Camping in the Cabin at Beaumont
While most of our events start out with the whole group meeting at Holy Cross on Friday evening, this weekend was a little different. We left much later than normal, but that was all part of the plan. Since we splurged this camping weekend and rented a cabin at Beaumont Scout Reservation, we didn’t have to worry about setting up tents in the dark. Avoiding rush hour traffic was a nice bonus as well.
Due to several factors, we had a MUCH smaller crowd than normal. However, we made the best of it, and it turned out to be a great weekend!
Friday night arrival at the cabin
We typically don’t plan a meal for Friday night. The Scouts simply bring their “Cracker Barrel” snacks to share. We had fewer than normal this time, but they all seemed to survive.
The recent thaw had melted the snow and left the ground fairly muddy. Given that, and the fact that we were in an unfamiliar area while it was dark outside, we decided to spend the evening in our fancy cabin. The Scouts had brought several games for indoor entertainment, and they wasted no time breaking them out.
A rainy morning
The guys woke up pretty early on Saturday, but there was one thing that started the day earlier than they did…the rain. As forecast, the morning included continuous hard rain along with frequent thunder and
Luckily, the weather didn’t mess up our breakfast plans, because we were nice and dry indoors! The guys whipped up some breakfast burritos for all of us and quickly cleaned up the mess aftewards.
The only problem… It was still raining! In other situations, we might choose to venture out in the rain. However, given the lightening and all of the surrounding trees, it seemed best for us to just stay indoors where it was warm and dry. (We have the cabin, so why not take advantage of it!)
Not sure when (or if) we’d get the opportunity to get outside, the guys resumed their games from the night before. They really showed their creativity! They took the game of Risk and modified the rules by using one of the other games (Trivia Crack) when a battle ended in a tie. You just never know…
A trip to the Ranger’s Station
We had made prior arrangements to rent out the archery range for the afternoon. Given the heavy rainfall and the fact that there was standing water everywhere, we basically assumed that archery was a no-go for the weekend. However, we felt that we should at least check with the Ranger to see what he thought.
Luckily around 11
When we got to our destination, the Ranger (who was awesome) said we could still use the archery range if we wanted. It was pretty chilly outside, but at least it wasn’t raining, so we figured why not! We told him that we were going to head back to the cabin to make
Trying something new
Last year, many of our older Scouts went to the Sea Base high adventure camp. While there were many great memories, one that they remember the most was one of the meals… “Mac-N-Cheese with Spam”.
Hey…when you’re on an island for 4 days, canned meat is pretty convenient!
As it turns out, the guys loved it. In fact, they like it so much that they decided to have that for our lunch on Saturday. It’s fair to say that not everyone was excited about the meal choice. However, they seemed to like it because (as usual) there were no leftovers.
Love it when a plan comes together!
After lunch, we decided to head to the archery range. When we walked outside out of the cabin, it was like we had been transported somewhere else. In about an hours time, the temperature had risen more than 20 degrees, the sky was blue, and the sun was shining. It was great!
We still had to make our way through the mud and standing water, but once we got to the archery range, it was all good. Since we had the range to ourselves, the guys (and leaders) had more than enough time to get our fill of target practice. It was especially nice to finally get outside and enjoy the great weather!
Beaumont has a lot to offer. They have one area called “Cub World”. As the name implies, it’s intended to be used by Cub Scout Packs. The guys, however, decided that was just a suggestion. We actually had a hard time getting them to leave when it was time to go back!
Saturday night games
After our “walking taco” dinner, the guys decided to play a game of Dungeons & Dragons. Hardly any of them had played it before. However, they really got into it. 3 hours later, they finally finished!
Time for breakfast
Saturday must have been a success because on Sunday morning, the leaders actually woke up before the Scouts! (Losing an hour due to daylight savings time probably helped a little as well.)
We typically have a very simple breakfast on Sunday morning. That gives us more time to pack up our tents as well as all of the equipment that makes its way out of the trailer. However, since we didn’t have to take down any tents, we decided to break out the dutch ovens and make a little Mountain Man breakfast with Gooey Cinnamon Rolls for dessert. You guessed it… No leftovers.
After packing up, we used the brooms and mop that were in the cabin’s closet to “leave no trace” and then headed back home.
What started out as a weekend that looked questionable due to the weather turned out to be a great time. We’ll definitely have to make our way back to Beaumont in the future.