by Derek—2006.05.20 @ 1054
This year, we made it!
I got specific instructions where the Aaronic Priesthood Commemoration campout was to be and Isaac and I made it safely. On the south west side of Fort Belvoir is a campground near Pohick Bay specifically set-apart for youth camping trips. Our Stake had reserved most of the camp sites and we found a plot reserved for our ward around the bend. I don’t think I’ve ever been to a Stake-wide campout such as this, and it was interesting rubbing shoulders with the other wards in the area.
One thing that was emphasized very well was that this campout was established to commemorate the establishment of the Aaronic Priesthood back to the earth. Traditionally we call this the “Father and Sons” camput since it is the priesthood holders and their sons who attend.
Isaac was very excited to go with Daddy on a campout. We packed the van with most of the essentials we thought we would need, although we didn’t pack our family tent since it would have been too big for just two of us. We opted to take the seats out of the van and sleep in comfort on the extra matress we had upstairs. The one thing we didn’t pack was treats, specifically marshmallows, chocolate, and grahams. Luckily everyone else brought these camp essentials so there was more then enough to go around.
After a few fun walks around the campsite, Isaac and I went down to the Stake fireside where a very large stack of wood promised a raging fire. Unfortunately, whoever built the monstrosity had little idea of fire building, and what promised to be a rather large bond fire turned out to be a disappointment. The fire took forever to light as the wood was a little green and there was no kindling. I thought to myself, “if I ever get back into the Scouting program, I’ll make sure my boys know how to build fires.” I remembered building large fires at scout camp many years ago and how my Dad would build “self-starting” fires as part of a grand camp experience (we used batteries, wire, and solid-rocket boosters). Anyway, I digress…
The Stake fireside was actually run by our ward and it went on a little too long for little Isaac who was fading very fast.
After the small bond fire and fireside, I carried Isaac back to our van. The forest where we were staying was beautiful and reminded me of campouts in the cool mountins of Utah. However, we were sea-level and it was very warm, even by 10 o’clock. I wanted to show Isaac some of the stars, since he is normally in bed by this time, but with the city so close, we couldn’t see anything with all the “light pollution.”
In the morning, we joined our ward and listened to a talk by Elder Holland entitled, “Our Most Distinguishing Feature” given at the April 2005 conference. Immediately after, we joined the rest of the stake at a small field where a breakfast of pancakes, fruit medley, juice, and sausage was prepared. We ate our fill, hopped back in our van, and headed home. Cleaning up camp has never been so easy!
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