Camp Bonaparte

Our scout troop needed another adult to help out with summer camp, so I went up as a "shadow adult" for several days. I had a great time following the boys around to make sure they attended their classes, got some good carving time in at the craft lodge, and, as I spent the nights in Tonasket (a nearby town), even was able to avoid eating the camp food (I found a good steak restaurant). The camp sits a few miles south of the Canadian border in Central Washington and is quite a beautiful place. It is located on Lake Bonaparte, a very nice swimming lake. The second picture is the boys doing their 5 minutes of treading water for the Swimming Merit Badge. The weather was perfect. A large forest fire had been raging just a few miles from the camp, but fortunately, by the time we arrived, the crews had it under control and the smoke was pretty much gone. (July 15-17)