Monday:Reveille was at 7 a.m. and the staff played wake up music by bands like the Beach Boys, Beatles, and the Ataris through the camp's Fender amplifier system. Gabriel S. went with the Fishing Adventure crew all week while the rest of us did the Island Adventure. In the morning we ocean-kayaked to South Bay, led by SPL Chris D. and Kristina M. The afternoon Sunfish sailing program was more exciting than we expected. The combination of freaky winds and strong currents that afternoon made sailing in the Bay very difficult. First, Jared D. and instructor Zach M. broke their boom and were towed back by the Coast Guard vessel. Then Chris and Kristina capsized and were flipped back over with help from staffer Sam. Meanwhile, a fishing boat cut the anchor line to the 20 foot sailboat and was secured by the other camp staffers before it drifted too far. That same fishing boat picked up Sam and brought him back to Trevor's Sunfish, that had been drifting apart from the other boat. Sam and Trevor sailed back to Chris and Kristina and the 20 foot sailboat towed everyone back to shore. This all happened because of Kristina's jinxed evil suntan lotion. When all the drama died down and the rescue was over, John H. joked, "Does this mean the rest of us don't get to go sailing today?" Trevor, Jared, and Mr. Lauten played on the camp's team that beat the staff in the volleyball tournament that night. Ice cream sundaes were served as late-night snacks.

Tuesday: Surf's up, dude! We all learned to surf this morning with the help of instructors Bo, Heidi, and Ryan. We used both the 8 foot and 10 foot soft top boards. The 3 foot waves were breaking just right. Cowabanga! We got to the afternoon Eco tour late because Mr. Lauten got us lost. Turns out we were at the back of the Pan Am Coastal Studies Lab instead of the front of the building. After a test and scavenger hunt, we went to the jetties and the bay to collect various sea creatures for the camp aquarium. We used nets to collect fish, sea squirts, urchins, hermit crabs, and flounder. The sideways stinging rain made the collection process difficult, but we finished our tasks. We watched the movie, "Pirates of the Caribbean", in the dining hall that night.

Wednesday: This was all day snorkeling and we all had fun collecting shells on the sea bottom. The drivers turned doughnuts on the beach parking expanse. Great fun!! We were treated to ice cream in town and we shopped for souvenirs. After dinner we played board games and Mr. Lauten organized a ping pong tournament.

Thursday: We surfed in the morning and went to Schlitterbahn Waterpark in the afternoon. We liked the hot tub the best. We ate at the Shrimp House for dinner and saw a late movie in town. We saw either "Harry Potter", "Rattatouille", "Die Hard" or "Transformers".

Friday:After breakfast we drove to Nuevo Progresso where we walked across the toll bridge into Mexico and did some shopping with the street vendors.We had fun learning the art of bartering to get the best prices. We returned in the afternoon for the hamburger and hot dog cookout. After the kite flying and sand castle building demonstrations, we competed in the H2O Wow! Olympics. Liam T., Trevor L., and Jared D.did well in the swim, run, kayak triathalon. Mr. Dismuke and Mr. Lauten competed in the kayak race. Jared D., Brendan D., and Liam competed in the surfboard paddle race. Mrs. Taylor sailed the Hobi Cat. The evening Pachanga and awards ceremony completed the week- long activities. Chris D., Kristina M., and Trevor were given awards for their Monday sailing misadvetures, Andrew C., Jared D., Brendan D., Chris D., John H., Anand M., Christina M., Liam T., and Trevor L. were given special "Fishing in the Rain" awards for their Eco tour work. Gabriel S. received the top fisherman award for the week. Chris D., Trevor L., and Kristina M., were top biologists. Gabriel S. organized a singing contest and Rick sang "Yellow Submarine", Troop 570 sang a Beach Boys song and Gabriel sang "The Anchor Holds". Trevor L. and Mr. Lauten were recognized for their early morning running. The staff made homemade root beer and we busted a candy-filled piñata.

Saturday: All of our gear was loaded into the trailer, the campsite was cleaned and we left an hour ahead of schedule, 8:00 a.m. for the drive back to Houston. For breakfast we made our own waffles in the professional wafflemakers.

Memories:Listening to music, Larry the Cable Guy, Dan Cook, Wanda Sykes,and Bill Cosby. Getting temporary tattoos. Staff members Patrick, Matt, Callie, and Fabian. "Awkward puppy". Riding the waves. Kristina falling over the concrete doughnut. Laguna station grace: "For sea, sand, and sunny skies, For food, friendships, and fair winds, For these things we are grateful O Lord. Amen". Mexican DVD's. Wind and rain most of the week. Sand, mud, and salty water.

A typical day consisted of morning and evening flag ceremonies, three meals in Coral Rock Dining Hall, four merit badge sessions, and free time in the campsite. Meals were served family style and SPL Trevor L. and Mrs. Holm made a duty roster for each meal's table waiters. The food during the week was good. You were always able to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches during the day, even if you didn't like what was served. We had eggs for breakfast every morning.

Monday Mr. Simpson won the Scoutmaster shotgun competition. Mr. Richards drove into town to get needed supplies and found the whitewater trip meeting place. Instead of hauling the 50 pound smellables bag to Nuzum, the scouts rigged a bear bag between two trees to save time.

Tuesday Mr. Simpson, Mr. Lauten, and new adult leader and Eagle Scout William Simpson went on a trail ride. It rained on and off the entire day. The climbers couldn't practice at the Pancake climbing basin and stayed under cover at Coffin Shelter in the Soaring Eagle camp and tied climbing knots. The troop carried out staffer Derek's conservation project by improving the water run off along the trail from the Nature Center to the Trading Post. OA fellowship and cracker barrel at Kola Lodge was attended by Mr. Burkett, Mr. Simpson, Mr. William Simpson, Mr. Lauten, Trevor L. and Michael M. The morning flag ceremony was conducted by Trevor L., Pierce D., Michael M., Aria S., Sam B., Jared J., and Matthew R.

