Peter the Boy Scout
Tonight Peter crossed over from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts. The troop he joined loans each boy his neckerchief. A boy can keep it if he achieves the rank of Eagle Scout. If he leaves the troop or turns 18 without earning Eagle, he must give the neckerchief back. Peter likes that the neckerchiefs are Carolina blue and white, since the troop is sponsored by a church next to UNC.
Peter’s Last Pinewood Derby
Peter will be moving from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts later this month, so this was his last Pinewood Derby. His car is called The Heisman and it is modeled after the Heisman Trophy, awarded for the top player in College Football every year. For the second year in a row, Peter was awarded first place in Most Original for his car, and he will compete at the District Level.
It is also my last year as Racemaster. I was the MC for the event, kept the boys moving through the races, and started each race. The best part of the job is I got to wear a Nascar shirt, but I will be passing that along to the next Racemaster.
Here’s a link to the rest of my photos from Pinewood Derby.
Arrow of Light
Tonight Peter, and three other members of his den, earned his Arrow of Light award. This is the highest award one can earn in Cub Scouts, and something that can remain on your uniform in Boy Scouts. He also earned all 20 of the Webelos Activity Pins, when all you need to earn for Arrow of Light is 8. This is called Super Achiever. Peter has had this kind of Cub Scout experience.
When he joined scouts as a Tiger Cub in first grade, he declared that he would earn Eagle Scout. That is the highest achievement in Boy Scouts that one earns in high school. Now in fifth grade he will be joining a Boy Scout troop and will continue his journey in scouting.
I am proud as a Den Leader that 4 more of our scouts have earned this award, but I am prouder as a dad to have my son excel and reach these levels of achievement.
Indoor Rock Climbing
Today we took our Cub Scout Den to Triangle Rock Climbing for some indoor adventure on a cold, drizzly Sunday. We climbed with someone belaying, an auto belayer (my favorite) and bouldering. It was hard work, but lots of fun.
Me climbing with an auto belayer
Peter having fun
Here’s a link to the rest of the photos on Flickr.
Cub Scout Camping Trip
Here is Peter’s account of our recent scout camping trip.
Last week, 4 Webelo scouts from the Phoenix Den in Pack 39 went on a camping trip with Boy Scout Troop 39 to Pisgah National Forest, in the North Carolina mountains. The 4 scouts all admitted that the Boy Scout camping experience was a little new to them.First, there was the 5 hour bus ride from rainy Chapel Hill to rainy Pisgah National Forest, which included two stops. The first stop was for vending and bathroom usage, and the 2nd stop was because one of their headlights broke.
When they finally got there, they had to set up their tents in the rain, which resulted in wet tents and very unhappy scouts. It wasn’t all bad, though. The next day, the younger Boy Scouts and the 4 Webelos went on a day hike, while the older Scouts went on a 13 mile hike to the top of the mountain to camp there.
On the day hike, they had to cross a lot of creeks on the way back, and a lot of people got their feet wet. Even though it was what people call a cold weather campout, all the Webelos agreed that it was a good experience.
Cub Scout Hike
Today we went on a long hike with our Cub Scout Den. We went to Cedarock Park in Burlington. We hiked about 3-4 miles, mostly around the perimeter of the park. The boys are standing in front of a waterfall located at what used to be an old mill. And, yes, Peter did carry a football on the entire hike. He never threw it. He just carried it.
Camp Ravenknob
Yesterday I returned from a 4-Day, 3-Night trip to Scout Resident Camp at Camp Ravenknob in Mt Airy, North Carolina with our Webelos Scout Den. We took 5 boys who just finished 4th grade on this great trip. We learned about forestry and geology. We swam in the lake. We shot BB guns and bows and arrows. We climbed horizontally on an indoor climbing wall and vertically on an outdoor climbing wall. We rappelled down the outdoor wall. We hiked to “the Knob” overlooking the camp.
It was quite a solemn moment when we heard about the Boy Scouts who were injured and killed as a result of the tornado that hit a scout camp in Iowa. Except that they were older, we were also at a scout camp with our boys. We remembered their families quite often during our camp.
As a result of the heat and the dust and walking up and down the hills to our campsite and playing in the creek and the facilities, the boys bonded and created some special memories of their first scout camp experience.
It was nice for me to take an unplugged break from work and the world.
Some Cool Recent Photos
Grace as Catcher
Reflected Sunset
Wide Angle Chase
Carolina Rollergirls
Cub Scout Pinewood Derby
Today was our Cub Scout Pack’s Pinewood Derby, where the Scouts raced model cars they designed and created from a block of wood. There were lots of great cars including an iPhone, a Wiimote, a red guitar, a pickle (of mass destruction), a dog bone (complete with a sponsor), traditional racers and even some slivers of wood that were design for nothing more than speed.
I was the Racemaster for the event. That meant I wore the Pack’s Racing Shirt and Hat, announced all the races, checked that the cars were on the track, started each race, and even kept the on-deck boys flowing so there was no lag from race to race. This was a new position for me and it was a lot of fun. I had almost nothing to do with the event, but I was the one with the microphone running the show. I only made one technical error when I started a race before reseting the lanes. All I needed to do was push the red button, and I neglected to do so. We had to run the race again. Every so often, the crowd broke into chants of “Push the button, Push the button.” Sometimes I milked it to even wilder cheering.
We had entertainment of our musical combo called the Cubtones, featuring guitar, ukelele and drums. They got the crowd going with songs like Speed Racer and I’m a Believer.
And finally, the best part of the even was the award ceremony. Peter won 1st Place in Most Original for his car, The Dragon’s Revenge. This means his car competes at the District Competition.
Cub Scouts on the Roof
We took a Cub Scout Outing to the helipad at the Hospital to learn about First Aid. Even though there were no helicopters, the boys had a good time (and even learned a little bit).
Grace dancing on the roof