boyandgirlscouts.com - News, opinion, advice

5September2008

Girl Scouts’ X-Camp

Posted by admin under: Outings.

Do you feel that the boys get to do all the fun stuff? Are you ready to challenge yourself and emerge as a leader in the group? X-camp: Just for Girls will allow you and your team of other high adventure girls to participate in wilderness survival, canoeing, repelling, and get you out in “Area 51″ the Leadership Reaction Course at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center®. Some of your challenges will include the High Ropes Course, the Climbing Tower that soars 42 feet in the air, and The Pole.

…

June 28, 2009-July 3, 2009; $976
Must be 12-16 years old at the time of the event.

…

Contact:
Jennifer Covington
Phone: 256-864-7836 or 800-637-7223 x. 836
JENNIFERC@SPACECAMP.COM

While Girl Scouts in my experience naturally gravitate toward group activities, one of the best opportunities offered through GSUSA is Destinations (formerly called Wider Opportunities or Wider Ops) where a girl signs up and goes off somewhere, potentially very far away, for an extraordinary adventure. It took me a while to figure out which click to clack, but I finally found the list of 2009 Destinations at Studio 2B.

It always takes me forever to figure out where the destinations are each year. I’m finally getting on top of the ball. The input form on the website, http://www.studio2b.org/escape/destinations/default_02.asp, even allows you to select by age which is important to see if your daughter is even allowed to consider one of the adventures. The youngest age is 11 which was a disappointment when my daughter was a brownie and junior, but she’s finally old enough. Of course, we decided on our own adventure to Washington, D.C. Maybe next time for us, but maybe this time for you.

2009 destinations Timeline
November: Check with your council to see when the exact dates are for receiving applications. Your council will mail your application to the event sponsor

This is important. My impression is that councils really control a lot of the process right here and right away.

Thanksgiving: All applications are in route to event sponsors from the applicants’ home councils
Dec. 1: All “early” applications received by event sponsors
Jan. 15: All applicants notified of their status for “early” applications
Feb. 1: All deposits holding a participants’ spot are due to event sponsors for “early” applications
Feb. 16: “Late” applications received by event sponsors
Mar. 2: All additional applicants notified of their status. Participant status report to GSUSA by event sponsors
March 16: All “late” applicants’ deposit due to event sponsors (Please note that there might be some destinations that will extend the deadline if the event is not full)

5September2008

Scoutingnews Lists Boy Scouts Merit Badge Changes

Posted by admin under: Program Updates.

Scoutingnews.com has listed all the Boy Scouts merit badges that have changes set for 2009.

The following Merit Badges have requirement changes set for 2009:
- Architecture
- Auto Mechanics became “Automotive Maintenance”
- Cinematography
- Coin Collecting
- Collections
- Drafting
- Emergency Preparedness
- Engineering
- Farm Mechanics
- Indian Lore
- Insect Study
- Landscape Architecture
- Lifesaving
- Motorboating
- Painting
- Pottery
- Radio
- Swimming

The site also directs readers to the U.S. Scouting Service Project for line-by-line displays of the exact changes being made to each merit badge.

4September2008

Hack Trick

Posted by admin under: Equipment; Outings; safety.

More than 3 cool hiking tips can be found at HikeHacker.com. It’s Tom from over at Two-heel drive. Only now he’s got advice instead of reports. Whichever way, he’s on my roll for advice on everything from taking pictures to leaking blisters. It’s worth your time.

4September2008

Denali High Adventure Base in Alaska

Posted by admin under: camps.

I was looking for some information to find out if Track Palin, the eldest son of John McCain’s Vice-Presidential pick Sarah Palin, was in the Boy Scouts because, like young Mr. Palin, some of our troop’s boys have gone on to military service. Doesn’t look like it; he was into hockey and I know that dedicated sports guys rarely incorporate Scouting into their busy practice and game schedules. However, looking at the Great Alaska Council website I did see that they are preparing to make a new high adventure base near the Denali national and state parks. Currently, there are only 3 national high adventure bases, according to the national BSA website: Florida Sea Base, Philmont Scout Ranch, and Northern Tier. I’m not 100% sure this will be considered one of the national high adventure bases, but can you imagine taking your troop to Alaska to camp out there? Let’s see, my youngest son should be old enough by the time it’s finished. By the way, Governor Sarah Palin has a whole thing about earmarks as it relates to the camp as reported online last week although the discussion was from March. Apparently the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner was upset about her not being supportive of earmarks in general and they wanted to use the base and other issues to make a point that they are sometimes okay. I think government should generally stay out of funding Scout activities because it gets people all bothered. Still, I think a certain relative of mine might be getting transferred from her base in Nevada back to the one in Alaska. Maybe I’ll have to visit her and if I happen to attend the new camp on the way home, all the better.