Wednesday William Simpson and Camp Chaplain Elwin Hebner led the troop in a morning chapel service. Mr. Lauten went over the first aid requirements with the entire troop for the climbing merit badge that evening. Mr. Taylor came up with a hilarious boxing skit for the campfire that night. Other memorable troops' skits were these: Abbott and Costello's "Who's on first", "Bang, bang, tank, tank ", "The invisible bench", and "Hi, I'm Chrissie look-a-like to the if I weren't a boy scout skit". Meal director Andrew led the camp in a round of "Fires burning, fires burning". Trevor L. completed his Astronomy night viewing.

Thursday Mr. Jallans, a.k.a. "Rushing Waters", Mr. Richards, "Bear", Mr. Simpson, "Beaver", Mr. Burkett, "TUTS", and Mr. Lauten, "Raider", completed the scoutmaster C.O.P.E. ( Challenging Outdoor Personal Experience) class in the morning. They practiced team building and trusting skills and completed the high ropes course. Mr. DeWitt taught us the Leave No Trace program. The overnight camping took place for the Camping Merit badge and Wilderness Survival merit badge classes. Trevor L. and David R. went on a horseback trail ride with wranglers Allie and Marissa.

Friday Makeup classes were held for merit badges in the morning. Most of the troop went on the afternoon whitewater rafting trip on the Poudre river. Those who stayed in camp went fishing or simply relaxed. At the closing campfire, Troop 505 received the coveted Scout Ranch Pride award for their participation during the week. Every scout took a shower. For some, it was their first one at camp.

Saturday It started with a 6 a.m. wakeup, getting a new camp tshirt, gear packing, continental breakfast, and 9 a.m. departure from camp. On our way back to the airport, we went on a tour of Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies baseball team. Everybody had dinner at the food court in the airport prior to our flight back to Houston.

My favorite memories of camp: The chant, "Chey Chey Kool Ay; Chey Ko Vee Saa: Co Visa Longa; Longa Chu Monga; Ay, Oh, Ay Oh Lay", "We are...Hungry!!", Director James, rowing staffer Chrissie, Obi 1, nature staffer Derek, "E L W I N ", finding blessings, nature staffer Matt's monotone and his 'dark sucker' skit, making sure the scouts cleaned the latrines, numerous troop assemblies, Gabe S. getting pounced on by all the staff in recognition of his 16th birthday, climbing and rappelling, great weather, hiking in the 7500 foot elevation of the camp, Sam B.'s many nosebleeds, Monster Mountain (it looked like a giant lying on his back), Trevor L. on the front page of the slide show, Julian M.'s "Crab Man" hair, drinking gallons of water, chapped lips, rafting guide Kate, David R.'s Class A shower, and pecan pie for dessert.

Troop 505 liked...
"Climbing." Trevor L., Julian M., Matthew R., David R., Aria S., and Graham W.
"Learning how to tie stuff." Michael M.
"Whitewater rafting." Trevor L., Travis W., David R., Aria S.
"Environmental Science." Jared J. a.k.a. " Snoo-gums"
"Fly fishing." Gabe S.
"Sleeping." Pierce D. and Alex D.

• Sharpshooter Award (rifle): Peter McAughan
• Dead Eye Award (shotgun): Sam Burkett

On Saturday,with so many tours planned, the troop was up by 7:00 a.m. and the patrols all cooked a good breakfast. We were at the Sam Houston Memorial Museum at 9:00 a.m. There, we saw memorials of all of the Texas leaders, a dutch oven cooking demonstration, and a spinning wheel demonstration. Later, we went to the Huntsville Prison Museum, where we saw an electric chair called "Old Sparky" and the prison hall of fame. We had a sack lunch at noon at the park across the street. At 1:00 p.m. sharp, the assistant warden of the Huntsville Wynne Prison Unit, along with no less than ten guards at all times, gave us a tour of the prison. We went to the mattress factory, the license plate factory, barbed wire facility, prisoner-built chapel and we got to see a cell block and go in an actual cell. We learned about riot control measures, career opportunities, and were given prison license plates and stickers that were made at the prison. Special thanks go to Mr. Halbach and Mr. Jallans for organizing the tours.

After dinner, we retired an American flag. On Sunday, while Trevor L., Alex D., Andy H., Audely H., and Julian M. were drinking cokes that their neighbors gave them, Jared J. and David R. accidentally uncovered a hornets' nest and were stung repeatedly. Ouch! After that, we all went to the nature center and got to pet a live baby alligator. We left the camp ground at 11:00 A.M.

At the evening campfire the M.C. Trevor L. presented the following awards:

• Woodcutter award for knocking off the most limbs: Graham W.L.
• Shotgun Award for hitting 2 birds: Mr. DeWitt
• Happiest to be there Award: Audley H.
• Biggest Slice: Mr. Heath
• Sportsmanship Award: John T.
• Fastest holes played: Mr. Lauten and Trevor L.
• Most Improved: Jonathan J.
• Longest Putt: Mr. Holm
• Longest Drive: Chris G.
• Lowest scores: Mr. Jallans and Jared J.
• Highest score and Happy Gilmore award: Aaron M.
• Luckiest shot : Andy H.
• Scout Spirit and Best dressed: Matthew R.
• Backpacking Award: Taylor C.
• Least number of clubs used: Alex D. and Taylor C.