Adventure Day – April 16
The Voyager Trace District is sponsoring its annual Adventure Day, which is a great opportunity for our scouts to work on rank advancement, service hour requirements and have fun in the great outdoors. Here are the program specifics:
- When: Saturday, April 16, 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
- Where & What:
- Morning Session (8:00 – 11:30 a.m.): Teason Woods Grove (SW corner IL Rt. 83 and 104th Ave). Scouts will take a 5-mile hike through Cap Sauer’s Holding, located South of Ill Route 83 and West of Willow Springs Road (104th Ave.), part of the Sag Valley Division of the Cook County Forest Preserves. On the hike, scouts will explore woods and prairies containing glacial moraines, savannas, an esker, sloughs and streams, with interpretation by naturalists and conservation experts along the trail. This is the most remote natural area in Cook County. Scouts will be able to work on nature requirements for 2nd and 1st Class ranks, and will do service, cleaning up the trail as they hike along.
- Afternoon Session (11:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.): Sagawau Center (12545 W 111th Street, Lemont)
- A tour through Cook County’s only Canyon, a glacial remnant with unusual plants and animals and a waterfall, guided by naturalists from the Sagawau Center.
- A hike to (and tour of) a fossil filled quarry (1 ½ mile round trip), guided by a local geologist, with displays of fossils from the Sag Valley and the Mazon Creek area near Morris, Illinois.
- Presentations on bird-monitoring research done at the Sagawau Center.
- Merit Badge work: The opportunity to work on portions of Geology and Bird Study merit badges.
- “Scouting-in-the-Preserves” Midway, with information on camping, hiking, bicycling, fishing, canoeing, kayaking, rowing, and x/c skiing, as well as information on how to work on nature, conservation and fitness merit badges, unit service projects, Eagle projects and the B.S.A.’s prestigious William T. Hornaday Conservation Awards in the Forest Preserves.
- Service Project, applicable to the NEW! Life Scout 3-hour conservation service requirement.
- How: Troop 24 will be arranging car pooling for scouts to & from the event from Riverside. Since so many of our scouts have other commitments, we will try to arrange for car pools to bring scouts to the morning and afternoon sessions. Scouts should plan on bringing lunch, trail snacks, water bottle, small pack, spare shoes and socks, trash bags, rain gear and a personal first aid kit; field glasses and a camera are optional. Wear “Class A” shirt, pants and footwear which can get wet and dirty (There will be mud and a small stream crossing on the trail), and additional outerwear appropriate for the weather.
- Why & Who? Education, exercise, fun, rank advancement & service hours – ’nuff said. This is a good opportunity for all our scouts to learn about the forest preserves of Cook County, and especially new scouts who need to work on the nature rank requirements.
The cost is $6, which includes the program fee and a patch. Register for both, or either morning or afternoon session, as your schedule permits. Leaders and drivers/ chaperones are always needed. We will need to leave the RPC parking lot by 7:30 a.m. and plan on returning scouts around 4:00 p.m.
