Last Frontier Council 2010 Jamboree Blog

Announced this year and reviewed at the closing arena show, The Summit – Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve is a tremendous gift that will fulfill many functions including:

• The future home of jamborees
• A Philmont style High Adventure base for the East coast
• A national leadership training center and more

In a previous post (Why feet get tired at jamborees), I compared Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom with some of our council properties alongside Fort AP Hill, site of the 2010 jamboree.  I selected  the Magic Kingdom as a reference to help understand the places that produce tired feet and compare it to Jamboree and  council properties.

How big is the Bechtel family donation? Let’s compare the above map set to the proper scale to the new site. (click to enlarge)

It’s big alright.  Philmont is bigger but this property is large enough to house a jamboree, a high adventure base and a national training center with room to spare. Here’s the plan for the layout of the 2013 Jamboree site at the north end of the reserve. (click to enlarge)

Here’s this 2013 map plan overlaid upon the property.  It fits with lots of room elsewhere.

So what about your feet?  That was the important question. “Will my feet feel better at the 2013 jamboree?”  To answer that question, let’s compare the 2010 and 2013 property maps side by side to scale.

Good news, future Jamborees will be more compact.  The subcamps, scout village, action centers and merit badge midway will be closer.  The trek to the arena show will end up shorter.  The encampment may feel more impressive because you will be able to survey more of the jamboree in one view from certain vantage points.

I think your feet will like it.

Here’s a mockup of the 2013 jamboree site I modeled with mapping software.  The image below is roughly the same overhead view as the 2013 Jamboree map in a previous post.  Scouts at the Jamboree got to see a 3D view of the site in a virtual reality appliance.  Here are a few observations I can offer with regular mapping software.

This image below is from the top of the Arena Area (pink) which is placed on a natural amphitheater on a hillside.  You are looking North.  The blue lake sits at stage level.  Along the hillside across the valley sits Regional Camp “B” (green) where you can survey the campsites of what will be thousands of tents.  Atop the hill sits the National Scout Center HQ (lavender) with a hilltop tower and the Center for Leadership Excellence.  The Scout Village (light green) sits to the right with displays, the Merit Badge Midway, Buckskin Games and a BMX course.

Here’s the view from the Adult Staff camp (brown).  You are looking southwest.  Your view commands most of the Jamboree.  The Arena (pink) sits across from the lake (blue).  The Scout Village (light green) and it’s activities awaits.  Regional Camp A (dark green) would be easily visible as you turn your head to your left.  Just a peek of it’s green outline is shown on this view.  Your elevation is the same as the National Scout Center HQ (lavendar).  Regional Camp C (dark green) sits the farthest away only 1.5 miles as the crow flies.  It’s a 200 foot vertical drop from your elevation to the lake.

There will be areas on this new site that one can witness a “sea of scouts” in views not easily seen in past jamborees except by air.  The landscape design should impress all with a panorama of Scouting at its finest.

The average high of your campsite for July and August is 78° F.   Nights get down to 58° F.  If as a parent you wish to experience the Jamboree as a adult,  consider a troop leadership position or a staff job for 2013.

Stay tuned to LFCJambo.org for 2013 Jamboree participant sign ups and staff and leader application information in 2011 – 2012.

Today on twitter,

a tweet appeared about the tent to the right,

Here’s some BSA history behind this tent design.

We invented the tarp tent right here!

In the 1940′s, Scouts here like everywhere had to make do and Scout leaders did what they did best – make a dollar stretch a mile.  Out of necessity, the tarp tent was made from collected / recycled material used for hog feed sacks.

This image was taken near Guthrie.  The idea attracted the attention of William Hillcourt (aka Green Bar Bill), one of Scouting’s pioneers whose achievements include an edition of the Boy Scout Handbook and the first Wood Badge course instructor in the USA.  Bill wrote many articles on Scoutcraft and outdoor skills over many decades in his dedicated career.

Here he is taking a picture of local Guthrie Scouts setting up their tarp tents.  This image was dated  October 1948 (source – “Thunderbird Tracks”  by Ray Matoy).  We think Bill was on his way to Philmont to teach the first Wood Badge course when he stopped to learn from our Scouts.  Note the Troop 1 numeral and his Gilwell community strip. (click to enlarge)

One thing common to any high adventure program is tired feet.  This map shows the relative sizes of some Last Frontier Council camps compared at the same scale with the Jamboree site as well as Disney’s Magic Kingdom – all of which produce tired feet at the end of the day.

