2024 Summer Camp Chronicle

Posted on July 3, 2024 by Tom Finley

Camp Buffalo Bill

By: Tom Finley

Scout Attendees: Adult Attendees:

Jackson Deal (SPL) Tom Finley

Eli Strous (ASPL) Chris Naber

Nash Watkins Todd Prebynski

Aidan Strozinski Curtis Strous

Davis Mackey Daniel Burkard

Andrew Naber Garrett Mackey

Cooper Prebynski

Vince Pintur

Zaiden Burkard

Dalton Myers

Colin Finley

Bjorn Borstad

Zoehn Burkard

Carter Tate

Day 1 6/22/2024

We started our trip meeting at the church at 9:00 AM. We got all of our equipment and personal camping gear loaded into cars and were departing by about 10:20 AM. Our first stop was for lunch at Sam’s Club in Cheyenne, WY. We then got back on the road and headed to Casper, WY. We stopped at the Flying J Truck Stop for gas and decided to buy Subway sandwiches for dinner. With our sandwiches packed and our fuel tanks full, we drove to our campsite(s) in Boysen State Park.

We were greeted in the campground by a 4 ½ foot bull snake climbing a tree right where we parked! Due to the diligent research and planning of Mr. Strous, we ended up with the best tent sites in the entire Upper Wind River campsite. We had enough room to set all our tents in the same area. After camp was set up, some of the Scouts went swimming in the river, while others explored the area. After it got dark, the Scouts all played Exploding Kittens in the big tent.

Day 2 6/23/2024

We woke up bright and early on Sunday morning. We ate a breakfast of bagels, Pop-Tarts, and granola bars. We broke down camp and were on the road by 8:00 AM. We went straight to the Hot Springs State Park in Thermopolis and arrived before the pools opened. So the Scouts and Adults were able to spend about 30 minutes exploring the area and learning about the Hot Spring. We all had fun crossing the wavy suspension bridge.

At 9:00 AM the Star Plunge Hot Spring pool opened, and we were one of the first in line. The Scouts and adults all enjoyed about 2 hours swimming, soaking, sliding, and jumping in the naturally warm waters. By about 11:30 AM, we were back on the road, headed to Cody, WY. In Cody, we went to McDonald’s for lunch. After lunch, we topped off our fuel tanks and headed to Camp Buffalo Bill (CBB)..

We arrived in camp at about 3:15 PM and were greeted by our Troop Guides Colton and Hank. They gave us a tour of the entire camp and explained everything to us. By the time our tour was done, it was time for our first dinner in camp.

After dinner, Mr. Finley and Jackson went to the Scoutmaster/SPL meeting while everyone else went back to our campsite (Wapiti) and started setting up camp. Immediately after getting camp set up, it was time for the opening campfire, where we all enjoyed skits performed by the staff. After the campfire, we all headed back to camp and were off to bed.

Day 3 6/24/2024

Several Scouts and adults started the day getting up at 5:30 AM, so they could earn the CBB Polar Plunge patch (by jumping in the CBB pond for 4 days).

Bjorn Andrew Vince Jackson

Carter Davis Cooper Colin

Zaiden Mr. Burkard Mr. Mackey Mr. Prebynski

The entire troop then went to breakfast. Our Troop decided to make Monday “crazy hat day”; and thanks to Cooper, almost all the Scouts had witch hats, and we were the talk of camp when we lined up for breakfast. After breakfast, the Scouts headed off to their first day of Merit Badge classes.

After finishing their classes for the day the scouts set about to finish completing their hammock city. They ended up with quite the conglomeration of Hammock with multiple ‘doubledeckers’. The day at camp ended with a “Hot Chocolate Social” where the Scouts and adults got to drink a cup of Hot Chocolate while mingling and getting to know people from other Troops. After the social, we all headed off to bed.

Day 4 6/25/2024

Just like Monday, the same Scouts and adults started the day by jumping in the pond (minus Zaiden who felt sleep was more important) towards earning the Polar Plunge patch. Tuesday was campwide “crazy necktie day”. Mr. Prebynski brought a bag of neckties from home, so everyone in the Troop had a necktie to wear. The Scouts spent their second day in Merit Badge classes. After dinner, the adults helped with dishes in the kitchen. During evening activities Nash, Aidan, and Davis all took part in the “Cowboy Action Shooting”, while Mr. Prebynski learned the basics of blacksmithing. Mr. Finley and Mr. Strous had to make an unscheduled trip into Cody, WY to purchase a new car battery.

Day 5 6/26/2024

The whole Troop got up early and were at breakfast by 6:00 AM so we could maximize our day in Yellowstone National Park. After stopping for a group picture at the sign outside of the park we got in line to go inside. Almost immediately after entering the park(150 feet past the Yellowstone entrance where we pulled over to get our group back together), we were lucky enough to see a Grizzly Bear just on the other side of the river from where we were parked.

After the excitement of the bear wore off, we all headed to Old Faithful. The Scouts were given free time before the eruption and went off to explore the area. We all met back up and watched the eruption. Since there is so much to see, after the eruption, the Scouts were given more free time to explore. We decided to eat our sack lunches before departing Old Faithful.

