Wahoka Broken Arrow!
What a way to start the season! We have had two amazing events, both with incredible turnouts. Our season theme of Stronger Together with A Little Bit of Sunshine is really shining through. Circle leaders, council members, and dads from all circles have been stepping up, helping out, and making some great memories with their boys.
I wanted to take a minute to share some highlights from our first two events.
Newport Dunes
This was our first event of the season, and we had a great turnout. In total, we had 80 dads and 98 boys! It is quite the trek to get to the campsite at Newport Dunes, but I saw the boys pitching in, and dads helping other dads, it was awesome. With so many people, our tents were close, but that just goes right along with the Stronger Together theme. The Buccaneers did a great job hosting this event with lots of activities for the boys and communal meals for all the circles to come together. The weather was perfect with lots of sunshine and cool evenings.
On Saturday morning, we had the Bucs’ pirate games where boys from different circles worked together to build a raft out of pool noodles, inflatable rafts, duct tape, and rope. Then they had to race their rafts through the water. After rafting, they had a team treasure hunt, each earning their compass pins. The boys spent most of the afternoon in the water including time on the inflatables, kayaking, and paddle boating. It was epic.
We had a communal dinner where circles partnered up to prepare food for everyone. It was great to see everyone working and hanging out together, and the dinners were all a big hit. After dinner, Jake and Parker kicked off our first Campfire with the new incredible setup from our Music Man (Rock Star, Chris B.). The setup included themed music along with themed lighting, walk up songs, walk up videos, and sound effects! Clark, Kyle and I talked about the theme for the season and introduced our 2026-2027 council. Blue Hawks, Bucs and Mighty Creek had skits, all crushing it. We even had all the new dads come up for Chubby Bunny, which is always fun to watch!
We had a great first Chapel on Sunday morning, led by our Compass Bearers, Nick, Coen, Jones & Davis L. Several boys got A Little Bit of Sunshine being called out for random acts of kindness, winning the skit stick, and earning their pins.
It was an amazing first event and so fun to see all the circles working together, dads hanging out at dinner and midnight meat, and everyone having a great time together. It really felt like we were just one expedition vs 6 separate circles at this campout… we were Stronger Together at the Dunes.
Catalina – Campus by the Sea
I was so happy to see such a great turnout at our second event of the season at Campus by the Sea in Catalina. We had 61 dads and 78 boys in total. The experience last year at CBS was so amazing, I was worried that it wouldn’t live up to the hype. But it did! The sun was out (maybe a little too hot) and the water was warm, a perfect combination for a weekend at the beach in Catalina. This event was co-hosted by the Vikings and Rough Riders with a Hawaiian theme, and they did a great job preparing for it which made for a smooth campout.
In true Stronger Together fashion, everyone was on time and we departed Newport on Friday morning on our own boat that took us directly to CBS. Boys were having a great time on the boat going back and forth between levels and enjoying the popcorn and candy. We arrived at CBS around 10:30 and after CBS’s orientation, we got settled into our cabins. We were the only group at CBS this year, which allowed us to spread out a little and not cram into the cabins.
Campus by the Sea asks everyone to participate in what they call “Opportunity to Serve”. We had six meals in total, so each circle was assigned a meal to help set up before and clean up after. I enjoyed watching the boys clearing plates, sweeping, washing dishes and just helping out in general without hesitation. In a way, I feel like this was A Little Bit of Sunshine for them.
The afternoon on Saturday had 3 hours of water time with activities including kayaking, paddle boarding, swimming, and snorkeling. The water was so warm, the boys just jumped right in and had a great afternoon. After the water, there was basketball, gaga ball, and fishing before dinner and a movie that night.
Saturday morning, we woke to early heat, but that didn’t stop circles from taking hikes up the hill to some amazing views of the Pacific Ocean and looking back to Orange County. The boys worked well together climbing the hills with lots of encouragement, but by the time we got back, it was hot. Huge thank you to Matt W. for asking if we could get the water activities open before lunch so we could all cool off a bit. After lunch, we spent the afternoon doing the same thing as the day before, and it was perfect! We even had a dad’s belly flop contest, which the boys really enjoyed.
Our second Campfire was a lot of fun continuing the Hawaiian theme with leis for everyone, a Hawaiian word pronunciation contest, a hula hooping contest, and a Hawaiian themed story from our Story Tellers, Nils and Freddie B. We also celebrated the birthdays of three dads who had birthdays over the weekend, and of course, the boys got some candy. Outlaws, Rough Riders and Vikings all had great skits. After the Campfire, midnight meat was a lot of fun. We all gathered on the sand around one charcoal grill (thank you Mike G.). We even had a fresh caught lobster from Jeff G.!
Sunday Chapel was amazing sitting in the amphitheater overlooking the ocean and listening to the calm waves. Although we had to wait a few extra minutes for the boat, it gave the boys more time to play. Everyone seemed exhausted on the boat ride back from such a fun weekend.
Overall, this campout was one for the books! A great group of dads and boys, all having fun together. Our season theme held strong for our second event, and I appreciate everyone’s support and participation. We are Stronger Together!
The season is off to an incredible start and I’m super excited for our next few events including Camp Pendleton Lake O’Neill (hosted by the Mighty Creek), Casino Night (Expedition hosted) and Pine Summit (hosted by the Rough Riders).
- Nate (Net Eagle), Clark (Biker Dog), and Kyle (????)