A Camp Bowman (Goshen Reservation) Diary Entry #5

Troop 466 attended Camp Bowman (Goshen Scout Reservation) from July 13th through July 20th.  Here is fifth "diary" entry of one parent.  Enjoy!

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Thursday we awoke at 6:45am and in the brisk morning air we made our way down to the commissary to pick up our breakfast and take it down to the waterfront for Pirate's Breakfast adventure.  We donned our life jackets and set out in 4 paddle boats on the still, mist covered waters of lake Merriweather. It was a great opportunity to gather everyone as we ate and paddled about on the lake taking in the chill air and overcast sky. Playing catch and tossing breakfast packages and water shoes, we formed a boat caravan and towed each other around while desperately trying to hold on to our boat oars and sanity. The clouds formed an interesting backdrop as the mist burned off and by 8:30am we were all done and the boys had plenty of time to get ready to go to morning classes. It was also time for the daily leadership meeting and Ms. K’s mid morning nap (which generally occurred during the meeting). Thank goodness!

At lunch one senior patrol leader made an outstanding beef stew with potatoes that we saved in containers for the next couple of days. In the evening dinner was foil dinners of sausage and potatoes and delicious dressings with a touch of broth. Then we played a round robin game of “Would you rather?” For example, would you rather be a fly on a tent wall or a beetle in the campfire? Well?

After flags we had a delicious cracker barrel of hershey smores and campfire favorite tunes courtesy of Mr. Darrell S,, which included such classics as old Irish pub song rounds, German submarines skits and traditional scout songs. As the smoke wafted across the campsite from the juicy sausages and the occasional grease flare,  the adults wondered if the friendly neighborhood black bear that had been spotted in the next door camp would stop by for a bite.  

The dinner cleanup was another monumental effort, but, motivated by the desire to have no midnight visitors, we got the camp spic and span and all the food and smellables into the bear box.  We decided to leave a few extra lights on in camp as an addition to our normal chorus of adult snorers for bear deterrence. The night passed uneventfully.