September 18, 2011 - Glidden Homestead Project

GLIDDEN HOMESTEAD
SERVICE PROJECT

We worked at Glidden Homestead on Sunday afternoon despite the rain. In the photo you see ponchos being used to stay dry. Weeding a large area and applying mulch made for a long afternoon. It was raining when we arrived, it was raining when we left. Our worker turnout was extremely low due to the rain. Our workload was dirtier and less pleasant due to the rain. The work was done correctly and completed in good time due to the hard work of those present. We could have postponed the project, but it was better to get it completed so the Glidden Homestead would look good for next weekend's events. Despite the rain and few people working, it was a good community service project for an important local historic site.

September 17, 2011 - AYSO Concession Week #4

AYSO CONCESSION
WEEK #4

The weather was a perfect Saturday. We had record sales for donuts and coffee. Our grill started leaking gas and we shut it down. Luckily we had a second grill as back-up. Unfortunately the back-up grill was missing it's propane connector. So hot dog and polish sales were way down since we had to stop grilling. Otherwise it was a good day with a great crew of Scouts running things.

TRAILERS
After booth take down we worked at Algus on two trailers. We cleared the bike trailer and Winnebago for winter storage.

VISIT TO JOHN
We went to Bethany Rehab Center to visit John Grant, where he is recovering from recent surgery and cancer. John had gone on an outing with his wife and daughter before we arrived. We actually saw them riding in John's truck while driving to the rehab center. We visited John after he returned to the center. He has lost 50 lbs and is restricted to a wheelchair until his strength returns. He had a very positive attitude and his prognosis sounds like a successful future recovery. His cancer is expected to be very responsive to treatment, though it will be a long hard road of chemo-therapy and radiation. Seeing John in such good spirits and talking with him made for a very good day.

September 12, 2011 - DeKalb Kite Festival

DEKALB
KITE FESTIVAL

The DeKalb Kite Festival was a fun time to close a busy weekend. An array of kites, some as long as 100 feet, filled the sky. Booths and games, candy drop, and bol races with kites made the event extra fun and amazing. Some Scouts brought their own kites to fly.

Nathan was the kiteboy who inspired the festival 6 years ago. He worked on staff helping to run the event for the community. It was a great event to close out a long weekend of Scouting.

September 11, 2011 - 9-11 Remembrance

9-11 REMEMBRANCE
September 11, 2011

The tenth anniversary of 9-11 attack marked a point in history. A special remembrance was held at the healing garden of Kishwaukee Community Hospital. Scout slipped out of t-shirts and into uniform shirts for 12:30 p.m.

Well attended by Scouts, firefighters, and citizens from DeKalb County, a line of fire engines parked nearby highlighted by “big John” the county’s highest snorkel unit, which raised a giant American flag 100+ feet above the ceremony site.

A contingent of uniformed firefighters flanked by hundreds of Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, and Girl Scouts gathered in the garden. Flags filled the area as speakers reflected on the significance of the event. Bagpipes and drums provided music, a chorale of high school students provided song, a bell ringing and 21-gun salute added drama. It was a time in history marked well by a moving remembrance. Something the boys will never forget.

September 10-11, 2011 - Jonamac Orchard Overnight

JONAMAC ORCHARD
OVERNIGHT

Our camping trip to Jonamac Orchard in Malta began simultaneous to the Tailgate Event set up at the church. We joined over 250 other Scouts camping at the orchard. Boys explored the corn maze at night and spent time playing a zombie game in an open grass area after dark.

Camping in tents, we arose early. We fed about 175 people at our pancake breakfast. After clean up, took down campsite, loaded the trailer. Scouts then had free time for more corn maze, petting zoo, jumping pillow, and several other fun activities before leaving the orchard. We returned to DeKalb at 12:00 p.m.

September 10, 2011 - Church Tailgate Event

FIRST LUTHERAN CHURCH
TAILGATE EVENT

We helped set up our church parking lot to become an active social area Saturday evening kicking off the year's youth ministry. There were games, special info booths, and a wide variety of activities. Our troop grilled dogs and brats for about 150 people, plus other misc service tasks. Our team of Scouts did an exceptional job. They cleaned up after dark.

September 10, 2011 - Soccer Concession #3

AYSO SOCCER
CONCESSION #3

Week 3 in a 10-week soccer season, we operated our concession stand. We had a good team of Scouts running the booth. Great day for sales, selling out of coffee and donuts fairly early. Best concession day of the season so far. We cleaned up, shut down, then moved on to more activities that day.

September 3, 2011 - Aluminum Recycling

ALUMINUM
RECYCLING
A crew assembled on saturday morning to recycle aluminum cans. We were able to fit the bags of cans in two trucks and one trailer. Our load consisted of about 4500 cans collected from DeKalb Cornfest. Our project does two purposes, one is to raise money, the other is to improve the environment by recycling aluminum and preserving land fill space.

Afterward we realigned equipment in trailers for upcoming projects and moved trailers.

