Troop 804 - Summer Camp 2021 Camp Rodney - North East, MD

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  


Back home!

The "pack-up / load-up / move-out" process today went pretty well. The camp was "not neat" (or, to quote several of the senior Scouts, "disgusting") when we woke up but the Troop did a good job getting things in order. Each Scout was asked to pack as much as possible last night, but most still had a lot to do this morning. In addition to their tents and personal gear, everyone had to help with common areas: the pavillion, the bathrooms, and the general camp areas.

We headed up the hill for our usual 7:15am breakfast, where the boys again yelled off their heads with cheers and chants. After breakfast, it was back to the campsite for a final hour of cleanup (along with taking morning medicaitons). Then, it was off the parade field for the closing ceremony starting at 9am. The ceremony ended about 9:30, but the Troop stayed on the field while senior Scouts besides Jack helped with the sign-out inspection (which went fine). Then, it was into cars for the trip home! Some cars were delayed by an I-95 closure due to a funeral procession, but this was not a major impediment. At our own Troop 804 closing ceremony back at Baldwin, we recognized Brownsea (1st year) and Blue Crab (2nd year) Scouts and we gave signed "thank-you" shirts to Jack Daly and the adult leaders!

We should be especially grateful to the adults who attended Summer Camp this year:

Jennifer Dantinne returned to Summer Camp this year and spent all day with the 1st-year Brownsea program. This is a very hard job - chasing twelve 10 & 11 year olds up and down hot dusty hills (or wet muddy hills!) while maintaining their fun level and keeping them on time! She did this very hard job with grace and humor and they all had a great time!

Lori Hurley attended her first Summer Camp with us this week - although she has done plenty of weekend camping with the Troop. Thank you! She spent all day with our 2nd-year "Blue Mountain Program" - also very hard - and helped them complete three merit badges each, including the tough to do "Environmental Science" badge.

Ted Erdman also attended his first Summer Camp with us! He did a great job by running all over camp, sometimes multiple times during the day. It seemed like wherever we had a Scout, we also had Ted! He was also a great resource when it came to addressing challenging issues, helping us consider all the approaches and reach a sound decision.

Carmen Graves was our final first-time parent - but you would never think that based on her willingness to jump right in and help anywhere - with great results. Like Ted, she seemed to be everywhere all the time and yet found time to be on the spot wherever she was needed.

Andrew Huppert provided all interface with the leadership of Camp Rodney. He spent hours and hours working out logistics and other details. Andrew also managed to supervise numerous critical Camp areas to make sure classes were going OK and to get adjustments and corrections as needed. It was a non-stop task and yet he managed to make it easy - with the result of a great week thanks to his efforts!

Each of the adults gave freely of their time and energy to help the boys have a great week at Camp. They got little sleep yet managed to stay cheerful and fun. We would not have made it through the week without any of them and it is because of their efforts that the largest Troop in Camp Rodney had a great week! Please remember to thank them at your earliest chance!

With that, we pull the plug on Camp 2021, take a few weeks off, and then will start working on Camp 2022....

posted by Dave Shade at 7/3/2021 11:40:11 PM

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   


The last day.

Today was a pretty typical "last day" in camp. Many classes worked to finish things up, while others had mostly finished yesterday and so let the boys play games or do other things. The weather was pretty good - a few showers but nothing terrible and classes were not really affected.

The first-year "Brownsea" scouts "graduated" during a ceremony in the afternoon. They did a great job this week and although there was some homesickness earlier in the week, that is mostly gone now and all the boys report having had a great time!

In the afternoon, we packed up all the games the boys had been playing and put away all the hammocks so that the boys would not be distracted from their primary job: packing up their messy tents! That went reasonably well through the late afternoon and early evening. At 8:45, we lined up to be marched to the closing campfire, which was done quite well and was a lot of fun.

We still plan to be ready to leave about 10:00am although some of the factors are beyond our control. If we're able to leave at 10, we should be ready to dismiss from Baldwin Hall about noon. We will try to send a note when we have departed and we will see you soon!

posted by Dave Shade at 7/2/2021 11:56:18 PM

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  

Only one day left.

