Lake view at Lincoln State Park - Troop 1086

A Fun Weekend at Holiday World

We strive to make all of our campouts fun and enjoyable for our Scouts. However, sometimes we take it up a notch, forgo most of the typical campout activities, and let the Scouts have some fun. This past weekend we did just that by taking a trip to Holiday World.

Camping

Even though this trip was a little different than most, we’re still Scouts. So… When we travel, we camp!

This weekend we stayed at Lincoln State Park in Indiana, which is just minutes from Holiday World. The fact that we were so close to the park really helped out because we didn’t have to plan in a bunch of extra travel time.

Tent Setup

Scouts is a “youth-led” program, meaning that the Scouts are responsible for planning and running our meetings and events. (With parental guidance and direction, of course.) At campouts, this means that the Scouts are responsible for many of the tasks, including the setup and teardown of their tents.

Our troop provides tents for our Scouts. We typically have 2 Scouts per tent. This allows the Scouts to work together while they choose a site for their tent and set it up.

Our Scouts are responsible for setting up and tearing down their own tents.
Our Scouts are responsible for setting up and tearing down their own tents.

Since this trip was a little further than most, we didn’t arrive until after dark. This meant that the Scouts had to set up their tents in the dark. While this added some extra challenges, they managed just fine. The biggest issue was that we couldn’t tell how much space we actually had at our campsite. While setting up in the dark, we grouped all of our tests in one area. However, once there was daylight the next morning, we realized that there was a lot of open space we could have used. Oh well. We managed just fine.

Youth camping sites at Lincoln State Park
Youth camping sites at Lincoln State Park

Cooking

On Saturday, we spent the entire day at the park. This meant that most of our meals were purchased rather than prepared. However, we decided to cook our own breakfast before leaving for Holiday World

Again, following the youth-lead approach, the Scouts are responsible for planning and cooking the meals, along with all of the associated clean-up duties.

This worked out great because one of our newer Scouts was able to use this opportunity to complete some of his rank advancements by helping with the cooking duties. He received lots of help from the other Scouts as well.

Cooking breakfast
Cooking breakfast

Teamwork

One thing that always amazes me is how well the Scouts work together to get things done. When it was time to leave Sunday morning, one of our older Scouts coordinated the camp tear-down effort. Everyone helped to get things packed up and put back into the trailer. Within no time, we were all packed up and ready to go.

Time to pack up camp
Time to pack up camp

Join The Fun

Events such as this are a great opportunity for our Scouts to learn the importance of working together all while having a fun time. Want to join in on the fun, be sure to contact us for more info!