Members of Troop 218 stopped for a photo before hiking
around Devil’s Tower (in the background). Pictured from the left are
Mikey Bartu, Ben Bartu, Clint Oldehoeft and Braden Capek. The scouts
climbed over the rocks to the base of the tower in addition to the hike around
the tower.
Boy Scouts in Troop 218 did some hiking on the trip
through Western Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming. Pictured from the
left are Clint Oldehoeft, Braden Capek, Mikey Bartu and Ben Bartu
Four scouts in Troop 218 recently planned a trip to hike
in Western Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming.
The scouts, Braden Capek, Clint Oldehoeft, Ben and Mikey
Bartu and their leaders, Dean and Leesa Bartu, left Exeter on Saturday, May 18th.
First on their itinerary was a stop in North Platte, Neb. at the Golden Spike
Tower where they learned about the largest railyard in the United States.
From there the group traveled to Bayard, Neb. to visit
National Monument Chimney Rock. The troop toured the facility and
experienced the challenges of loading a wagon to take on the trail. From
there the troop traveled to Alliance, Neb. to see Carhenge. The boys
enjoyed examining the additional metal sculptures at the Carhenge sight.
The first night on the trip was at the beautiful Chadron
State Park. After a quick supper the troop settled for the night and
awoke to snow on the ground. It was a chilly morning so the troop packed
up quickly and headed out to their next destination, Custer State Park.
Just outside of Custer State Park the scouts took a detour
to Wind Cave State Park. The group toured the cave, and especially
enjoyed the elevator ride back up out of the cave.
At Custer State Park they drove the wildlife loop and
enjoyed stopping to watch a large buffalo herd and their calves cross the
road. They also enjoyed feeding the resident donkeys. They headed
to their campsite at Sylvan Lake to set up tents on the snow there. The
scouts hiked to a peak in that area and planned to hike Black Elk Peak the next
day.
After waking up to four inches of snow on their tents the
troop had to make the decision to forgo their planned trip to Black Elk Peak
because of the foot of snow that was predicted. Instead the group left a
day early and made a stop at Crazy Horse where the snow stopped just long
enough to get a glimpse of the carving. They also stopped at Mount
Rushmore but didn’t ever get a clear view of the monument because of the snow
and fog.
That evening the scouts spent the night in a restored
caboose near Piedmont, SD and laid their tents out to dry. Snow once
again found the troop as they were barely able to get the van and trailer out
of the driveway. As they headed to Sturgis, SD the rain came and so the
troop found the Motorcycle Museum and Hall of Fame to entertain them.
They stopped in Spearfish, SD for a quick lunch and headed to Wyoming.
The snow continued in Wyoming as the troop headed for
Devil’s Tower National Monument. After donning their rain gear the troop
hiked around the base of the tower with the scout’s climbing rocks up to the
base of the tower. Before the hike was done Devil’s Tower was enshrouded
in fog.
Next on the itinerary was a stop in Gillette, WY to see the
large coal mines. Unfortunately tours were not available until later in
the week but the scouts were able to see some of the mine and equipment from a
viewing spot. Older mining equipment was also displayed in another part
of town.
The troop camped in Douglas, WY overnight in the snow once
again. In the morning the troop headed east for a stop at Fort Laramie
National Historic Site. After watching a brief historical film the group
toured the well restored grounds. After lunch the troop headed east again
stopping in Cabela’s in Sidney before heading to Ole’s in Paxton for supper.
After camping in North Platte for the evening the scouts
opted to visit Pioneer Village in Minden before heading home on Thursday, May
23. The scouts planned all of the meals and did all of the cooking to
complete items on the cooking and camping merit badge.
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