As you may have seen, there is a new Boy Scout troop in Detroit Lakes. Although we are part of Boy Scouts of America, we aren't exactly Boy Scouts. Or Girl Scouts for that matter. We are Venture Crew 673.
It all started back when I was a little girl and was in Girl Scouts. I was a two-person troop. The troop consisted of me and my mom. My brother was in Cub Scouts at the time and I did more stuff with his Den than I did with Girl Scouts.
As the years went on, I spent my years with Cub Scout Pack 647. We went to Cub camp at Camp Wilderness and eventually started going to the full week summer camp. I was officially Bert. From then on, I was the girl Boy Scout.
Eventually I just quit Girl Scouts and did everything with the Boy Scouts. I went to summer camp, and did all the Troop things with them. I absolutely loved it.
When I turned 14, we decided to start a Venture Crew. Venturing is basically co-ed Boy Scouts. We do the same things, only there are girls in it. In fact, girls make up most of the Crew.
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As you know, we took a canoe trip to the Boundary Waters this summer. We plan on taking more trips like that one. Beautiful skies, good weather, and good times. With two groups, we came back with two times the memories.
This winter, we went on a little ski trip to SkiGull in Brainerd. We took Niki, Tyler, Wilson, Kajsa, Sally, me, my mom and dad and my brother. I spent the morning teaching Sally and Niki how to snowboard. Boy was that frustrating.
We got a total of three runs in before lunch. Niki and Sally seemed to be getting the hang of boarding so I decided I would board with my brother and leave Sally and Niki on their own. After that we got a lot of runs in. It was a good change to get on my board. Since I was so used to my cross country skis, it was a little weird to be on a board.
This summer we plan on taking a backpacking trip to Montana. The Anaconda Pintlar Wilderness to be exact. We are going to hike in the mountains and then make day trips to climb up Crazy Peak and two others. I'm sure we will come back eaten alive by mosquitoes, and with tons of laughs and stories.
The Crew is expanding for this trip. Coming along with us are our neighbors and some friends of my parents. My best friends Kylee and Rachel are coming along as well. I hope it's just as fun as last summer.
Hopefully this summer we will get to go back to summer camp at Camp Wilderness. Even if we don't go back for the whole week, Dylan, Tyler, Cody and I will go back on Thursday and kick butt in the Ironman again.
The same battle as last year is still going on in our Crew. Wilson still thinks his Ironman team can beat us. I don't want to brag, but we are invincible. We have won the past four years in a row. They are going down.
On a more serious note, we aren't Girl Scouts. We are Venturers. We don't sell cookies. We sell Christmas wreaths and popcorn. We are Boy Scouts; we aren't girls scouting for boys. We love adventure. Some of us are girls, and as the old song says, "Girls just want to have fun!"
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All in all, I love Venturing, and I love Boy Scouts. I'm so glad my parents got my brother started in it. I can't wait for our trips even if they are small ones. I've made so many new friends through Scouts and I can't wait for when I get to see them again.
If you're looking for something fun to do, and you're between the ages of 14 and 21, join the Venture Crew. You'll have fun. Trust me. We always do.
Berit Ramstad Skoyles is a freshman at Detroit Lakes High School.
