Caving at Colorado Bend State Park

On Friday the 25th of January, 19 intrepid Trailmen from Troop 98 excitedly set out for adventure.

Camping in a state park that none of them had entered before, touring a wilderness cave, and lots of good food were just a few of the things they were looking forward to. The promises of a beautiful weather forecast were also prominent in their thoughts, due to the poor weather that had dampened their campouts this year.

Not long into their drive, the lights on their Troop trailer stopped working.  They made a few stops to try to find supplies to make repairs along the way, but couldn’t find what they needed.

Eventually, they caught the attention of a kind Sheriff, who pulled them over.  Mr. Sheriff suggested that they turn on the hazard lights, as the blinkers worked, but the running lights did not.  The adults had a “why didn’t we think of that?!”moment, switched on the lights, thanked the officer for his kindness and for keeping the roads safe, then set back out.

They arrived at Colorado Bend State Park, found their group site, set up camp, and enjoyed some mighty fine vittles pretty late in the evening, but were in good spirits, despite the lateness of the hour and the interesting trip.

Early the next morning, they woke up and half of their group headed off for the cave.  After some rather intensely scheduled campouts and a lot of bad weather of late, some of the dads were looking forward to a little more relaxation that looked to be in the schedule, but things weren’t going to turn out quite as expected.

Shortly after breakfast, it began to rain, which came and went all day long.  Lots and lots of rain scattered throughout the day slowly took a toll on some of the group.

Early in the afternoon, the other half of the group set out for their cave tour.

Heather, from Nichols Outdoor Adventures, available at www.CBcaves.com, gave them a grand tour, exceeding their expectations.  In the parking lot, she outfitted them with helmets, checked gear and then led them off into the woods.  Along the way, she shared some fun facts about the number of karst and cave features known to exist within the State Park and the sad story of how one central Texas rancher wagered everything in hopes of finding gold on his land, only to find himself in so much debt that he had to sell his beautiful land to the state of Texas.

Kyle and I have toured five different caves in the past several years, three of those with the Troop and two with our family, but this one was completely different from the others!

It was smaller, sure, but it was also better in many ways.  We discovered that this is classified as a Wilderness Cave, as opposed to a commercial cave, which made all the difference.  We didn’t enter the cave upright and with ease.  Instead, we had to climb down into a hole, using an old tree, Bert, to get in.  Upon entering the cave, many of us larger folk had to crawl a decent bit before being able to stand upright.  More than a few of us were envious of Mr. Merchant’s knee pads at this point, even if we had ridiculed him for them just a few minutes prior.

Once inside, the group enjoyed the barrage of interesting facts that Heather provided. This was clearly not her first rodeo, and she knew how to make it interesting not only for teenage boys, but also for their old geezer dads. That’s not an easy thing to pull off.

We met a bat who was in hibernation, and Kyle named him Oscar, in keeping with the Sesame Street theme begun by the tree at the entrance, and because we figured if we woke him, he might be a grouch.  Our guide seemed pleased with it and said that this would be his name.  Maybe she lets all the groups name Oscar so they feel special, who knows, but my son was pretty excited either way.

Heather showed us a pile of bones that had been discovered in the cave, and helped the young men use the clues provided by the remains to determine what animal they had belonged to in life.

Cave crickets and daddy long legs were observed, along with lots of cool and interesting cave features.  Then came one of the best parts.  The boys were able to crawl around on their bellies along some tunnels into other parts of the cave.  They loved it!

After our cave tour, part of the group made a short drive up “cell phone hill” before returning to camp. The top of this hill is quite the mixed bag. While being possibly one of the most beautiful views in the park, many a person likely ignores the view while talking on their cell phone, as it is the closest place to camp where service is possible.

Dads made phone calls to make sure their ladies hadn’t turned them in as missing persons after not hearing from them for nearly 24 hours, while Trailmen wrestled and goofed off. During this time, we found out that the wife of one of us/mom of one of us had been in a car wreck during our technological blackout. Thankfully, it ended up being very minor.

