Overnight Buddy Camp

Sorry I didn't get it posted right away, but we had our first camp-out! It was a one night camp-out designed to give the girls a chance to meet older and younger troops. The girls had a great time, as did I. We arrived on Friday evening and after going over safety rules and setting up camp, the girls were put into mixed groups to talk about what kind of experiences they have had in Girl Scouts so far. Then we started the campfire and made some s'mores! I survived the night in a tent with 4 little blonde girls! There were lots of giggles and whispers, but they were good girls and went to sleep with no problem. Saturday morning we took the girls on a nature hike to do some bird watching. My little group saw a red shouldered black bird (I think that's what it was called.) Our afternoon project was to make fire-starters by stuffing cotton or dryer lint into pine cones. Loretta then dipped them in melted wax. The girls then helped pack up the camp and were ready for a water-balloon fight. Sammi and I had to leave a little early but we had so much fun! I hadn't tent-camped in years and it was Sammi's first time. I can't wait to go to our 2-night campout in August.

Great American Buffalo Adventure

Oh my goodness, I can't begin to tell you how much fun the troop had on our adventure! All of the girls except one were able to attend, and I had the help of 4 other troop volunteers. We drove 2.5 hours to Wessington, SD to the Christensen Buffalo Ranch.

We were in the first group to go on the hayride. The hayride was in a huge hay trailer pulled by a tractor.

Mr. Christensen drove us and acted as our tour guide. The pasture was about 5 miles from the ranch house, and very bumpy, which made for lots of giggly little girls!

When we first got to the pasture, the bison cows were near a small pond with the calves. They ran from us because they wanted to protect their calves from us. I got this great video of the herd moving away from us.
Click here to see the video clip.
Mr. Christensen would stop the tractor to show the girls plants native to the prairie. We learned about Sheep Shower--an edible purple flower,Yarrow--once used as a laxative, and Indian Potatoes--a tuber that grows on the prairie and was a staple in the Native American diet. He showed us a lot of plants and picked flowers for the girls, he even found a wild rose!

Mr. Christensen seemed to really enjoy teaching the girls. He stopped and let us look around for flowers while he dug up Indian Potatoes, which he then cleaned and cut up, allowing each girl and adult to taste. They really do taste like potatoes!

My girls were very excited about finding the shed hair of the bison, who are losing their winter coats. Little tufts were stuck to plants everywhere we looked. We found different kinds of hair, the light brown seemed to be softer and finer than the black hair. I even stumbled across a large intact piece of hair.

After seeing the bulls, who are separate from the herd this time of year, Mr. Christensen took us to see a tee-pee ring. All that remains of the nomadic homes are rings of stones, which were used to hold the hides down. We had the girls stand on the stones to make it easier to visualize.

Back on the ranch, we were treated to a wonderful early supper of bison meat sandwiches and Girl Scout Cookies! Then we were able to help make rope, the girls worked hard to turn the crank that twisted the rope.


Our last activity of the day was to make necklaces with colorful beads, and a surprise trip to see a dove's nest. My girls were wiped out, and I was very tired and just a little sunburned. The girls were given packets with a placemat telling them facts about bison, bison meat recipes, a piece of handmade rope, a tuft of bison hair and their Great American Buffalo Adventure patch. We had a fabulous time together, and I am very glad to have such a great bunch of girls and a great bunch of volunteers! I can't wait to do this again next year!