2022 - 2023

June - 1505/505 Philmont backpack track for total 15 days -  Philmont, NM

June - 1505/505 Summer camp - Ed Bryant Scout Reservation - Mauston, WI

Aug - 1505/505 Sprint Car races - Elk Rock State Park - Knoxville, IA

Sept - 505 Tubing Campout - Camp Buffalo - Monticello, IN

Oct - 1505/505 Webelos campout - Greene Valley - Naperville IL

Oct - 1505/505 Shooting Campout - Camp Buffalo - Monticello, IN

Nov - 1505/505 Thanksgiving Campout and Family dinner - Von Oven - Naperville, IL

Nov - 1505/505 Webelos invite and Video game lock-in - Knox church - Naperville, IL

Dec - 1505 Winter Campout - Von Oven - Naperville, IL

Feb - 1505/505 Milwaukee Trip - Milwaukee, WI

March - 1505/505 ILST Training campout - Camp Palos - Lemont, IL

April - 1505/505: Advancement Campout - Water fall Glen County Forrest Preserve -  Darien IL

2021 - 2022

June - 1505 Summer Camp - Camp Freeland - Leslie, WI

July - 1505/505 High Adventure Boundary Waters - Ely, MN

July - 505 Summer Camp - Ransburg,IN

Aug - 1505/505 Grants Pilgrimage - Galena, IL

Oct - 1505/505 Feast of the Hunters Moon - Camp Cary - West Lafayette, IN

Nov - 1505/505 Thanksgiving Campout Von Oven - Naperville, IL

Dec - 505 Survival Campout - Grand Junction, MI

April - 1505 Eagle Cave Campout - Blue River, WI

April - 505 White Pines State Park Campout - Mt. Morris, IL

May - 505: Indy 500 Time Trials - Camp Cary - West Lafayette, IN

2020 - 2021

April - 1505/505 Shooting Campout -Camp Buffalo Monticello, IN

May - 1505 MBU Campout -Camp Big Timber Elgin, IL

May - 1505/505 Advancement Campout -Cantigny Park - Wheaton,IL

2019 - 2020

July – Summer Camp -Camp Ransburg, IN

July – Philmont Trek- backpacking in the mountains - Cimarron, NM

July – Boundary Waters Canoe Trip – Northern MN 

August - Seabase - St. Croix 

August  –  Maquoketa Caves Campout - Maquoketa  IA

August – 505 BBQ  –  Blackwell Forest Preserve

September – Hunger Games Campout (Webelos Invitational) - Camp Big Timber

October –Feast of the Hunter's Moon, - Camp Cary Lafayette, IN

November - Thanksgiving  / Challenger Learning Center - Marengo, IL

December – Survival Campout - MI

January – Luge Campout Cabin Camping

February – Harley Davidson, Cobia, Tubing Campout 

March  -–  Water park Campout

April -– New Scout Camp-in

April - Advancement Campout 

May - Biking Campout - Channahon State Park,  il- I&M Canal Trail 

July – Summer Camp - Camp Ransburg, IN

July – Philmont Trek- backpacking in the mountains - Cimarron, NM 

July – Colorado Trek 2020 , backpacking in the mountains - Castle Rock, CO

2018 - 2019

July – Summer Camp – CFL, WI / Ransburg, IN
With 40 scouts and 14 adults attending CFL summer camp. We took over the place and earned over 200 merit badges while learning to function as patrols.

August – Summer Camp – Tesomas, WI
Paradise: Camping along the shores of beautiful Crystal Lake.

July – Summer Camp – CFL, WI / Ransburg, IN
With 40 scouts and 14 adults attending CFL summer camp. We took over the place and earned over 200 merit badges while learning to function as patrols.

August – Summer Camp – Tesomas, WI
Paradise: Camping along the shores of beautiful Crystal Lake.

September – Air Camp – Rockford, IL 
Climbing on military vehicles and air planes even the adults were kids at the event.

