Troop 1094

Rockreation

2010-08-21T08:27:00.001-07:00

The boys all completed a rock climbing course and the merit badge at a local indoor facility this year. Here Miky is scaling one of the walls. Climbing requires a combination of stamina, coordination, and muscle tone to work up the prescribed route of toe and hand holds. Safety is the essential requirement in learning to climb and the folks at Rockreation are the best. Our troop was complimented multiple times by the staff for their attention and willingness to follow instruction.

Athletics...

2010-08-09T14:09:00.001-07:00

This is Miky pinning one of the many while on the wrestling team. Both he, Alan and Austin wrestled this past year while others ran track and played soccer.

Summer Camp 2010

2010-08-09T13:40:00.000-07:00

Because of the stake activity this summer we had an abbreviated 3 day summer camp and hiked Mule Canyon in Southern UT. We again practiced low impact camping and scoured the trail in and out for any rubbish or trash which we carried out besides our own garbage.

A great time was had by all in exploring among the Anasazi ruins.

Spring Hollow Camp June 12-13th

2009-04-29T14:52:00.000-07:00

Description: 5100 ft. elevation, Campsite on the Logan River. A number of trails originate at or near this campground: the Riverside Nature Trail features exhibits on the ecosystem of the area. A trail south of the campground leads to Spring Hollow, a wildlife watching area.

Camp Location: From Logan go 6.5 miles east on Logan Canyon Scenic Byway (US-89).

This is our second camping trip of the year and we would like to accomplish and complete several requirements for rank advancements and merit badges. We will be working on the Camping, Cooking, Geology and the First Class Requirements. Fishing gear for the Logan River is something you may enjoy. Anyone fishing will wear a life jacket as the river may be running high and we do not want anyone falling in and drowning.

Meet at the Church at 9:00 AM on Friday June 12, 2009 We should be back by mid afternoon on Saturday.

We are searching for Brachiopods this trip.

Feliz Dia Pascua a Todos

2009-04-12T19:30:00.000-07:00

At our recent double overnight campimento in the Henry Mountains Hno. Olivera taught us from Elder Holland's Conference Address. It is available now both en Espanol and English with music and beautiful images added. It is very moving as was John's instruction and testimony to us at camp. We will soon put up some photos that Obispo Gonzales took.

Campamento de Verano

2009-03-13T15:46:00.000-07:00

Because the Colton Guard Station was already booked we are going to a new site this year for summer camp. The location is in Central Utah and about the same distance or maybe a little closer. It is called the Indian Creek Guard Station is is near the small community of Ferron. There are some upsides to this location. Likely, more flat space for futbol and we are less than a mile from the Ferron Reservoir where the fishing has been very good over the years. This means we can spend a lot more time with the boat on the water fishing. Trolling for fish is better than fishing from the shore.

The guard station has a refrigerator, stove, and running water so we can keep our food cold and make it easier for food preparation. There will be no buffets this year so bring along a few dollars to buy hamburgers and treats coming and going. There are good hikes in the area and trails for mountain or BMX bikes. As usual while fishing, boating or swimming we will be wearing flotation devices. Anyone biking will need to be wearing an approved helmet.

I would suggest everyone have their own fishing gear this year. Last year we lost some rods, and a few reels were damaged. Hooks and night crawlers are the best equipment for fishing. More information to follow about fishing as the date gets closer for summer camp.

We will be staying one extra night which will allow for movie nights, star gazing and completing the Camping Merit Badge for some of you. We will leave on Monday AM and return Sat evening. Fathers are invited.

