Camping @ Mission Tejas

This past weekend, 7 of our 11 Amazons went camping at Mission Tejas State Park.  We arrived in the pouring rain on Friday night - and our scouts wasted no time getting their tents and cooking area set up.  They are becoming extremely proficient in the outdoors which is awesome! 

It was especially awesome that they kept an incredibly tidy area, and all of their picnic table covers - and bench seats - matched.  These girls sure know how to camp in style. 

Saturday morning it was still drizzling when they prepared for themselves a hearty breakfast of pancakes, bacon, and fruit.  After they cleaned up after themselves ..... 

They learned about orienteering and took off on a 1-mile hike in order to complete their 1st Class rank requirement for navigation.   It was fun to watch them use a map and compass to find the various spots around the course - and they were only slightly vexed to discover that the boys from Troop 89 - had found a few of the Starburst candies which were planted as a treat for various spots along their route.   The boys, meanwhile, were elated to find seven carefully hidden pieces of candy in various nooks and crannies around the hiking area.

The smiley face was one of the last points on their course.  This indicated that they had indeed navigated to the correct location!

Saturday night's dinner consisted of beef stew and cornbread, and was such a hit....

The Amazons landed the coveted Iron Skillet award!

Saturday evening consisted of card playing - skit performances - and campfire time.

Meanwhile, at the adult camp ... wow did they eat well, too!  They were fortunate enough to share meals with the adult leaders of Troop 89, and were treated to gourmet meals prepared in Dutch ovens.

Gourmet meals like ... Quiche Lorraine!

And baked stuffed shrimp!

And bread pudding and whipped cream for dessert!

These kind of items on the menu would taste wonderful - anytime.  But enjoying this kind of food while you're CAMPING makes it taste even better.  What a luxury!

The night, which was getting chillier by the minute (with temperatures that wound up dropping in to the 30's)  ended with a wonderful bonfire - that was made all the more special with Magical Flames!

It was also made all the more hilarious - because we didn't immediately tell the boys that we had added anything to the fire so they weren't sure what was happening and kept rubbing their eyes thinking that they were seeing things.  "Does anyone else see the purple flame or it is just me....? Is that THANOS?!"  We suggested that maybe it was all the Starbursts they found and ate?!   Ha!

Also included in this post are some photos of the incredible structures at Mission Tejas, including the Rice Family home.  Once we learned how challenging it was to cut down a tree, score, and construct a log as the early settlers did, we can see how it would EASILY take 10 years to build a home like this with the notched beam construction.

Mission Tejas is a beautiful park - with a lot to see (especially if you're interested in early American architecture), and and definitely worth a stop and visit if you are ever in this part of Texas!