Mighty Lakota

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

What a fantastic start of the season for the Mighty Lakota at Del Mar Beach September 19-21. Although not officially verified, we might have had the highest number of attendance ever for our tribe with a total of 23 dads and 33 princesses. With no other recruiting effort than word of mouth, we have added quite a few high quality new recruits this year and at Del Mar, exactly half of the participants were old folks and half were new folks.
 
Lakota’s Sweet Friday treat for the nation was a blast as always, this time with a new addition of gummy bears as topping on the ice cream sundaes. Saturday morning was filled with Olympic activities involving a real Gold Medal winning Olympian and sand castle building contest. Our stunning father/daughter turtle sculpture architected by Sachem Blue Wolfe won first price in the Best Sand Animal category. The highlight of the day for many of the princesses (and some of the dads) was the Super Soaker Battle – Capture the Watermelon. Especially the dad’s against princess battle was a blast. The initiation Walk of Ice for new Wildcat nation members were a little cold for some of those little feet, but nevertheless a proud achievement for the new princesses. We even managed to squeeze in a little birthday celebration for Squeaky Squirrel before Saturday evening was over, and concluded the night with our traditional game of Euchre. Thanks to Sachem Snow Leopard for teaching our new folks.

Sunday morning we were all brutally woken up at sunrise (6.36 am) by the marine revelry who commanded everyone to get out of the tents immediately for line up and exercises. This was followed by a challenging marine obstacle course for the princesses. The actual involvement of the marines was a nice and much appreciated touch this year.

The eats were fabulous throughout the weekend and Dancing Cougar and Dancing Deer did an awesome job at the premier as Wildcat nation MedMan/daughter. We also had several princesses and a few dads reciting the 6 Aims to the MedMan which was rewarded by a patch.

I like to wish all the new members welcome to our tribe, and I like to thank all the returning members for showing our new dads and princesses a good time and how Lakota rolls.

Chief Hunting Eagle

The Mighty Lakota tribe worked long and hard all week and Friday afternoon could not come soon enough.  They traveled in small packs down the winding back roads.  With each turn they left the big city, with its rat race, super highways, diamond lanes, rush hour traffic, and manic drivers a little farther behind.

In less than an hour the meandering roads that followed the creeks magically carried them to a special place, snuggled deep in the wooded and rocky canyons of Jamul.  That special place is called Indian Hills, 80 acres of cowboy towns, archery and paint-ball ranges, a petting zoo, a gold mine and a pair of giant zip lines.  On this particular weekend, Indian Hills had an additional attraction, a special race track where the Wildcat nation would produce a championship tribe.

A grove of ancient oak trees growing next to a creek formed a giant canopy under which the Wildcat nation would pitch their tents.  Protected from the hot sun, the Mighty Lakota set up camp and set about the business of building its wheel barrow racer.  The chief summoned the fire spirits to assist him in his designs and so the “Wild Child” was born under the burley oak trees.

The princesses danced, played and laughed together all weekend.  They knew a champion would be crowned, that one tribe would rise above the others.  After a morning of paint-balls, zip line fun and panning for gold it was time to turn to the business of racing.  All the tribes brought their designs before the nation chief and med man.  Together, the nation then paraded up the hill to the race track.  Each tribe tweaked and tuned one last time before the signal was given and the race was on.

Neck and neck each tribe dug deep in the hot sun working to be the best.  Lap after lap each tribe fought the hills and the hot sun.  The wheel-barrows carried princess riders over the rocky race track.  The race was close and Lakota kept pressing.  With steely determination and help from the sun spirits, the fleet-footed Lakota reached a little deeper to carry Lakota princesses over the finish line.  On this day the Mighty Lakota would be crowned champions of the Wild Cat Nation and the fire gods were indeed pleased.  Hoya.  Hoya.

Lakota had a minority but strong showing at the April camp.  The long journey was well worth the drive as the tee pee accommodations were very authentic and saved a lot of time with not having to set up and break down a tent.

Sweet Friday was a big hit with s’mores around the Nation camp fire as Princess Idol raged with talent. Saturday was filled with many activities, fishing in ponds stocked with rainbow trout, ropes courses for younger and older princesses, a sports field to play bocce ball, badminton, Frisbee, soccer.

