Canoe Trip

Jourdan's Scout troop took a week long canoe trip last week (July 25 - 30) on the McKenzie and Willamette Rivers.  All said, they managed to cover 83 miles of river.  Here they are at the start of their trip, just outside Eugene, Oregon on the McKenzie River. 

 Here's the whole troop just before they head downstream.  I heard an adult pronounce to the group before they left "Be safe and be responsible."  I responded, "You do know who you're talking to, don't you?"  Oh well, they were off!

Jourdan and Jonathan got to share a canoe for the week.

Within minutes, the whole group of canoes had headed down the river. 

On day one, two canoes managed to tip over and capsize.  Fortunately, neither one belonged to Jourdan and his dad.  The boys quickly bailed the water out of the canoe and continued down the river.

The boys built a raging bonfire on Tuesday night.  The height of the fire was well over the heads of the tallest of the grown men at camp.

Despite this sign (with it's warning being very clear - to those who can read), the group proceeded down the river after checking with a small boat coming up stream.

On Wednesday night, Jourdan slept in a shelter of his own making (alone and away from the group) as part of his wilderness survival merit badge.  He ended up being attacked by mosquitoes so badly in the first two hours that his whole face swelled up (Julia counted 112 mosquito bites on his face when he got home).  His leaders brought him a mosquito net to prevent further "flesh" wounds overnight.

Being a vegetarian (mostly) and a seriously picky eater, Jourdan often has adventures with his food at Scout camp.  Last year, at Camp Meriwether, his Scout leader was worried about his food intake, and can retell a very hilarious story of Jourdan eating an apple....everything (EVERYTHING) but the stem and the seeds.  He even used this as an analogy of how Jourdan approaches his challenges and tasks as a Scout....he tackles them as thoroughly as he does his apples.  So as to not spoil the tradition, Jourdan once again consumed his ENTIRE apple!  (All that's left is his stem and two seeds.)

On Friday, the boys and leaders tied all the canoes together to create a giant barge.  While they floated down the river, some of the boys (including Jourdan - in the blue life vest) decided to jump into the Willamette River for a swim.

While he was swimming, another Scout accidentally kicked him in the face while diving to the bottom of the river to collect rocks.  If you look closely, you can see Jourdan's bloody nose.  I wish we would have gotten a picture of his face while it was swollen from mosquito bites as well, but this one will have to do.

When he got home, I noticed this bruise on Jonathan's leg.  He wasn't aware of it, which I am struggling to understand.  How does one get a "trophy" that big, and not remember doing it?  Baffles me.  They survived, and that was the important part of the trip.