For those that have never been family camping with Pack 606 before, it is a great time for the whole family. The pack rents a site and provides food and activities for you and your kids. You bring your tent, sleeping bag and other essential stuff, camp out with the pack and have a great weekend with your sons. Both parents are welcome as well as siblings. We typically have a cabin to cook in and have hot meals (not just sandwiches and cereal).

Food is provided by the pack but all parents pitch in to prepare meals for the kids. I will have a duty schedule I will send out next week to ensure that all dens have a kitchen assignment.

Scouts may not attend unless they have a responsible guardian staying with them. Scouts may not stay in tents without their responsible guardian.

Take a look at the things that we have planned and get excited. It’s going to be a great time.

Date: May 13-15, 2005

Location: Broad Creek Boy Scout Reservation, Camp Spencer (note that this is a different camp than we were at in the fall)

Cost: $12 per head; children under 5 are free

Registration: Please sign up by May 10 using the e-mailed registration sheet. Mail (or drop it off) to: Kris Britton

Accommodations: I have reserved a campsite and the Administration Building. The sites are not right together as we have done in the past. You have to walk across the parking from the campsite to get to the building (not a long walk though). However, we do have indoor plumbing which is a neat feature.

Directions:
95 North, Exit 80, Churchville/Riverside, Rt 543
Travel toward Churchville (which is a left at the top of the Ramp I believe)
Go about 2 miles and Turn right on Rt. 136
Go 12 miles North , cross Rt 22 and Rt 1
3 miles from Rt 1 you will come a four way stop in Dublin
Travel through the 4 say stop on 136
Turn right on Peach Orchard Road
Travel about 1 mile Turn right into the entrance of camp Spencer.
Our campsite is Cochise

Planned Activities:

• Water Bottle Rocket Launching
• Hiking with a twist (Scouts will have to perform some activities along the way)
• Archery
• Den time
• Campfire

To participate in the Water Bottle Rockets, each scout should bring one (or more) 2 Liter soda bottles. We will be demonstrating the forces associated with rocket launching…. Kids will get to make their own water propelled rocket and launch it themselves.

We will schedule ample time for each activity so that scouts are not rushed. There will probably be some free time between activities for scouts and their families to relax a bit.

Pack 606,

After we come back from the Pack 606 Camping Trip (May 13-15) the fun continues with "We Remember" (Friday, May 27).

What is "We Remember"? It is a service project where our scouts (troops and packs from all over the district) place approximately 49,000 flags on graves of our honored dead.

Where does it take place? Baltimore National Veterans Cemetery, Catonsville, MD (Route 144 inside the 695 beltway)

When and for how long? Friday, May 27 with flag placement from 6:30pm until the beginning of a program at 7:15pm. The whole event ends by 8:00pm.

How much is it going to cost? It is FREE. (And there might be a PATCH for those scouts that participate, but let me check and get back to you on this.)

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: I have done it for the last two years and plan to be there on Friday, May 27th. This has been a great experience for me since it has given me the opportunity to introduce my son to the concept of honoring our dead and show respect for those "resting" in a cemetery. As he matured it also provided a different perspective and meaning to those words in the scout promise: "I...promise...to do my duty to...my country". PLUS the kids have a LOT of FUN placing the flags. Last year I took what I thought was too many flags...we ran out and my kids went for more...ran out and ended up asking people with flags if they were through placing them so they (my kids) could have them and placed them on those graves that did not have one. AND the program was good since it captured my kids attention until the end.

ARE YOU IN?

Yours in Scouting,

Victor.

The National Pike District sponsors Cub Scout Day Camp every year at the Howard County Fairgrounds. It is a day camp for scouts of all ages that is run by parent volunteers. Scouts participating in the program are assigned to Den’s (with an attempt to assign scouts from the same pack/den to the same day camp dens). The scout's day comprises working through a number of stations to include science, crafts, BBs, archery and other fun scouting activities with his den.

I was a parent volunteer for this 3 years ago when I ran the archery range. I took a week off of work, set up the archery range and ran the kids through the range non stop for a week. It was tough, hot and long, but we had a great time and the scouts seemed to have a great time too.

If your are interested in sending your son to daycamp, drop me a line and I can give you more information. One thing to note, is that the camp is run fully by volunteers. The expectation from the District is that if a pack sends a scout to daycamp, the pack should provide at least one volunteer to help with running the camp. In the past if you volunteer, your scout goes to camp for free.

Again it’s a great opportunity for your kids and it's relatively cheap. It would be a great Den activity if parents have the time to help out.