Camp Sol Mayer

Although we were the only family from our pack that signed up to go, we still decided it would be fun to see what Camp Sol Mayer family camp was all about. We were not disappointed. We arrived somewhat early since we weren't sure what to expect. You really only needed to get there before lunch if you were camping, but we brought along a picnic lunch that we enjoyed on the back of the truck after taking a walk around the camp. The activities started at 12:45 with the flag raising and then all the scouts were let loose to choose from many activities. One advantage of being the only people there from our pack was the freedom to go where we wanted, unlike the large groups of kids that took over various activities as a group. We avoided whereever they were.

We were lucky enough to be the first at archery where Colten earned his first beltloop of the day. Both kids got to try it out:


After archery, we headed over to sling shot where the kids shot dog food at paper plate targets... ingenious idea! We decided that's how we should feed the cats sometimes :) Next we tried for bb gun shooting, but the line was WAY too long so we made our way to the paddle boats on the river. After a few rounds up and down the river, we went back up to shooting... still a long line. So we went to wildlife conservation - Colten's second belt loop of the day where the main attraction was a boa that both kids got to hold for awhile:




When we were done there, we went to the art (third belt loop), bowling and marble activities and then headed back down to see how bb gun shooting was going. The line was more manageable so we waited so Colten could get his belt loop there. Next was the highlight (and lowlight) of the day, the mud pit! This consisted of a sprinkler on a pole with a mound of dirt around it and a moat around that. This moat was connected to another body of water with a swingset type contraption that had water coming out of the top and a rope that could be used to swing across the water. KID HEAVEN! They had so much fun getting dirty and throwing mud and sliding down the mud pile. However, getting clean wasn't much fun... we had brought extra clothes, but no towels, so we squirted them off with cold water and had them lay out on the side walk to dry some. Then we took them over to the truck and had them dry off with paper towels and change clothes. They didn't like that part much, but didn't have much of a choice. Ashlyn said she wouldn't have done it knowing that we didn't have towels... oh well, too late!

Here they are playing in the mud and how they looked when they got out:



What a day! We concluded the day with a nice supper at Dad's favorite Menard restaurant, Ojeda's and had to rub it in a little :) And of course some major showers when we got home!