Woodbeads I - Part Two: Lost Lake

Woodbeads I was held from Thursday, July 16 through Sunday July 19, 2015, at scenic Lost Lake, Oregon.  For me personally, this was the adventure of the summer, and a life-changing moment. 

When I was a boy in the Boy Scouts, I had every intention of continuing as an Assistant Scoutmaster, and hopefully later, a Scoutmaster of my own troop.  I knew of Woodbadge and intented to start down the path of getting trained.  In fact, I had completed a locally run course called "Mountain Man", which taught a lot of the basics.  But the times being what they were, I knew my time with the BSA was to be cut short, but it was the best thing for my sanity at the time; I mean, I was only 18, and needed time to discover my identity, since it had been all but shoved to the back of the closet.

When I took the helm of BPSA-US back in the 2007-2008 timeframe, it was very much on my to-do list to arrange for a Woodbeads (WFIS equivalent of WOSM's "Woodbadge") course here in the United States.  There were so many things we needed to get done at that time, between writing handbooks and assembling policies, the idea of doing a Woodbeads course seemed so far in the future.  I remember speaking with Ric Raynor on the phone about doing a course, along with lots of other topics at the time that demanded attention.  My term would last just under two years, which was not enough time to get everything done.  Woodbeads would have to wait.

So you can imagine my excitement, upon returning to BPSA a few years later, to see that Woodbeads would be finally coming to the US, and none other than Ric Raynor himself would be on staff.  There was no way I was going to miss this event. 

This event drew in nearly 40 leaders from all across the United States, and our trainers all came down from Canada.  Watching everyone transform over the course of the weekend was amazing, and a gift.  Its nice to see when grown-ups get to discover the magic in things.  Everybody always thinks of Scouting as something for kids.  They're right... it is very much for kids.  BUT if you don't have a few adults to guide the young ones, the young ones might not get to have Scouting.  And the truth is, Scouting is very much a game... we call it a game at least, and it's a game for grown-ups as well as kids.  Games are supposed to be fun, and I know I wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't fun.  Woodbeads was fun, and it was so much more.

If for nothing else, it was simply an awesome time, to be surrounded by like-minded people, in one of the most beautiful parts of the world.  Hopefully there will be more of these, and hopefully I will get to be there.  This event was hosted by 55th Cascadia, and organized by Ethan Jewett.  Kudos to Ethan and all involved, and congratulations on an amazingly successful event.

For more photos of this event, view my online photo album.

For even more photos, visit Ethan Jewett's flickr album

Woodbeads I - Part One: Urban Hike in Portland, OR

The trip to Portland, OR for Woodbeads I was the adventure of the summer!  I think I had more fun than my luggage did, which unfortunately got jammed up on a conveyor belt at Logan International Airport, so when I landed and met my Northeast Regional Commissioner, Rick Saunders at the Portland airport, we had a few hours to kill before heading out to Lost Lake, so we did what any good Rovers would do... we went exploring!

The downtown Portland area was just beautiful.  The city is on a human scale.  The city blocks are smaller, and there are transit buses cris-crossing the city on nearly every other street.  We parked our rental car and made our way to the visitor center, which is nestled in amongst some man-made waterfalls in the center of town.  We met with a Vistor Center guide, who helped us lay out a simple route of must-see sights.  All points along our walk are laid out in this handy Google map I made:

Our walking tour - click to enlarge

We had parked at a parking deck, estimated to be at pin 5 (above).  We walked to the visitor center (pin 1), then from there, nearly across the street to the old Pioneer Courthouse (pin 2).   While stopping to take photos, my sunglasses snapped, thus necessitating an unscheduled trip to DD's Discounts (pin 6).  From there we made our way down SW 5th Ave and then left onto SW Oak, to the famous Powell's Bookstore.  We easily spent an hour in the store looking at field guides, history books, you name it, it was there.  I left with a handy laminated, folding star map which is perfect for backpacks.  We left the store and made our way over to Deschutes Brewery; pulled up to the bar in full uniform, had a tasty beverage, and met a young student from the Netherlands.  After what seemed like another hour, we made our way back to the garage, and then on to our final destination: Lost Lake.

Pioneer Courthouse

Powell's Books

I have to admit, it was great fun exploring a new city.  We certainly got stopped a bunch of times, as people could tell we were not your average Scouts.  The best comment, "You look like a cross between a boy scout and the Canadian mounted police".  Rick did an awesome public relations job.

Rick taking photos

Mileage Count:  According to the Google Maps measuring tool, I counted 1.67 miles.  No rounding this time...  Running total: 15.67 miles... 82.33 miles to go!!