I have found, near the ground, my soul and myself, beneath this trail...

I was sitting in journalism today, mentally going through all of the Philmont memorabilia that I own. And it occurred to me that a great way to get you to see the magic of Philmont was to post from the journal I wrote while I was there. From beginning to end. I hope you imagine what I do when you read these posts. Along with the entries I will post numerous pictures that correspond with the text from the entry.

So here it goes:

Travel Day 1
Wednesday, July 15th, 2009

1:30 pm
Well, we leave for the train in about an hour. I'm psyched. I'm all ready to go and I can't wait to see Chicago for the first time.


6:17 pm
We're on the train. We just played scrabble, it was a blast. We are passing the Johnstown Station. It's a pretty nice ride on a train. You see so much.

11:56 pm
I am on the sleeper car for Chicago. Pittsburgh was great. Such a big city compared to Lewistown. And train station benches are very hard to sleep on.

You'll have to suffer through the first few days of travel. I didn't find much to write about while on the train.

What Scouting Means

Scouting means fellowship, loyalty, and being helpful.

People often look at me with a questioning look when I tell them I am a Boy Scout, some don't believe me. Others even tend to argue with me that I should be a Girl Scout, not a Boy Scout. The Boy Scout of America Organization has helped me realize that girls can do just about anything a boy can do, sometimes even better.

Growing up in a scouting family was very interesting to me. It started with my great-grand father, who earned his Eagle Scout on November 20th, 193. Followed by my grandfather, father, uncle, and brother, who have all obtained the rank of Eagle. As a female, I can not obtain the rank of Eagle Scout, but I am working towards the Silver Award, which is equivalent to Eagle.

What is Venturing?

Venturing is a youth development program of the Boy Scouts of America for young men and women who are 14 through 20 years of age. Venturing's purpose is to provide positive experiences to help young people mature and to become responsible and caring adults. Venturing is based on a unique and dynamic relationship between youth, adult leaders, and organizations in their communities. Local community organizations establish a Venturing crew by matching their people and program resources to the interest of young people in the community. The result is a program of exciting and meaningful activities that helps youth pursue their special interests, grow, develop leadership skills, and become good citizens.

Fellowship to me is very important, it means trusting other so that I can depend on them if something were to go wrong on say, a back-packing trip. It also means friendship. I have gained many new friendships through scouting and memories with fellow scouts that I hope will last a life time.

Loyalty is a big part of what scouting means to me as well. If you are not loyal in your beliefs and to other scouters, it is easy to get lost on the trail to the Eagle or Silver Award. A scout is true to their family, friends, community, and nation.

Do a good turn daily. The slogan means that a Boy Scout or Venturer is willing to help others. Some good turns are big-saving a life, helping out after floods, or other disasters, recycling community trash, working with your patrol or crew on conservation projects.

But good turns are often small, thoughtful acts-helping a child across a busy street, going to the store for an elderly neighbor, cutting back brush that is blocking a sign, doing something special for a brother or sister, welcoming a new student to your school.

A good turn is more than simple good manners. It is a special act of kindness.

All of this plays a huge roll in why I am a Boy Scout, and not a Girl Scout.