#GS1810ToPaloDuro

Just like my blog title says- I have been a BUSY BEE! This summer I spent the month of June working as a librarian for summer school (Monday-Thursday), teaching swim lessons (Monday-Wednesday), and then lifeguarding Friday/Saturday. 

In September of 2018 our troop made a timeline of all the places they wanted to go and things they wanted to accomplish (they were Brownies- oh they were so little!!)

Our first big adventure would be to NASA (they have a fabulous sleepover!) We made it there in October of 2019. Our next big adventure would be to Canyon, Texas. We are in the Dallas area which makes Canyon about a 6-hour drive.  I was SUPER excited to take the troop to Canyon for several reasons.  The main one is- it is my hometown!  Canyon is super small-but there are some great things to do around the area.  Although I know the area and things to do- I wanted this to be girl-led.  We did research on the different activities to do in the area, we researched cost, and the troop decided how they wanted to spend their money and what to do.

The rest of this blog will be full of links/pictures/and information on how we made it happen!

A little bit of background: 

-This troop now consists of Daisy-Cadettes.  

-We took 17 (9 girls and 8 adults) people altogether (it was supposed to be 19- gosh dog Covid- but they did show up in all of our pictures!) 

-The troop paid for the girls- backpack/materials/museum passes/backstage tour/spray paint/TEXAS tickets/TEXAS BBQ/hotel/pizza on Thursday night.  The rest of the meals and souvenirs were on their own.

-We are based out of the Dallas area

-It was about $150 per person (without the food)

Here is our block planning for our adventure. Click on this link to take you to the Google Doc

Preparing for the Trip:

-Made LOTS of phone calls!

-asked all girls and moms to give me songs for a Spotify Playlist! You can find our playlist here

-printed pictures of our girls that couldn't go (Thanks Amber!)

-printed letters that spelled out Thank you troop 1810

-Purchased bags from Eddie Bauer (I purchased these for both troops because we will both be traveling)

-Had keychains made for each girl that had their name on it one side and troop number on the other side (Thanks Preserve the Moments)

-created water bottles- We had a virtual meeting two weeks before where we made our code of conduct and also talked about the importance of starting to drink extra water now.- I found this file on Etsy for our Water Bottles

-Created matching t-shirts- Thanks to Horizon Imprinting for our awesome TEXAS shirts. I also LOVED this file that I got off Etsy

-Created a travel binder for each girl- File 1 from Etsy  File 2 from Etsy

-collecting boxes of cookies to give to the different people that helped us out

Day 1-

We met at our usual meeting location and took our first Thank you picture. Each girl was in charge of a letter and we posed, loaded up cars, and were on our way! Each day the girls also wore matching shirts (we all wore the same shirts to the play TEXAS)

We stopped at Hardeman County Rest Stop for outdoor lunch and GORP making. If you are ever traveling through Texas, these rest stops are amazing.

Our next big stop was the Big Texan. Our plan was to have dessert here, but the wait was too long so we went in, shopped the gift shop, and took some fun pictures.

We then headed to the hotel to check in and for swimming! In March I became a certified lifeguard so I could make sure our troop was taken care of when we travel (that then turned into actual lifeguarding for the city- because there is a shortage of lifeguards)

We ordered pizza for dinner and then headed to my parent's house for stargazing and homemade ice cream. I grew up about 5 miles outside of town and let me tell you the sky is absolutely beautiful! This was probably also one of my favorite things that we did as well.  Here is my sappy piece- I have written about my infertility journey before- but this trip gave me experiences that I would not have had otherwise. I was able to take my troop and show them where I grew up.  We set out blankets and lawn chairs and ATE SO MUCH HOMEMADE ICE CREAM.  We were even able to watch the moon rise.

Day 2- We did group rate on this day for the museum/backstage passes/TEXAS Musical

For Day 2 we all wore our new purple Palo Duro Canyon shirts.  After continental breakfast, we headed to the Panhandle Plains Historical Museum.  I spent many hours volunteering for this museum. (some of our girls loved it.. and some of our girls were ehh)  Each group did lunch on their own and then we headed to Palo Duro Canyon for a van tour.  HUGE Shout Out to Park Ranger Bradley and his crew for a fantastic van tour.  Did I mention it was HOT???? This tour took about an hour and a half and we learned so much about the formations of Palo Duro Canyon and the different history.  During the summer they also have a fantastic outdoor musical called TEXAS. We opted for backstage passes and the BBQ beforehand. Our troop even got a shout out at the beginning of the play.

Day 3-

We opted for a little later start and made our first stop to the Canyon Square where they were having their Saturday Farmers Market.  We had lunch at Taco Villa (Taco Villa is one of those fast food places that you have to try at least once) and then headed to Cadillac Ranch.  I used my Cricut to make a trefoil so we could add it to one of the cars.  They do sell spray paint out there now, but I brought my own along with gloves and sharpie markers.  I just chose to bring black and white spray paint to make life easy.  After swimming that afternoon we had dinner at Feldman's Wrong Way Diner (they did a great job of taking care of our big party!) We ended the evening at the Snoball Stop (which was one of my FIRST ever jobs!) and had some fantastic snocones. 

 

Day 4

Was our final day.  We started our day at Journey Canyon Coffee Journey is owned by some AMAZING people. I had reached out to Stephanie a few months ago because I saw her in a pic of another girl scout troop.  She talked to our girls about owning a business, the different kinds of coffee.. and how to make coffee!! Not only that, the girls then got to make their moms a drink! The chef even came out and talked to the girls about making some of the sandwiches.  It was a fabulous way to end our trip.  Once everyone had their drink we were back on the road home. 

Each stop that helped us we got into your Thank You formation and I nabbed a pic. I used CANVA and have created little thank you cards that I am going to send the businesses (we also gave them cookies!) These pics I also plan to start posting on social media and tagging the businesses. It was super easy to do and looks so cute!

I don't think words can ever express my love for these girls and their families (and also Troop 6458) I am so very thankful that have allowed me to lead their girls in this crazy world.  Check out this shirt they got me that says Hello Sunshine and is signed by everyone!

Also a HUGE shout out to all those leaders that are leading troops, all the parents that make sure girls get to where they need to go, all the people that purchase Girl Scout Cookies or help with fundraisers.

Next up- 6458 is taking on New York!!

1810 has plans to head to Savannah, GA, and then eventually overseas!

A little disclaimer- I did stay with my parents (to save troop money) and also took my own car (it was the catch-all for all of the items)  I was able to drive if needed.  I also was able to have a coffee date every morning while I was there with some of my best friends who I don't see very often. I also had a chance to run into so many people that I know (welcome to growing up in a small town!) I also got to spend time with my parents (which was much needed!)

Next up for me-I start school tomorrow and I am headed to High School!!