Spring is a wonderful time of year; all of nature colorfully wakes up from it’s cold hibernation and kids dream of the end of the long school year. This merging of endings and beginnings are unified in the Park Ridge Wilderness Scouts and Princesses Spring campouts, the last of the three each year, which allow for a re-charge for the next year for those continuing, but also a chance to bid a heartfelt good-bye to those who will be launching into new adventures.
For this event, the Iroquois journeyed up to the Dairy State and landed at beloved Camp Minikani for the last big hurrah of the 2024-2025 season. There, they enjoyed the great outdoors…
…competed in the Tribal Games…
…took advantage of Camp Minikani’s activities: Climbing Wall, Archery, High Ropes (yup, that’s our Fed Chief up there)…
…ran all over the camp for our Plate Hunt (watching out for those sneaky double-ups) and tapped their creative energies in the Sculpture Design…
…whilst Dads sought culinary glory in the big Campout Cookoff (where everybody who eats ultimately wins)…
As with all campouts, we had our Fire Council where the Nation’s Leaders shared their wise words; also, with it being the end of the year, there were some transitions – a new Fire Starter and new Tribal Chiefs…
The weight of the night was felt with some tearful moments, where our graduates were recognized for their many years of involvement, one Princess received the SPARC Award (Special Princess Acting Responsibly in the Community) for service, and a couple of graduating Dads were designated as Navigators, an award reserved for those who have gone above and beyond in contributing to the PRWSP organization.
As an exciting finally of the weekend, the Campout Belt was captured by the Powerful Powhatan whilst the 2024-2025 Honor Tribe trophy went to the Mighty Crow.
Thank you to Camp Minikani for a fantastic weekend and to all in the Park Ridge Wilderness Scouts and Princesses for making this time-honored tradition an event to remember.