In case you have turned into a Jamboree blogging junkie and need more coverage.  Here you go.

http://jambo137.org/
http://www.jamboreetroop605.com/
http://jambotroop1203.org/
http://jamboreetroop.blogspot.com/
http://www.jambotroop1007.org/Home/troop-pictures-and-videos
http://troop1530.wordpress.com/
http://www.jamboree603.com/Home/jamboree-blog
http://www.jambo724.org/
http://www.troop1004.info/Site/Blog/Blog.html
http://jamboreetroop1006.org/
http://jambo1032.wordpress.com/
http://jamboreetroop2132.com/
http://troop1525.org/
http://jamboreetroop1116.org/
http://www.troop1935.org/
http://www.2010jamboree620.blogspot.com/

http://leadersupdate.bsajamboree.org/

Twitter Feeds

http://twitter.com/#search?q=bsajambo

http://twitter.com/#search?q=%23jambo2010

http://twitter.com/drew0168

Picture Collections

http://www.flickr.com/photos/boyscoutsofamerica/collections/72157624558698700/

A Shining Light Across America Ustream broadcast stream

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/8639388

Add more you discover in the comments.

Arena show and broadcast schedule. The Centennial Celebration preshow will be available via satellite and online starting at 4:30 p.m. CDT. The main show will be available for viewing at 7 p.m.CDT, and the broadcast will conclude at approximately 9:30 p.m. CDT. By popular request, we’ve provided an overview of the Centennial Celebration show “run of show.”

Please Note: Content and timing are subject to change, all the way to showtime.

Webcast update. The Shining Light webcast will be available worldwide at www.ustream.tv/shininglight and via a Shining Light tab on the BSA’s Facebook page. Viewers will be able to comment and interact with fellow webcast participants while watching.

(Webmaster edit – Also on BYU TV at: Dish channel 9397; DirectTV channel 374; Cable One channel 392, Cox Digital Cable Channel 137 and on their website: http://www.byutv.org/)

Reminder: To ensure the best picture quality, the webcast option is recommended for small- to medium-sized groups on a screen no larger than 120 inches (9 feet wide by 6 feet high). Be sure to test it now by projecting any of the live videos currently available on Ustream onto the screen you plan to use. For more, review the webcast guidelines.

The US Postal Service released today a new stamp celebrating Scouting’s 100th Anniversary. These are available today at your post office or via https://www.usps.com/shop

Congratulations to Marvin Neighbors who was inducted into the BSA National Hall of Leadership for the Last Frontier Council.

The National Hall of Leadership provided an opportunity for anyone to recognize outstanding leadership by a Scout, registered leader or Scouting volunteer who made a significant difference in the life of another by the extraordinary service they have given and the Scouting virtues they have modeled.

The National Hall of Leadership was created as part of our 100th Anniversary Celebration to gather these powerful stories and share the significant and positive impact Scouting leadership has on the quality of life in the communities we serve. And, wow, more than 7,000 nominations shared amazing and inspiring stories! All nomination stories will be part of the BSA 100th Anniversary archive at the National Scouting Museum.

One individual was selected from each council to represent all the nominees of their council and the gift of leadership given by the Scouts and scouters of that council to the communities they serve each year.

Amateur Radio has been a part of Scouting since it’s birth 100 years ago.  Jamboree on the Air is an annual worldwide scouting event in October one can participate in to connect with Scouts around the world.

You can also connect with Scouts and Scouters at the Jamboree thanks to amateur radio station K2BSA. HAM radio operators help scouts connect across the nation and the world from the jamboree site.

If you are an amateur radio operator, you can find out more about this event and the frequencies at http://www.nsj2010ham.com/

An Echolink net is up which allows ham operators to tune in, transmit and receive to the Jamboree net via the internet.

We have previously posted about improvements in the Jamboree Communications Network expected for 2010.

A few staffers on site at the Jamboree since Wednesday are setting up and readying for 30,000 scouts and leaders on the 26th.  We have received reports from our staffers that the cell phone service and Wi-Fi hotspots have been overtaxed already.

If you see posting activity drop off on the 26th, don’t worry.  The scouts and their leaders will be setting up camp as soon as they arrive.  The flurry of activity in setting up will command their attention which can last several hours.  Then they will probably assess their connectivity with their smartphones and get to posting again.

If you see no posts, please wait.  They have done an outstanding  job sharing the adventure in addition to leading their troops.  If you Google for “Jamboree Blog” you will discover we are probably the most connected of  900+  jamboree troops.  LFCJambo.org has been receiving 1000 visits a day from family and friends since they left.

Soon the really fun adventures begin!