Update: I just found out that the other Vice-Presidential contender, Joe Biden, has a son also deploying to Iraq, sooner, in fact. It doesn’t look like he was in the Boy Scouts, either. Oh, well. Looks like our Cub Scout President and Boy Scout Vice-President will have to hold us over for a while. Although, some reports say that Sarah Palin was a Girl Scout Cookie mom so maybe we’ll get a Scout in the White House anyway.

4September2008

Girl Scouts Ditch Badges - Adopt Journeys Exclusively

Posted by admin under: Girl Scout Reorganization.

Well, it appears that Girl Scouts of the USA is getting rid of the program that has served them well for over 90 years. Instead of earning badges girls will now be encouraged to set their own goals through the Journeys program.

The change won’t take effect immediately. In fact, we’ve been told not to worry. However, the end is in sight.

http://forums.bellaonline.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=444404#Post444404

http://www.girlscouts.org/strategy/faqs_leadership_aug1.asp

What about current program resources and awards?
Keep using them. It will take several years to create sufficient new program materials for each age level, and there are many great examples of our Discover, Connect, Take Action leadership philosophy at work in the existing materials. Refer to the Winter 2006 issue of Leader Magazine: (Setting the Pace for the Future: The Girl Scout Leadership Model and Activity Tip Sheets) for tips on how to adapt existing materials to the new leadership philosophy. Existing materials will begin to be phased out around 2010.

…

What is the timeline for implementation of the Core Business Strategy?
Development of the Core Business Strategy began in June 2004, with the next phase of the Strategy development commencing in January 2005 with the appointment of the Gap Teams. Work of the Gap Teams is ongoing through 2005, with consultation from outside experts, feedback from Girl Scout members, and regular reporting. In 2006, the work of each Gap Team will be integrated into the ongoing work of GSUSA. Based on the recommended pathways identified by the Gap Teams and with continuing advice and guidance from Council representatives, GSUSA will phase in the recommendations at varying times depending upon the complexity of the action plans. We do not underestimate the time and logistics of implementing the Core Business Strategy, which can be more efficiently and effectively accomplished through the support and involvement of our members. We plan to have the Core Business Strategy fully operational by our 100th Anniversary in 2012.

Change the uniforming, change the focus, change the program, get rid of councils, but for goodness sake don’t stop selling cookies! That’s the most important thing to retain. Sorry for the sarcasm, but the message which has been clearly communicated on the web has not filtered down to the volunteers. Not only is the GSUSA changing, you will have no choice in the matter.

Update: SmokyScout says in the comments that it’s not as bad as I fear and that badges will still be around. She should know since she’s a Girl Scout Trainer. I am not completely at ease, however.

4September2008

Girl Scouts Lose Their House

Posted by admin under: Community Partners.

As reported by the commercial-news.com site, the Green Meadows Girl Scouts, now reorganized into the Girl Scouts of Central Illinois, have lost control of a house they have used since 1958. The city of Hoopeston noted that the Girl Scouts had not recorded an ownership of the building and had not kept up repairs as required by the city.

The Green Meadows Girl Scout organization was apprised of the recording fact in a letter from Manion. As a result, the Girl Scout house became the property of the city, which will use it once again for the art show, the Hoopeston Youth Council activities and other events during the year.

It’s sounds almost congenial the way the story discusses how the city has taken away the house. It doesn’t seem like it was being used exclusively for Girl Scouts so I’m not sure why this move was necessary.

I’ve got a call in to Jamie Osborne, the council’s regional operating officer for the Springfield/Decatur area, to find out if this was a mutually negotiated outcome or if the city just surprised the council. My wife has been trying to figure out a way to get a Girl Scout house in the San Fernando Valley where we live. It’s not easy to do. It doesn’t seem likely that it would be something a council would willingly give up.

4September2008

TroopTreats Gets Sweet Reward

Posted by admin under: Community Partners; community service; recognition.

Scoutingnews.com relates the information that the NASE (National Association for the Self-Employed) has a scholarship program and has awarded it to Patrick Kaltenbach of Newtonville, Massachusettes for his idea to send Boy Scout microwave popcorn to our troops overseas. Patrick’s idea has been wildly successful and the NASE decided to reward him with a scholarship that could end up being $24,000.

