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bucabaker

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Everything posted by bucabaker

  1. Not familiar with area, but we have had good luck with renting canoes from a scout camp. The one we used had trailers and rented a rack of canoes for it. Check with camps/councils in the area.
  2. Expedition Canoeing, A Guide to Canoeing Wild Rivers in North America Cliff Jacobson
  3. A couple weeks ago I postponed our Friday departure to the Klondike until Saturday morning because of snowy roads. I happened to get on the interstate at location and time group would have been traveling on Friday and traffic was stopped for accident scene with about 5 ambulances and half dozen smacked up cars. That reinforced for me it was a good decision postponing.
  4. Like so many magazines they slant their reviews to what their advertisers are promoting and selling. It hardly matters if is backbacking, gardening, or computers. In most cases it is the high end stuff that their advertisers are trying to get in the eye of the consumer and distinguish themselves with. Sometimes the high end product has value to the consumer, sometimes it does not. We all have to filter this information.
  5. Purely my personal thoughts. I would leave it to the troop and ask that they use it for Troop camping equipment or summer camp for kids who need help. Troops seems to be more in synch with who needs help.
  6. In the central Connecticut area, a number of places serve a steamed cheeseburger. When I first moved to the area, I was taken aback, but they are pretty good.
  7. Everyone seems to be chiming in on the pants so I will put in my odd comment. I generally like the pants, but I don't care for the way my wallet sits in the back pocket. The mesh pocket seems a little too deep and stetchy. I am planning to shorten the pocket to keep the wallet a little higher.
  8. I would say aluminum poles are slightly more desireable than fiberglass for car camping. We have another manufacturer's fiberglass poles in some of our tents and they are a problem with splitting and slivers. Now they are not new, probably 6-8 years old, but the fabric is outliving the poles.
  9. I would say aluminum poles are slightly more desireable than fiberglass for car camping. We have another manufacturer's fiberglass poles in some of our tents and they are a problem with splitting and slivers. Now they are not new, probably 6-8 years old, but the fabric is outliving the poles.
  10. We are headed out for a long weekend on the AT in Vermont. Overnight forecast is for 45 degrees. I love it!
  11. Unit price: I checked the unit price of microwave popcorn, admittedly, the best buy of the popcorn selection. We have the 15 pack 45 ounce package selling at $12. A unit price of $4.27/lb. I checked the unit prices on the store shelves at my local supermarket and unit prices ran $3.50 to $5.00 per pound. So the unit price is pretty competitive for that product, especially given it is a fundraising item. No agument you can do better still going to the big box store. But retail is about selling the shopping experience and for some of us anyway it doesn't get much better
  12. Predators taking YPT isn't going to make the difference. It is up to all of us leaders and parents to know the youth protection rules and insist on following those rules
  13. In as much as this thread is about the second class requirement "red swimmer" I don't think it is a particularly good idea to run the test in very deep water. Most of the Scouts taking this test are marginal swimmers and some are likely to need assistance. The camps I have attended have run this test in the intermediate swim area which is about five feet deep. Blue swimmer test is of course a horse of a different color.
  14. Perhaps its just me or my computer, but I couldn't open the Living Your Religion Guidebook link, that would have the requirements for the religeious emblem.
  15. One option is to square lash an 18-24 inch long cross piece to a tree and hang pack by the shoulder straps.
  16. Scouts get their own vests at our pack. I have noticed a tendency to buying fleece vests which provide a fairly useful piece of clothing for cool weather
  17. I have noticed the phenomenom of how a big room creates an urge to run in cub scouts, particularly the youngest. Maybe the CO has a smaller room that can be used for the meetings.
  18. Will give you a rundown of what is available in Southeastern Connecticut area. First choice would probably be the Naragansett Council (Rhode Island) camp site on Block Island. Don't know how difficult it is to get reservations, but I would anticipate that there would be a lot of demand. Need to take Ferry out of Point Judith RI or New London, CT. For striped bass fishing, Fall would be best. Another possibility would be CT Rivers Council Camp Tadma or Cochegan Rock 10-15 miles North of the Shoreline. Head boats available in Niantic.
  19. I know that the Scouting professionals have from time to time really ticked off our Pack volunteers by coming in and starting up a new pack in our recruiting area. We are in a very small city with typical inner city makeup. We do try reach out to everyone. My Webelos II den was 40% minorities. The Scouting Professionals would have been far better to come to the Pack and say we want to help you recruit more scouts and make an effort to reach out to the schools that you are not getting a lot of members from. But they chose to ignore the existing pack, go out and start new Packs. These
  20. I know that the Scouting professionals have from time to time really ticked off our Pack volunteers by coming in and starting up a new pack in our recruiting area. We are in a very small city with typical inner city makeup. We do try reach out to everyone. My Webelos II den was 40% minorities. The Scouting Professionals would have been far better to come to the Pack and say we want to help you recruit more scouts and make an effort to reach out to the schools that you are not getting a lot of members from. But they chose to ignore the existing pack, go out and start new Packs. These
  21. Search on the net and you will find some inexpensive trophies. Personally, I like big ribbons with rossettes which can be gotten very reasonably all printed to order. I have gotten these from Larsens Award Ribbons. Also got some trophies from Riherd's Trophy Team. Experience so far has been good.
  22. Here is a hopeful update. I attempted to talk him into trying the troop through the end of the month. He hasn't experienced being part of the troop yet so give it a try for a little bit before rejecting it. So he showed up for the first meeeting last night. Not in uniform, but outward signs were that he was enjoying himself. I took the opportunity to present him with his Arrow of Light and other awards during the Troop meeting. His Dad told me that the scout and his Mom had a dust up before the Blue & Gold, so there was probably a big emotional upheaval going on. I have had othe
  23. Ninety minutes before the Blue & Gold I get a call from a boy that he is quitting Scouts. He was about to receive his Arrow of Light and cross over into the Scout Troop and was a no show. He has been diagnosed as ADHD and at times over the last five years it has been a struggle to keep this boy focused and involved. Having felt that Scouts was probably more important for this boy's development than any of the boys in my den, this deflated the day for me. Any words of wisdom for the discussion we have when I bring him his achievement awards?
  24. Thanks for posting this. It saved me two hours of driving to renew my Safe Swim Defense certificate later this month.
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