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One of the Greatest Gifts a Father can give his Son or Daughter is Time spent together.

Wilderness Journal

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Winnebago Fall Campout

The Winnebago Nation made it to their Fall campout this past weekend at Camp Nageela in Ingelside Illinois, and it did not disappoint.

The Apache, Illini, Blackfoot, Chippewa, Cherokee and Sauk tribes brought over 150 members to the campsite and enjoyed every minute of it. Football games, deer sightings, nature walks…

…swinging from the trees, exploring the Sacks Family Accessible tree house…we did it all!


The Sauk won the Nation Plate Hunt, the Chippewa won Nation trivia, and Apache and Illini both had members win our Patch Competition.


Dinner was great, but once the sun went down, the Dads’ BBQ was even better.

As with every Fall campout, we welcomed many new members to the Nation at our Induction Ceremony and look forward to adding many more in the Winter when we go to Camp Duncan on the first weekend of February.

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Algonquin Fall Campout

The weekend of October 23rd was an eventful one for the Algonquin Nation of the Park Ridge Wilderness Princesses, as it was the first overnight campout for the Nation in over a year and a half due to COVID-19.  Over 120 strong, the five tribes of the Algonquin Nation (Apache, Cherokee, Huron, Ojibwa and Yuma) had their Fall campout at Camp Nageela/Henry Horner in Ingleside, Illinois.

Over the weekend, they participated in the first-ever Amazing Race competition (the Huron/Ojibwa tribes who teamed up won the event) and bingo competition where virtually all of the princesses won prizes.

The traditional Nation Council Fire welcomed the many new (or first-time camper) princesses to the Nation and was a blast for all in attendance.

“When is the next campout?”, you might ask. Continuing the father-daughter tradition in the PRWSP of overnight campouts, the Algonquin Nation looks forward to their scheduled Winter Campout at Camp Duncan (also in Ingleside) the last weekend in February 2022.

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Fall Food Drive

The Park Ridge Wilderness Scouts and Princesses (PRWSP) wanted to thank all of those residents and businesses who graciously donated to the 2021 Fall Food Drive!

The Food Drive this year was for the benefit of the St. Paul of the Cross and Maine Township Food Pantries and for those families they support.  The generous donations were very much welcomed by the two food pantries which traditionally have lower donor contributions during the month of October.

Based on the communities generosity, the PRWSP hopes that this event will become an annual tradition in helping those hungry and in need in the area.

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Iroquois Spring Campout 2021

Finally!! It has been too long since the Tribes of the Iroquois Nation of the Park Ridge Wilderness Princesses have been able to enjoy the thrice-yearly experience that has been our tradition for decades, but — at long last — we were able to host an honest-to-goodness Spring Campout to close out our 2020-2021 season.

This event took place at Camp Duncan in Ingleside, IL, which is normally our Winter Campout location, but given that our usual Spring camp was not available due to the ongoing pandemic, we decided to give Duncan a try in the warmer May weather. One of the benefits of this, we discovered, was the ability to enjoy their impressive climbing wall, archery range, boating activities, and the camp’s brand new playground.

Also, the camp gave us the green light to pop up some tents for those hardy enough to brave it, allowing for some additional social distancing. This gave the weekend a different feel than the usual cabin-based experience. And happily, Mother Nature was kind enough to cooperate, giving us lovely warm days and cool and comfortable Friday and Saturday nights.

As is our custom, we enjoyed some spirited games, this time hosted by the Comanche Tribe. These friendly competitions included:

  • a good ol’ balloon toss
  • a slingshot-tennis ball-bucket launch and catch competition that has become a standard in recent years
  • a downhill bocce ball toss into hula hoops
  • a relay race while balancing a tennis ball

(BTW, that’s our outgoing Nation Chief Kevin and his daughter Kate who are graduating after many years with the Iroquois – we’re going to miss you guys tons!!)

The five Tribes also competed in our other traditions: the Plate Hunt, Dad’s and Daughter’s Trivia, and the Sculpture Judging.

On Saturday evening, as we gathered for the Fire Council ceremony to recognize our new Elders, Super-Elders, and Graduates, we enjoyed a roaring fire prepared by the Navajo.

At the ceremony, we also welcomed a new set of Tribal chiefs who have promised to carry on the tradition of keeping our Tribes organized and productive through the next season. Also, we honored our new Nation Chief who runs the whole PRWSP Iroquois like a well-oiled machine and new Fire Starter, who keeps the spirited spark alive.

Last, but certainly not least, the big finally of the season comes just before close on Sunday morning: we find out who will be the coming year’s Honor Tribe. The trophy goes to the group of dads and daughters that pulled in the most honor points based on having quality monthly crafts and outings, their performance in the campout competitions, and (barring pandemics) their golf cart decoration in the parade. For the 2020-2021 season the Chief Winnebago trophy was passed to the mighty Nez Perce.

All in all, it was a lovely return to our campout tradition, and we very much look forward to the kick-off of the 2021-2022 season in August and the Fall Campout this September.

What’s our motto? To be together forever as father and daughter!

Learn more about PRWSP –or– JOIN!

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The Tree Sale is On

The 2020 Christmas Tree sale hosted by Park Ridge Wilderness Scouts and Princesses is a go!

The sale begins Friday, Nov. 27 and will be held in the usual location, at the North-Eastern corner of the Centennial Fitness Center at Touhy and Western Avenues in Park Ridge. [map link]

The open times for the sale are also the same as they have been in the past:

  • Weekends: 10am to 9pm
  • Weekdays: 4:30pm to 9pm

The sale will continue until Dec 18 or until the trees are all sold.

As always, all proceeds will go to local charities, so come on out to help spread holiday spirit!

When you come out to see us, please remember to wear a mask and practice social distancing.

See the article in the Chicago Tribune.

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The Year Ahead

To our Wilderness Scouts and Princess families,

I hope this finds you all safe and healthy during this never before seen time.

As you know, we have a proud history. A history filled with genuine purpose to provide fathers and their children the gift of time together and the opportunity to create a lifetime of memories. We offer a variety of activities through campouts, outings, and craft meetings that allow families to participate not only together, but with other families in our community.

In light of a time filled with unprecedented measures, we are pleased to announce a new year is underway for the Park Ridge Wilderness Scouts and Princesses!

Our organization is prepared to adhere to all required health and safety measures to ensure our families can participate in a safe, but meaningful, way throughout the year. We will continue to monitor these guidelines and make changes as necessary.

What will be offered this year?

 Our monthly outings and craft meetings will continue with the appropriate social distancing and face covering requirements.

 Christmas tree sales, which resulted in us giving over $25,000 back to the community last year, will continue with precautions. This is the essence of our organization. We spend invaluable time with our kids, and we give back to the community. We will do everything feasible to keep this tradition moving forward.

A few key changes for our upcoming year

 Campouts: In the interest of safety for all families, we have decided to cancel our fall campouts. We will continue to assess the Winter and Spring campouts and provide updates throughout the year.

 Registration Fees: We understand this year has brought a wide variety of hardship and changes to our community. Therefore, we will be reducing this year’s fee to $60 for our Wilderness families.

We hope you will take this opportunity to join Wilderness Scouts and Princesses and continue its legacy for years to come.

REGISTRATION is now open on our website for the upcoming school year.

Sincerely,

Matt Hachigian

Federation Chief

Park Ridge Wilderness Scouts & Princesses