Mighty Lakota

What a fantastic ending of the 2008-2009 season for the Wildcat nation at Fiesta Island during the weekend of June 12-14. The Mighty Lakota showed the strength and commitment to the Adventure Princess program with 18 dads and 27 princesses participating, again the largest tribe in the nation. Our good Chumash friends assigned us terrific beach front property for our teepees with panoramic view to two nights of spectacular Sea World fireworks. Fiesta Island was a surprisingly pleasant venue to most of us who had not camped there before, and the princesses loved playing with sand, dirt and water all weekend long.

The biggest highlights for Lakota were the much anticipated Wildcat Cardboard Boat Race and Regatta. To the Hawaiian theme of the weekend, New Lakota Chief Slow Cheetah lead the Engineering and Construction of a fantastic Outrigger Cardboard Boat, and Sachem Blue Wolf lead the artistic effort of decorating the boat. Many other Lakota dads helped building this vessel that turned out to become the best boat in the Wildcat nation proven by the fact that Lakota won the race with clear margin. We were awarded with pride and a diploma stating: “Lakota Rocks!!”

As always, we had excellent eats throughout the weekend and played some great rounds of Euchre. We were also fortunate to have Lakota’s very first Chief, Sachem Rocky camping and playing cards with us for a portion of the weekend.

As this was the last campout of the season, the Lakota leadership role was handed over to Assistant Chief Slow Cheetah. I like to thank the entire Lakota tribe and the Wildcat nation for the support during my time as Lakota Chief. It has been fun and rewarding for me and my three daughters. I also like to thank our five bounce out princesses, Chloe, Celina, Madeleine, Sarah, and Riley for their time with the Mighty Lakota.

Lakota Rocks!!!!!

Sachem Hunting Eagle

A special thank you post to our Chief this year. He did a great job, brought tons of enthusiasm, championed a new cheeeeer and rallied the troops.

Check out yet ANOTHER Lakota win, this time at Fiesta Island in June.
Yes, Lakota Rocks… and so do you… Sachem.

Another laid back but enjoyable weekend for the 13 dads and 18 princesses that camped together at gorgeous Dos Picos the weekend of May 15-17. The princesses enjoyed riding their bikes and scooters throughout the weekend, as well as playing various games and picking bugs for Brave Beetle’s collection. Frequent visits of squirrels and the lovely crows that woke us up 5.30 in the mornings was enjoyable, but fortunately the 8 foot snake that the girls saw on Friday afternoon never came back to visit.

    
The highlight of the weekend for the princesses was clearly the super soaker water fight that later developed to a nasty tribal fight between dads, with a soaked Lakota chief Hunting Eagle being one of the big losers. The dads enjoyed great eats, a few games of Eucre and Washers, the latter primarily dominated by Colty and Sabella. Due to lack of artistic leadership and competitive instinct, we ended up with the “Most Uncomfortable Chief” award in the headdress competition. Sachem Chumbler, we miss you, please come back!! This was CC and Joe’s last campout as members of Lakota, and we like to thank them for all the great time together and hope they will come back for future family/alumni campouts.

Chief Hunting Eagle

The Mighty Lakota was a little light at Big Rock Creek with 7 dads and 12 princesses. However, those of us attending had a great time at this fantastic and historic site which used to be a retreat for Hollywood stars. Sleeping in tipi’s were new and cool for most of us. On Saturday, the younger princesses enjoyed the ropes courses and some of the older princesses enjoyed the largest zip line I’ve ever seen. Unfortunately our very own MedMan Matt was knocked down when he was spotting girls on the zip line, which earned him a blood bead and his very own zip line cheer.

      
Fishing rainbow trout was another highlight for some of the princesses, while some of the dads were able to observe a big bear that was roaming around in the parking lot in the middle of the night. Exciting but at the same time a little scary especially since Big Bunny and Little Bunny were sleeping in their van there. All in all Big Rock Creek was another memorable experience for the Mighty Lakota.

