Mighty Lakota

The Wildcat Nation’s first visit to San Mateo was a huge success! The mighty Lakota stepped up in a big way to host a campout filled with fun for the girls and dads.

The festivities started out with Lakota hosting a Nation dinner – nothing like chicken and carne asada fajita burritos to warm the stomachs of the Nation’s faithful. Rumor has it, the food was so good in fact, a few Big Fish excited about third helpings needed to be beaten back with a stick in order to ensure some Colorful Horses made it to the table. It’s “love thy neighbor” fellas, not “eat thy neighbors rations.” In the end, Lakota made sure no dad or princess went away hungry.

Friday night capped off with Princess Idol and Lakota Sweet Friday. This time around, the treats before bed included ice cream Sundays and root beer floats. Hey, it camping, right? Why not?

Saturday started with a warm sunrise and a visit to the campsite from a coyote. Luckily for Lakota we had Steven there to protect us. He was seen jumping on the picnic table, swinging a sword and screaming, “You can take my princess but not my pancakes!” sending the dangerous hunter off with his tail between his legs! (Either that or a couple of princesses scared it away.)

Saturday was a beautiful day filled with fun activities and lots of sunshine. Another first for the Wildcat Nation was the treasure hunt. Chief Blue Wolf dedicated quite a bit of time and effort to ensure fun was had by all, and the girls really appreciated the treasures they found. In some cases, the treasures needed to be retrieved from the lair of some live creatures!

Lunch time brought some neighbor lovin… homemade cheese quesadillas by the Wind River. They used an old world recipe favorite… take some tortillas, add some cheese and grill it up. We’re working to teach them the finer points in the camp kitchen. After Ice Man (with his team by his side) got the knives to razor sharpness, the pursuit of a fine meal was on. Tri tip, potatoes and all the peas you could eat… and then some.

The day was filled with crafts (dream catchers) and a bike parade with only one documented casualty – not bad for about 70 girls and 70 or so ill-placed dads. Bead trading included a Dorado appetizer and many games of washers – a Lakota tradition.

Saturday also brought a bit of schooling for some of the dads. Ramon and Jeff were thoroughly enjoying squashing the spirits of any team who dare try to keep a ringer in horseshoes. We later found out those were custom forged shoes perfectly fit to the hands of a rugby player. We never stood a chance. Saturday was capped off by a brief visit from an old friend who will be missed by all of Lakota. Best of luck, Reegs!

Sunday was a quickie – GO BOLTS! A short bear claw hike and Zocolo just long enough for Lakota to kiss the Nation Cup as winners and then the dads were off to the races (er home).

Finally, I think Hunting Eagle summed it up by saying, “…no doubt that the planning and preparation done by our very own Chief Blue Wolfe was what set us apart.” I concur my fine feathered friend, I concur.

Way to set the bar guys, because… “THAT’s how Lakota rolls.”