Troop 81 went camping at Shepard
Air Force Base Annex last weekend (10/16/98-10/18/98) to participate in
a water wars campout. On Friday (10/16) we met at Richland Bible
Fellowship at 6:00 to get ready to depart on our camping trip. After
we had all the gear stored in the trailers, we headed out. After
a 1 1/2-hour journey, we finally reached Shepard Air Force Base Annex in
the dark. We set up our tents and went to bed soon after that.
On Saturday, we woke up after
a bugle sounded and a cannon shot. After we had breakfast, we split
up into groups. The Trail to First Class scouts worked on their Firem'n
Chit, their Totin' Chip, and any other Trail to First Class requirements.
The scouts that were taking the Camping merit badge went on a 3-mile hike.
All the remaining scouts filled water balloons and prepared for the water
wars. Next each patrol fixed their own lunches and relaxed.
After lunch, we had the
water wars. Almost everyone had brought a water gun, and those who
did not were put on a water balloon slingshot crew. Next, we divided
up into 2 teams, each team had a slingshot crew, a water gun crew, and
a flag. If you got wet, you had to go back to base. If
you got wet three times, you were "dead" for the rest of that war.
If you captured the enemy's flag, and made it back to your base "alive"
with the flag, your team won the war. It took us four hours
to play 2 wars. Everybody had fun, until we heard the weather report.
On the radio, we heard that
a tornado, hail, and rain were heading our way. What should we do???
The Patrol Leaders and the Troop Guides polled their patrols, and the vote
to leave or stay was 6-6.Our Scoutmaster broke the tie by deciding to stay.
It turned out to be the right decision because all we got was rain.
The patrols fixed their own dinners and went to bed (we could not have
a campfire because the logs were too wet.
The next morning, we got up,
fixed breakfast, broke camp and arrived home by noon.