Den 3 Crazies Camping @ Valley of Fire in the Summer!

The hot temperatures didn't deter Pete and Tim (our den leaders) from administering the program though. Shortly after breakfast on Saturday morning the men began debriefing the boys for their hike out in the hot, dry wilderness. They talked of the need to walk in a single-file line so as to leave the least amount of impact on the environment as possible and did equipment checks in addition to going over the rules for safety. (Note to self: I need to buy Carson a camelback with extra pockets to hold his first aid kit, compass, and mirror... oh, and I need to get him a personal first aid kit, compass and mirror... and while I'm at it, a wide-brimmed hat.) Perhaps I wasn't as prepared as I thought I was!

Tim took photos of each of the boys in this same spot while out on the hike. I love a fellow photo-enthusiast; I got some great photos without actually having to go hiking in my flip flops! (I forgot, of all things, my tennis shoes on this trip)!

In the mid-afternoon a storm came over the ridge east of our campsite, but the wind was headed north by northeast moving it fast enought that the cooling rain eluded us, but the wind did not; can you say sandblasted? Bent tent poles and sand in every nook and cranny of our bodies is what we were left with.

The passing storm above the firey rocks made for a beautiful sunset though, and we enjoyed the colorful show while preparing our hobo pack dinners, a staple of den 3 campouts!

A clear, star-studded night met us as we gathered around the campfire for smores and dutch oven cobbler for dessert just before a couple hours of story-telling, charades, and astronomy- horray for the show brought on by Venus! On Friday night when we were laying down to sleep, Carson and I both saw a bright flash of light streak across the sky. We thought it was a shooting star, but later learned it was a piece of the NASA satellite burning up as it entered the atmosphere.

Man do we love cub scout camping!