The NASE Future Entrepreneur Scholarship is the largest scholarship of its kind in the U.S. and the only one that promotes the entrepreneurial philosophy. This unique opportunity is awarded each summer to a single ambitious and driven individual who demonstrates the characteristics of a future micro-business owner. The scholarship awards $12,000 the first year, and recipients may renew the scholarship for $4,000 for each of three years of continuing education.

Patrick founded Project TroopTreats in 2005 after experiencing firsthand the help of the U.S. military in evacuating and treating thousands of Scouts during the 2005 Boy Scouts of America National Jamboree. Knowing that almost 60 percent of U.S. soldiers were once Scouts, Patrick realized the best way to say ‘thanks’ while reminding soldiers of their time as Scouts was to send bags of Boy Scout microwave popcorn overseas. In 2005, Patrick and his troop raised over $4,000 in popcorn with donations of $1 per bag. In 2006, Project TroopTreats raised $16,000, and they are expected to raise even more after the National Boy Scouts of America office opened a variation of TroopTreats nationwide in 2007.

Hey! My son was at that Jamboree. Maybe he knows Patrick. I’ll have to check. There were only tens of thousands of people there. One of my issues with public education is that it doesn’t stress entrepreneurship enough. I’m glad to see the NASE is helping to reward those who remember that jobs don’t just create themselves.

3September2008

Mischief in the Heart of Virgina

Posted by admin under: recruitment.

The Heart of Virginia Council of the Boy Scouts of America is trying to find a way to attract new Cub Scouts and has decided that rebranding Scout activities is the way to go. The Powhatten Today online news source reports that they’ve started a new themed recruiting program called the School of Mischief. Hm. My first impression is that it’s unnecessary. What’s the point? The activities are the same: archery, BB gun shooting, exploring the woods, etc. The only difference is the attitude. The council seems like it’s trying to attract boys who want to be bad and then trick them into being good. I don’t think people are that clueless, especially boys.

In order to overcome the disconnect between how Scouting is viewed and how it really is, Cub Scouts is going to appeal to boys natural inclination towards mischief and show them that what they desire can be achieved with the help of the Boy Scouts of America.

While the School of Mischief moniker might be new to the Cub Scouts, the activities and lessons taught by the School of Mischief are not. These activities include shooting BB guns, archery, model rocketry, fishing, making campfires, outdoor survival skills and of course, racing Pinewood Derby cars.

I guess I’m just not that comfortable the council trying to portray Cub Scouts as something other than what it is. Well, good luck to them anyways.

3September2008

National Parks Service Honors Scouts

Posted by admin under: community service.

http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/NPLD_08_scout_flyer.pdf

Join us on Saturday, September 27, 2008 for National Public Lands Day as we celebrate the service of Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts in the national parks.

Contact your local park to find out what projects may be available, or go to: www.nps.gov/findapark for information about any park or site in which you may be interested.

Even if you can’t get your troop to the parks (mine won’t because we already have an outing planned for that day) the web address seems like a good way to find service projects through the park service.

(hat tip: scoutingnews.com)

3September2008

Mammoth’s August Ski Report

Posted by admin under: Outings.

Terrible. Just Terrible. Nothing but dirt and rocks. On the other hand, it’s a great place to go mountain biking. I just got back from a family vacation to Mammoth and realized I’m not rich enough to go there in anything but the off season. The town, Mammoth Lakes, is really just a great big resort. Cool! They have a supermarket and Starbucks in my resort!

Wi-fi didn’t work. Could you tell? One of the ski lifts was in operation, though, taking mountain bikes up the hill so they could come back down the trails at a heart-stopping speed. Me? No. I had a flat tire. Honest. Plus, I was too scared.

If I was to take my troop, Boy Scout or Girl Scout, there I would definitely do the Devil’s Postpile and Rainbow Falls hike. It’s only about 4 miles total. Even though he was complaining because of the dust in his eyes my 5 year old son was able to make it so I’m sure a whole troop could.

The Inyo Fault which is an earthquake fault that you can go right next to was there, too. By the way, if anyone asks, Mono Lake stinks. Literally. The brine flies and the gulls and everything make the place smell awful. But it was cool to see the spring-fed tufa poking out of the lake.

Well, that’s a belated report about the neat things to see around Mammoth Lakes, California. Now it’s time to look for some Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts news.

