When The Leaning Teepees Go Marching In!

The annual Charlotte Thanksgiving Day Parade provided an opportunity for all YGuides braves and princesses to walk with their dad's in front of large crowds. Big Panther and Little Panther, along with Rumbling Thunder and Lightning Streak, took advantage of the beautiful holiday weather to share in this special experience. Nearly 90 different groups marched, rode on floats or traversed the streets of Charlotte by some other mode of transportation (such as a unicycle) to the delight of the crowd. The Yguides members in the parade even found themselves on the local TV station that broadcast the parade. It was a fun experience for everyone.

Are We There Yet, Geronimo?

The Leaning Teepees went on a road trip today to Crowders Mountain State Park to hike up the Linwood Trail. After gathering at "base camp", we participated in a number of stretching exercises. Ok, maybe that is a slight exaggeration. Rather, we watched some other people do sit-ups and leg stretches, and figured that was enough for us. Our hike up the mountain was fairly strenuous, but there were a number of braves who thought sprinting uphill would be fun! To keep them motivated, there were numerous mentions of "we're almost there" and "the top is just around that bend." Not to be deterred - we reached the summit in no time and were treated to some incredible views of the local area. We could even see the city of Charlotte in the distance. Many braves were exactly that - BRAVE - lunging from rock-to-rock at the top, while many dads were worried with fear. Herding cats at the top of a mountain really is a task! After refueling, taking some great family pictures, and relishing our .7 mile hike up, we ventured down a different path that was approximately 1.8 miles long back to where we started. The 2.5 mile trip provided for good exercises, good conversation and most of all...good memories!

To view all the pictures from the hike, click here.

Our next tribe outing will be a Federation Event - bowling on Saturday, December 6th.

Gobble-Gobble - What a Bunch of Turkeys!

Coming off the great weekend at Longhouse a week earlier, the Leaning Teepees came together again at the home of Rumbling Thunder and Lightning Streak for another tribe meeting. Some of the rituals from our first meeting became a bit easier and we were able to move through the regular tribe "business" quicker than before. This allowed time for the braves to practice learning each others Indian and real-names. While nobody was quite ready to earn a feather for their efforts (as they must be able to recite everyone's names), there was a marked sign of improvement. Little Falcon give it a try and is moving quickly towards success. It won't be long before we spend more time with one another, and review pictures and names in-between meetings that all will be able to accomplish this feat.

Braves went around the room and shared what they saw on their one-mile hikes with their dads, which allowed each tribe member to earn a dark green feather. Upcoming activities will determine what feathers are earned next.

The craft activity had the dad's and braves making a Turkey Hat - utilizing the handprints of each to create the feathers, and putting our Indian names on the hats. In the end, the family room looked and sounded like a turkey farm. Maybe a little early to sit down to a full feast, so instead we settled for Oreo cookies!

Our next activity will be hike up Crowders Mountain - a state park in North Carolina.