2009 Calendar

2009-01-18T10:32:00.000-08:00

Troop 1094 Tentative 2009 Schedule

February 11th Wood Working Merit Badge

March 11th Board of Review
18th Combined Activity, To be confimed
26th Woodwork Merit Badge and Camp Discussion
April 2nd and 8th Emmergency Preparedness and Camp Preparation (George is in CA on the 2nd)
9th through 11th camping in the Henry Mountains/Starr Springs (Dinosaur Poop Hunting)

22nd Emmergency Preparedness Merit badge

May 16th Combined Activity
23rd Cycling Merit Badge

29th Geology Merit Badge

June 4th and 11th Cycling

July 9th Low Impact Camping

30th Camp Preparations, First aid and Water Safety

August 3rd- 8th Summer Camp Indian Creek Guard Station, Manti Lasal National Forest

January Newsletter

2009-01-04T15:51:00.000-08:00

Our first Scout meeting of 2009 on January 14th will
be an archery lesson at Salt Lake Archery. We need to
leave from the Church at 4:00 PM. We have some
bows and arrows in the troop and more can be
rented at the store. We will have a
lesson from Larry and shoot awhile, maybe
some competition and then dinner at
Carl’s Jr in Centerville.There is no cost for
this activity unless the boys want to buy
candy or sodas at the archery store. This
fulfills some of the requirements for
Debir a Dios and the Archery Merit Badge.

Last year some of the boys expressed interest in
the Cycling Merit Badge and mountain biking. We
could incorporate some of these activities into
summer campand some Saturday activities and
riding. Please let me know who and how many of
you have access to a suitable bicycle. We need to
work on them and get them in riding condition.

As I read the Davis County School District Calendar
it looks like Spring Break is April 4th through the 12th.
I would propose a three day camp in the Henry Mountains
hunting for dinasour poop, fossils, arrowheads and
whatever. We could leave from the Church on the morning
of the 9th, a Thursday, and return on Saturday the 11th.
This would be a good opportunity for mountain biking
and maybe there is an open area for a soccer game.

Given the heavy snow and cold weather I cannot say
when our first overnight camping trip may be, likely toward
the end of February. There are several of us
who are not fond of winter camping and few of
the boys have adequate winter gear for such camping.

January 28th, our second scout meeting of
the month, will be photos and movies from Summer
Camp including rare footage of the Red Fleet Reservoir Sea Monster
that almost devoured our boat. Refreshments will be provided.

If you have suggestions or concerns please contact
me. Given some of the changes in the troop we will
be reorganizing the troop for 2009.

Thank you for you help and support!

Summer Camp 2008 is History

2008-08-17T16:34:00.000-07:00

Time has slipped by and summer is near its end. Our summer camp has come and gone. I think everyone enjoyed it and we have a few pictures here from camp. The main project was to get the boat finished and launched to complete the Composite Materials Merit Badge and Motorboating. Everyone who wanted to do so completed both of those badges.

Thanks to Brother Vest again, Hno. Olivera, Pablo, Hno. Astorga, Hno Lopez for those great beef ribs, and the dads who were able to come to camp with us at the Colton Springs cabin.

The only complaint I heard of any significance was the lack of a short grass soccer playing field. Next year we will try and make some improvements in that area and more.

Maybe the Prandall?

2008-06-20T20:28:00.000-07:00

This evening the epoxy went off very quickly because of the heat. We mixed up some micro balloons, fumed silica and epoxy resin with a drill motor and paint mixer till we got something a little thicker than peanut butter. We then squeegeed it on the taped joints. It is the equivalent of high performance body putty. After this hardens enough, maybe tomorrow, I will start sanding and smoothing to get it ready to cover the entire hull with the synthetic woven material, the Dynel on Weds night. Micky and Jeffrey were here and we got quite a bit accomplished in a short period of time.

We also mixed up some faster setting epoxy and glued three sheets of marine ply together to make the skeg that Hno. Astorga cut for us. We glued them together and then screwed them with some stainless screws until the epoxy hardens. We will then pull the srews out and the holes will be puttied later. The skeg gets laminated aft on the hull. We'll sheath the hull before the skeg goes on. A bunch more putty will make a nice transition with the skeg to the hull. The microballoons make it easier to sand and they assure the putty will be lighter than water, so it adds to the buoyancy. This is all of the structural work on the external seams. Next Weds night we will have the entire hull covered with the Dynel. After that, we will paint several coats of epoxy on to the Dynel and then we can paint it. The boys want red and white and red and white and green. The various national colors for Peru and Mexico respectively. Maybe we will name the boat the 'Prandall', after our friend Paul Randall. We all miss him. There is a fast sailing catamaran named the Prindle so the Prandall sounds like it could be the name of a fine boat.