August 26, 27, 28, 2011 - DeKalb Cornfest

DEKALB CORNFEST
Troop 33 celebrated its 25th year with DeKalb Cornfest. We work at different levels within the festival. Our operations included 56 people who worked over 600 man hours during the weekend festival.

ICE VENDOR
We are the ice vendor, selling and delivering ice to other vendors at the festival. We sold almost 8,000 pounds of ice during the weekend.

FOOD BOOTH
We operated a food booth selling: funnel cakes, sweetcorn, lemon shake ups, hot dogs, polish sausage, pop, and water. Running the food booth is the greatest effort and the greatest profit.

CLEANING &
CAN RECYCLING
We cleaned the KC Beer Garden on Friday and Saturday evenings. Our payment is in collection of aluminum cans at Cornfest. We collected about 4500 aluminum cans for recycling.

August 20, 27, 2011 - AYSO Soccer

AYSO SOCCER CONCESSIONS
We provide a food concession to serve the AYSO soccer program at Kiwanis Park in DeKalb. We operate on 10 Saturdays beginning in August 20 and running through October 29, 2011. Our only weekend off is the Saturday on Labor Day weekend.

AUGUST 20 - AYSO
We started out OK on our first Saturday of soccer. The sky was gray to the north and moving toward us. Early in the day, after the first game, thunder and lightning struck, which eneded the soccer games. Rain became steady, then more harder, with wind gusts driving the rain sideways at times. Thunder and lightning continued throughout the morning ending soccer for the day.

AUGUST 27 - AYSO
Our second week of AYSO was challenging due to our simultaneous involvement in DeKalb Cornfest. A great soccer concession crew made for a great day at AYSO. It was a successful day of sales.

There are still eight (8) more Saturdays left in the season.

August 7, 8, 9, 10, 2011 - Michigan Dunes Adventure

MICHIGAN DUNES ADVENTURE
Sunny days at beaches, climbing giant sand dunes, camping the great woods, kayaking down a winding river, during an end-of-summer adventure at a special place in Michigan.

SILVER LAKE STATE PARK
Our adventure started with camping at Silver Dunes State Park and swimming at a beach on Silver Lake. Giant sand dunes rose from across the lake making for an amazing backdrop offering us something more to explore.

SILVER LAKE SAND DUNES RIDE
The next morning an adventurous dune ride took us up climbing onto giant dune summits and down steep sweeps of sand and even riding onto the Lake Michigan shoreline. The ride was as exciting as it was educational, serving as an introduction to a world of windblown sand slowly moving and supporting its very own unique ecosystem.

LITTLE SABLE POINT BEACH
Historic Little Sable Point Lighthouse, built in 1874, stands 115 feet and is one of the tallest working lighthouses on the Great Lakes. Below the lighthouse an expansive sand beach provided us a refreshing experience in Lake Michigan.

EMPIRE BEACH
Farther north we enjoyed another swim at beautiful Empire Beach, tucked between two dune areas, the Empire Bluffs from the south and the Sleeping Bear Dunes to the north. The beach fronts two waters, Lake Michigan to the west, and South Bar Lake to the east. After a swimming in both lakes and watching a magnificent sunset, the beach became ablaze with several campfires and eventually a colorful fireworks display filled the night sky.

A hardwood forest canopy provided great camping in Empire Township. Long fun filled days were brought to rest in quiet woodland for a deep sleep.

After a morning of fun at Empire beach the tour continued northward.

SLEEPING BEAR DUNES
On Lake Michigan west of Traverse City, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore was recently voted by morning show “Good Morning America” as the most beautiful place in America. A scenic drive through the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore was followed by steep climbs to the top of towering sand dunes for panoramic views of the surrounding countryside.

We made brief visits to the historic lakeside towns of Empire, Glen Haven, and Glen Arbor.

KAYAKING CRYSTAL RIVER
Kayaking on the Crystal River became an exciting conclusion to our adventure filled days. Each Scout paddled his own kayak on a narrow twisting river that wound its way through maple and beech forests. Shallow spots and downfall trees had to be negotiated with skill. Two portage areas required kayaks to be carried overland a short distance to a new launch site. One exciting point on the river included shooting through a giant conduit under a roadway on fast moving water. Kayaking was a great fun way for them to test their skills and explore an unspoiled area of wilderness.

August 5, 6, 7, 2011 - Pathways to Eagle

PATHWAYS TO EAGLE
Troops gather in Bolingbrook to earn merit badges. About 900 Scouts attended this event, some camping, some for the day. Friday evening they had a climbing wall and ice skating at an indoor ice arena. In the morning Scouts attended different merit badge classes they had chosen in advance. Prerequisites had to be completed in advance. Meals were provided. Saturday evening we made a visit to the giant Bass Pro Shop, then went to the Pelican Harbor Water Park with giant slides, tube river, and pool. It's a great event that included Camping, Merit Badges, Ice Skating, Climbing, and a Water Park. It provides a challenge for advancement and a lot of fun.