Then, the beauty of the park was beheld!  What a view!  You could see the amazing Gorman Falls from this vantage point, which led to discussion about attempting the hike.  Sadly, time and weather were both working against us and we didn’t make it out.  Between having seen the falls at a distance and the kayaking area of the gorgeous Colorado River, I suspect that we will return during our next program year to see other parts of this wonderful park.  I heard lots of comments suggesting that very thing.

Once we finished on the hill, we headed back to camp, where we discovered that a small game of football had spontaneously broken out amongst those who went on the early tour. Several from our group joined in and the battle raged. Sadly, it ended when two young men collided, resulting in the first two broken bones in Troop history. Sadly, this happened to a young man joining us for his very first Nav/Ad Campout.

I’d like to thank the other dad who accompanied me on the drive to return him to his parents, the young man’s dad for meeting us halfway, and the Trailmen who helped pack his gear and rode with us to take him back. I loved how everyone in the Troop rallied around the young man, trying to help and to make him feel better, showing compassion and concern, then prayed for him at various times. Great example of Walking Worthy, gentlemen! I’ve checked in on him a few times this week and understand that he is in good spirits, and can’t wait to get back out there.

Unfortunately, the rain continued to come and go throughout the evening and overnight Saturday, well into the early hours of Sunday morning, when hail also joined the party.  Around 3:45 AM, I woke to hear it pouring.  I spent some time in prayer, asking for safety and and better weather before feeling the sudden urge to check the time.  I reached for my cell phone, discovering it in a puddle inside our tent.  I shook off the water, dried it as best I could, then stuck it in my sleeping bag with me.  Nearly a week later, it’s still functioning fine, thankfully.

Sunday morning, after a pretty bad weather night, we woke to discover that several tents had given up the fight and taken on water.  It was cold, wet and foggy, and I’ll admit that I was dreading dealing with a bunch of dropping wet Troop gear when we arrived home.

Thankfully, not long after, the fog cleared, the sun came out, and it began to warm up.  We took down the tents and laid them out to begin drying, hopeful that the sun would take care of our woes.  We packed up what was dry, and attitudes seemed to slowly lift with the temperatures.

We then spent about an hour talking through our thorns, roses and buds. Roses are one of God’s most beautiful creations, so we had a few people tell us what their favorite parts of the campout were. With the roses, come the dreaded thorns, so we also shared our least favorite parts. Each plant has new buds with time, so we also talked about a few things we are looking forward to.

It’s always awesome to listen to others share their hearts during this time. It has a way of reshaping your attitude for the better. It’s awesome to hear the young men sharing all of the things they enjoyed, minimizing the thorns and looking hopefully ahead. It really helps to put things in perspective as we wrap up:

Before long, we flipped our gear to let the other side dry, and it was time for Chapel.  As always, hearing a message based on God’s Word shared by our Troop Chaplain out in the woods, surrounded by some of the best men I know has a way of humbling me.  What an amazing way to spend a Sunday morning!

We then took pictures at a really cool tree that was a neat visual border to our outdoor kitchen area, running between the tamed portion of the land and the wilderness beyond.

By the time we finished all of that, our gear was dry and ready to pack! We finished up and set off for lunch.

A few of us had been on a previous Troop campout at the nearby Inks Lake State Park about fourteen months prior, after which we stopped on the way home at a great burger place in Lampasas, called Storm’s. Our memories of that lunch led us to convince the group that a return trip was in order.

This turned out to be a wise choice. Not just because Elvis once ate there, but also because they have a few parking spots set up for a big vehicle pulling a trailer, lots of outdoor seating, quick service and fantastic food! We enjoyed some great fellowship while putting away some fine hill country burgers, then set out for an uneventful (thankfully) trip home.

Wrap Up - It wasn’t an easy, comfortable campout, but the good ones never are! Character was forged and bonds were strengthened through the difficulties. I won’t rehash those thoughts, as I already shared them extensively in a post earlier this week.

That said, Colorado Bend State Park, Gorman Falls, and Dynamite Cave were absolutely amazing! I’d love to return to camp there again soon, and for another trip through the cave, a hike to the falls, a dip in the river and some kayaking. It’s always good to have fun things to look forward to!

