Weather - 45 at night - 60 to 63 during the day - rain only on Saturday evening
Clothing - shorts - raincoat
Tent - Slumberjack 4 man - double wall - dome tent
Sleeping bag - Slumberjack XL Bag - 0 degrees.
Camping pad - Thermarest Prolite
Shoes - old tennis shoes and Keen Sandals
Main Activity - hiking
Nights Camping - 1
Mileage - 513. Filled tank in Midway KY on way there, and Knoxville TN on way home.
We left Frankfort on Friday afternoon by 4:15. We arrived at Camp Buck Toms (west of Knoxville TN) by 8 PM. It had just turned dark. We had to drop our gear outside the dining hall, drive up to a place above the camp called the Pennacle, and catch a shuttle (provided by Pellissippi Lodge). We went back to the dining hall, checked in with our medical forms, and then found our way to the campsite so we could set up. Thomas didn't want to stay in the Adirondack Shelters that were in the campsites. He has had a few experiences of staying in Shelters, and didn't like any of them. Since he doesn't know many people in Kawida Lodge yet, he felt uncomfortable. In his defense, we went to sleep around midnight. I woke up around 1 or 2, and I could still hear adults being very loud. Scouts were loud also.
I set the tent up on the clearest ground I could find. I didn't know until I laid down on my camp pad that I had put my side of the tent on a tree stump about the diameter of 3 inches. I put my backpack on top of the stump, and scooted the sleeping pad over toward the middle.
I did not sleep with the sleeping bag zipped up. It wasn't that cold. I used my zero bag as a blanket, and stayed plenty warm. I was awakened by 5:45 AM by boats on the lake. The lake at Camp Buck Toms is not private to the camp. It is a huge lake.
Breakfast started by 7:30. We arrived on time. I hung out with the leaders of Troop 281 out of Frankfort while I was there. Larry L, Hugh, George C. Todd is also a troop leader of Troop 281, but his purpose at Kawida events is as Lodge Adviser.
This is the inside of their dining hall. It has a name, but I don't know what it is.
That morning, Thomas and I took classes. This is what they do at Conclave events. The first class was BSA and OA History (I knew more than the person who taught. The second class was SR-6 History, and the third was Effective Listening and Speaking. Listening and Speaking class was taught by a Lodge Adviser from Michigan. When he was a Scout, he was a Section Chief. It was a good class. I talked to him after it was over about eye contact and communicating to your audience while you speak. I told him that it drives me crazy when Scouts look at the ground when they shake your hand at Courts of Honor. I told him that I hold the hand of the Scout until they look me in the eyes while they receive the rank advances or merit badges that I present.
Lunch was after the classes, but Thomas and I decided to put on our Scout uniforms and OA Sashs for the rest of the day. I took this selfie of me before lunch.
After lunch, Thomas and I decided to hike and explore the camp a little bit. The first hike was supposed to be from the dining area toward the Pennacle. It was a very badly maintained trail, although it was marked on the Camp Map. The trail suddenly disappeared, so we had to turn around and make our way back to the center of the camp.
After the first part of the hike, we did some patch trading. It was about 3 PM. I ended up with all of the patches below after the Conclave. I traced for maybe 4 of them, purchased a few, and received one for registration.
The one that is our favorite, although it doesn't make a lot of sense is the one below.
We called this the ILLUMINATI PATCH. This is supposed to represent E. Urner Goodman (in black) at the first Induction of OA Candidates in 1915 on Treasure Island. The guy in the middle I think is supposed to represent Carol A Edson. We think this patch is funny since we wonder which one of them started the huge fire behind them. We figured it was the scout in the middle. We named him B.C. who was a member of our troop who just Eagled not long ago. He had a reputation of having a bit of PYROMANIA.
We hiked the other side of the camp after the patch trading. Supper was huge. I had baked chicken, masked potatoes, mixed vegetables, salad, corn pudding, roll, bug juice, and after supper we had cobbler and ice cream. Conclave events feed the participants VERY well. I was stuffed after that meal.
It started sprinkling before supper. Luckily Thomas and I stopped at our tent before supper to get our rain gear. After supper we heard Todd (Kawida Lodge Adivser) talk about the rain we were expecting over night. Since I knew I would get soaked that night (my side of the tent was not pegged down very well since the groud was wet), I decided to take the tent down and move into an Adirondack Shelter. Thomas was not happy about it.
We arrived to the Campfire Program on time. This was the 100th Anniversary Conclave, so it was going to be special.
At the end of the award - Kawida Lodge ended up with the Golden Arrow Award this year - there was a rededication ceremony. It was VERY COOL!! Pellissippi Lodge did an amazing job! We rededicated ourselves to the Ideals of the Order of the Arrow. I was surprised at the beginning of the ceremony when the chief of the ceremony said, "METEU, SATISFY YOURSELF THAT ALL PRESENT ARE ARROWMEN." It freaked me out since that was an echo of something you would hear in a Masonic Lodge. Order of the Arrow was founded by Freemasons, so it is no surprise, really.