August 4, 2011 - Glidden Homestead

GLIDDEN HOMESTEAD PROJECT
We worked on the grounds at Glidden Homestead. We did some weeding and laid mulch. It was a working on a hot day. The temperature started at 90 degrees. As the time wore on the temperature dropped then exploded into a thunderstorm minutes after the project ended.

July 17,18,19,20,21,22,23, 2011 - Camp Lowden

CAMP LOWDEN
SUMMER CAMP
A fun filled week of summer camp was spent at Camp Lowden. Even though a heat wave created days with heat indexes above 100 degrees, boys maintained good spirit and energy. Safety required some quiet time in the pool on hot days. The campsite pump water was closed for a few days due to unsafe test results, but these inconveniences did not effect the fun of camp.

Scouts completed the Mile Swim and participated in Snorkeling BSA. Activities like Archery, Great Campfire Programs, Camping, Canoeing, Climbing, Cooking, Games, Hiking, Nature Study, Scoutcraft, Pioneering, Riflery, Swimming, plus Merit Badge classes at Camp Lowden in Oregon, Illinois made it a week that will be remembered as a highlight of the summer.

A special commemorative tee-shirt was created for Scouts in honor of their success and determination in overcoming a weather challenge at summer camp, and still having fun!

July 16, 2011 - Oregon Trail Days

This event involved Native American Culture at Lowden State Park which included demonstrations throughout the day: Flute Playing, Arrowhead Creation, Drumming, Dancing and much more. Displays of Tipis of the Plains Indians - Sioux, Cheyenne, Crow & Blackfeet and also a Birchbark Lodge of the northern mid-west Indians

July 15, 2011 - Rock Cut Canoeing

Traveling to Rock Cut State Park north of Rockford, Illinois for some paddling. A perfect sunny day made canoeing on Pierce Lake a great activity. Some highlights included a flock of geese that came right up to the canoes for snacks. We canoed into a shallow area clogged with aquatic plants and followed a narrow creek until it couldn't be paddled anymore.

July 13, 14, 15, 2011 - Order of the Arrow

Some members of Troop 33 traveled north to Camp Freeland Leslie near Oxford, Wisconsin to complete their Order of the Arrow Ordeal memberships. Isaac, Nathan, Alex, and Kevin are now members of the Order of the Arrow.

July 9, 10, 2011 - Russell Woods

This weekend was filled with camping, cooking, and developing Scout skills for younger Scouts such as knots, lashing, firebuilding, wood tools, nature hike, map and compass.

Capture the flag was an activity in the evening. We also had racoons visiting us in the evening as well.

This was the lasst weekend camping trip before summer camp. It was a great weekend.

July 8, 2011 - Lake Shabbona Canoeing

LAKE SHABBONA CANOEING
Our canoeing at Lake Shabbona State Park took place on a warm sunny day. We followed the lakeshore north to the smaller portion of the lake. Lake Shabbona contains a 15-acre seasonal nesting area for migratory waterfowl such as Canvasback, redhead and pintail ducks and Canada Geese. Motorized boats are restricted from that area at all times.

We continued paddling as far as we could to the lake source of a small winding creek. We saw many species of waterfowl that day.

July 4, 2011 - Hopkins Park

HOPKINS PARK
FOOD BOOTH
This event involved a food booth at Hopkins Park. It included selling food at an event, which featured a concert by the DeKalb Municipal Band followed by a spectacular fireworks display. Our menu included hot dogs, polish sausage, chips, lemon shake ups, soda and water. Scouts earned money by working at this event.

July 3, 2011 - Ellwood House

ELLWOOD HOUSE
FOOD BOOTH
This event involved a Food Booth at the Ellwood House Art Fair, which included cooking some excellent food. Our menu included chicken wraps, veggie wraps, sweetcorn, funnel cakes, lemon shake ups, soda, and water. Scouts worked hard and had excellent results. This was a high profile public event which helps to promote Scouting. Boys learned to work together while earning money to pay their way on future activities. We worked hard to provide the public with excellent food at fair prices.

June 25, 26, 2011 - Haigh Quarry Scuba

NAUI OPEN WATER
CERTIFICATION
FOR SCUBA

The Scuba Diving class had completed classroom instruction, and in-water pool experiences. Open water scuba diving was the final part required for NAUI Scuba certification.

Scouts learned about specific equipment, regulations, safety procedures, first aid, underwater skills, techniques and dive planning.

They learned how to determine no-decompression limits for single and repetitive dives, dive tables, planning and executing a dive, underwater communications, diver assistance, buddy system techniques, underwater navigation, logbook, regulations and protocols.

Scouts demonstrated their skills during open water dives at Haig Quarry, a former limestone mine site located near Kankakee.

The quarry offered underwater features such as training platforms, stone crusher, sunken boat, dump truck, tunnel, amphibious vehicle and artifacts for underwater archaeology.