3September2008

Boy Scouts do Hurricane Duty

Posted by admin under: community service.

posted by  Rod Dreher We had to go run some errands this afternoon. When we got back, Julie checked her e-mail and found that the den mother for Matthew’s Cub Scout troop sent out an urgent request for Scouts to come to the Dallas Convention Center immediately to set up for Louisiana refugees fleeing from Gustav. Matthew put on his Scout uniform, and he and Julie set out for the convention center downtown.

Julie just phoned from the convention center. “Everybody’s gone,” she said. “The Scouts have already been here and set up 1,000 cots. There’s nothing left to do. It’s all been done. I tell you, if you have a natural disaster, screw FEMA, call the Boy Scouts.”

Heh heh heh. Love us some Boy Scouts.

That’s the spirit!

29August2008

Recognition of Volunteers

Posted by admin under: community service.

Thescoutmasterminute.com has a great piece about volunteers: who we are and why we do what we do.

I had the pleasure of conducting a Scoutmaster conference for one of the young men in my Troop this past Monday night. He said that he had overheard some of the Adult leaders talking about how much we got paid. He asked me if the money was good and if I get benefits. I replied to him that the money was awful but the benefits were outstanding!

It’s touching and you should go read the whole thing.

29August2008

Malasia Scouts Gave Peace a Chance

Posted by admin under: International.

The International Union of Muslim Scouts (IUMS) held their 3rd international peace Jamboree in Malaysia last week. They’ve spaced them out at 2 year intervals and the next one is proposed for Switzerland.

Situated at the western coast of Malaysia, the Melaka Scout Camp became the playground of over 400 young Scouts and Leaders from Egypt, Indonesia, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Yemen, from all religions and races and they all enjoyed the beauty of living and learning together.

I’m kind of disappointed that the Iraqi Scouts weren’t there, but it sounds like the participants had a great time playing games, riding bikes, and giving exhibitions about their programs for each other. Go to the online story if you want to see the cool pictures.

29August2008

Girl Scouts Train Online

Posted by admin under: Training.

A recent service unit meeting revealed that the training model currently being used in the Girl Scouts of the USA is being terminated. Currently, you receive a basic orientation, then do overall leadership training, then do a training specific to the level of girl scouting you are in (Daisy, Brownie, Junior, Cadette, or Senior). In order to streamline the training you will still receive a welcoming meeting, but now you will asked to take your training online at http://training.girlscouts.org/. This will give you a basic orientation of what Girl Scouts is about: the history, the promise and law, and resources available for new volunteers.

Strangely, the training site requires you to input a password that you must receive somewhere else. Fortunately for me, the Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas tell everyone what their password is so that you can get in and do it. Why not tell everyone? I’d love for non-Girl Scouts to take the training, too, so they can be enticed into getting involved when they see how easy it is and the various positions of support they can choose from. One of my least favorite things about the GSUSA is their bureaucracy and that’s probably the source of the firewall. They like to track everything and everyone so they’ll probably have individual passwords for different councils. In any event, you can get in and check it out.

Additionally, the online training explains what the new leadership focus of the Girl Scout experience is. Cooperative learning makes sense to me. As a Girl Scout and Boy Scout leader I can already see that girls prefer to do things cooperatively, if possible, rather than individually. I have no problem with that. My girls know how to put up their 12 person tent by helping each other.

29August2008

Change it Up! Basis of GSUSA Changes

Posted by admin under: policies.

In attempting to figure out where all these new changes for GSUSA are coming from I found out that the GSUSA has been conducting its own market research relating to what girls want. That makes sense. In fact, it’s one of the main headings on the national website under “Research”. So, I went ahead and walked through one of the publications noted there: Change It Up! What Girls Say About Redefining Leadership. Clearly, leadership changes were on the mind of the national office and so they went about trying to find out what that means to girls. Boys were asked the same questions in order to get a comparison between the genders.

The first thing the paper asserts is that leadership is defined by kids as power and control, but doesn’t note what percentage of kids said this or how they expressed it. Given that the paper is 71 pages long and has many statistics this seems like a strange oversight. In fact, the assertion is made four more times with the title “command-and-control” as the leadership form.

One of the interesting things the survey statistics reveal is that the new priority of the GSUSA, leadership, is noted as one of the lowest priorities for the girls they questioned: 22%. The explanation of leadership focus, however, is that the qualities the girls cite as things leaders should have such as making the world a better place is also one of their own top priorities.

