Good morning!
I thought our seasons were generally broken into temperatures which approximated ‘sorta cool’, ‘spring’, ‘hot’, and ‘are you kidding me?!’ Somehow during Scottsdale Schools’ spring break this week we jumped directly from our winterish ‘sorta cool’ weather straight into something approaching ‘hot’. But never fear – for those of you wanting to experience a ‘spring’ this year, please join us on next weekend’s backpacking trip up to Towel Creek near the Camp Verde area. It appears that it will be clear and in the 70’s there next weekend, with lows down in the 40’s. It is a perfect time of year to go exploring the old Anasazi neighborhoods around Montezuma Castle. For those of you less experienced packers wondering if this is the trip for you, it will be a moderately difficult hike, with 5-6 miles each on both Saturday and Sunday. Please let Mr. Turner or Mr. Murphy know if you need to borrow a backpack. However, if interested, don’t hesitate!  ‘Are you kidding me?!‘ type Arizona weather is just around the corner – catch spring while you can!
This week we have an adult leader meeting tomorrow night, and a continuation of our emergency preparedness theme for the troop meeting on Tuesday night. For those of you working on Eagle required merit badges with our adult mentors, please be checking in with them on your Camping, Personal Fitness and Citizenship in the Community progress. Speaking of merit badges, Mr. Benyi handed out summer camp informational packets at our committee and parent meeting early this month, and your selection of your top 6 merit badges for summer camp is due back to the troop on April 1st (no foolin’!). We should have pancake breakfast tickets within the next week or two, so you all should be planning your sales strategy. Any boy who sells 25 tickets, provides items for the auction, and works the entire morning of 4/27/13, should expect to earn $150+ for his scout account. The more tickets he sells, and the more auction items he provides, the better the earning potential!
Mrs Traynor has compiled our latest troop newsletter with all of your terrific input – it has grown to 5 pages! Check it out on the troop website later this week under ‘Roster’ (so it can be password protected). Included is the latest in the honor patrol standings. All patrols are still in the running (well, except maybe the Pirates ….), so keep participating in meetings and events, wearing your complete uniform and bringing your book to meetings – the honor patrol trip next fall is still within your grasp! Please keep in mind that the top three individuals in honor patrol points also qualify as wild cards, so even a Pirate could still end up a winner!
See you Tuesday at the troop meeting!
Mr. Cole