AZOwl

Folks, Thanks for the input... Pack...Our Pack and Troop are very tightly linked...and at our last Pack/Troop family camp, we had 37 people...so numbers I suspect will be somewhere between 30-50 people attending. Heading to the backcountry with cubbies is a no-go, so we're front-country bound...The plan is to take the Boy Scouts on an overnight backpacking trip to get them some space and separation, and give them a different experience from the cubbies... Old Guy...This is for next summer, not this summer. They don't even open up reservations until 5 months out. I did talk to He

Looking for advice from our California brethren, or those that have been to Yosemite recently. My Pack and Troop are planning a Family Camp/High Adventure next summer. At this point, I figure there will somewhere between 30-50 people, which puts us squarely into a group campsite. I've been researching such campsites, and it looks like YNP has several, but they book only 5 months in advance, and because there are limited sites, I suspect that they are booked in a matter of seconds by people hovering over the 'enter' key. So I am looking for strategies for making sure we have somewhere

Seeing as how I am from AZ, and right in the middle of the Mormon Corridor, you'd think that religion would come up a lot. But really, it doesn't. Our Pack and Troop is wildly diverse, from very conservative Christians, to a Jewish family, to bordering on pagan or shamanic traditions...And we embrace that diversity. When I went to Woodbadge, they pounded diversity into us (and this was a 95% LDS staff)...And when I was on staff, with a different 95% mostly LDS staff, I never 'prayed' so much in my life. But that was ok, because it made me expand my own thoughts on religion. In practi

And that is exactly what I am hoping must churches do...Focus on the boys, and the advantages of Scouting, instead of obsessing about one thing...Hats off to that church for being so accepting of all, regardless of faith!

In the spirit of qwazse's thread about how to talk to the youth about their objections, I'd like to offer this up. This was prompted by a video I saw on CNN about a First Baptist Church in Alabama who is refusing to let their local troop meet there anymore. There was no mention as to whether they were chartered there, or just meet there. But over the past week, I've been doing a lot of thinking about how this all works out, and I put together the following letter to the Pastor, which I will be sending today. Its respectful, doesn't flame him or his beliefs, but does ask him to reconsider his

The same way I would address this with a family that was thinking about walking away... Pointing out that this really changes nothing, except that National is no longer forced to kick a boy out because of his orientation. That gay youth and adults have been here all along, and that they might even be friends with them, but don't know that they are gay. It sets things back to the way they were before the 1990's, when sexual orientation wasn't even part of Scouting. This really has no affect on the straight youth and families whatsoever, but keeps Scouting open for all youth that need

My thoughts are simple...If I can't have sex on a campout or an activity with the Mrs...Then they shouldn't be having sex with anyone either. We also just covered the Family Life MB in our weekly meetings. And while my unit is wildly diverse along religious lines, and I had to tiptoe through the parts about what it means to be a man, and a father, I definitely got the point across about sex being intended for reproduction, and that if they aren't ready to be a dad, then they should wait, because the only 100% foolproof method is not to do it. Having said that, do I really think that th

Nick... How is it a compromise with the world's view...Most WOSM organizations do not discriminate against LGBT members.

Relapse... Its an incremental step...Not a perfect solution, and in my opinion just extends the surgery and healing process, but in time I see it passing for the adults as well.

Hey,it wants a message more than 10 character, but the new topic works

So you're telling me that homemaking skills are not valid? Cooking, cleaning, sewing, but most of all BEING INDEPENDENT isn''t something worthwhile? Let me tell you, my mother, bless her, taught all of her sons how to cook, clean, do laundry, sew, iron, and in general take care of themselves...None of us had to rely on anyone else to do these things...And not an alternative lifestyle badge, but how about a Diversity badge? Learning and accepting (maybe not condoning, but at least accepting) how other people live would be a bad thing how?

My wife was looking through our set of Promo Jambo patches for Grand Canyon Council. These are double-sided patches, featuring Warner Bros cartoon characters, and she found one that was inverted...the front is upside down, and the back is right side up. Can someone give me some feedback on how collectible this might be? No way to do images here, but if you go to the patch collectors page on Facebook, I was able to post pics of the normal, and the error patch there.

Thanks, Dean...I did talk to Grand Canyon Council and they said I needed to do the National Tour Permit for both, which I've done for the past two years for the Troop for our High Adventure trips, so that's not an issue. The biggest hurdle was just making sure the Pack could do it. And I agree, the med forms could be a pain, but that's a requirement for going, so folks will just have to do it. My Pack is really outdoors-oriented...We have three campouts scheduled between now and June...Fortunately, the Pack and Troop are linked very closely, so we just end up doing some joint activities,

So thought I'd run this past you folks... I have a Pack and Troop that are tightly linked. We meet at the same time, and the same place, and participate in many of the same activities, where appropriate. Our troop is considering doing an extended trip in 2014, 10 days to Yosemite and Sequoia and that area. Since several of the families have youth that are in both Pack and Troop, we would like to invite families from the Pack to join with us on this trip as a Family Camp. I've just looked at the Guide to Safe Scouting, and there is no mention of a time limit to a family camp for Cubs,

Eagle92...I LOVE that Guidebook...You know the old joke about Cub Scout R&D, right? Its not Research and Development...Its Ripoff and Duplicate! SctDad...Send you that PM...I'm really looking forward to doing this. I've always been a huge proponent of Cubs Camping as a way of preparing them for bigger and better things when they move up to Boy Scouts, and I can think of no better way to retain kids than to appeal to their sense of adventure. Keep it coming folks!