Yeehaw!! Bike Rodeo!!

Pack 115 took over the Crofton Woods Elementary School faculty parking lot on a recent Saturday morning for their inaugural Bike Rodeo! Close to 60 kids came out on a beautiful Crofton morning to hone their bike riding and safety skills. Things kicked off with the Star Spangled Banner and they were off to the rodeo!

Inspection time

Havin' fun and rockin' the tassels!

After registration, each rider headed over to the required bike and helmet inspection. Manned by knowledgeable volunteers, parents could be confident that their child’s bike and headgear were both road-ready. After minor adjustments to some of the bikes and helmets, the kids were able to choose their next station from a wide variety of options. Some of the activities included Passing Pedestrians, Demon Driveway, Slalom, Bike Safety and Newspaper Toss. While our young riders clearly thought it was all about having fun, observers could see that the children were learning important skills to keep them safe on the road. After satisfactorily completing all the stations riders could return to registration and receive their goody bags.

Let's not forget, those crosswalks are for walking.

Our sponsors made it worth the ride! Fence and Deck Connection graciously provided reflective bags/backpacks and lights for all the participants. The bags also included free ice cream coupons from Bruster's and large Dickey's cups. Additionally Dickey's and Bruster's provided items that were raffled off during the event.

Newspaper toss!

Everyone, kids and spectators alike, enjoyed themselves and got to learn valuable bike safety and skills in a fun and interactive way.

Demon Driveway: Watch out for those cars!

Pack 115 would like to extend a special thanks to all the pack volunteers that came out and helped with setup, station leading and breakdown. The event was a huge success because of your help. Additionally we would like to thank Crofton Police, Crofton Town Hall, Family Bike Shop, Fence and Deck Connection, Dickey's and Bruster's for their support.

Boooo! It's Trunk or Treat time!

Our annual Trunk-or-Treat was bigger and badder than ever! With the growing popularity of this event, we moved to Crofton Woods Elementary School large parking lot and filled it to capacity with decorated cars, minivans, trucks, and even a haunted horse trailer. It was great to watch the excitement of our just-promoted Bobcats, dashing from trunk to trunk and mixing with the older boys, who showed them the ropes and got some good loot -- and scares -- themselves. A big thanks to all of the adults who helped make it an evening the whole family could enjoy! You outdid yourselves again and helped create some terrific memories for our scouts.

Our new Bobcat crew!

Mommy, I'm soooo scared!

Even Ironman paid a visit!

Fun Filled Weekend at Fall Camp

Expectations of a pleasant weather weekend at Fall Camp were set nice and low based on the forecast for rain the entire weekend. Weather would not stop pack 115 from enjoying another fun filled weekend at Broad Creek Memorial Scout Reservation. The pack was pleasantly surprised when Mother Nature decided to give the scouts a full day Saturday without a drop of rain and even gave a few glimpses of sunshine. Some of the scouts arrived on Friday night and got settled in, other's arrived early Saturday morning.

Saturday morning started off with activities at each cabin that the scouts rotated through. The activities included Flag History, Map and Compass, Flag Football and Feats of Skill. The boys had a great time at each of these stations. Each den spent 45 minutes at each activity before they moved to the next one.

Feats of Skill - Arm Wrestling!

It was time for lunch and then onto some afternoon fun. The Palus family surprised the whole pack with a giant sized sling shot. They invited the other den's to come on over for some acorn slinging!! Each scout got their turn to try to hit a large wooden pallet that was about 100 feet away. When an acorn hit, it would explode and the crowd of scouts would go into an uproar of Awesome's! One scout even brought his Angry bird and launched it a few times.

Who needs video games! Life sized Angry Bird slingshot!

Later that evening the pack converged at the Dan Beard cabin for a fire ceremony where the belly's would be warmed by hot chocolate and smores while being entertained by various skits that each den had worked on throughout the day. There was also some rumors going on about some haunting tales being told at Flint Ridge. The fire ceremony concluded after a long fun day and it didn't take long for all of camp to fall silent.

The scouts woke up to a drizzly morning and had a Scouts' own service followed by the closing ceremony. After some packing up, Fall camp was officially in the books. Another great weekend of fun and activities!

Pack 115 would like to give thanks to all the volunteers that helped through out the weekend. And a special thanks to the behind the scenes team of Webelos and Bear den leaders that put together the plans and paperwork to make Fall Camp happen.

Trunk or Treat Pack Meeting Tomorrow

Come on down for our annual Trunk or Treat pack meeting! The meeting is tomorrow (15 OCT) from 7 PM to 8:30 PM with the trunk or treating starting around 7:45 PM. The meeting will start in the Crofton Woods Elementary School cafeteria and then head out to the front drop off area for the trunk or treating.

The core value for October is Responsibility. Responsibility is fulfilling our duty to help others and take care of ourselves. It is behaving safely and appropriately without having to be told.

WEEEB Woods!!!

The annual WEEB Woods took place this last weekend at Colhone Farm in the southwest corner of the county! It was unseasonably warm for October, but that didn't stop the fun from happening. This is a great opportunity for first and second year Pack 115 Webelos to knock out some requirements on their path to the Arrow of Light and also an excellent time to see what some of the local Boy Scout troops are like. All of the activities are led by area Boy Scout troops and that means boy-led, not adult. It is absolutely amazing to see how well Boy Scouts are able to take a small group of cub scouts, gain their respect and teach them very useful skills.

 

Chow time!

Our cooks!

Ah, this oatmeal tastes great!

Wagon pull around the patty fields.

Goof off time!

The scouts arrived on Friday night and got settled in very quickly. The endless energy of Pack 115 was on full display as many of the kids played night time games with glo sticks. They paused just long enough to grab some smore's. Lights went out at 10PM and camp fell quiet  pretty quickly -  maybe they do run out of energy.

A full day on Saturday was in store for the scouts as they moved from station to station learning first aid skills, fire building, knot tying, geology, nature and many others. During the nature activity the scouts went into the water and seined for aquatic wildlife. Wader's were offered but most just jumped right in. Our Weeb's also got a nice dose of BB guns and archery time!!

 

Blaike aiming for the bullseye.

Jackson nailed it!

Mathew has the target in sight!

Throughout the day the boys collaborated on some marching cheers that follow the cadence of the Army, Navy and Marine fight songs. They worked out all the words and taught most of the pack members. You will soon know when Pack 115 is coming! Just to give you a sample, their version of the Marine fight song, starts out, "From the halls of elementary school, to the fields of cow patties ..." 

Dino wading.

Ian wading.

Not sure how these pants are going to stay dry.

The evening had a great bonfire ceremony where each pack performed a skit. Pack 115 practiced throughout the day and executed their skit very well. The evening concluded with  a respectful flag retirement ceremony.

Sunday morning was the Scout's Own service and tree planting dedication to the late Doug Anderson. Mr. Anderson ran Webelos Woods for many years and absolutely loved it. He will be deeply missed and  always remembered.

Thank you Pack 115 adults for all the help; the Colhone Family for the use of their farm; and Capital District volunteers and Boy Scouts for putting on a great event.

Webelos!

Teamwork time!