Any Troop that is able to visit Colorado Bend should definitely do so, and I’d highly recommend setting up a cave tour through Nichols Outdoor Adventures at www.CBcaves.com! If you make it that far, you may as well also stop at Storm’s Lampasas - I promise you won’t regret any of those decisions!

(I was not compensated in any way for my positive reviews above. They are my honest personal opinions, free of any influence.)

Multi-Troop Appleseed Shooting Campout

** Please note that all faces in pictures within this blog post not belonging to myself or my son are blurred for privacy reasons.  I do not have permission to post pictures of these individuals, so I am protecting their privacy.**

Over this past summer, our Trail Life USA Troop, Troop TX-0098, was invited to join other Troops from the North Texas area at an Appleseed shooting campout this fall.  When our Youth PLC met over the summer to determine the locations, themes, and points-of-contact for each of our monthly campouts, they voted to attend, and I’m so glad that they did!

When the message went out to officially sign up/register, we quickly jumped on it and had multiple Trailmen sign up.  We ended up having 8 youth and 5 adults attend.  The campout as a whole had 45 Trailmen from 7 different Troops sign up to shoot.

As the campout approached, if I’m honest, I was becoming a little skeptical and uncertain.  We had a lot of Trailmen missing out on this specific campout, which made me disappointed for them, and the thought of having dozens of Trailmen shooting in one location sounded like chaos at best, and a safety hazard at worst.  Thankfully, my fears turned out to be exceedingly unfounded!

Friday, November 16, 2018

Our Troop met at our host church and set out Friday afternoon.  After stopping for a fantastic dinner together at one of my favorite places - Grump’s Burgers in Burleson - we continued on our way, stopping every 3.5 minutes for a restroom break.  (I’m only slightly exaggerating!  😂)

We arrived at the Central Texas Rifle and Pistol Club location, near Waco, Texas, around 9:30 PM.  We were quickly greeted by Eric Inman, Troopmaster for Troop TX-19:1, who guided us through parking our Troop trailer, then showed us to our Troop’s camping area.

While most of our Trailmen set up camp, my son, Kyle, and I headed to a brief, but well organized First Officer and Lead Adult meeting, where we were given packets, information and instructions for the weekend.  It was clear by this point that everything was well planned.

The remainder of the weekend was packed full and intense.  Troopmaster Eric Inman was the “Camp Director.”  This was his Troop’s fifth straight year to attend, and he is an Appleseed Instructor and Range Safety Officer, so he had things perfectly scheduled and flowing like a well oiled machine.

Saturday - November 17, 2018

Most of our Troop woke up at 6:30 Saturday morning.  We cooked, ate, did KP, then attended Opening Ceremonies, which involved raising the flag and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance followed by The Trailman Oath.

We checked in at the range in the prescribed manner at 8:30 AM and never slowed down!  The Appleseed Instructors started by introducing themselves and the program, then giving lots of safety information.  They made it extremely clear to all involved that safety would be the top priority of the weekend - followed by learning to shoot, learning Revolutionary War history, having some fun, and enjoying some fellowship.

When we were given the go ahead, our Trailmen filed out to unload their weapons from my Suburban.  My center row of seating had, If I remember correctly, 12 guns, including at least eight .22 rifles, my Glock 19, a .22 pistol, a Stoeger 9mm, multiple range bags, a few ammo cans, and enough ammo (a minimum of 500 rounds per shooter) to start up a very small compound.  It was a beautiful sight quite different from anything I’ve seen in my eleven years of involvement and camping with Troop 98!

When it came time to shoot, the Appleseed Instructors made certain that everything worked according to a system, which kept guns pointed in the correct direction (upwards or down range) at all times, and that fingers were kept off of triggers until the proper time.  They clearly laid out the rules, and repeated them frequently (after all, we were handing guns to 45 young men between the ages of 11 and 17.)  They gave clear instructions in an easy to follow manner and taught the Trailmen, some of whom were holding rifles for the first time in their lives, more information about proper marksmanship and safety than I’ve learned in my 39 years of life.