The story for today was wet! The day started out sunny but by mid-morning, the clouds were moving in and shortly after lunch, in kicked the camp siren alerting us to the impending storm. We received a short by heavy storm in the afternoon, lasting about an hour, and then another short one around dinner, and then a longer and very intense storm starting about 8:30pm. A few tents leaked a little but nothing sifnificant. We did hear that the entire parking lot drains into the corner right next to our site, and our "path" turned into a "river". Tha mount of water was impressive. Unfortunately, the rain fell so fast that it filled up our portable pop-up shelters and two of them broke - snapped poles - due to the weight of the water. But, the rain stopped around 11:45pm and other than a few adult tents now being on islands, there were no big issues with the rain.

The weather did interfere with some program options. Both the Wilderness Survival "outpost" and the Cycling "22 mile trail ride" were cancelled, and a few late afternoon sessions (ie. swimming) had to be cancelled or modified. None are a big deal thought.....

First-year Scouts were supposed to shoot archery this afternoon, but the rain interfered and instead they played Scout Trivia in the dining hall. Lunch today was very popular - hot dogs and/or hamburgers - with ice cream sandwiches for dessert!

Well, it's late and we have to survey the rain- and water damage so good night!

posted by Dave Shade at 7/2/2021 11:56:19 PM

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
 

The middle of the week is behind us now.

Today started a little later since nobody had to be at the pool by 6am for qualifying swims and everyone had gotten to bed a bit earlier last night. Breakfast was popular with eggs, ham, and a pastry. Unfortunately, because of the COVID restrictions, none of the usual dining hall activities are taking place - it is pretty much eat quickly and exit the building. But, the food is decent and the Scouts seem to like it.

For the most part, Wednesday is focused on regular merit badge classes, but once again there were evening track programs too. Although there have been a few glitches (Robotics class didn't have the correct adapter for one of the Lego Mindstorm devices), classes generally are going quite well. After dinner, about half the Troop went out for eveing shooting, shirt tye-dyeing, or Scoutcraft activities. The other half of the Troop stayed in camp, mostly playing cards or table games (chess, Jenga, etc.). During the early evening, and in keeping with Troop 804 tradition, the senior youth leaders were taken out for a dinner. In their absence, SPL Jack Daly appointed Tanner Brady to be acting SPL, which worked great. In his first official duty as SPL, Tanner successfully obtained ice for the water jugs, and for the rest of the week, the Troop plans to call him the "Ice King"!

First-year Scouts continued their routine of basic skills, Camp site visits, and merit badge work (Nature and Art or Music). They are all doing very well although wathcing a group of eight of them all sit at the same lunch table is not for the meek!

The second-year Scouts are also having fun. Robotics and Swimming are about tied for their favorite class (OK, Environmental Science if nobody's favorite). Some of them still have to complete a few swimming skills but they have lots of time left and being in the pool from 4-5 - the hottest part of the day - is great.

A storm rolled through about 8pm or so, bringing some lightning and thunder, and moderate rain, for about 45 minutes. It was exciting but not a big deal - except when the camp-wide alarm went off (to alert to possible lightning) and we discovered two things: 1) the alarm is REALLY LOUD, and 2) the alarm is right next to our campsite. It was quite startling! But, the storm moved through quickly and things cooled down a bit after it was over.

We hope everyone at home is having a great week. The Scouts sure are!

posted by Dave Shade at 7/1/2021 1:40:14 AM

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
 

Another really awesome day!

Tuesday started early again - two swimmers had to reattempt the early morning swim after not quite completing it on Monday - but both passed fine. There are no more 6:00am swims planned for T804!

Breakfast today was scrambled eggs, bacon, cereal, juice, fruit cups, and milk. After breakfast, everyone goes back to our campsite to participate in raising the colors and hearing daily announcements (peppered with reminders about drinking plenty of water, wearing sunscreen and bugspray, and being on time!). About 8:45am, Scouts head out to get to their 9:00 classes. First-year and second-year Scouts are heading out a bit earlier since they do tend to walk a bit slower but both groups did a great job with being on-time today.

First-year Scouts got to visit the climbing wall today. Half of them started the Art merit badge, and the other half started the Music merit badge. The whole group also continued work on the Nature merit badge.

The days have been hot and sunny but we do hear that there is a likelihood for some rain overnight into Thursday morning and perhaps during the day on Thursday. That's OK - it will cool things off!

In the evening, Scouts could again pick from a few different activities - although the bulk of the Troop stayed in Camp to play games and/or take a shower (umm, and/or eat their care packages!). The adults also received an anonymous care package - thank you!

We have been getting a LOT of mail. Last night, the Camp Director had to deliver the mail because it had filled their holding space. We have also started sending the Scouts' mandatory letters to home. Not sure when you'll see them - but they've started.

