare account.  Let me know if you have problems uploading.

You can download any pictures you like so you can print them or you can send them off to a variety of photo printing services for an attractively low price.
See you next Saturday!
-Hank Manz

For the first time in years, the Scoutmaster missed the first day of camp so he does not yet have bus pictures and arrival pictures and all of that.  Not much gets in the way of camp, but the marriage of my oldest child was, I have to say, just a bit more important.  She married an Eagle Scout, after all.  However, I do have some shots of camp life.  Go to the link below this note and then click on Start Slideshow to see the show so far.  Many more pictures will be added and I am hoping that returning Scouts and adults will contribute some of theirs to the effort.

I am sure there are some misspellings and other typos as well as duplicate and out-of-order shots which will be cleaned up in the final version.

Pictures may be sent to any of a number of photo printing services or you can download the high-res image behind each picture and print it yourself.  If you wish to contribute pictures you can leave them in the dropbox on the Phanfare site, you can e-mail them (the hardest way in most cases), or you can give them to me on a disk or flash drive.

The weather is terrific.  Just a bit of rain Monday night which settled the dust and cooled things down without making anybody uncomfortable.  Since then we have had nothing but warm days and cool nights with another spot of rain.

The two Beefy O’s and the Rubber Bandits have been doing incredible work in the kitchen, but the Rat and Cardboard patrols are catching up quickly.  The Rats are at Outpost on an overnight as I write this.  They planned the hike, they will cook their own supper tonight, and they will figure out how to get there.  And they named their own patrol, by the way.

Look for an expanded slide show after we return from camp on the 21st.  And if anybody has any pictures, send ‘em on.

-Hank Manz

http://www.hankmanz.phanfare.com/4785257

I apologize for using an all-points e-mail to catch just a few, but time is short.  This is directed at all First Year Scouts going to Bell.

All of you will be participating in the Curlews program which has been considerably beefed up.  The plan was to put the new program into place next year, but since we have been pushing for changes and since it is a light week, it seemed like a good idea to not wait until next year.  This should give all First Years a signoff on even more requirements for Tenderfoot, Second, and First Class.

But to fully participate there will be an overnight thrown in as part of the five-mile hike requirement so you should make sure you have at least the following gear with you:

- Rain gear
- Sleeping bag you can carry
- Pack

If you are going to fall short on either the pack or sleeping bag, send me an e-mail so we can dig into the troop stores to see if we have what you need.  Once we are up there, it will be too late, so do it now.

Thanks,

-Hank Manz

For those signed up for the bus to Camp Bell please be at St. Brigid’s parking lot at 9:30AM on Sunday August 8. You should be wearing your Class A uniform and have two items, a trunk and a day pack. The scout and day pack will board a school bus and the trunk will be loaded into a truck for separate transport to camp. See the Troop website for packing lists and more information about summer camp.

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Hi all,

We are still looking for  a couple adult leaders during summer camp.  We could use 1 or 2 more for Camp Bell and 2 or 3 more for Hidden Valley.
Please consider giving back to the Troop and your son for  a couple days at Camp.  It is a fun experience and the work required can vary from drinking coffee all day watching scouts, to actively participating in activities.  It is up to you.

We would like parents to spend as much time as possible at camp.  The minimum would be at least two full days (Drive up in the evening,  stay two days and return in the evening).

I will be at the court of Honor this evening.  Please come talk to me about the opportunity.

Yours in Scouting,
Jeff Shorter