The first shooting for the Trailmen involved the use of a specific target so that a baseline starting point could be determined as their “before.”  Many of the Trailmen had a difficult time putting any of those initial rounds on the paper at 25 yards.  My son only had one on his target.  We’ll come back to how much they improved later...

My son’s “before” target on the left

Then came a few hours of intense instruction and lots of shooting!

At lunchtime, the Trailmen grabbed their food in under five minutes and took it back inside the range for some history lessons while eating.  

Then it was time for more shooting instruction and lots of hands on practice until about 4:30, if I remember correctly.  They really packed that time full of incredible teaching.

Kyle had such an incredible time on this campout! 

Saturday Night

Once we were dismissed Saturday late in the afternoon, we walked back to our camping area for evening activities.

I made some chili that turned out pretty decent, and ended up being perfect for the cold and windy weather.  We followed dinner with campfire burritos, which are dark-chocolate-peanut-butter-spread-and-marshmallows-inside-a-tortilla cooked on a camp stove.  These are a specialty of one of our Trailmen.  Thankfully, he makes them after Saturday’s dinner on pretty much every T98 campout!

While we cooked and ate, we enjoyed fellowship amongst our Troop along with the occasional leader from other Troops, which was most excellent!  It is always awesome to to spend time with the other dads from Troop 98, but it was also really good to get to know some of these guys from other Troops who share similar beliefs and values.

We then attended a phenomenal Multi-Troop campfire event.  Trailmen from various Troops performed the obligatory skits.  Various Appleseed Instructors told stories from the Revolutionary War.  These stories were full of great lessons - inspiring reflection and patriotism, and helping Trailmen to understand the sacrifices that families made to bring about the United States of America.  I laughed, cried and felt the impact of those stories deeply.

We ended the evening by ceremonially retiring several well worn US flags, and listened as a handful of Trailmen shared with us what the US Flag means to them.  It was somber and reverent - the perfect way to end the day.

Sunday, November 18, 2018

Sunday morning, our Trailmen were awake at 6 AM to take care of breakfast and break down camp before Chapel.

Chapel started off with some praise and worship time.  It’s always moving to participate in worshipping our Lord, with my son, in the woods, surrounded by dozens of other men and boys doing the same.

Next, the Chaplain from another Troop led all of the gathered Troops through a lesson, which he absolutely nailed!  Much of the  lesson was based on the Trail Life USA motto - “Walk Worthy,” which comes from Colossians 1:10, which in the NASB reads, “that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.

One of the best takeaways was a reminder that while we are wearing our uniforms, we represent not only Trail Life USA, but also our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Someone who had attended this same event last year shared with us that one of the Appleseed Instructors asked why these young men were so different from other young men.  That conversation led to that man professing faith in Jesus!  That’s what it’s all about right there!  

If the gentleman who led Chapel happens to read this, I’d like to say, “Thank you very much for a job well done!”  What a great reminder of why we “Walk Worthy!”

After Chapel, we again held an Opening Ceremony, identical to Saturday morning’s and then we were at the range by 8 AM.

Sunday morning was a little cold and windy for some of the Trailmen. 

Saturday’s instruction was primarily from the prone position.  Sunday, several of the Trailmen hadn’t made much improvement, so the Appleseed Instructors caller an audible.  After a brief discussion, they determined that the young men would be split into two groups, one of which would move forward with new instruction.  The other group was to receive more specific and individualized attention in an effort to improve their skills before moving on.  This ended up being a very wise change of plans.

The Trailmen who moved on were given new lessons and learned to shoot from other positions, including standing and kneeling.  They learned so much in a short time.  It truly was incredible!

The other group spent the next few hours refining their skills from the prone position.  Almost all of them made some huge breakthroughs and figured out what piece they had been missing.  They all improved substantially!

Sunday lunch was much like Saturday lunch.  Grab it quick and get back inside to continue learning.

Toward the end of the day, the Trailmen shot through a couple of rounds of the Appleseed Qualifying Test (AQT).  This was pretty intense, but so good for the young men involved.