Thomas and I decided to leave that night. He had a ton of homework that took 4 or 5 hours, and if we drove home early, he would be sure to get it done. We left camp at 11 PM. By 1 AM we were very sleepy. I just finished reading UNBROKEN about Louie Zamperini. In the book he talked about the time when they were in the raft. The way they took their attention away from being so hungry was by keeping their minds active. Louie would talk about is mother's cooking. They would talk about different events of each others lives. The conversations would go on and on. Each memorized a lot about each other. I decided to use this technique. Thomas and I talked about every part of what we did on the campout we just left starting with what time we woke up, the food we ate, etc. IT WORKED! By the time we stopped for coffee in London KY, neither of us were tired. The coffee, on the other hand, made us deliriously slap happy.
We laughed most of the way home after a mad coffee rush by Thomas. By the time we arrived home at 3:30, we were both dizzy from laughter and delirium.
We slept until 11 AM. I hated to miss church again. There is no way I would be able to do this amount of camping if I was still the youth director at church. The way I see it, the boys will only be this age ONCE. I'm going to cherish every moment they want to spend with me. When I am to "old and feeble, and can Scout no more", I will be able to go to church every time the doors are open. Until then, I am going to teach Scouts how to be reverent, and have a Scouts Own Service at every campout I attend.
We left Frankfort on Friday afternoon by 4:15. We arrived at Camp Buck Toms (west of Knoxville TN) by 8 PM. It had just turned dark. We had to drop our gear outside the dining hall, drive up to a place above the camp called the Pennacle, and catch a shuttle (provided by Pellissippi Lodge). We went back to the dining hall, checked in with our medical forms, and then found our way to the campsite so we could set up. Thomas didn't want to stay in the Adirondack Shelters that were in the campsites. He has had a few experiences of staying in Shelters, and didn't like any of them. Since he doesn't know many people in Kawida Lodge yet, he felt uncomfortable. In his defense, we went to sleep around midnight. I woke up around 1 or 2, and I could still hear adults being very loud. Scouts were loud also.
I set the tent up on the clearest ground I could find. I didn't know until I laid down on my camp pad that I had put my side of the tent on a tree stump about the diameter of 3 inches. I put my backpack on top of the stump, and scooted the sleeping pad over toward the middle.
I did not sleep with the sleeping bag zipped up. It wasn't that cold. I used my zero bag as a blanket, and stayed plenty warm. I was awakened by 5:45 AM by boats on the lake. The lake at Camp Buck Toms is not private to the camp. It is a huge lake.
Breakfast started by 7:30. We arrived on time. I hung out with the leaders of Troop 281 out of Frankfort while I was there. Larry L, Hugh, George C. Todd is also a troop leader of Troop 281, but his purpose at Kawida events is as Lodge Adviser.
That morning, Thomas and I took classes. This is what they do at Conclave events. The first class was BSA and OA History (I knew more than the person who taught. The second class was SR-6 History, and the third was Effective Listening and Speaking. Listening and Speaking class was taught by a Lodge Adviser from Michigan. When he was a Scout, he was a Section Chief. It was a good class. I talked to him after it was over about eye contact and communicating to your audience while you speak. I told him that it drives me crazy when Scouts look at the ground when they shake your hand at Courts of Honor. I told him that I hold the hand of the Scout until they look me in the eyes while they receive the rank advances or merit badges that I present.
Lunch was after the classes, but Thomas and I decided to put on our Scout uniforms and OA Sashs for the rest of the day. I took this selfie of me before lunch.
The one that is our favorite, although it doesn't make a lot of sense is the one below.
We hiked the other side of the camp after the patch trading. Supper was huge. I had baked chicken, masked potatoes, mixed vegetables, salad, corn pudding, roll, bug juice, and after supper we had cobbler and ice cream. Conclave events feed the participants VERY well. I was stuffed after that meal.
It started sprinkling before supper. Luckily Thomas and I stopped at our tent before supper to get our rain gear. After supper we heard Todd (Kawida Lodge Adivser) talk about the rain we were expecting over night. Since I knew I would get soaked that night (my side of the tent was not pegged down very well since the groud was wet), I decided to take the tent down and move into an Adirondack Shelter. Thomas was not happy about it.
We arrived to the Campfire Program on time. This was the 100th Anniversary Conclave, so it was going to be special.
Thomas and I decided to leave that night. He had a ton of homework that took 4 or 5 hours, and if we drove home early, he would be sure to get it done. We left camp at 11 PM. By 1 AM we were very sleepy. I just finished reading UNBROKEN about Louie Zamperini. In the book he talked about the time when they were in the raft. The way they took their attention away from being so hungry was by keeping their minds active. Louie would talk about is mother's cooking. They would talk about different events of each others lives. The conversations would go on and on. Each memorized a lot about each other. I decided to use this technique. Thomas and I talked about every part of what we did on the campout we just left starting with what time we woke up, the food we ate, etc. IT WORKED! By the time we stopped for coffee in London KY, neither of us were tired. The coffee, on the other hand, made us deliriously slap happy.
We laughed most of the way home after a mad coffee rush by Thomas. By the time we arrived home at 3:30, we were both dizzy from laughter and delirium.
We slept until 11 AM. I hated to miss church again. There is no way I would be able to do this amount of camping if I was still the youth director at church. The way I see it, the boys will only be this age ONCE. I'm going to cherish every moment they want to spend with me. When I am to "old and feeble, and can Scout no more", I will be able to go to church every time the doors are open. Until then, I am going to teach Scouts how to be reverent, and have a Scouts Own Service at every campout I attend.
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