Girl Scouts Glacier Campout

An amazing weekend of girlscouting!  Columbia Falls has a spectacular group of leaders.  They get the girls outside....really outside.  They take their own troops amazing places, and the take the time to share with each others troops as well.  They've been doing this together for years, and they operate like a well oiled machine, with the oldest girls fully aware of what's needed and what help their mom's need to get it going.

I can hardle type this without getting choked up.  Our girls (now 7th graders) stopped bing part of "the younger girls" by last year, and this year they are starting to be part of "the older girls".  I'm so proud of them. 

And such an amazing setting....although Glacier is unfortunately an expensive place to take groups of kids, which is very unfortunate, given that we live sooooo close.

After learning to make a hobo pack with a bandana and a stick (while learning uses for bandanas) Katie spent the day trying to look like a hobo and carrying her hobo pack hiking.



 They learned knife safety, outdoor cooking, campout helping/cooperation, fire starting, dutch oven cobbler eating, soap whittling (part of knife safety but they looooved it), putting up the tent without me, and knot tying (though we had to leave as that started), plus they chose whether to hike the trail of the cedars loop versus Avalanche Lake versus hanging out at camp, walking to the Apgar store, and making ice cream in a bag.  They made fire starters out of dryer lint, egg cartons, and wax, and made buddy burners out of coffee cans, tuna cans, cardboard, and wax.  These leaders make Columbia Falls an amazing place for girlscouting (these are only the ones I caught in pictures this weekend).

Photo album link for troops:

http://photobucket.com/glaciercampout

And our troop 'group' on facebook:

Girl Scouts Troop 3391

Other troops and leaders and girlscouts can join if you're on facebook

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/groups/136958086385175/