We tried something a little new this trip, in implementing a theme for the weekend. In this case, it was our Wild West Weekend. We focused on Dutch Oven cooking executed with great success by our first Assistant Scoutmaster, Mr. Foray, as well as firearm safety and shooting at the camp's rifle range. Everyone who went dressed as close to cowboy garb as they could get, but cowboy boots are more appropriate for the desert then they are in the foothills of the Catskill Mountains in October.
Not to say that the weekend started out very October like. Friday night proved to be quite humid while we were setting up camp, and just as we were getting settled, it finally cooled off and everyone slept in relative comfort.
We awoke to brisk more October-like weather, and spent the morning practicing woods tools skills to keep the fire going - which proved a problem as a large storm had passed through Friday morning to make sure all the wood in the area was completely soaked. Once we got the fire going, we had a great breakfast made in the Dutch Ovens of a breakfast souffle and Bisquick biscuits (and don't forget the cowboy/scout leader/web designer staple COFFEE!)
Due to the unforeseen issue with keeping wet wood lit, and the fact that Dutch Oven cooking is a time consuming event, we went from breakfast to working on a few rank advancement requirements, to the rifle range for a little shooting!
...and by a little, I mean about 400 rounds of .22 ammunition.
If you ask any camp staff member, they will tell you that the two most dangerous places in the entire camp are the waterfront and the rifle range. As an avid outdoors-man as well as a firearms enthusiast, I am always worried about shooting with mixed groups of people. The meeting before, I had given a brief lecture of firearms safety and operation, and I am happy to say that not only were our Scouts and Scouters very safe, but they are also pretty good shots! Even the range officer said that he almost didn't have to watch because we were so well behaved.
While our one Scout did have his rifle merit badge, our other Scout had never fired a rifle before, and for a first timer, he was as good (and in some cases better) than most of our group! (I say in some cases better, because a left-handed individual has great difficulty firing a rifle designed for a right handed shooter).
All in all, everyone was well behaved, had a great time, and, more importantly, incredibly safe. I'm thinking that we may have to schedule some time in the future to work on the shotgun merit badge...
Now I wish I could say that the shooting and the cowboy aspect was the memorable part of the trip, but I think the most memorable part was that this entire trip was sponsored by Bisquick. Every meal we ate had Bisquick in it. Mr. Foray, despite his pre-planning, forgot a few crucial ingredients for his beef stew - specifically, the flour to thicken the gravy, and the bouillon or 'Gravy Master' to make actual beef gravy. So, what did we have that was close to flour? BISQUICK!
So, dinner (which came out quite tasty) was a Bisquick Beef Stew, along with fresh corn bread and salad - and we got fancy since we had croutons as well! We had one minor mistake with the corn bread; while it was edible, we couldn't quite figure out why it had an odd taste to it... it wasn't bad per se, just a little...off. After eating a few pieces, it occurred to us that perhaps we had greased the pan with olive oil infused with garlic as oppose to Crisco...
Yep, that was it.
At any rate, after a busy day, we burned the rest of our firewood and headed off to bed.
We got up and packed our gear while Mr. Foray made breakfast; bacon and (you guessed it!) BISQUICK PANCAKES!!!
This is the first camping trip where we went through a whole box of Bisquick... and needed more!
So there you have it; Troop 101's Cowboy Themed Weekend at Forestburg Scout Reservation sponsored by our friends at Bisquick: The miracle powder!
Time to unpack, clean the gear and get ready for the next adventure - and head to the store and stock up on some more Bisquick!
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