Big Rock Creek Camp has a rich and somewhat racy history.  Throughout the decades, this property has changed hands and missions many times. In its heyday, Paradise Springs (Big Rock Creek) boasted up to 1,000 guests in a weekend. The guest list included such silent film stars as Charlie Chaplin, Gloria Swanson, W.C. Fields, Marion Davies, W. Randolph Hearst, Francis X. Bushman and Mary Pickford.  Later in its history, Paradise Springs played host to John Wayne, Noah Beery Jr., and Johnny Weissmuller as well as many others.

With all the activities and beautiful setting it is no wonder this is a popular site. A very nice weekend with our daughters indeed!
Now, the question is… what happened to the REST of the Tribe? Post your comments here and tell us what YOU did last weekend.

The March 7-9 2008 weekend goes down in history as another successful and memorable weekend of camping for the Lakota princesses, this time not only with dads, but also moms and siblings. The Lakota tribe was represented by a relatively small but strong contingent with eight families camping together in the Anzo Borrego Desert at Agua Caliente. It was a long drive, but the temperature and weather in the desert was near perfect. Although Agua Caliente is considered a primitive campground, it has relatively nice and clean bathrooms and showers which were much appreciated by everyone, especially moms.

    
The Serranos had done a fine job putting together a program full of activities. The allotted 30 minutes in the swimming pool was among the highlights for the princesses, as well as biking and climbing the mountains surrounding the camp ground. The princesses also learned about cairns and got the opportunity to build their own. And let’s not forget about the scavenger hunt which WAS WON BY THE LAKOTA PRINCESSES with good help from Chief Blue Wolf’s squaw jumping rope. The Bear Claw Tic-Tac-Toe was a nice but challenging hike in the desert that will be remembered by all.

    
As always at these campouts, we ate well with the highlight being Saturday’s lunch when the World’s Most Expensive Tacos accompanied by Mr. Jones fabulous Cowboy Caviar was served.

Most of us made it through the entire weekend, but Bold Eagle and his family had to evacuate Saturday night since their tepee broke down as the desert was hit by a small breeze.

-Hunting Eagle

The Lakota had a great time again at Camp Marston. We started the weekend with a tribe pizza-fest at Wynola Pizza…good time and good food. Thanks to Martin St.Amour for the early arrival to commandeer tables and order up the feast. It’s not a campout without Sweet Friday…the Lakota hosted the Nation with ice cream and toppings…popular with the girls even with 35 degree temperatures outside. The Friday evening Night Hike was well attended by the Lakota … and bonus rock candy for the girls. After trekking back to Raintree Ranch, the girls put on a spirited charades session for the Dad’s to wind down the night.

The sun shined on Saturday morning allowing for many activities…canoeing, archery, BB guns/marksmanship and ofcourse the 42′ climbing tower. Several girls made it to the top at a record pace…nicely done Lakota girls! The competition stepped up at Holmes Lodge with a heated battle of bean bag toss and foosball … clearly Grau has spent too much time in watering holes. Before heading back to Raintree Ranch we had our father/daughter(s) photos taken, as well as the tribe photo. Rumor has it the Lakota won “best looking tribe” award again this year. After a relaxing afternoon of Euchre and refreshments, the Lakota headed back for bead trading and another fine meal hosted by the Marston staff. The campfire event followed with Chief Scott and Med Man Dan introducing a new “auction” fundraiser…auctioning off Hanna Montana signed guitar and other items for a whopping $5000+ in proceeds for the YMCA. Afterward the Dorado lured the troops back to the mess hall for some fresh Julian Pie and ice cream…followed by late night tacos hosted by the Painted Ponies. No one went hungry on this trip. Sunday morning greeted us with a steady rain. After breakfast and Zocolo, we checked out of Marston…another great Lakota weekend. See you next month. Hoya Hoya

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.”

Hoya, Hoya, Mighty Lakota! Okay everyone, imagine this cheer in the voices of Chip n Dale, “da nah nah nanana nah, da nah nananana nah, Lakota.” Yes indeed, this was not only a ‘mini’ 1 day event, it was a Mini-Lakota showing, with only the Regans, Graus, and Jones making the ‘long’ drive to the Carlsbad Lagoon. Duhrn traffic!

