Monday, November 25, 2013

Mountain Bike Overnight at China Camp State Park in Marin


November 23-24:



China Camp provides some magnificent panoramic views of the Northern Bay along with miles of multi-use trails all just a short distance north of the Golden Gate Bridge.



In addition to getting a chance to ride the multi-use trails along the salt marshlands, Scouts had a chance to work on rank advancement and learn about trail courtesy and bike safety. While the main group was out riding some Scouts remained in camp to work on requirements for Tenderfoot and Second Class ranks. Several Scouts also got a chance to fulfill cooking requirements for rank advancement, while others worked on their Cooking Merit badge.  The camp was in a very nicely wooded area right by the trails and the weather was nearly perfect for the trip.




Before leaving the area Sunday, we made a short trip over to visit the remnants of a former Chinese fishing village. There the Scouts got a chance to explore a little of the history of the area as well as to play and skip rocks along the shoreline.

It was a wonderful trip overall to a beautiful area that is surprisingly close to the Scouts' home base in Montara.


Saturday, November 16, 2013

Scouting for Food 

Saturday, November 16

This year's Scouting for Food was a huge success with the boys bringing in -- literally -- tons of food!  Things were very busy Saturday at the Coastside Hope drop-off center as Scouts from Troops 255 and 263 along with Cub Scouts from Packs 255 and 263 worked to sort and box the donations as they came in from all over the Coastside. 

Scouts work to sort donations into containers and then move them into boxes.

The donations continued to come in right up to the ending time at 2 p.m. It was wonderful to see all the contributions. This year's donations topped last year's record and set a new Coastside Scouting for Food high with 4,389 pounds of food collected and sorted. 

Thank you all so much for contributing to this wonderful, valuable, and caring community service effort!

Thursday, October 17, 2013

October 16 Troop Meeting

7pm Yacht Club

During the troop meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 16, Scouts rotated by patrols through several different activities. One group continued working on the requirements for the Cooking merit badge:


A second group discussed opportunities for community service with the Scoutmaster:


And the third group participated in games out in front of the Yacht Club.  The day had been particularly warm for the coastal area, which made the evening temperature perfect for outdoor activities by the harbor. And there's always the wonderful view of the sun setting over the harbor:


Great meeting!

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Moss Beach Park Cleanup

On Sunday October 6, members of Troop 255 had the opportunity to participate with Cub Scouts of Pack 255 on a service project to clean up and improve Moss Beach Park. Activities included trash clean-up, fluffing up the existing bark, adding new wood chips around all areas where kids might fall, pulling weeds and a thorough cleaning of all the park play structures.


Moss Beach Park as we finished cleaning up

The park clean-up was a wonderful success, with fresh wood chips, clean structures and no more weeds! The whole park now looks fresh and new again. Overall, it was a wonderful chance for the Scouts to do a good turn for the community while earning service hours.

Thanks to all who participated! The park looks great!!!

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

October 2nd Troop Meeting

7pm Yacht Club

At the troop meeting, the Scouts had an opportunity to start work on the Cooking merit badge. Starting in 2014, the Cooking merit badge will be added to the list of merit badges required for the rank of Eagle. Because cooking is something that can be done at the Yacht Club during the troop meetings, this is a wonderful opportunity for the Scouts to learn about such topics as proper food handling, preparation and cooking safety as they work through this requirement. 


Scouts discussing the fine details of fine cuisine 

Several changes to the upcoming events schedule were announced. These include: 

On Saturday-SundayNovember 2-3, we will have a backpacking trip to Black Mountain backpack camp in Palo Alto.

On Saturday-SundayNovember 23-24, we will have a mountain biking and camping trip to China Camp State Park in Marin.  This trip will replace the Wente trip we had planned for October 12-13 because Wente is not available.

The Pinnacles trip will be Friday-SundayJanuary 10-12.  There was a conflict with Pack 255's schedule on the dates chosen previously.  

Saturday, September 21, 2013

Sept. 28-29 Portola Redwoods Overnight Camping Trip

The Troop is scheduled to go an overnight camping trip at Portola Redwoods Saturday and Sunday September 28-29. Originally this was scheduled to be at Black Mountain but that site was booked so the venue has been changed to Portola Redwoods in San Mateo County. 


Photo Courtesy of California State Parks and Recreation.


Directions and more information about the Portola Redwoods State Park is available at the park web site.

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Sept. 18 Court of Honor

7pm Yacht Club

We will be having a potluck dinner and recognize the achievements and rank advancements of our Scouts this evening. 

For the potluck we will have the following meal course assignments:

Grumpy Old Men: Appetizers
Burnt Toast: Salads
Mountain Lions: Main Course
SoCom: Main Course
Duck Tape: Beverages and Dessert

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Sept. 4th Troop Meeting

7pm, Yacht Club

During this meeting 

We will be electing a new Senior Patrol Leader and Assistant Senior Patrol Leader for the Troop. Also Scouts who are advancing in rank will have Scoutmaster conferences and Boards of Review. 

See ya there!

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Aug. 28th PLC and Committee Meeting

7pm, Yacht Club

This is a very important meeting. The Patrol Leaders will be setting the calendar for the upcoming year.  The meeting will start with a PLC to be followed by a Troop Committee Meeting.

Monday, July 15, 2013

Heading For Wente


The scouts all gathered early on Sunday morning at Farallone View Elementary School to coordinate transportation to the Wente Scout Reservation near Willits. 

Forming into the patrols they will participate in during summer camp, they were briefed on the particulars of this year's camp activities. Again this year, our troop will be staying in the Wishbone Camp which is centrally located and a very short distance from the main camp facilities including the cafeteria/mess hall.

Once the camp details briefing was completed, the Scouts were assigned to cars and loaded up for another fun-filled summer camp at Wente Scout Reservation.

Let's wish them all the best and hope they all have a wonderful active time at the Summer Camp!

Saturday, July 6, 2013

4th of July Parade in Half Moon Bay


Half Moon Bay traditionally has a parade down the middle of main street at noon on the 4th of July every year. The event is great fun for the town as typically half the town is in the parade and the other half gathers along the parade route to cheer the participants. Participants in the parade often consist of members of the various organizations in the town and the Scouts figure prominently in the parade every year.  This includes both the Cub Scout Packs and the Boy Scout Troops.



This year was particularly exciting as the Scouts handed out American flags to all visitors along the parade route. The goal was to try to provide everyone gathered along the route with a flag that they could wave during the parade. Ultimately the scouts did pretty good at achieving their goal and handed out some 4,200 American flags to the audience along the route.



Also, this year, the Scouts won first prize in the parade, a wonderful honor for all the hard work of decorating a colorful float and ensuring everyone along the route had an American flag to wave.



Some of the older Scouts also had the opportunity to carry the large flags at the front of the parade.  Overall the Scout participation in the parade was a huge success and everyone had a great time.

Welcome to the Scout Troop 255 Blog


Boy Scout Troop 255

Welcome to the new Scout Troop 255 blog. Here we'll try to post updates and information about activities happening within the Troop. The Troop is based in Montara on the beautifully rugged coastline of the San Francisco Peninsula, Boy Scout Troop 255 provides fun and exciting opportunities for boys to engage in scouting's outdoor activities while learning the timeless principles of leadership and honor. Our troop is part of the Pacific Skyline Council's Discovery District.

The scout troop typically meets on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of every month at the Half Moon Bay Yacht Club located in Princeton Harbor. More information about upcoming activities as well as scout resources and photos of recent events can be found at our web site.