Back from Camp!
Peter Van Houten (peterva@QM.WV.TEK.COM)
Wed, 17 Aug 1994 16:02:14 -0800
Well friends and fellow scouters! I have returned from one week at =
Webelos camp and another week plus of vacationing. First, my vacation was =
very good...went through Yellowstone National Park and Teton National =
Park. Picked up a great T-Shirt along the way when we visited the =
Shoshone-Bannock Indian PowWow. It has an Indian chief on horseback with =
the sun setting behind him, encircling the scene is a full headress, and =
along the top of the headress is the text 'On the PowWow Trail'. My =
fellow PowWowee's will be very jealous when they see it!
The week at camp was by far the VERY BEST experience I and my webelos boys =
could have had! I can't say anything bad....it was GREAT! It was a new =
concept in resident camping being tried out in our council. They took a =
unused Boy Scout Camp and converted it into a Webelos Camp. No fancy =
themes, just focused on Webelos activities and getting boys excited about =
crossing over into Boy Scouts. I took 19 boys and 4 additional adults =
with me. We shared a campsite similar to what Boy Scout camp is like. Our=
s was located on the bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean (not bad). The =
program areas were focused around the outdoor activity badge group, as =
well as readyman, and sportsmanship! It also included Craftsman, and the =
usual BB Gun and Archery range. The food was superb specifically selected =
for a Webelos appetite. The staff was well trained and boy focused, =
emphasising the ultimate in leader qualities, while being a friend at the =
same time.
We had great campfires, both in our campsites as well as the campfire =
bowl. We did hikes, ocean walks, tide pool exploring, campfires on the =
beach, kite flying, sand castle building contest (they split my group up =
into two groups and we won 2nd and 3rd place). We went on a midnight =
hike to the beach to experience fluorescent alge. This was major cool! =
In the moonlight the waves rolling in looked like giant glow sticks =
rolling into shore. You'd pick up a handful of sand, shake it, and it =
would glitter like tinker-bell. Throw the sand onto the wet beach and its =
was like throwing a handful of lighted glitter onto the ground. Again it =
was totally cool!
One of the favorite songs (wish I could sing it to you so you'd get the =
tune right) was the 'Belly Button Song'. Song with a Jamacan feel, the =
words are:
CHORUS:
Me take care of me Belly Button, me like to keep it nice and clean.
Cause if me neglet me Belly Button, in it grows the fungus green.
'Yell: Fungus Dance" Stand up, scream, wave your hands and turn around.
1. When I was a little baby my mother looked and she adored
The doctor made me a Belly Button, when he cut off my umbilical cord.
2. Some people they have an 'Inny", deeper than the Grand Canyon
Some people have an "outy", bigger than the Astrodome.
3. In the winter time I wear my sweater, the one my Aunt Nellie sent
And when I take it off at night time, my Belly Button is full of lint.
The kids loved this song, and it is now become one which will live long in =
the repertoire of Pack 383.
Anyway, bottomline is that the did a great job, kids loved it and I hope =
this program expands throughout the nation because it is well worth it.
In Scouting . . .
Peter Van Houten
Peter Van Houten / E-Mail: =
peter_van_houten.techsupport@qm.wv.tek.com
Terry Howerton Sakima Group, Inc. SCOUTER Magazine Kansas City | 