More work on the boat...

2008-06-19T20:47:00.000-07:00

Miky and I made some great progress with the boat today. Besides doing a dry fit up of the outboard motor mount on the transom and thereby determining we need the long shaft 4 hp Yamaha, we also taped all of the exterior joints with a 12 oz. special bi-axial fiberglass cloth. You cannot see the joints because the glass becomes very clear once the epoxy resin wets it out. We will mix up some epoxy body putty tomorrow and 'fair' all of the joints we taped. Then on Weds we will cover the entire exterior hull with a synthetic glass material called Dynel. It is also woven and tougher against abrasion than fiberglass. Some of you will be attending Trek but the rest of us will work on the boat at 7:00 PM at my house.

All of you will need to do some serious portions of the fiberglass work for the composite materials merit badge. We will have opportunities on the exterior and later in the interior as well.

Another few hours on the dory

2008-06-07T19:40:00.000-07:00

We have completed the exterior sanding and fairing of the hull and are shaping the skeg and keel. The next step will be to tape the seams and glass the entire hull. Keep in mind this is in lieu of covering a cardboard box with fiberglass to make a bird house for our composite materials merit badge. Once we have the hull encapsulated and properly reinforced then we will install the skeg.

Thanks to Javier for fitting the skeg so carefully.

We still need a name for it and have to decide on the colors.

Trilobite Hunting in the West Desert

2008-06-01T09:09:00.000-07:00

We arrived at the dig Saturday morning after a great breakfast of pancakes, eggs and sausage. Friday night we had buffalo burgers on the grill and a moving message around the campfire by Brother Olivera from Alma 30 -- the evidences or signs for the existence of God. A trip into Utah's back country and to gaze into the skies on a clear night confirms to me the beauty of God's creations.

The trilobite hunt was successful and Pablo claims to have found the largest of any that day in the quarry. That may have to be resolved by a side by side comparison. We did find some large trilobites and I think nearly everyone found their ten fossils for the geology merit badge.

We appreciate the fathers and leaders who went with us and helped make the trip possible. Special thanks to Brother Dennis Vest, Martin Gonzales, John Olivera, Pablo Ramos and our Branch President, Jorge Orozco.

Progress on the Dory

2008-05-22T20:38:00.000-07:00

We spent another Thursday evening and got the boat wired together. The next step is to epoxy the interior joints and then we can remove the wire stitches. We may be motoring on a lake later in June.

Composite Materials Merit Badge

2008-05-19T19:51:00.000-07:00

This is it, the keel has been laid and the hull is taking shape for our new Boy Scout Troop boat. It is a little over 15' long and will be powered by an outboard motor when we are done. The plywood is a special marine grade and was imported from France. Can we call it 'Freedom Wood'?

When it is completed it will have fulfilled the requirements for our Composite Materials Merit Badge.

The Poop about Coprolite

2008-04-26T21:52:00.000-07:00

On May 31st we are hunting fossils in Shootering Canyon near Hanksville, UT. There are a number of fossils there but the most famous is something called Coprolite. The following is from the blog site of Rick Dalrymple of Rock Pick Legends, a local rock shop in Salt Lake City:

"Coprolite is fossilized dung. It can be from a turtle, dinosaur, camel, birds, lizard, or human.

Utah has loads of coprolites, including dinosaur and human. We are going to talk about the large dinosaur coprolite that comes from the Henry Mountains. The Henry Mountains are located south of Hanksville. They are really a series of 5 mesas and not just one mountain range. They look like typical Basin & Range (or Horst and Groben) type mountains at first. But they were caused by a laccolite rising up, exposing the soft sediment to be weathered away, which in turn exposed all the wonderful fossils. They rise up to almost 12,000 feet above sea level. They are famous around the world as being an anomaly, as they are so young. They cover an area of almost 500 square miles. I think their real beauty is the sight of low rolling hills of faded purple, green, and gray pastels that resemble the bad lands of North Dakota.

