Troop 380 Scouts and leaders had a great weekend at the historic Malakoff Diggin’s State Park. The troop gathered on Friday, May 20th, to travel to the mining town of North Bloomfield. This tiny town boasts a population of 8-12 people (as the city limit sign reads). It was once called Humbug and played a significant role in the history of the state of California. After a two-hour drive to the park the troop set up camp at the Chute Hill Campground. The guys ate their sack dinners and headed to bed after completing camp set up. Since we were missing our regular leadership, Dave assigned Sam S. as acting SPL. Sam was assisted by Nick I. and Ian C. with leadership duties. All three Scouts did a good job of taking over on short notice. On Saturday, after fixing breakfast burritos, the Scouts headed for the North Bloomfield Church for a service project. This small chapel once served as a recruiting station during the civil war. The Scouts and leaders cleaned the pews, windows, floors, alter, and grounds. The park service was very pleased with the work completed by the boys. The troop also helped clear a fallen tree to make one of the campsites useable for campers. On Saturday afternoon the troop took a hike around the amazing hydraulic mining site. That evening everyone tried their hand at foil wrapped dinners with stomach-filling results. The evening concluded with a short campfire put on by the patrols. On Sunday morning the Scouts got up early and packed up for the return trip home. Joseph Jacobs conducted a Scout’s Own Service for the Troop. We stopped at In ‘N’ Out on the way home and returned to Dave’s house to clean up and put away the gear.
Many thanks go out to Dave, Frank Shaw, Ruenell Jacobs, and Joseph Jacobs for spending the weekend with the Troop. Also thanks to Naomi Kamine-Mellerski and Mary Brown for driving. The guys also wanted to thank Chris Ishikawa for shopping for the weekend, the food was great!