Some of the other leaders and I were taught to score the targets and helped to fill out certificates for some of the young men who had attained specific levels in their shooting.  My son, Kyle, had the fourth highest qualifying score, 167, which put him in the “Marksman” category, three points shy of “Sharpshooter.” (By the way, I refused to grade his test for the integrity of the results.  I even made the leader who graded it check with the Range Boss on part of the score to ensure he wasn’t too lenient in grading a few of the shots.)  

Kyle learned so much.  I’m proud of how hard he worked all weekend, not only as our Troop’s First Officer, but also at learning and practicing the lessons taught on the range.  It was humbling to watch him grow so much in just two days.

To end their shooting time, the Trailmen took another attempt at shooting the redcoats at a new Appleseed target, identical to the one used for their “Before” baseline.  The “After” target showed incredible improvement.  My son, Kyle, who put only one shot on paper in the before shooting round, put 14 on paper for the after round!  One of those shots hit “Morgan’s Shingle,” simulating hitting a roof shingle at 250 yards, a test used by one man during the Revolutionary War as the *first step* in determining eligibility for joining his militia to fight the redcoats!

The right target was Kyle’s “After.”  So much better than “Before!” 

Lastly, certificates were handed out, accolades were given, and then came one of the coolest parts of the weekend.  The Camp First Officer, a Trailman who had been on this campout several times over the past five years, who had earned Rifleman last year by shooting over 210 points in the Appleseed Qualification Test, was offered a position as an Appleseed Instructor and accepted!  That was pretty incredible to watch!

Wrap Up

The Appleseed instructors were knowledgeable, personable, firm, extremely focused on safety, kind, organized, and very generous, especially considering that they were all volunteering their time.  When Trailmen had issues with their own rifles, many of the instructors pulled out their very nice, personal rifles and loaned them to Trailmen without hesitation.  They taught with heart, giving the Trailmen everything they had.  I was genuinely impressed by the instructors and the Appleseed program and methods.  If any of you happen to read this, thank you so much for all you gave my son, and the other Trailmen from our Troop!  You guys seriously rocked it!

As far as a Multi-Troop event, it was well organized, run extremely well, and was a great example to our Troop of what can be done by pulling together the resources and knowledge of several Troops.  Troopmaster Eric Inman did a phenomenal job of setting it up, communicating with other Troops, letting us know what to expect, running the show, and asking for constructive feedback afterwards.  At the end of the event, I quietly awarded him one of my personal Challenge Coins for his outstanding work in putting this together.   He is the first person outside of our Troop that I’ve given one to.  I did not give that to him lightly - he deserved that and so much more.  If you see this post, sir, thank you very much for your efforts on behalf of the Trailmen in North Texas, and specifically Troop 98.  We are in your debt, and exceedingly thankful for your hard work!

Throughout the weekend, the Trailmen from Troop 98 kept talking about how much fun it was and how much they’d love to return.  Anytime I asked about enjoyment levels while at the range, there was an abundance of enthusiasm.  My son spent hours telling his mom about the weekend when we arrived home, and then every Thanksgiving gathering the following week involved substantial talk of the weekend, along with showing off his targets.

We did have a first year Navigator and a second year Navigator along on this trip who expressed that it was a bit overwhelming to them.  They had a lot of fun and seemed as though they were glad they went, but neither is as anxious to return as the others.  I think it was just a bit much for their age and maturity level.  Neither has had an opportunity to attend many monthly campouts yet, so this was a bit more difficult for them.  If our Youth PLC votes to return next year, I’ll likely suggest that we limit attendance to at least 7th graders and up, possibly even 8th or only Adventurers.   That will need to be a discussion amongst our leaders and parents.

The Trailmen of Troop 98 who attended, including us old guys, were incredibly blessed to have been part of it!

In closing, I’d say that If you ever have the opportunity to attend an Appleseed event, I highly recommend you do so!  You won’t regret it!

Thank you for reading and “Walk Worthy!”

December 12th Edit to add:  My son informed a few days back that in their most recent PLC Meeting, the Trailmen leaders discussed looking into the possibility of doing a one-day Appleseed training day for their next Adventurers only non-camping outing.  They really loved learning to shoot the Appleseed way!