The Ponies put on their traditional Taco Feast for dinner. Man, those guys are good! Frank finally had a chance to taste a Painted Pony 10 o’clock taco. I think he’s hooked and may just shed his Teflon coating for the rest of the season…like a snake in the springtime. Time will tell, my friends, time will tell.

As different of an event as this was, the activities were great! Water bikes, paddle boats, kayaks, and sunshine from the Medman made it a great afternoon. The highlight had to be the jet skis! I can still hear Ryan and Liam’s squeals of joy as we screamed across the lagoon at over 30 mph. “Faster Dad, FASTER! Catch some air again!!” Liam summed it up best when he said, “Dad, that was SICK!” I’m still laughing!!

Princess Idol did not disappoint, yet again! Albeit the Y gave the soundman his THIRD new sound system to navigate in as many events. Kudos to Big Bruce (Looky what he can do) for stepping up again with some sound expertise.

As with any Princess event, the goal is to make a memory with your kids that will last a lifetime. The Lagoon didn’t disappoint! Hoya Hoya!

Swims with Sea Turtles, Squee Squirrel, and Sneaky Spider

Hoya, Hoya Wildcat Friends,

Chief “Blue Wolf” asked me to provide a short summary of our Catalina experience. Well, as I’m Swedish, I’ll try to write something in perfect Swenglish. If translations are needed, just ask our Chief what really happened at camp. Well here it is, Catalina campout 2007 highlights from Lakota:

Despite fires, ash covered houses etc, Lakota rounded up a big troop to Catalina. I think we had ~30 dads and princesses at camp. Great Spirit!! Lakota was the biggest tribe in #’s, but unfortunately not in %.

The boat ride to the Island offered a lot of excitement, got to see a lot of dolphins and even some whales. Captain further reported that one of the whales could be a “Blue Whale”, i.e. the largest animal to have ever lived on earth. Wow…that’s impressive, even for a Swede.

After regrouping to smaller boats in Two Harbors and a short ride, we ended up at Howlands Landing, a camp that provided a “Cottontail style” camp experience. We all got to stay in rustic bunkhouses, a food service center serving excellent meals (mostly organic) covering the whole nutrition chart. I still remember that steak from Saturday night. “A well fed camp is a happy-camp!” Great beach, magnificent views and a lot of activities, everything you can expect out of a resort style camp. The only trauma for many dads (and moms) was cell phone coverage, many running around at camp in hunt for a signal and only after a small climb up the hill could dads find relief and connection to the world.

The activities kicked off with Lakota’s “Sweet Friday” in combination with “Princess Idol” where the girls showed a lot of talent, including many “Knock-knock jokes” to our Med-Man’s delight. Our Nation Chief’s now traditional splits was also included in program.

Lakota’s designated Euchre cabin had a good turnout Friday with 13 of 13 dads attending. Mr. Swims with Sea Turtles experienced some success thanks to new talent from the Great North, but was almost squashed by the Viking pair!!

We had many activities to choose between during the weekend: hiking, kayak, fishing, archery, and climbing wall. To mention: - Lakota got to the top of Catalina, as did Shawridge, thanks to Mr. Figueroa & Mr. St Amour with Claire and Veronica. Great job! A number of Lakota’s actually started the hike with them, but returned to lower ground when our Canadian dad increased the speed for the top. We got reports from the fishing group that our Chief/daughter caught a stingray. We also spotted a group of Lakota’s rafting together in kayaks, relaxing. We had 10 o’clock Tacos as always with Ponies. Yumm! Bear claws!? Anyone know if there was an event this time?

When returning to the mainland and waiting for the ferry at Two Harbors, dad’s finally could make cell calls without climbing the mountain and girls could enjoy ice-cream from the store. On the ferry back, we could see three Catalina Bison resting on the hillside. Local island paper further reported on results from Catalina Bison DNA analysis, which indicates they are part cow and not pure Bison. Well, the islanders still love them as their Bison.

The Nation Cup went to Chumash tribe, based on some random criterions Nation Chief and Med-Man develop on the go. Tight game with the Shawridge, Lakota mentioned in top three. Good job Chumash!

In summary, Great Campout! Howlands Landing would actually be an excellent location for our moms and family campout, i.e. “A well fed mom at camp is a happy camp.” We just need to manage the cost.

Regards //Lars-Erik.