Chief Hunting Eagle

Lakota had again very strong attendance at the San Mateo Family Campout which was hosted by us, and almost all the princesses brought their moms and siblings along. A lot of effort was put into planning and preparing for an enjoyable weekend for the entire Wildcat Nation, but when looking back at the weekend, it was all worth the effort. For many of the dads, the weekend started Thursday night preparing food for the Saturday Night nation dinner. At Lakota Sweet Friday we served birthday cake this time since it was Baby Blue Dolphin’s birthday this day.

Saturday morning kicked off with the second annual Treasure Hunt for the princesses, and a Putt, Pass and Kick competition for the boys, followed by the Bear Claw hike to the famous Trestles Beach where the Sponge Bob Relay Race took place. The Lakota princesses won this race the last three years, but were defeated this time in the final by the Dorado moms (and princesses).

After lunch we had time for a craft followed by the bike and scooter parade and the water balloon sling shot contest which turned into a big water balloon fight. Under Jim’s management we served a delicious dinner to the entire Wildcat Nation, what a feast it was. Fortunately the MedMan were able to keep the rain away until Sunday morning. Thanks MedMan, can you imagine what a mess we would have had if the rain showed up on Saturday?
Thanks to all moms, dads, siblings and princesses for helping to make this a successful and memorable weekend for everyone.

Chief Hunting Eagle

Lakota continued a very strong season at Indian Hills and were again the largest tribe in the Wildcat Nation with 20 dads and 26 princesses. With careful community planning we managed to squeeze most of our tents (with the exceptions of a handful that wanted to share tent) into the allotted dirt area that we got to share with our friends from the Serrano tribe. The questionable weather forecast was brought to shame by the MedMan who brought us sun and beautiful weather throughout the weekend.

      
All the Lakota princesses enjoyed the wide variety of activities offered at Indian Hills, especially the zip line, the paint ball shooting and the BMX trial where many princesses (and Blue Wolf) earned their blood beads. The petting zoo with goats, pigs, bunnies and turtles were also frequently visited by the Lakota girls. Indian Hills was a relaxing but eventful weekend for the Lakota tribe. We enjoyed each others company, good eats, drinks and a few rounds of Euchre throughout the weekend.  We’ll be back for the cup later in the season.

Chief Hunting Eagle

Marston was a blast!!

Lakota had a blast at Marston during the first campout of 2009. The weather was terrific and we were again the largest tribe in the Wildcat Nation with 30 princesses and 22 dads participating. Now, that is commitment to our princesses and the program. Again we were able to stay at the Raintree Ranch Lodge which has become a bit of a tradition for the Lakota tribe and where we have very fond memories from. It’s where it all started, Euchre that is, and familiar Euchre terminology like “the kitchen” was born here. Our princesses did great in the Marston Olympics and came in second place, beaten only by the unstoppable Dorado princesses. By also showing great spirit and participation throughout the entire weekend, the Lakota princesses wrote history by being the first tribe winning the Nation Cup back to back. Lakota girls, you rock and you make me and all the other dads very proud. CONGRATULATINOS!!! (that is Span-wegian for “good job”)

Chief Hunting Eagle

This is where someone writes a witty story about how Lakota did the Charlie Brown theme well… Or… we just let this entry sit here and ponder the wonders of our esteemed Chief’s mustache.

The November trip to Agua Caliente delivered everything as promised, luckily with the exception of the forecasted wind.  Lakota tribe members began arriving at the campsite on Friday afternoon to set up camp.  The weather was calm and warm, and the girls had plenty of areas to explore.  A nearby “mountain” provided many hours of entertainment with climbing and sliding.  With the sun setting early, the campfire was a popular spot and a game of telephone was enjoyed by all. Sweet Friday featured Mud Pies, in honor of the nearby Mud Caves, with Strong Beetle and Mighty Trojan playing chefs for the night.  An episode of the Little Rascals was the feature presentation and was a big hit with everyone.  Once the Lakota girls were down for the night, the Euchre and Washers games began.