Scouts saw a large population of sunfish, bluegill, crappie, bass, perch, catfish, plus northern pike and paddlefish. It made for exciting and interesting dives.

Kurt Clifton of Clifton Diving Ventures in Sycamore served as instructor for the Scouts. Each Scout was individually tested to demonstrate his diving skills and knowledge.

Scouts earned the Scuba Diving merit badge and also Open Water Diver Certification through the National Association of Underwater Instructors.

Diving was an exciting program that challenged Scouts’ abilities, developed new skills, tested their teamwork, all while providing a unique and exciting new Scouting adventure.

June 19, 2011 - East Race Rafting

This was an exciting fun-filled event rafting on the East Race of the St Joseph River in South Bend, Indiana. Their park district operates the program. An 18-year-old person had to be in each raft. No flip flops allowed. You needed tennis shoes, water shoes, or sandals. We suggested everyone wear swimwear, and they all got plenty wet while rafting. Park district stationed lifeguards and rescue kayaks along the whitewater run for safety. We used them a couple times during our runs. It was a great starting activity for whitewater fun and rafting.

June 13, 20, 2011 - First Aid CPR Training

RED CROSS - CPR
Red Cross First Aid and CPR Training took place during two classes on June 13th and 20th. First Aid is an Eagle required merit badge. These classes instructed Scouts in all the first aid training for ranks and First Aid Merit Badge, plus CPR certification. Scouts earned an important merit badge and more importantly learned lifesaving skills to be prepared as a Scout.

June 10, 11, 12, 2011 - Gebhard Woods Dulcimer Festival

This event draws thousands of people to Gebhard Woods State Park in Morris, Illinois for the Gebhard Woods Dulcimer Festival. The festival features folk music and dulcimers. Troop 33 provided the food concession for the festival. Scouts earned money for their Scout Accounts while working at our food booth.

We camp at the park during the weekend and also attended a car show, Cruise Night, on Saturday night in Morris as a fun event.

Our menu included funnel cakes, chicken wraps, veggie wraps, hamburgers, cheeseburgers, hot dogs, polish sausage, sweetcorn, lemon shake ups, pop, and water.

It was a free campout, where boys earned money, worked hard, and had fun.

June 5, 15, 2011 - Scuba Class #3 #4

Scuba Class #3 and #4 were both conducted at Clifton Diving Ventures in Sycamore, IL.

These extensive training classes were conducted in-water pool where Scouts learned specific equipment, regulations, safety procedures, first aid, underwater skills, techniques and dive planning.

They learned to determine no-decompression limits for single and repetitive dives, dive tables, planning and executing a dive, underwater communications, diver assistance, buddy system techniques, underwater navigation, logbook, regulations and protocols.

June 3 - Pack 123 and June 4 Astronomy

PACK 123 CROSSOVER
Cub Pack 123 in Malta held their Blue & Gold Banquet and crossover. Troop 33 welcomed Ryan, and Bryce into Troop 33.

ASTRONOMY PROGRAM
Scouts and leaders attended an astronomy night at Afton Forest Preserve south of DeKalb. The event supported by the Northwest Suburban Astronomers Club, took us on a visit to the universe. We saw outer space through computer aided telescopes which gave us the opportunity to look at stars, galaxies, nebulae, star clusters and the planet Saturn.

May 30, 2011 - Glidden Homestead Service Project

Memorial Day was a very busy day for Scouts in Troop 33. It started with a flag project at DeKalb Square Park and Memorial Park in downtown DeKalb, followed by a flag project at Fairview Cemetery, followed by marching in the Memorial Day Parade. Some free time was avaiable for lunch. We met again to work at the Glidden Homestead for an afternoon service project.

At the Glidden Homestead Scouts and leaders spent the afternoon working on the grounds, which included weeding large areas, pruning trees, raking, and making some floral plantings.

Following the project at Glidden Homestead we enjoyed a backyard cookout provided by a troop family, then retired and folded flags at Fairview Cemetery, followed by retiring flags at Memorial Park and DeKalb Square Park in downtown DeKalb.

It was a very memorable Memorial Day holiday.

May 30, 2011 - Memorial Day

Troop 33 was involved in multiple projects on Memorial Day.

Two flag service projects made much of the day, which included downtown DeKalb and Fairview Cemetery. Scouts marched in the Memorial Day Parade. In between a service project at Glidden Homestead Museum also took place, which is described in a separate entry.

1. MEMORIAL DAY FLAG PROJECT
American flags were placed in downtown DeKalb locations. Flags at the Memorial Park and at the DeKalb Square Park.

2. FAIRVIEW CEMETERY FLAGS
Troop 33 helped raise the Avenue of Flags at the entrance to the Fairview cemetery. We returned in the evening to retire and fold the flags.

3. MEMORIAL DAY PARADE
Troop 33 marched in the DeKalb Memorial Day Parade. Several local Cub Packs and Scout Troops participated in the parade. We marched through downtown DeKalb to the Ellwood House Museum.