October – Caving – 
The bats went to sleep so no caving for us. Plus with 60 mph winds and trees falling over we came home early.

November – Thanksgiving Feast – Rainbow Council – Lockport, IL
Thanksgiving around a camp fire. What else needs to be said!

December – Survival Campout! – Grand Junction, MI
Welcome to the frozen tundra of Camp Chobak, Michigan in December. Grab a tarp and design your shelter and redesign it and design it again. Minimalist camping. Cooking and eating over open fires. Wishing for snow. Making great memories. 

January – Ski Trip Cascade Mountain – Portage, WI
Awesome snow, weather, snowboarding and skiing. 

February – Big Deal – Louisville, KY
Scouts can’t escape a good time. Ziplines, Caves, Corvettes and Baseball. 

April – New Scout Camp-in – Knox Presbyterian Church – Naperville, IL
New scouts all working with older scouts learning how to use the troop camping equipment in the dark, and having fun. 

April – EAA Museum – Oshkosh, WI
Dropping eggs from the second floor and sleeping by the air planes who couldn’t have fun.

April – Advancement Campout – Cantigny Park – Wheaton, IL
Older scouts teaching younger scouts. Cut short for snow, snow, and more snow in late APRIL.

May – Biking Camp – I&M Canal trail
Getting caught in the rain on the I&M Canal enough said. Keep on rolling.

June – OA Spring Fellowship – Camp Freeland Leslie – Oxford, WI
5 Candidates completed their ordeal. 
Climbing on military vehicles and air planes even the adults were kids at the event.

2017 - 2018

July – Summer Camp - Ransburg, IN
We were well represented by the 29 scouts and 10 adults attending summer camp when we were awarded a Certificate of Excellence at the closing campfire. All the boys were productive as shown by earning of 119 merit badges with 17 partials. Another milestone was reached when all participants returned safely from a Friday night/Saturday morning hike around the reservation. 

August – High Adventure – Seabase SCUBA Trip - Seabase FL
Blub, Blub, Blub, Good IS and a lot of fun, can you say night dive

August – Scoutmaster Surprise Campout – Camp Freeland Leslie – Oxford, WI
A day at Kalahari waterpark and a movie w/ popcorn under the stars.

September – Hunger Games & Webelos Campout – Blackwell Forest Preserve–Warrenville, IL 
No Webelos were harmed in the making of this adventure.

October – Civil War Days Campout – Camp Belzer – Indianapolis, IN
Food, fires, wood smoke, knives, explosions, root beer jugglers with flaming batons, and cannons! What's not to like? Did we mention food?

November – Thanksgiving Feast – Devil's Lake State Park – Baraboo, WI
Thanksgiving around a camp fire. What else needs to be said!

December – Survival Campout! – Grand Junction, MI
Welcome to the frozen tundra of Camp Chobak, Michigan in December. Grab a tarp and design your shelter and redesign it and design it again. Minimalist camping. Cooking and eating over open fires. Thinking of snow. Making great memories. 

January – Ski Trip Cascade Mountain – Portage, WI
Awesome snow, weather, snowboarding and skiing 

January – Klondike Derby – Von Oven - Naperville, IL
Chopping trees with axes

February – Tobogganing Campout- Muskegan Winter Sports Complex – Muskegon, MI
Where is the snow??? I want my money back! 

March – New Scout Camp-in – Knox Presbyterian Church – Naperville, IL
New scouts all working with older scouts learning how to use the troop camping equipment in the dark, and having fun. With 25 new scouts and headlamps not so dark after all in the gym. 

April – Advancement Campout - Rainbow Council – Lockport, IL
Older scouts teaching younger scouts. The weather was challenge, cold and rainy but everyone came together showing great character. Where was this weather in Feb?

April – Grant’s Pilgrimage – Galena, IL
Who’s buried in Grant’s tomb? If you finished the medal hike you would know. We marched in the parade and even managed to get all of our scouts out of the Atomic Toy Shop. A good time was had by all, many gag gifts purchased and the best ice cream in Galena was located. 