The GSUSA research indicates that a significant majority either do not care or do not want to be leaders: 61%. Clearly this is troubling to the Girl Scouts organization, as it is to me. How will we get things done in a world where we need to help each other if no one wants to be a leader? So, GSUSA tried to find out what the reasons were for avoiding leadership.

On page 10 they concluded “The greatest single barrier to leadership reported by girls is self perception-a lack of self-confidence in their own skills and competencies”. On page 31 they say “It is important to note that barriers to leadership are consistent among boys and girls, but that girls experience fears and inhibitions about social acceptance more acutely. Fully one-third of girls who do not want to be leaders attributes [sic] their lack of motivation to fear of being laughed at, making people mad at them, coming across as bossy, or not being liked by people. These barriers make clear that some girls still struggle with the unwritten rules of what it means to be ‘feminine’ and exhibiting stereotypically “female” behaviors like being nice, quiet, polite, agreeable, and liked by all”.

Here the research seemed to make a leap I didn’t understand or follow. GSUSA stated that because girls say they don’t want to be disliked they are being held back by feminine stereotypes. Nothing in the paper backed up that assertion. However in the conclusion on page 58 they redoubled that belief: “Future research is needed to explore what girls think would help to mitigate these fears, what adults can do and what environments are conducive to creating a safe space in which girls can take risks that allow them to challenge stereotypical ‘female’ behaviors that limit their aspirations”.

Here’s where I get a chance to drag out my soap box and stand up to shout “Go camping!”

Where can they feel safe and not judged? When they are out with their troop camping. How do they help the environment and make the world a better place, both of which were cited as top goals? Get out in the environment. Learn to love it. Learn how to improve it. Learn how you can survive there with skills you’ve learned with your friends in the troop. Safe and supportive. How do you learn new skills? By having a list of requirements and a goal that is clearly defined. We call this earning badges. When they’ve earned the badge they know they’ve mastered the skill and feel confident about their abilities.

Thank you GSUSA. You’ve exactly made my point about why you should be reinforcing the traditional model of Girl Scouts. Yes, this is a struggle for the future of this great organization and there are many of us who think the national office is trying to take the GSUSA down an experimental path that is unnecessary and may do harm to their reputation. I don’t want to tell them “I told you so” if membership begins to dramatically fall off. Of course it will still be a fantastic way to share your daughter’s childhood, but why change a proven success when their own research is saying that the old ways are exactly what are needed?

I encourage everyone to read the paper and determine for themselves what the data concludes. I think they actually agree with me.

27August2008

Order of the Arrow Plague

Posted by admin under: community service; safety.

Seriously. The bubonic plague. Chrisopher Keating at the Hartford Courant relates the story that a group of Arrowmen who attended ArrowCorp5 at the Bridger-Teton National Forest were exposed and one caught the actual plague.

The scout spent about a week in the hospital this month, said Louis Salute, scout executive of the Milford-based Connecticut Yankee Council. The scout and his parents are declining interviews, Salute said.

“It appears the boy was bitten by a flea,” Salute said Tuesday. “He came back here and got ill. He was running a pretty high fever.”

…

The Wyoming and Connecticut health departments are investigating the incident, along with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. Neither state health department would release the boy’s name. The case represented only the sixth in Wyoming since 1978 and the first since 2004, said Kim Deti, a spokeswoman for the Wyoming health department.

Why the fleas in Wyoming are bouncing around with the bubonic plague isn’t known. Just be careful on your next trip to Yellowstone.

26August2008

Boys’ Life Advises You to Get Fixed

Posted by admin under: Equipment.

http://www.boyslife.org/outdoors/askgearguy/4856/choosing-a-hunting-knife/

Q. I’m going on a camping trip with my troop, but my hunting knife broke. I see a lot of different hunting knives advertised. How do I know which one to buy?
- Knifeless Neil, Summerville, S.C.

A. The best type of knife for camping trips - and most any other outdoor activity, for that matter - is a short, fixed-blade knife with a beefy handle.

Folding pocketknives can fold up on your hand while cutting. Not fixed blades. And remember: When it comes to blades, bigger isn’t always better. Avoid blades longer than four inches. A small, sharp blade can cut just as well as a long one, but it’s safer to handle and easier to maneuver in tight spots. With a good fixed blade you’ll be set for most anything the outdoors can throw at you - whittling, cutting, notching, butchering, filleting, even speading peanut butter.

I thought the Boy Scouts had a policy against fixed blade or lockable knives, but the only thing the Guide to Safe Scouting says is: “Avoid large sheath knives”. It’s not even a rule, but a suggestion. Well, then. I have a whole new section of toys to look at.

