On Friday, May 8, the troop gathered at the chapel of the Grandview Ninth Ward to leave for the Pony Express Camporee at Simpson Springs on the Pony Express Trail. Brother Dan Williams purchased food for the campout, Sister Rae Eatough arranged for the tour permit. Brother Steve Ledingham, formerly scoutmaster of the troop and father of troop member Landon, provided 2-deep leadership.
We drove about 80 miles to the campsite, driving north to Lehi, driving ever-so-slowly to the west in the Lehi commuter traffic, and about 30 miles out of Lehi turned on to a dirt road for the final 25 miles. The event was on pretty barren land, and the drive took longer than anticipated, so our beef stew dinner became fried bits of steak, potato, and onion (most of the ingredients were cooked). In the evening there was a campfire program in which troops put on skits, a speaker taught of Pony Express history and regional history (including stories about Orrin Porter Rockwell), and there was an Order of the Arrow ceremony. The troop gathered for a scoutmaster's minute around our stove and we enjoyed hot chocolate.
Saturday morning the scouts prepared a breakfast of sausage, eggs, bacon, and pancakes. We attended a flag ceremony, observed the "show 'n do" displays of the troops, finished taking down the camp, and the scouts entertained themselves tracking down lizards and making a short movie inspired by the stories of Orrin Porter Rockwell. We drove to the Simpson Springs station and read historical markers, then drove out over 20 miles to the Dugway Geode Beds, where more lizards were chased, 2 or 3 small geodes were found, and we stopped to visit with a group of men who had spent the weekend doing some very serious geode digging. We then backtracked to the chapel about 3 pm, we unloaded and stored the troop equipment, and all went home.
Pictures and movies will be posted on the troop's online photo gallery.
Accomplishments: 1 camping night toward rank advancement and the camping merit badge; Creed Rollins identified 10 wild animals; much fun.
Scouts in attendance: Stephan Dartiguenave, Zac Jarman, Landon Ledingham, Tyler Rife, Creed Rollins.
Adult leaders in attendance: Greg Jones, Steve Ledingham.
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