Camping with the Cubbies

This weekend we went to Cub Scout family camp with the Pack.  It was a lot of fun to spend time with the Cubs and their families.  We went to Camp Pico Blanco south of Monterey and inland a bit.  It was a beautiful location in the redwood forest.  The trees are so tall.  There are a few oaks and other things sprinkled in, but it is mostly the redwoods.  I was afraid it was going to be cold.  The area is known for being cold and foggy along the coast.  We got lucky.  It was freakishly warm and nice, which meant 70s during the day and 60s at night.  I'm used to either hot desert days or cold mountain nights when I camp.  This was just weird, but I'm not complaining.

There is a little river that goes through camp.  The kids spent a lot of time playing, swimming, splashing, panning for gold, fishing for crawdads and anything else they could see, at all hours of the day and night.

They did find some sparkly sand, but the fish were in little danger since they were fishing with a t-shirt and left over bacon grease.

At the waterfront the river had been dammed to make a little space for swimming, canoeing and kayaking.  In the evening the bats came out and swooped and fluttered all over the surface of the water.  There weren't any mosquitos so I don't know what they were eating or maybe they were drinking.  I don't know.  I only wish they had been around during the day to eat the little flies that were swarming around.

 

While some of the boys went on a 3 mile hike that turned into a 7 mile hike, Buddy boy sharpened sticks and carved his name in the sides.  He was making arrows, because you just never know when you'll need one.

 

 

One of the best things for My Girl was the little sisters.  There were several little girls for her to play with all weekend.  She loved it.

 

They dubbed this notch between two redwoods their clubhouse.  When they weren't in the water, or trying to tell the boys what to do, they were here.

The camp staff had volunteered to come up for the extra weekend.  So the archery and BB gun ranges were open as well as the craft and nature lodges.  The kids had a good time with leather work.  We all did archery.  This was one of My Girls favorite parts.  I really liked the archery as well.  Dad and I went out on a date last week to an archery range for a lesson and some practice.  It was fun to put my new skills to work.

 

We had a good time.  It was great to spend some family time as well as get to know the other families better.  They are a great group of people.