May – Canoeing Camp – Kankakee State Park – Bourbonnais, IL
Splitting into groups of three per canoe, the scouts paddled form Bird Park to Fisherman’s landing. We stopped at David Creek for a quick lunch and trading positions. Great weather made this trip all the more fun.

June – OA Spring Fellowship – Camp Freeland Leslie – Oxford, WI
4 Scouts and 2 leaders complete their ordeal with one additional Brotherhood.  The CFL is setup for summercamp and that Saturday evening meal was something else. More cake please.

June – Demolition Derby – Greene Valley Forest Preserve – Naperville, IL
5 mile hike and go to Route 66 Raceway in Joliet to see a demolition derby

2016 - 2017 Troop 505

July - Camp Ransburg in Bloomington, Indiana.
Swimming, boating, advancement, bonfires on the shores of Lake Monroe. We stayed in Terrace Hills Upper & Lower campsite. Twenty-four Scouts earned 99 merit badges and 7 rank advancements. 

July - High Adventure Philmont Scout Ranch Cimarron NM 
Two crews enjoyed all that Amtrak has to offer on the way to beautiful New Mexico to hike in the mountains. The first challenge was fitting in all the food and crew gear into the already full backpacks and the second trial was acclimatizing to carrying 45 lbs at 6000 feet on upwards. Both treks did a lot of miles and hit some important peaks (Baldy 12,441, Mt Phillips 11,732) and got regularly rained on, and sometimes hailed on. Hike early in the morning to avoid the heat of the day and the storm that comes through at 3pm every afternoon!

August - Fall Fellowship - Camp Big Timber, Elgin, IL
Ethan makes Brotherhood! 

September - Hike Bike Fish Campout - Rock Cut State Park, Loves Park, IL
Action-packed campout with hiking, biking and fishing! 

September - Feast of the Hunter's Moon - Lafayette, IN
Buffalo stew! Black powder cannons! Historical re-enactors! And Ga-Ga ball back at Camp Cary!

 Monster Truck Jam / Thanksgiving Campout – Rockford, IL & Scout Adventure Camp, Rochelle, IL
Scout Skills and Monster Trucks what more could you ask. How about Thanksgiving dinner, served by the adults? Deep fried Turkey! 

December - Survival Campout - Chobak family resort, MI 
Cooking over open fires and camping without a tent! And everyone survived! 

January - Ski Trip - Cascade Mountain,  WI 
Fun and games with movies and cabin camping at CFL and skiing at Cascade. 


February - Tubing at Camp Oh-Da-Ko-Ta, - Burlington, WI
No Snow! Oh no! Scouts adapted to the cancelled snow tubing outing by doing Low COPE and Zip Line at Lake Geneva. 


March - New Scout Camp-in - Knox Presbyterian Church 
New scouts partnered up with older scouts to learn how to use all of the troop camping equipment. Then we turned off the lights and let the new scouts put up tents by flashlight! 


March - USS Silversides Submarine Museum - Muskegon, MI
Scouts packed the confines of a US Navy submarine credited with sinking 23 ships during WW2. And they got to work with the Remote Operated Vehicles! 

April - Advancement Campout - White Pines State Park, IL 
Once in every five years the weather cooperates and this was the year. Predicted rain disappeared and the weather was glorious. The mosquitoes were tolerable and not the fierce giants from 2016. Lower numbers of cub scouts came to visit but they all enjoyed the traditional cooking an egg and building a fire. Our guys got so good and teaching to build fires, they set and lit the fire for the evening campfire and joined in with some great skits. All went well except we broke the new canopy trying to fold it up. Ooops.

May - Horseback Riding Campout - Chain of Lakes, WI
Saddle up! Horse riding and a five-mile hike. Bonus find: creepy animal skeleton! 

