Magness Adventure Camp- Peaceful Valley

Magness Adventure Camp- Year 3

Mr. A is such a handsome Scout and he takes his scouting duties seriously.

Last week (July 14h-16th) our family ventured off to the Peaceful Valley Scout Ranch, in Elbert CO. This is the last year as a Cub Scout for Mr. A and the first year (as a Scout at least) for Mr. J.

Mr. S is our honorary Scout Buddy and future Scout. He finds it frustrating that he is not yet a scout.

The photos didn't come out so well, but Miss C. loved the dime-sized frogs. She spent loads of time catching them and admiring them as of course she would. Her love of frogs is nearly as strong as her love for Jessie the Yodeling Cowgirl.

There she is at the pond at Magness, deeply engaged with a frog, no doubt longing to take a bunch of them home.

And oh the walking... and walking and walking. No doubt we walked nearly 20 miles of the weekend. Daddy and the older two more so with the Webelos overnight campout on the Second Mesa.. Well at least it felt like 20 miles.
Time at the pond.

More Walking.

Back to the lake.
The Obstacle course.
Up and Over.


Running and leaping.
More Climbing up and over.

Indian Paintbrush

A nature walk. Now this is the most annoying part of the camp. All the walking and we have to take a nature walk where some lazy, overgrown boy scout of near college shows us a few token plants. Like this one above. An Indian Paintbrush. The Nature Camp staff told us it was an edible flower, but that it was endangered.

Wikapedia lists this as its Uses (too bad it is endangered or I would eat some and make a wild salad. Wonder if we could get some seeds for it then?)

Uses

The flowers of Indian paintbrush are edible and sweet, and were consumed in moderation by various Native American tribes as a condiment with other fresh greens. These plants have a tendency to absorb and concentrate selenium in their tissues from the soils in which they grow, and can be potentially very toxic if the roots or green parts of the plant are consumed. Highly alkaline soils increase the selenium levels in the plants. Indian paintbrush has similar health benefits to consuming garlic if only the flowers are eaten in small amounts and in moderation.^[3]

The Ojibwe used a hairwash made from Indian Paintbrush to make their hair glossy and full bodied and as a treatment for rheumatism. The high selenium content of this plant has been cited as the reason for its effectiveness for these purposes. Nevada Indian tribes used the plant to treat sexually-transmitted diseases and to enhance the immune system.

More walking and admiring our showdows and the company of a high spirited Mr. S (for the moment).

More plants.

I forgot what our leader said about this disease on this Ponderosa Pine, but you can see the yellow of it, working on slowly killing this vanilla smelling tree.


With the extra rain we have had here in CO this spring and summer, there is an extra amount of wildflowers growing.

Climbing a sandstone formation.

The view looking over to Camp Dobbins and the other Boy Scout portion of Peaceful Valley Scout Ranch. We were on the cub scout side (Magness).

The theme this year was Medieval Adventures. So they made a cardboard shield.

Our brand new Tiger Cub sporting his Tiger Shield.

A webelo shield, sporting what Eagle Scout daddy calls a Corn Scout Emblem (the Fleur De Liese).


Mr. S also wanted a Scout Symbol.

The Boating is one of the highlights that we enjoy at Magness. A family our size can't all fit into one boat.

But it was relaxing.
And inspired the dreams of little boys.

Mr. A Doesn't look like he is enjoying this does he?

We managed to safely pass the camera to daddy over the calm waters.




Daddy and the big kids off on the Second Mesa at the Ranch The pitched the tent themselves and only needed help getting the rain fly on. They were part of only a few of the webelos who did most of the work themselves, I am told. So very glad we had them practice before we left.
Another highlight we enjoy at camp is the flag ceremonies. Not so much the flag ceremonies, but the E-tips (environmental tips posed as a skit in a humorous form). You will find me as a Scout Leader going crazy over a TRASH FLOWER!!!!!!! All thanks to an E-tip. You should see my scouts scramble to pick up trash when I go berserk with that.
And of course, there is nothing like the flag pole at camp.

One of the biggest lures into scouting is ARCHERY! Oh yeah! That and BB Guns, Tomahawks and Sling shots. You can really lure a prospective boy that way into the brotherhood of scouting. So Mr. A up at his turn on the Archery range.
Even Mr. Seth got to try his little hands at it. And LOVED IT. He loved the BB Guns too. While his aim was off, he was very good at loading a BB Gun.

And Miss C.

The end of the weekend posed a Tournament against the evil Wizard and his minion. They got to dress up and show their skills in a tournament.

Mr. J also trying out the bow and arrow. I will say that Jeremy has an awesome ability for BB Guns. So much so that he has decided to save up for a BB Shotgun of his own. Don't worry we use protective gear and scout rules of safety.


Sir A. The Webelo Knight

The swarm of imaginations at work on the pirate boat.



Goodbye Magness Adventure Camp! We LOVE our time there. Till next year when Mr. J is a Wolf and Mr. A will experience the Boys Scout side of things.
To Magness we say, Huzzah!