Saturday morning was cool and crisp and everyone was anxious to hit the Mud Caves.  After a great breakfast, 5 SUV’s departed camp caravan style and headed east.  A few miles of pavement, and many miles of dirt later, we arrived.  We first explored Blair Canyon, which was a very tight squeeze and featured some spectacular formations of dried mud.  After a few pictures and some corralling, we were back to the cars and headed deeper into the desert.  Once we hit the caves, everyone was happy with the decision to make the trip.  The largest cave was fantastic.  With headlamps lit and flashlights in hand, we descended into the cave and twisted our way a few hundred yards to a large gathering area, drenched by sun.  Escaping with only a few bumped heads (dads) and the tribe together was a major success.

Back at camp, we jumped right back into the activities.  Swimming, crafts, and scavenger hunt hikes were huge hits with the girls.  Mighty Lakota recovered all 6 aims plaques that were hidden on the hikes and will receive a treasure chest for our efforts.  Saturday concluded with the nation campfire and featured a sing-a-long with Wind River, Princess Idol, and of course, the Med Man Moment.  In honor of Thanksgiving, Med Man took it up a notch and hit for the cycle…twice.  Beginning with a Cornucopia of vegetables, graduating to Cornish Game Hen, and ending with a 10 lbs. Tom Turkey, for which he broke out the Big Barrel.  As always, the crowd went nuts.

Sunday’s super sized  burritos were a treat and the trust walk was a great bonding experience for dad and daughter alike. What a great way to wrap up our trip to the desert!

Hoya Hoya, Strong Beetle

The October trip to Catalina was everything promised- a fantastic trip.  The tribal weather dance was successful at providing essentially perfect weather for the weekend.  Friday we left for Catalina via ferry boat from Balboa Pavilion in Newport Beach.  Friday afternoon was free time at the camp where we set up bunks in the barracks Catboat, Ketch, Sloop, and Yawl.  We were all pleased with our proximity to the beach and Sloop was especially pleased with an exit onto the beach…  The afternoon was spent as free time and the evening had a “campfire” meeting for the nation (without the campfire… hazardous  fire conditions precluded this).  Lakota had several showings at Princess Idol.  After this was a great trick or treat activity hosted by the dads of our mighty Lakota tribe which was a great hit with the girls. After trick or treat was an episode of the Munster’s courtesy of Chumash tribe. Later that evening, the dads enjoyed the usual Euchre and socializing.

         
Those members of Lakota who were early to rise on Saturday enjoyed a spectacular sunrise. Saturday morning Lakota took a scenic hike to a nearby beach enjoying wonderful vistas of the Pacific Ocean. Upon return to camp we enjoyed kayaking through kelp forests spotting bright orange Garibaldi as well as Calico bass and other fish.  We then had lunch.  [A note regarding the meals:  the food was excellent for camp food.  Lakota had the privilege of dining first for dinner Friday and breakfast and lunch on Saturday- The Chumash tribe tried to beat us to lunch on Saturday but without avail.] The afternoon was completed with most of the girls attempting the rock climbing wall and many of them reaching the top of the wall.  Also in the afternoon was the opportunity to participate in archery.  Dinner was steak and after dinner was bead trading with a nice surprise of homemade guacamole courtesy of the Dorado tribe.  Later that night was a nation campfire with the uncontested highlight being nation med man Grau smashing pumpkins with his 8 iron and baseball bat to the music of Smashing Pumpkins (of course).  After nation campfire was a Mon-chu-mash Halloween party with disco ball, strobe light, and music.  The girls went down well after a busy day and the dads enjoyed 10:00 tacos courtesy of the Painted Pony’s followed by more Euchre and hanging out.

Sunday am precious few from Lakota made the official nation Bear Claw hike but many went on another Lakota walk.  We then enjoyed breakfast and headed back by water taxi to Two Harbors to watch part of the Chargers game (why can’t we play defense) and catch the Catalina Flyer back to Newport.  This was a very enjoyable camp for all and is highly recommended!

I look forward to seeing you all next month at Agua Caliente.

Hoya Hoya,

Big Bear