National Jamboree - Days 10, 11 & 12

Sunday provided the opportunity for each of the scouts to attend religious services. The first service of the morning was for the LDS, the second service was for Protestants and the third service was a Catholic Mass. Services were optional and several of our boys chose to attend. During the Protestant service, the service I attended, it rained nearly the entire time. I was told that both the LDS & Catholic services were free of rain. Following the Protestant service the United Methodist had an open communion on Brown Sea Island. Tanek was selected by Rev. Joe Hoover to assist with communion. Following communion they gave away free Strength of Service Scouting Devotional books. A few of the scouts from our contingent attended communion. After religious services and lunch many activities opened around the Summit. Most of the boys chose to take the day off and remain in camp but a few chose to venture out. 

Fireworks as seen from C420's campsite - Photo by Tanek Mouser

At about 8:30 pm it was announced that everyone should stay in their campsites, because the fireworks that were supposed to be shot during the closing show were going to take place. At around 9 pm the show began and it was one of the best firework shows I have ever seen. It lasted approximately 20 minutes. There were a lot of oohs and aahs which were sincerely given from the scouts. 

Monday was Tanek's curriculum day and I traveled to The Barrels where all firearm activity occurs. The hike to The Barrels took us 2 hours and 15 minutes. Because it was Tanek's curriculum, he was able to bypass the long lines and get moved into shorter lines. He first shot 22 handguns, hitting the target with all 10 shots. He then went to 22 rifles where he again hit the target with all of his shots, although a few were wide they were on the paper. Following the 22's he went to the what was called the Heavy Metal Section. He had the opportunity to shot a 308 rifle with a scope. He shot 5 shots and hit the target with all 5 shots. We then proceeded to the 9 mm handguns. When we arrived at the 9 mm's he was told his curriculum time was up so he had to wait in the longer line. It took us about 25 min. before it was his turn. He didn't do as well here but he did hit 1 of 5 targets. All of the ranges are run by certified NRA instructors and range safety officers. The bad thing about being at The Barrels was when it was over we had to hike 2 hrs & 15 min back to our campsite. 

Along the way we were able to stop at the Dragon Boats. If you have never seen one, they are essentially very long canoes capable of seating about 20 people. There is an oarsman and a drummer who drums to keep the paddlers in rhythm. The front of the boat has a dragons head. We were able to complete our course in 51 seconds. The record was 38 seconds. We then returned to camp. Because we were at The Barrels for so long I am not sure what everyone else did. I can tell you this, it has been raining off and on for a few days now and things are getting really wet and muddy. 

Tuesday we had an early start because they had us scheduled to hike to the Garden Ground Mountains at 7 am. We were met by a trek guide who led us on our hike. The hike was 7 miles to the Summit the highest point in camp. Along the way our trek guide would occasionally stop and inform us about the history of coal mining in the area, leave no trace and sustainability practices. This hike was strenuous. I personally thought I would never see the top. Several portions of the trail were very steep. All of the boys did really well but I fell behind. Even though I fell behind I arrived only a few minutes later than they did. 

When we arrived at the top everyone was allowed to go their separate ways. They had a model of the first scout camp ever held in America. They had a Pioneering Area where scouts could launch catapults, battering rams, trebuchets, climb towers, ride a carousel, and a swing. All of the activities in the Pioneering Village are made from rope and logs.

There was an American Indian Village put on by the Order of the Arrow. In the village there were teepee's and Native American games. The big draw was the Pow Wow where the scouts got to watch chicken dancers, traditional dancers, straight dances, grass dancers, fancy dancers, eagle dancers,  and a hoop dancer. During the Pow Wow there was an inter-tribal dance where all the scouts were encouraged to join in the dance. Several of boys took part in the dance. 

There was also a Buckskin Village where the scouts were able to take part in tomahawk throwing, knife throwing and black powder rifles. There was also a branding station where the boys could brand various items with the Summit Bechtel name and logo. 

Just passed the Buckskin Village there was a Scottish Highland Games Area. In this area scouts were able to dress in a Scottish kilt, play tug of war, and play various Scottish games. This is also the area that had a beautiful overlook of the camp. 

C420's rock at the fire ring - Photo by Johnny Keisewetter

We also placed our Louisiana Purchase Council C420 rock with all the others around the fire ring. We all met back up at 4 pm and hiked back a mile and a half down the mountain where we returned to the one of the areas in camp. We then had to hike 35 minutes back to camp. We had supper which was hot dogs and chili. We cleaned our dishes and packed up camp in preparation to leave the Summit tomorrow morning. Everything here is very wet and very muddy so there is a real big mess. I am looking forward to a hot shower, air conditioning and a hotel bed tomorrow night!