May 28,29, 2011 - Russell Woods

This weekend is filled with camping, cooking, and developing Scout skills for younger Scouts such as learning knots, lashing, firebuilding, wood tools, and nature hike for plants and animal identification. Capture the flag was a major activity in the evening.

While dropping camp on Sunday morning a major thunderstorm struck creating flash flood conditions, which added some drama to a great weekend.

May 20,21,22, 2011 - Cuboree

Cuboree draws 500 Cubs and parents, supported by 100 staff members. Troop 33 was responsible for feeding the 600 people for Saturday breakfast, dinner, and Sunday breakfast. We set up a field kitchen in a barn.

Saturday breakfast included french toast, pancakes, eggs, and fruit.

Dinner included a selection of roast pig, five roast hams, baked beans, potato salad, cole slaw, tossed salad, fresh vegetables, plus hot dogs and bratwurst. Desserts included brownies, cookies, and cheesecake.

Sunday breakfast included french toast, pancakes, fruit, and eggs.

The boys worked very hard the entire weekend. At the evening campfire a crossover ceremony took place where we welcomed new Scouts from Cub Pack 173 which included: Aiden, Ethan, Jake, John, Keegan, and Tom.

May 3, 8, 2011 - Scuba Merit Badge Classes 1, 2

Two class dates for Scuba merit badge took place in May. In addition to the class time there wiere also be online training modules.

Scuba Diving requires an extensive program of classroom instruction, in addition to pool experiences, and open water scuba diving.

Scouts learned about specific equipment, regulations, safety procedures, first aid, and dive planning.

They learned to determine no-decompression limits for single and repetitive dives, dive tables, planning and executing a dive, underwater communications, diver assistance, buddy system, regulations and protocols.

May 13,14,15, 2011 - Survival Campout

Our survival campout took place at a private location near Clinton, Iowa. The weekend was spent tent camping with some cooking and review of survival information with shelters constructed. Weather was mostly light rain which continued througout much of the weekend.

May 7, 2011 - Pancake Breakfast

Our annual spring Pancake Breakfast is the first fundraiser of the year. The menu includes all-you-can-eat pancakes, sausage, eggs, coffee, lemonade. It attracts a number of people who enjoyed a good hot breakfast and some pleasant social time together. Boys worked hard to make it a successful event with a strong profit margin. Money earned helps Scouts pay their way to Scouting activities.

April 30, May 1, 2011 - Galena Weekend

This weekend camping trip was filled with a variety of activities and locations in Illinois and Iowa. It included visits to historic sites, exploring a historic city, camping, hiking, caving, etc.

APPLE RIVER FORT
We began with the reconstructed Apple River Fort in Elizabeth, Illinois. Originally built during the Blackhawk War in 1832, it's historic reconstruction is a glimpse of another time.

U.S. GRANT PILGRIMAGE
We spend much of the day at the U.S. Grant Pilgrimage in historic Galena, Illinois, which includes activities and hiking to various historic sites. Thousands of Scouts gathered together from Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, and even other states to participate in the event. We celebrated dinner with pizza at Happy Joes in nearby Dyersville enroute to our camping destination.

BACKBONE STATE PARK
We enjoyed tent camping at Backbone State Park in Iowa. In the evening we watched the movie Field of Dreams in our campsite on a small portable TV to help prepare for the Sunday afternoon.

BACKBONE TRAIL
The highlight event on Sunday was hiking on the Devil's Backbone Trail in the morning. Boys enjoyed the rugged trail with narrow slots and rock formations along a narrow rocky ridgeline.

FIELD OF DREAMS
We also visited the film location site for the movie Field of Dreams in Dyersville, Iowa. Scouts were able to walk the bases around the diamond. The wind was way too intense for any baseball that day.

CRYSTAL LAKE CAVE
Our final adventure for Sunday was caving at Crystal Lake Cavern south of Dubuque. We normally would be caving and hiking at Maquoketa Caves State Park in Iowa, but due to the epidemic white-nose syndrome, which has killed over 1 million bats, the caves were closed.

We enjoyed a busy weekend of adventure before returning home to DeKalb.

April 25, 2011 - AvIation m.b. Day

AVIATION DAY
MERIT BADGE
DeKalb Taylor Municipal Airport was the perfect location for Boy Scout Troop 33 Scouts to earn their aviation merit badge.

CLASSROOM
INSTRUCTION
The day began with classroom instruction, exploring navigation history, aircraft familiarization, physics of flight, power plants and aircraft instrumentation, taught by merit badge counselor David Marx of American Airlines.

MiG 21 AIRCRAFT
Airport manager Tom Cleveland provided a guided tour of the facility, highlighted by showing the boys a MiG 21 fighter aircraft. Russian-built in 1973, the MiG 21 was flown by the Polish Air Force before eventually finding a home in DeKalb. Its maximum speed is 1,500 mph.

