We had a great turnout for our Biking Campout the weekend of September 20th.  
21 scouts and 7 adults made the short trip west to Lake Mineral Wells State Park.  After arriving at our campsites, the scouts set up camp and then ate lunch before heading out on their afternoon activities.  A handful of scouts, led by our Scoutmaster Mello Elout, went on a fossil hunt.  While those scouts were digging, the remaining group was pedaling. The goal was to ride 10, 15 or 25 miles as part of the Cycling Merit Badge.
The nearby Lake Mineral Wells State Trailway provided a picturesque bike trail to achieve the feat. It is a compacted gravel path with slight inclines running along remote farm and ranch lands.  We rode east from the park towards the town of Garner. The scouts handled the trail and the heat like pros.  In spite of the warm temps, most of the boys crossed the 10-mile finish line while a few scouts pedaled ahead to complete 15 miles.  Along the way, we passed a ranch with some very talkative goats and also ran into some horses passing us on the trail. Congrats to all the scouts who pedaled their way to the end.

After a well-deserved rest under the trees, the scouts started on dinner.  I heard through the grapevine that the the bacon-wrapped hot dogs were popular, but then again, there were no dietitians in sight.  Grubmaster Mello prepared a delicious dutch oven stew for the adults with a batch of cobbler on the back side.  I'm guessing our campsite neighbors were quite envious.  After a sunset bike ride around our campsite, the scouts bunked down for the night.  

Sunday morning started with the smell of warm cinnamon rolls. Mello and several scouts got the charcoals going early for that dutch oven breakfast and the payoff was mighty delicious.  After some more biking , it was time to clean up, pack up and head back to Richardson.  Another successful 444 camp out for the books!

-Kraig Kirchem

I think this is my favorite time of year.

Things are starting to cool off, everyone is by now in the school routine, the State Fair has started, and soon pumpkins will be arriving.  Not too far on the heels of the pumpkins will follow the turkeys!  

With our troop, we are also settling in for the year.  We have now had our first campout, by all accounts a successful bicycling venture in the Mineral Wells area.  Next, we will be honing our survival skills at the end of October.  I'm thrilled to see the troop moving along efficiently, thanks to the organizational skills of the scouts and also to all the adult leaders who help to keep the boys somewhat on track.  Thanks to everyone for your contributions!

The pumpkin photo above is to remind everyone that AUMC's pumpkin patch fundraiser will be starting soon, and they will need as much help from us as possible to unload their very large shipment of pumpkins.  This will happen on two Saturdays in October, the 4th and the 18th.  It's actually a very well-organized process, as the church has a lot of experience with this huge fundraiser that helps them support their missions.  

I would ask all families to look at your calendars and put October 4th and 18th on them, if only to come out for 2 hours to help.  In addition, the other dates for the fall to put on the calendar are for our next 3 campout events:  October 25-26 for wilderness survival, November 22-23 for the "Iron Chef" campout, and December 6-7 for an indoor climbing event with a lock-in.  The weather should be great for camping!  If any parents are interested in joining us for those events  but you haven't been camping before or maybe it's been awhile, let me know and we can give you guidance on how to get ready for it. The food alone would make it worth your while!

That's all for now!  I look forward to seeing everyone at an upcoming meeting.

J.D. Bondy