We're back from an awesome week out west! It was amazing how well everything worked out and we got to do every activity that the scouts had hoped for - even doing the Space Needle which I would have just as soon missed. :-)

18 scouts from the flatlands of Minnesota got to experience:

• Mount St. Helens - climbing and sitting on the rim of an active volcano
• Glissading - no way to describe how exciting it is to fly down a snowfield in a minute that took an hour to climb up!
• Ape Cave - clambering over rocks in an underground lava tube for a long 1.5 miles
• Fort Clatsop - Lewis and Clark's winter residence in Oregon
• Fort Stevens - built to defend the Columbia River and never fired its guns in anger
• Clamming - digging razor clams in the low tide sands
• Tidal Pools - crashing waves, crabs, and critters in the rocks
• Bonneville Dam - fish ladders, huge electricity generators, and Herman the Sturgeon
• Deschutes River - whitewater rafting through gorgeous high desert at Maupin, Oregon with High Desert River Outfitters - real good guys
• Mt. Hood - snow skiing with nothing but blue skies and bright sun at 8000 feet, in June!
• Space Needle - the most touristy thing to do in the Pacific Northwest

I'm still dumbfounded how we crammed so much into a week. There certainly were some long days and short nights. But, the two crew leaders did great work and we came in under budget. If you would like more details on our trip, send me an email and I'll get back to you.

Check out our SPOT Trek Route - pictures mapped to our route recorded by our SPOT Messenger. I've heard from quite a few parents that they really enjoyed watching us as we slowly climbed Mount St. Helens and rafted down the Deschutes.

Scout On