PREFLIGHT INSPECTIONS
John Galante of Fly America talked about aircraft preflight inspection as he guided Scouts to various planes in the main hangar. Boys learned many details about aircraft engines, how to work wings and steer tails, interior cockpits and the complex methodology a pilot uses as he controls his plane.

FLIGHT SIMULATORS
Bruce Griffith and students with Kishwaukee Education Consortium’s aviation program provided quality time for boys as they used flight simulators to learn about flying. Boys were thrilled with their experience of flight as they simulated flying and landing a plane.

A mixture of classroom instruction, displays, tours, and hands-on instruction provided a great learning experience for 16 Boy Scouts as they earned their aviation merit badge.

April 23, 2011 - Shabbona Bike Ride

Scouts biked a 32-mile route between DeKalb and Shabbona, Illinois. It included both directions during a time with very strong winds. The route is mostly flat riding on lightly traveled paved roads. It was made more interesting by riding past dozens of high tech wind mills whose top blades reach nearly 400 feet high. Shabbona State Park was a food stop during their windy bike ride.

April 9,10, 2011 - Chief Shabbona Weekend

We enjoyed a unseasonably warm weekend for our early April overnight tent camping at Chief Shabbona Forest Preserve near Shabbona, Illinois.

Scouts enjoyed camping, cooking, hiking, and a special night hike followed by flashlight tag. The highlight was fishing at Lake Shabbona State Park.

Also included in the trip was a visit to Watson Farm to see their sheep herd with new born lambs.

March 19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26, 2011 - Kentucky Spring Project

For the past two years, Troop 33 has spent spring break on a special service project in Kentucky, helping to turn an abandoned high school into a national disaster resource center.

The former Hughes-Kirk High School in Beechmont, Ky., is becoming a disaster resource center known as HIS House, operated by God’s Kitchen Inc., a faith-based organization dedicated to disaster relief work.

HIS House will be used as a distribution center, a training center for disaster relief and first responder volunteers and a central warehouse to organize disaster relief items. It will also serve as an emergency shelter and central communication center.

Scouts cleaned up the grounds, unloaded truckloads of equipment and supplies, moved equipment and cleared and cleaned classrooms.

After their daylong work projects, Scouts found fun in the evenings, enjoying television, ping pong, foosball, basketball and other games.

Scouts also visited Fort Knox, explored Mammoth Cave and toured the Corvette assembly plant and museum.

The eight-day trip was packed with hard work and play. Since the project began last year, 11 Scouts and three adult leaders have contributed more than 700 hours of service work and raised more than $3,250 to help a cause in which they believe.

March 13, 2011 - Climbing Gym

Scouts enjoyed some indoor climbing at the Vertical Endeavors Climbing Center in Warrenville, Illinois. It is one of the largest indoor climbing facilities in the nation. The center provides several different levels of climbing activity. Our climbers enjoued auto self belayed top ropes for their climbing adventure. A variety of routes provide for different levels of difficulty.

March 12, 2011 - Kishwaukee Dinner

Kishwaukee District Dinner is an annual event for adult leaders. It is a celebration of the past year's Scouting program. Great food and fellowship mark it as a special night and included some special awards. Leaders in our troop included Tara Keith and John Grant who received special adult recognition awards. Two District Awards of Merit were the highlight presentations. Troop 33's Committee Chair Kevin McArtor was one of the recipients. It was a great night enjoyed by all.

March 12, 2011 - Scouting for Food

This annual food drive collected food to benefit the Salvation Army Food Pantry in DeKalb. Troop 33 Scouts and leaders divided into teams to collect food on several routes in southern DeKalb, Malta, and Cortland, Illinois. Thousands of food items were collected and sorted. With tough economic times its more important than ever to have food available for families in need. The area Cub Packs and Scout Troops worked together during the Scouting for Food service project to meet that challenge.

February 26, March 6, 9, 2011

PACK 134 CROSSOVER - FEBRUARY 26
February 26 was the Blue and Gold banquet and crossover for Cub Pack 134 Webelos. We welcomed Travis, Caeden, Zachary, and Allan into Troop 33.

PATROL LEADERS RETREAT - MARCH 6
Scouts worked on planning for upcoming activities. They nailed down some details and worked out new ideas.

SCOUTING FOR FOOD BROCHURES - MARCH 9
Teams of Scouts distributed brochures door to door in a part of DeKalb to publicize the upcoming Scouting for Food event.

February 25, 2011 - Eagle Banquet

Three Fires Council honored a gathering of the Eagle Class of 2010, nearly 300 new Eagle Scouts, at the Wyndham Hotel in Lisle. Those Eagle Scouts came from DeKalb, Kane, Kendall, and DuPage Counties. The dinner and program were excellent.

Dale Coyne, of Indy car racing fame, was the featured speaker that night. In 2010 he sponsored #19, an Indy car dedicated to Scouting's 100th Anniversary.