The rock that was left exposed contains some of the most stunning fossils recorded. Coprolite in many sizes and colors can be found. I have seen pieces up to 2 feet tall and 3 feet in diameter. Often they look just like a cow pie turned to rock. They don't smell--they are ROCK now.

I have seen coprolite that look just like something your neighbor's dog left on your lawn. I have seen some that are 6 inches long and 2 inches in diameter and resemble a cucumber.

Shitamaring Canyon is famous for coprolites of distinguished shapes. It is also famous for the cycad wood that can be found there. Cycads are a very unusual plant that resembles a pineapple. The trunk of the tree has a hard armor coating of leaf stems that resemble a palm tree. They are not related to palms but look just like them in small hand samples. Ancient cycad has 165 living decedents today include some common house plants.

Whole cycads are usually under 1 foot tall. Complete pieces are incredibly rare and extremely valuable. I have only seen a few in my whole life and none ever for sale. But the most beautiful ones in the world come from this area. When cut along the grain parallel to the skin the insides can reveal a diamond pattern of reds and yellows. These are the best specimens!

The area also has brachiopods, other woods of different colors from black to browns to reds & yellows, dinosaur tracks, gold, and uranium minerals from a very extensive uranium deposit all found right in the canyon.

All of these things would be great to collect still today, but they are now protected in the Escalante Staircase National Monument.

Oh, did I mention in the late 1970's the name of the canyon changed to Shootering Canyon. Many of you are already familiar with this area. It is a fun place to camp and see some unique geology. I think the original name fits the description of the coprolite and the canyon better. Apparently the BLM sign maker disagreed because he was the one that made the sign, giving the canyon it's new name."

Elections

2008-03-12T20:20:00.000-07:00

We held elections in the troop and reorganized the boys into patrols. Joshua C. is our Senior Patrol Leader. Miky M. and Bruno L. are the Patrol Leaders. Austin F is an Asst. Patrol Leader and Alan M is the Troop Scribe.

We began working on the Fishing Merit Badge and Brother Randall taught the boys how to tie several fishing knots and discussed first aid and low impact fishing including catch and release. Austin and Jorge won the award for the night for the best effort in learning about fishing and tying knots.

Nest week, the 20th we have a combined activity with the YW and attend the musical at Viewmont. The following week we start building our 15' Egret motor boat.

Summer Camp 2008

2008-03-10T19:33:00.000-07:00

Summer Camp August 12-16

COLTON GUARD STATION (UT), UT Ashley national Forrest

Description:
This Forest Service cabin is located in the Colton Hollow area, approximately 5 miles west of US Highway 191, near Vernal, UT on the Ashley National Forest. Colton Guard Station was built in 1933 and served as the summer residence for Forest rangers who patrolled the Ashley National Forest on horseback prior to the age of modern vehicles. With the onset of modern vehicles equipped with four-wheel drive, cabins such as Colton became used less frequently for administrative purposes. The Ashley National Forest, Vernal Ranger District, has chosen to rent this Guard Station to the public so that they can enjoy a rustic experience similar to the first rangers. During the warm season (Mid-June to Mid-September), this cabin has running water, a flush toilet, and a shower. The kitchen has all basic amenities including sink, propane stove/oven, refrigerator, table, and four chairs. There is a basic assortment of pots, pans, dishes, and utensils, but bringing your own supplies is always a good idea. There is a combination grill and fire ring located outside. The cabin has a wood-burning stove as a heat source. The operable amenities are an outdoor vault toilet, propane cook stove, and a wood-burning stove for heat. There is one bunk bed (2 twin-size) and one futon (double) in the cabin that will sleep four people. No linens, bedding, or pillows are provided. Level parking is provided for a maximum of 2 RV / camp-trailers. There is ample room for tent camping outside.

Activities: Launching our 15’ boat, Complete our Composite Materials, Woodworking, Motorboating and Fishing Merit Badges. Rank advancements.

Archery contests and shooting. Hiking, Astronomy, Cooking.

Movie night with the digital projector. Cooking, Games, Nature Hikes, Animal Watching, Eating and Sleeping.

We need a $20.00 deposit by July 1 to secure your reservation.