A week or so after joining we had our first tribal meeting and a couple weekends after that we had our first bi-yearly nations camp-out with all the area's tribes. We were off to a fast start! This past Oct 17th was that camp-out and I thought I'd share some pictures, videos and a quick account of how it all went down...
A bunch of us met in west Little Rock Saturday morning to drive down in a caravan. The camp-out was going to be held at Camp Yorktown Bay on Lake Ouachita. We first made a pit-stop at Does in Hot Springs for lunch and had a good time with the princesses at one table wreaking havoc on the saltine crackers, and the fathers at another table getting to know one another.
Once we were fueled up we reformed our caravan and headed for camp. Thanks to town traffic, I wound up in front, but I wasn't the one who knew were to go! Luckily I had the camp dialed up on my BlackBerry's GPS and Miri watched our progress and directed me where to go from the back seat. It wasn't all that hard since I got regular updates like "We're still on the purple road Daddy!" and "Turn right NOW!". :)
At the camp, we came to find the best place for our tents! Other tribes where using the motel, cabins or tent camping in a soccer field. We really lucked out with a tucked away scenic spot that was a 5-10 minute walk from the main camp. with some help from the princesses, the fathers started unpacking the cars and went to it setting up the tents...
It was a 2 tiered site with three tents up in "the heights" (probably double the value per square footage) and five tents down below in a semi circle around the campfire...
Those in the heights even had quick access to our luxurious facilities...
With the setup complete, we got to sit down for a break and talk while the princesses got to know each other better by running and playing around, and they even started a jack-o-lantern...
Andy, our chief, headed out for a meeting of the chiefs leaving us with the task of coming up with a name for our tribe. The front runners so far had been "Dancing With Daughters" and "Ozark something". While the dads were wracking our brains over various ideas, the princesses were running around, darting in and out of tents, and otherwise having a great time. At some point one of the tents in the heights was pulsating with screams of pleasure and I just said, "How 'bout Screaming Princesses?". ...and it stuck! We then had our tribe name and it also had a nice tone of warrior strength.
After grilling hamburgers and hot-dogs we all then headed down to camp at sundown for the gathering of the nation and the induction of the new tribes. The event was kicked off with a story of Keeto, a fireball in the sky to start a large bonfire, and some fireworks. Each tribe was recognized with a shot of a firecracker adorned arrow into the lake and the new tribes were introduces by their member names in front of the rest. It was entertaining and there were quite a few laughs, including a different version of the song Bingo...
and a different version of Old McDonald that featured every tribe name and their own sound to make (naturally ours was to scream)...
Once the group event was over, the Screaming Princesses then made our trek back to the campsite for some s'mores around the campfire. Soon enough, Miri was down and, like dominoes, the rest of the princesses soon followed.
The temperature dipped down to around 38F that night but Miri and I stayed warm and toasty. So did everyone else, especially those with tent warmers! :)
After some conversation the Dads soon followed their daughters one by one and the whole tribe was soon out. In the morning the girls were quick to gravitate to the morning fire to warm up...
and, as usual for kids, were quick to achieve that state of alertness and infinite energy.
Conversely, it took quite a bit of time, and coffee, for the Dads to get halfway there...
We were all treated to some beautiful morning scenery out on the lake. I tried to capture it with my camera but couldn't do it justice. There was a feel to it that a camera can't get and I wish I could have just sat there for a while to soak it in, but we were quick to finish breakfast, pack up, and head out to camp for the morning nation service.
The service wasn't as packed as the nighttime gathering, but there was quite a few of us to enjoy it, and the last moments together.
After we finished cleaning up our campsite and putting out the fire, all with the help of the princesses, we then said our last see-you-later's after a few last minutes of play time. Miri and I left looking forward to our next tribal meeting and perhaps some more camping with our tribe alone before the spring nation camp-out. We had a great time!
1 comment:
Looks like a great time, sounds like a great story! I like this Tribe, and happy you guys are doing this together, Miri and Dad. Morning Star and North Star. Cool, guys.
When I was growing up in Y Indian Guides, I took the name "Blue Turtle"!
I already saw the videos on your YouTube channel.
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