Maverick was a 2-night camping trip during September from the 24th to the 26th. While there, activities and games from many troops were played and enjoyed. A service project was also done, helping prevent ladder fires. Everyone there enjoyed the brief trip.
Flag X was a campout from the 27th to the 29th of August. This year’s annual trip consisted of zip-lines, high-up parkour, and climbing. All of these activities happened way up in the trees.
Camp Geronimo is a summer camp that scouts went too in July. It lasted 7 days, and the drive was about 2 and a half hours. After setting up camp, it started hailing in the middle of July. When camp actually started, scouts went off to do activities and ge merit badges. Some scouts did optional merit badges, like horsemanship. You could earn at least 5 merit badges there. The meals there were good and served in cafeteria fashion. All scouts learned valuable skills and knowledge to help in their scouting career.
Leaving before the Black River Trip, and coming back after Black River, Sea Base was a high adventure program for the older scouts and leaders. Many. hikes, scubas, and sailing memories were made there. All the way in Florida, the scouts had to fly many hours there and back. Overall, it was a thrilling experience many of the scouts enjoyed.
During May 29th through the 31st, scouts went to Black river to fish. After a 4 hour drive, people fished, fished, and fished, through about 12 hours of fishing, spread over 2 days. Almost everyone caught a fish, and most of them were eaten. Black River is located on a reservation in bear country, so there were many bear encounters, and a couple of stolen items.
With the help of volunteers and equipment from the Arizona Sailing Foundation our Troop was able to spend a day at Tempe Town Lake working on the Sailing Merit Badge.
Photo’s courtesy of Scott Thompson and David Cruz
Our troop is working on the cycling merit badge. It involves about eight different lengthen bike rides, and we have been having fun doing it.
19-21 March Troop 653 stayed at VV Scout Ranch in Tucson while visiting the Pima Air and Space Museum and the Titan Missile Museum.
