Camp Chawanakee

Spencer and Tyler had scout camp back in June/July. They went to Chawanakee Boy Scout Camp by Shaver Lake (3 hours away). Spencer went there 3 years ago and couldn't wait to go back. This was Tyler's first time there.  They shared a tent.

They drove up on Sunday. We were SO grateful to the leaders of Troop 164 (the other LDS troop in Paso) for taking our boys and staying there all week! We went up on Thursday and stayed in the family camp (which is right next to the Boy Scout camp) until Saturday. 

They had a huge lighting storm the night before we arrived, and no one got much sleep. They had to go to the emergency shelter around midnight, and the lightning lasted pretty much all night long. I'm so glad we missed that!

They had to do a bunch of improvements to their camp throughout the week - they were very proud of this wood pen and gate they made. 

During free time they showed us around the rest of the camp. I've heard so much about it, it was fun to actually see it.

They especially liked the mountain boarding. The boys liked it so much, in fact, that they bought their own when they got home. It's been a lot of fun for all the boys, Brennan on up.

After we got back to our camp, the kids had a blast climbing huge boulders and fallen trees while I made dinner. This place was awesome!

In case you can't tell, they are being "chawanabears," which is what they call the squirrels up there. They climb high in the trees and throw huge pine cones at people, especially the adult leaders at camp. That's what they say, anyway.

 Dallin made breakfast the next morning - he needed to do it for his Webelos badge. 

I'm surrounded by silly people.

 They get it from their dad.

After we cleaned up breakfast, we went over to the lake. We had the camp closest to the lake (i.e. very close). It was a warm, sunny day, and the water felt great!

 We swam and kayaked all morning. 

 Dave went over to Chawanakee and watched Spencer and Tyler go zip-lining. 

They came over to show off their war paint - they did the Chieftain Run and Iron Bear. Both involve waking up early to run. 

After we were good and worn out from the lake, we went back to our camp to relax. Our campsite had a rustic cabin, but it was so full of mosquitoes that we just left our suitcases in there and slept in our tent. This was definitely a no-thrills camp - they had the stinkiest port-a-potties I've ever used. Chloe outright refused. She got really good at going in the woods.

 We played Phase 10 and ate snacks all afternoon. It was lovely.

 Then we went over to Chawanakee for the closing flag ceremony and family BBQ.

It was hilarious, we saw another troop taking pictures at this spot (which is what gave us the idea), and they were lined up in neat rows (in order of rank) with perfect uniforms and matching neckerchiefs and flags and a bunch of leaders. I think they were from San Francisco. They won an award for best camp of the week. Then there's our troop, wild and crazy and acting very silly. Honestly, they looked like they were having way more fun!

We headed back to our camp and had our last campfire with s'mores and snake bread. Wow, that is one dirty face you go there, Chloe.

It's always a bit of a miracle when we escape camp with no major burns (Levi did burn his hand the next day, but it wasn't too bad). Those kids were obsessed with the fire. Instead of buying firewood, I picked up free wood scraps from a local cabinet maker. The pieces were small, but there was a ton of them, and the kids loved being able to constantly add wood to the fire. 

The big kids broke camp quick and joined us just as we were finishing breakfast. It was the 4th of July! We didn't want to hurry home, so we we drove another hour further into the mountains and went rock climbing in the middle of nowhere! It was awesome.