26August2008

Can We All Go?

Posted by admin under: Outings; policies.

Yes, we can! Cub Scouts is all about family and especially the youngest, Tigers, need to have a partner along on outings to make sure they are well supervised and comfortable. I just took a hike with my pack/troop/crew and everyone was there. From 5 years old to over 60. Sisters, moms, dads, and brothers all trekked the 2.5 miles up to Mount Lowe and back again.  The Boy Scouts were trying to make connections with Cub Scout packs, which is always a good idea for recruiting in addition to being the friendly thing to do. We had two different Packs, one Troop, one Venturing Crew, and even a Girl Scout Troop being represented.

Tigers Ready

Some people would argue that Tigers are too young to camp and hike, but I know from personal experience that this isn’t true. Sure, their legs are shorter and so it takes a while longer for them to make the hike, but there’s no reason why they can’t go out with the big boys. In fact, they were running down the last 50 yards of the fire road on the way back, laughing with joy. So, if you’re wondering if there’s room for the whole family in your Cub Scout Pack, the answer is a resounding YES!

Tigers on the Prowl

26August2008

Flying Debris Cites This Site Citing Obama’s Site

Posted by admin under: policies.

With the Democratic National Convention now under way it is inevitable that more attention is being paid to what the candidates and their websites are doing. Flying Debris noticed an article I wrote a while back that noted that Barrack Obama’s website had an unauthorized use of the Boy Scouts of America name and logo. It’s not often I get to quote myself.

In response, someone has started an online group labeled “Boy Scouts for Barack Obama” on the official Obama for President website with the official BSA logo and everything. Obama apparently isn’t aware of the fact that the BSA does not endorse any political candidate. Actually, it’s probably more like the person who created the Obama entry doesn’t care about that policy and that the Obama campaign isn’t aware of the usage of the BSA official logo on the site.

Flying Debris is from Obama’s stomping grounds of Chicago, Illinois and isn’t happy about this improper use of BSA’s name and symbol.

So just two short years ago members of the Democratic Party whined and complained about a few Boy Scouts who wore their uniforms to an event featuring the President of the United States, today the Democrats illegally use the Boy Scout logo and name in an attempt to elect Barack Obama President of the United States. According to the My Barack Obama web site this group of 240 “Boy Scouts” has made 3,721 phone calls, they have yet to knock on any doors and they have raised $9,642.40. This Ladies and Gentleman is not what Scouting is about, this is Chicago politics, plain and simple.

To be clear, BSA is not political. Some people might like to say they are, but it’s not true. Attending a rally in uniform or using the BSA name to endorse a party or candidate is a big no-no.

25August2008

Horseriding Boy Scouts From CA are OK Now

Posted by admin under: Outings.

Mike Malone from Troop 446 in Sunnyvale, California was kind enough to drop a note to me about a really cool trip his boys took. They rode horses on the Chisholm trail in Oklahoma and drove cattle just like old-time cowboys. Rochelle Hines writing for the Associated Press has a full article of the things they did, including an unexpected mud bath. He even gave me a link to the local Oklahoma news station that has a great video of the boys doing their cattle herding. I definitely recommend watching that.

For help, Malone turned to Jerrica Lockwood, a rancher from Pond Creek, who had helped arrange the 2007 Oklahoma Centennial Cattle Drive, an event celebrating the state’s 100th birthday that went from the Red River in southern Oklahoma to Caldwell, Kan.

“Basically it was what we did last year. We tried to stay as close to the Chisholm Trail as we could, but without the cattle,” Lockwood said. “We needed some activities that would be O.K. for the boys to do.”

Lockwood said trail boss Gary Townsend mapped out the route and received permission from ranchers and farmers to allow the group to camp on their land. Some helped out during last year’s drive, Lockwood said.

“You know how people in Oklahoma will go out of their way to help you,” said Lockwood, the postmaster of Hennessey.

He also persuaded the Bow Hunters Council of Oklahoma to provide demonstrations of shooting authentic American Indian-style bows made of Osage orange trees and primitive arms and helped arrange a powwow, a night in a lodge-pole teepee and a mini-rodeo in which scouts will try their hands at roping, calf-tying and branding.

Come on. You have to admit this an awesome experience and you’re now trying to find a way to be Mike Malone’s friend (or Michael S. Malone as he is known on his column when writing for ABC News - Well, how else were you going to find him and send him a note?). Thanks, Mike!