Boy Scout Troops from Virgin Valley went to various summer camps including Bear Lake Aquatics, Thunder Ridge Scout Camp near Brian Head, Maple Dell near Payson, Scofield near Price and Havasupai Falls in the Grand Canyon. The troops are sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Troop 60 sponsored by the Mesquite Resort Association. Troop 2087 Virgin Valley Spanish Branch of the LDS Church went to Maple Dell along with Troop 2041 of Bunkerville 1st Ward. Edward Ponce, scout leader, from the Spanish Branch Troop 2087 said they had 3 scouts go and Chris Allen, scoutmaster of Troop 2041, said 7 scouts went from his troop. “The scouts completed a total of 37 merit badges,” said Chris Allen. Mr. Ponce said, “We participated in Flag retirement ceremony and every morning and evening a raising and lowering of the American Flag. Some of the merit badges earned were Geology, Soil and Conservation, Environmental Science, Indian lore, Emergency Preparedness, and Rifle.” Troop 2640 of the Mesquite 6th Ward and 2488 of the Mesquite 3rd Ward of the LDS Church with leaders Richard Jensen and Charlie Lee went to Maple Dell. “There were 600 scouts at camp the week we went. A Samoan Troop from Salt Lake City challenged the other scouts to a game of rugby. This drew quite a crowd as the scouts had never seen a rugby game,” Mr. Jensen said. The scouts participated in a triathlon involving canoeing, swimming and races. Bunkerville Ward also went to Maple Dell with 15 scouts. Meb Hollingshead said, “The white water rafting was the most exciting! We got to go down the Provo River in canoes and rafts twice. We also got to go climbing and rappelling.” Scouts earned merit badges in Climbing, Movie Making and Wilderness Survival. Meb said, “I had fun building a shelter and sleeping in it by myself for that merit badge.” Troop 2040 of the Mesquite 1st Ward of the LDS Church with Bevan Reber, scoutmaster, took 3 scouts to Thunder Ridge Camp. Brent Hughes, scoutmaster of Troop 2493of the Mesquite 4th ward and Troop 2082 of the Mesquite 2nd Ward of the LDS Church took a total of 17 scouts to Thunder Ridge also. Ray Toombs, scoutmaster said they completed 19 merit badges. “They played dodge ball, baseball, soccer and slip sticks,” Mr. Toombs said. “Leather Work, Basketry, Wood Carving, Environmental Science and Wilderness Survival were some of the merit badges they completed.” Troop 2060 sponsored by the Mesquite Resort Association with Petra Jones, scoutmaster, took 12 scouts and 3 leaders to Thunder Ridge and completed many merit badges. Troop 2998 sponsored by the Mesquite 7th Ward of the LDS Church with Ryan Toone, scoutmaster took 3 leaders and 9 scouts to Thunder Ridge. Troop 2042 sponsored by the Littlefield Ward of the LDS Church took 5 scouts and 2 leaders to Scofield Camp. Trent Reber, scoutmaster said, “The scouts learned to do search and rescue in the area around the lake. They did lake activities and shooting.” Troop 2596 of the Mesquite 5th Ward of the LDS Church with Duane Thurston, scoutmaster, went to Bear Lake Aquatics Camp. They had 5 scouts and 3 leaders. “The scouts especially enjoyed Sail Boating merit badge. They also earned Water Skiing, Motor Boating, Swimming and Canoeing merit badges,” Mr. Thurston said. Twenty-three Varsity and Venture scouts from Bunkerville 2nd Ward of the LDS Church went to Havasupai Falls for 3 days. Trevon Hollingshead said, “We hiked 10 miles into the canyon. The hardest part was the switch back at the beginning of the trail. The water was a beautiful turquoise. We jumped off the cliff and went swimming. We had to pack our own food into camp. On Wednesday morning at 2:00 a.m. we started our hike out to avoid the heat. It was great fun!”