As of now, we still expect to be ready for dismissal on Saturday at about noon. We'll update as circumstances change.

So far things are going quite well... a little homesickness but nothing we can't handle.

Hope you all are well! Good night!

posted by Dave Shade at 6/29/2021 11:44:27 PM

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  

The first full day was awesome - long and hot/humid, but really great overall.

Many in the camp - anyone taking Lifesaving, or wanting to attempt the mile swim later in the week, had to wake at 5:30am for a trip to the pool for the 1/4 mile swim. For Scouts trying the mile swim, they would also have to get up early on Tuesday and Wednesday to swim 1/2 and 3/4 miles in the run-up to the full mile on Thursday. But, this year, nobody in Troop 804 is attempting the mile swim.

Meals here are staggered to minimize the number of people in the dining hall at any point in time. We were assigned an early breakfast so we are at the door at 7:15am. But, this means we are done and back in camp by about 7:50, giving everyone about an hour to get ready for the day before pulling out at 8:45am.

Most badges start the week with safety briefings, which are not always "fun", but many of the classes got to start "real" work today too. The largest number of T804 Scouts in a single class is Swimming at the end of the day, with 19 of our Scouts joined by a handful of other Scouts. All the Scouts were lucky to have not only a very strong staff crew, but extra help from our own Ted Erdman and Lori Hurley (12 of the 19 are in the "Blue Crab" program that Lori is shepherding).

Jennifer Dantinne spent all day - morning and afternoon - with our first-year Scouts in the Brownsea program. The program area is pretty far from our campsite but they did a great job making the walk up the hill where they worked on some basic Scouting skills and played some fun games. In the afternoon, they even got to take a trip to the boat yard. Later in the week, they'll make trips to the rifle range, the archery range, and the climbing wall.

The camp offered evening programs and our Scouts selected a number of different options. For tonight, they had choices including a late-night swim (8:45pm-9:45pm), trips to the Scoutcraft area to brand things, trips to the Handicrafts lodge, or the famous "Bay Hike" in which Scouts - and two adults, Ted Erdman and Carmen Graves, hiked around out in the water, seeing some great bird and bay life, and apparently watching a gorgeous sunset.

The oldest Scouts are doing a very good job helping and mentoring the younger Scouts. We are definitely the largest Troop in Camp this week, although it is a very large Camp so even our 69 Scouts and Adults are less than 10% of the total.

The weather was hot during the day but very pleasant at night. Most folks were pretty tired today and so most got to sleep quickly tonight! Good night!

posted by Dave Shade at 6/29/2021 12:51:10 AM

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   


Well, we did it... an unsually successful first day of camp!

The trip was uneventful...everyone driving met up at Camp Rodney without too much delay (the last to arrive was Pete Daly with our trailer, but not his fault since with our gas cylinders he is not allowed to drive through the tunnel). Our campsite is right next to the parking lot which made things much easier.

After unloading the trailer, we had a quick medical review of everyone and then it was off to the dining hall to learn about food procedures, and then off to the pool for swim checks (for people who hadn't already done them). Then, finally, we got some free time to set up camp.

At 6:15, we headed over to the 'parade field' (translation: large grass field heated to approximately 110 degrees!) for the flag-lowering and then dinner: barbecue chicken, picnic style (and reports are that it was very good). After dinner, the boys got to hear about all the different areas in camp while some leaders had to attend various meetings.

It was a late night, with lots going on, but this is normal - the first day is always hectic. So far the boys are doing well. They are tired and already not smelling too nice (it was very hot and humid!). Classes start tomorrow morning at 9am (well, some guys have to do a 6am swim for the Lifesaving merit badge!)

More tomorrow!

posted by Dave Shade at 6/28/2021 12:30:55 AM

   
   

Welcome to the 2021 Troop 804 Summer Camp Blog! We depart on Sunday, June 27, for what will be a great week at Camp Rodney!

By now, the boys should be excited and just about done getting ready!

We'll do our best to post lots of information - and plenty of pictures - every day. Look for updates late at night (ummm, or sometimes very early in the morning).

The pictures above are from our last camp, in 2019. You can click on the small pictures to see a larger version. After camp, we usually make available all of the pictures - in full resolution. Enjoy!

Note: previous years' blogs - over a dozen of them - are also on the Troop website, just click the "Docs" link in the menu at the top of any page, and then scroll to the bottom for links to each blog!

posted by Dave Shade at 6/20/2021 3:00:29 PM