Encampment in Humbug Valley

In spite of everything being on fire in California, Ryan and Dad went on a scout trip this last week in Humbug Valley. The encampment was to be held Monday through Saturday, but Thursday afternoon they were evacuated from the camp due to all of the forest fires. They say they had a good time though, even with all of the smoke. Ryan said, "My favorite part of the encampment was the obstacle course they held at the end of the week." I heard something about army crawling through a few inches of dust on the ground. Yikes! I think they got pretty dirty.

Part of Troop 58 before they left on Monday

Morning flag ceremony

Since Ryan is not quite 14 yet, he was sort of the "senior deacon" if you will and led the deacon hike. I don't think they got to do their original hike because they were again restricted by the fires, but it all turned out okay.

Now Mom is extremely proud of this piece of work right here. This is no ordinary welcome home sign. She decided we should cover the whole sign in a cloud of smoke. She even broke out the water colors. Ben, you think it's funny right? You and Mom usually have the same kind of humor. :)

I asked Ryan for a quote about the encampment and he said, "It was a really good experience, and I learned a lot." I don't know how sincere he was, but I know he and Dad had a lot of fun!