My grandson, Patrick, is a Boy Scout. When we arrived in Gilroy I made plans to join the troop on a weekend camp-out and hike with Glen and Patrick. Now I won’t accuse Glen of any skullduggery, but it does seem suspicious that as soon as the weather channel started predicting near freezing temperatures in Gilroy for this weekend, Glen was suddenly called to warm Montgomery, Alabama.

I assembled our tenting gear, the same gear that we used in 2004 to tour across America to Petersburg Illinois. Barb and Judy drove Patrick and I out to Uvas Canyon County Park and helped us set up our tents under the headlights of the Toyota SUV.

Friday evening was an impromptu campfire. I met members of the troop and their parents and leaders. I suggested that I had brought along my guitar and would be willing to play a few songs. I was quickly encouraged and jumped into my youth repertoire. Patrick’s favorite is the “Hot Rod Lincoln,” and I scored a great hit with “The Hole in the Bottom of the Sea.” I taught the troop the words and we sang it together a second time. I continued to hear snippets of that song repeated over the next two days from the boys. To my surprise my version of “The Ghost Riders in the Sky” was cheered heartily and at the Saturday night “Scout Campfire Extravaganza” the Scout MC asked for a command performance of “Ghost Riders,” between a couple of their skits.

Saturday afternoon the troop made a hike to Nibbs Knob. The troop was made up of a combination of Bear and Webelos Cub Scouts from troop 794 and the older boys of Boy Scout troop 792 from Gilroy, CA. Now I suspect that I was the oldest of the “Old Goats” tagging along on this hike, but I managed to make a respectable showing. This is in large part because Judy insists on dragging me up every trail we can find wherever we are camped around our great country.

So where was Judy, you ask? She kept saying she was going to go along. She backed out at the last minute, however, when she found out the menu for lunch Saturday was PB&J sandwiches, washed down with lemonade. The Blue Patrol created this culinary delight and made them to order. I ordered a double, double – double, double on white balloon bread. It was exquisite.

The nights were a bit chilly. I survived by layering my sleeping bag with all of my cloths, a wool blanket and a Mylar “Space Blanket.” Just the same I did really miss the 5′ 10″ thermal furnace in my sleeping bag.

If this troop of Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts are an example of the generation who will soon take the reigns of our country, we are in good hands, folks. The leaders pointed the way, but the boys did all the work.

From Gary and Judy Dinsmore
In Gilroy California.