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!