Attending the banquet were Troop 33’s 2010 Eagle Scouts: Jonothan West, Steven Murphy, and Alex J Rouse.

PACK 134
The next day February 26 was a Blue and Gold banquet with a crossover for Cub Pack 134 Webelos. We welcomed Travis, Caeden, Zachary, and Allan into Troop 33.

February 18,19,20,21, 2011 - Great North Adventure

This is a 4-day winter adventure that our Scouts have always enjoyed. It's part road trip and part outdoor challenge combining several activities into an exciting, fun, adventure experience. The Great North Adventure trip takes us through Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota.

MINOCQUA
The first day involves a long drive from DeKalb, Illinois to Minocqua, Wisconsin. We spend our first night in a large hotel complete with large game room and indoor water park. The water park has two giant water slides, a water play area, large pool with water basketball, and a giant indoor-outdoor hot tub. After our first water park session, we dry off for a pizza party at a restaurant, then returned for some time at the game room and more time at the water park. The first day is part of the road trip with all the luxury.

The second day we drove to Eagle River to see the giant ice palace. Unfortunately the ice palace had been demolished a few days earlier after warm weather created dangerous structural damage. We drove into Michigan and followed U.S. highway 2 through beautiful rolling woodland, having a close encounter with a deer.

CAMP BARKSDALE
Camp Barksdale is located near Ashland, Wisconsin on the shoreline of Lake Superior. Scouts had the option of staying in a cabin with wood stove or sleeping outdoors in snow shelters. About half elected to stay indoors, and half outdoors. The remainder of the day was spent preparing shelters. An accident required a hospital ER visit regarding a face and a snow shovel. A tooth was partially broken. Otherwise it was an exciting overnight with temperatures in the single digits. A couple Scouts elected to change their minds about sleeping outdoors in their snow trench partway through the night. The cabin was warm and welcoming.

ICE HIKING
After a hot breakfast the next day we left camp for some ice hiking on Lake Superior. The intent was to hike to the Mainland Ice Caves at Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. Unfortunately the ice was considered unsafe by the National Park Service. Instead we hiked on the safe ice in the vicinity near Meyer Beach. It was still exciting for the boys.

After our ice hike we intended to drive across the ice bridge from Bayfield to Madeline Island, but due to conditions the ice bridge was closed. We enjoyed time exploring the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center. A major winter storm was sending gail force winds from across Lake Superior as we drove to Duluth, Minnesota, where we intended to stop at the Great Lakes Aquarium. Due to the fast approaching storm we continued on.

BLIZZARD
The drive south to Hinckley, MN on the interstate was challenging due to high winds creating blowing and drifting snow. We arrived at our hotel and enjoyed dinner and their indoor pool.

We awoke to a very white day. Ten inches of snow had fallen overnight. Our drive to Danbury, Wisconsin for dog sledding was a longer drive than normal due to the blizzard. We were happy to finally arrive at the Pawtuckaway Dog Kennel.

DOG SLEDDING
The dogs were very happy to see us. We used two dog sleds with boys rotating between riding in the sled and driving a sled. A mile long circular trail took them through a great northern woodland. A professional musher, Cliff Maxfield, drove the lead sled with a Scout following him driving a second sled. A Scout rode as passenger in each sled. It was a great introduction to dog sledding. For those boys waiting, dozens of friendly energetic dogs and a warm campfire kept them occupied. All the fresh snow made the trail more exciting and the scenery all that much more beautiful.

The long drive back to DeKalb was uneventful. The four-day trip seemed much more like a week long adventure. It included indoor water park, pizza party, snow camping, ice hiking, and dog sledding. It was a great way to share a celebration of winter.

February 8, 2011 - Cortland School Project

CORTLAND SCHOOL PROJECT
We volunteer to support the Cortland PTA meeting by providing a youth care program for children in the school gymnasium. Scouts try to provide games and pay attention to the children and keep them entertained while their parents attend the PTA meeting. This is one of the small community service projects that we do.

February 6, 2011 - Starved Rock Adventure

This was a free trip. Scouts only needed a sack lunch and money for McDonalds or a second sack lunch. We began our trip driving about 60 miles south to Utica, Illinois.

EAGLE WATCHING
The first part of our day was spent at the Starved Rock Lock & Dam where we could watch American Bald Eagles as they fished in the Illinois River below the dam. Many Eagles were roosting on the trees on Plum Island visible from the Lock & Dam Visitor Center. Inside the visitor center are many exhibits that depict area history, birds and wildlife along the river, and even a full scale pilot house where Scouts could adjust levers and lights and act as captains piloting a river barge. The river was open during our visit. In addition to watching Bald Eagles flying over the river we also saw a river barge pass through the lock.