Next, we headed to the Grand Prismatic Spring where we stopped at the overlook parking lot. On the way to the overlook, we were all able to see multicolored steam rising off the pools which was harder to see the closer you got to the pools. The whole troop decided to hike up to the upper overlook. It was well worth the hike as the views were breathtaking and we were able to take another group photo at the upper overlook with the Prismatic Spring in the background thanks to another park visitor with a phone attached to a long pole. After that, we headed to the Paint Pots and were treated with multi-colored hot springs, bubbling mud pots, and another impressive geyser erupting.

We made a brief impromptu stop at Gibbons Falls and learned about how they built the road there and walked out to see the falls and an expansive view out into the Yellowstone caldera. And with impeccable timing, we were just leaving it began to lightly rain. We then headed to the Norris Geyser Basin and Museum. Most of the Scouts disregarded the rain and explored the basin, while a few Scouts and most of the adults enjoyed the museum. Those who took the walk through the Norris Geyer basin were greeted with some of the most beautiful hot springs we were able to see up close during the entire trip. The boardwalk through the basin went past steam vents, mud pots, geysers, and multi-colored streams populated by thermophiles. (A thermophile is any organism that thrives in a hot environment. To define thermophiles is to literally define an organism as a “heat lover”. The suffix “-phile” means love. – They live in temperatures between 106°F and 252 °F – water boils at 212°F)

We had dinner in Canyon Village, at the cafeteria located there. After dinner, we walked out to Artist Point which has amazing views of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, and the iconic ‘lower falls’ were spectacular! All of the Scouts and Adults got plenty of photographs. As we were leaving Artist Point on our way back to Fishing Bridge, we stopped on the side of the road to watch a herd of buffalo cross right in front of us. All of the Scouts were able to stand in the back of Mr. Burkard’s truck to get a better view while being safe. We all also saw some of the younger bison playing while some of the males were facing off and butting heads.

The last stop of the day for us was the Mud Volcano. This is an area of amazing thermal activity. It was another amazing stop for us to see. There is boiling mud, a heated lake that was formed when one of the features exploded back in the 1920’s creating the area and waves of boiling water coming up/out from underground in another feature. Some of the scouts were also able to see another bear leaving the area.

All of the Scouts and adults were left in awe by the amazing natural features and wildlife (Grizzly Bear, Black Bear, Bison, Elk, Deer, and ) that we were able to see in Yellowstone National Park.

We got back to camp quite late on Wednesday and several scouts decided to sleep in their hammocks.

Day 6 6/27/2024

Just like Monday and Tuesday, several Scouts and adults got up early to earn the polar plunge patch by jumping in the pond (minus Mr, Burkard who opted out based on the Friday forecast). Since there was no camp-wide theme for Thursday, so our Troop planned a “crazy sock day”. It was an eventful day for a couple of Scouts during Merit Badge class time. Andrew caught a trout during his Fly Fishing class. Colin joined the “Dime Club” and earned an NRA Marksman medal during his Rifle Shooting class. And Zaiden earned his Blue rope by tying 14 knots from memory in 90 seconds.

Before dinner, our Troop was responsible for the Closing Flag Ceremony. Nash led the Troop, and everyone did a great job taking down and folding the flags. Mr. Finley and Jackson got to have a steak dinner during the Scoutmaster/SPL meeting. During open program time, several Scouts took advantage of the branding station to get an item branded with the camp logo. Mr. Mackey and Mr. Prebynski took part in the adult “Cowboy Action Shooting.” We ended the evening making s’mores and socializing in the mess hall.

Day 7 6/28/2024

A big change in the weather came in overnight with some rain and much colder air greeting us in the morning. The remaining brave souls were not deterred from earning the Polar Plunge badge by jumping in the pond one last time.

Successful Polar Plungers:

Bjorn Andrew

Vince Jackson

Carter Davis

Cooper Colin

Mr. Mackey Mr. Prebynski

After breakfast, the Scouts headed off to finish all their Merit Badge classes. Throughout the day, Bjorn, Jackson, and Carter were picked up by their parents. We closed out the week in camp with a closing campfire, with the Scouts from each Troop performing a skit. Our Troop did the Green Golfball skit. During the campfire awards, Zaiden received the blue rope award for completing CBB’s knot-tying challenge.

Day 8 6/29/2024

We all got up early at 5:30 AM on another cold morning to pack up our campsite. After, we got all packed up and checked out and we were on the road by 8:15 AM. Well, most of us; Daniel, Zaiden, and Zoehn extended their stay in Yellowstone for a few extra days. Our first stop was Cody, WY to fill up our gas tanks, and most of the Scouts got a treat from the gas station. The next stop was in Casper, WY and the Sam’s Club for lunch. After lunch, Eli led us in the traditional “Roses and Thorns” ceremony, then we were back on the road. Our last stop was in Cheyenne to top off our fuel tanks. We arrived back at the church at about 6:45 PM.

Total Miles Driven: 1293