Gentleman, Start Your Engines!!!

Race faces - the men have been hard at work in the engine shops. Additional body work was done, and last minute adjustments on overall weight, balance and lubrication to make sure that the cars would pass the watchful eyes of the YGuides 500 inspectors. And so, we were ready for the flag to drop!

Not so fast. While car check in was from 11:00 - 12:00 on this race day, for some reason there were may last minute interruptions that had us waiting an additional 45 minutes. After that, the races moved fairly quickly on two sets of tracks, where 3 cars raced against each other in a series of 3 heats.

The cars came in all shapes and sizes, and the dad's and braves anxiously lined up along side the race track to see if their efforts would be victorious. Representing the Leaning Teepees were Running Bear and Sitting Bear, Little Panther and Big Panther, Rumbling Thunder and Lightning Streak, and Little Falcon and Big Falcon.

Great news for all, was the ribbons would be awarded for each race, for all finishers, regardless of where they placed. Everyone would walk away a winner. However, he top 6 cars from each track, based on overall times from the 3 individual races, would proceed on to the finals for a chance to win a coveted YGuides 500 trophy.

In the end, Little Falcon won 2 heats, and took second in his other race. Rumbling Thunder and Running Bear had one 1st and two 2nds. And Little Panther walked away with three 2nds! While we were good, it was quite apparent who the rookie racers were - just like in NASCAR. Our cars were good, but not great...but the experience was worth every ounce of energy put into the car building effort...and the cars themselves (just as long as they weren't over 5 ounces)!

You Don't Want Me to Eat That Peanut Butter?

Our February meeting took us to the home of Big Falcon and Little Falcon. This meeting signified our 5th tribal monthly gathering, which means that all members became eligible for a new bear claw to add to their Indian Guide nametag.

It was clear that many of the braves have been working towards earning more of their first year feathers, as there were a number of them who were able to recite everyones's Indian and real names, as well as recite the 6 YGuide aims. Congratulations go out this month to Whispering Frog, Running Bear, Rumbling Thunder and Surfing Tiger for their efforts. Little Falcon even showed off one of the crafts he had made - a pair of mocassins he was proudly wearing on his feet!

Our craft project this month was making a bird feeder. The pine cones used as the starting point for the project were delivered to each member as a part of the meeting invitation. After smearing peanut butter all over the pine cones (guess Big/Little Falcon didn't want to eat it straight from the jar!), the braves either rolled their pine cones in bird seed, or used their hands to sprinkle the bird seed onto the stickly peanut butter.

The project wrapped up early, which allowed the dads to enjoy the brownies while the braves were able to run around the backyard and work off some excess energy.

Sorry - No photos are available from this meeting - forgot to bring the camera.

We Need A 5 Man Pit Crew

Attention Race Fans - the Yguides 500 is only 3 weeks away, which means that dad's and braves are hard at work prepping their race cars for maximum performance. With that statement, it sounds like the Leaning Teepees really know what they are doing, but the reality as that this first time group of racers may quickly "lose the draft" of the other vehicles.

We descended upon Camp Thunderbird on Sunday, Feb 1st to test our newly build cars on the race track, weigh them to ensure they met specifications, and do last minute repairs. While other dad's and braves were lubricating the wheels, we were still shaping and sanding our cars. All the while the little Leaning Teepee braves were watching cars race over and over on the test track.

It was a great outing to discuss car building tips, and size up the competition. They better lookout, because the flag drops on February 21st!