CANYON HIKING
We first stopped at the Starved Rock Visitor Center to eat our sack lunches and explore the exhibits and information they have on display. From there we headed for the trail. Hiking at Starved Rock is always fun, especially in winter. With the structure of the canyon becoming more rocky and vertical as you hike into it, you get more involved in the scenic beauty of the canyon until you finally end at a breathtaking sight. Giant waterfalls of ice hang frozen in the canyon wall high above you. It provides an unbelievable sight. The boys spent some time exploring the rocky ledges and cave openings and admired the giant pillars of ice and the magical beauty of an amazing winter scene.

SLEDDING
We drove along the Illinois River to the city of Ottawa and to Allen Park. The park is home to an excellent sledding hill which was excavated into the high river bank rising to the south of the Illinois River. It is one of the finest sledding hills in the area and one that is well worth the drive. Scouts enjoyed the last hours of daylight sliding down the hill, over and over again.

We visit McDonalds for dinner before returning to DeKalb. Since this trip was on Superbowl Sunday we returned to DeKalb earlier than usual. Other years we have included some of the things detailed below.

We normally also watch Bald Eagles from atop Starved Rock and do more hiking in the canyons. We also visit the William D. Boyce Memorial at the Ottawa Avenue Cemetery. We have sometimes visited the Ottawa Scouting Museum as well.

February 5, 2011 - Klondike Derby

The midwest was buried under a massive blizzard on February 1, 2011. Schools were closed, roads were buried, and our Klondike Derby was scheduled for the Saturday after. Most of the Scouts signed up for the event didn't show. Our trailer used to haul our klondike sleds was packed in a drift of wind blown snow. We were an hour late arriving at the event.

The snow was plentiful and the temperature was pleasant, in the high teens, low twenties.

Our Scouts enjoyed participating in: Fire Building, Log Sawing, Sled Race, Orienteering, and Indoor Rifle Range. We had to depart the event early to attend a Crossover Ceremony scheduled by a Cub Scout Pack. Unfortunately as a result of our late arrival and early departure our Scouts didn't have time to participate in: First Aid, Tomahawk Throw, or Track Identification.

At the Crossover Ceremony we welcomed Logan into Troop 33.

January 29, 2011 - Adventure Travel Show

This is a one-day activity was held at the Donald E. Stevens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois. It is free to Scouts under age 16, they just needed to bring a sack lunch or McDonalds money.

The Travel & Adventure Show features hundreds of exhibits, shows, demonstrations, and cultural performances. Exhibits include local, national, and international destinations, loaded with photos and brochures, and native representatives to talk with.

Activities included: camel rides, driving a segway on a special course, and most popular was a heated pool where Scouts could experience an introduction to Scuba diving. Also wildlife exhibits featured exotic birds and reptiles.

In another section of the convention center was a second show called American Outdoor Sports Show, which provided a second major attraction to explore. The show highlights various outdoor sports, camping equipment, boating, fishing, riflery, archery, etc., and even had a 100,000 gallon indoor lake constructed to try out boats. One popular attraction was an exhibit on dangerous reptiles which featured giant snakes and a full size alligator.

It was a fun and educational day the boys thoroughly enjoyed.

January 22-23, 2011 - Wisconsin Super Weekend

Our weekend began at Cascade Mountain Ski Resort in Portage, Wisconsin. The weather was clear and sunny, all trails open, temperature in the upper teens and twenties. Boys were half skiers and half snowboarders. Some were first timers on a hill. Those new to skiing had lessons, while others ventured straight to the high hills. The day was full of fun and downhill adventure.

We enjoyed a dinner of fried chicken and stayed overnight at a hotel with indoor pool. The boys enjoyed the pool they shared with a girl's volleyball team who were also staying at the hotel.

The morning was sub-zero temperatures. After a hot breakfast we set out to Kalihari Indoor Water Park. The large water park provided many water activities to choose from. The wave pool and water slides were fun, but the Flowrider was the most popular. It provided 50,000 gallons of water each minute flow under you to create a five-foot ocean-like wave. It provided the boys a chance to do some surfing in Wisconsin during January.

We had a late lunch at a buffet restaurant where we listened to the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers playoff game. We continued listening to the game on the way home. We had both Bears fans and Packers fans on the trip. The Packers won an exciting game, taking them to play Pittsburg, and becoming the Superbowl Champions.

January 16-17, 2011 - MacQueen Overnight

Our overnight took place at MacQueen Forest Preserve near Kirkland, Illinois. We stayed inside a cabin heated by a wood stove. After lunch we visited nearby Russell Woods Forest Preserve at Genoa, Illinois for an afternoon of sledding. The temperatures were mild and the snow was fairly thin with some grass showing through in spots. Benches around a campfire provided for a warm break. Back at MacQueen we enjoyed a great chili dinner. Evening activities included flashlight tag, and a movie, "Grown Ups".

The second day began with a hot breakfast of pancakes and bacon. It had been snowing. Some time was spent hiking around the bridge over Kingsberry Creek which leads into Potawatomie Forest Preserve. We finished the trip with another visit to Russell Woods Forest Preserve for sledding on the hill. The fresh layer of snow, coupled with new snow falling, made it a great time for sledding.