June - OA Spring Fellowship - Camp Freeland Leslie, WI
Five new Ordeals and Five Brotherhood members got to work making the council camp ready for summer.

June - Webelos Overnight - Greene Valley Forest Preserve, IL
Webelos from throughout Thunderbird District learned the skills of scouting from the boys of Troop 505. 

June - Mini High Adventure - Wilton, WI
Twenty-eight miles of biking, 5 miles of hiking and 6 miles of paddling. And the cooking merit badge. Watch out for falling branches! 

2015-2016 Troop 505 

Mini High Adventure- 6/10-6/14/2015 Elroy Sparta Trail 
Biking, Canoeing the Kickapoo or Baraboo River, hiking to the top of Wildcat Mountain State Park in southwest Wisconsin, swimming, and maybe some fishing, too! Watch out for falling trees!

Seabase US Virgin Islands 6/13–6/19/2015 St Thomas 00802, USVI 
Not since Captain Jack Sparrow has the Spanish Main seen such intrepid and fearless nautical adventure! Two crews were cruisin' along the coast of Virgin Islands circumnavigating St. John and along the way we did snorkeling, fishing, sleeping on deck, ate hearty and gaze at millions of stars at night.

Summer Camp 7/5-7/11/2015-Camp Ransburg in Bloomington, Indiana.
Summer camp fun! Swimming, boating, advancement, bonfires and more. The wettest week we have ever been on, the track next to the camp site was a veritable river at times, but unbelievably the boys stayed dry!

OA Fall Fellowship 9/11–9/13/2015 TFC Scout Ranch Rochelle, IL
Congratulations to our New Ordeal Members and New Brotherhood Members. With great weather, over 300 Arrowmen did an amazing amount of work to benefit the camp! There was another amazing Vigil call out. Can you say fire dancers?

Scoutmaster’s Surprise Campout 9/18-9/20/2015 Turkey Run, Indiana
Despite the heaviest rainstorm in the history of mankind, the troop managed to make their secret destination. Rain overnight finished up creating a lake by the adults table! Clear weather for hiking all day. Driest Campout yet…by comparison!

Jamberall 10/2-10/4/2015 Sandwich, IL
Joined thousands of fellow Scouts, at THE premier fall camping and Scouting outdoors skills event! Seven HUGE Event Zones, the Nazi re-enactment guys and had a howizter were all awesome. The evening ceremony featured a cool Hawaiian fire dancers. 

Thanksgiving 11/6–11/8/2015 Weldon Springs State Park, Clinton, IL
Feast on turkey and all the trimmings by beautiful Lake Weldon. The fall weather was good and the climbing was fun. Look for the picture taken by Will outside at the top of his 120’ climb!

Survival Campout 12/5–12/6/2015 Chobak family resort, MI
This year saw the boys surviving 50 degree weather and has to be the first where scouts sunned themselves. Terrific food as always and Mr. Warren wins the prize for the best wookie hut again. 

Ski Trip 1/22/16-1/24/2016 Cascade Mountain, WI
Fun and games with movies and cabin camping at CFL and skiing the next day at Cascade. Some got their Snow Sports merit badge, and several had their first ski experiences, well done to both. More experienced boys searched out the black runs to challenge themselves. 

Scoutmaster’s Surprise Campout 2/5–2/7/2016 Wilmot Mountain
Entire day of tubing at Wilmot. Great conditions achieved 40+ mph and variable supervision meant we could hook multiple tubes together. A great day of speed.

Big Deal 3/4/2015-3/6/2015 Harley Museum, Green Bay Packers stadium and a water park! 
The first Big Deal without a bus…CARAVAN! Scouts completed the Engineering merit badge at toured the Harley Museum. Toured the Packers Stadium and finished with the Kalahari water-park, do they know the Kalahari is a desert in Africa with no water?

New Scout Camp-in 3/11-3/12/2016 Knox Presbyterian Church
Eight new scouts all working with older scouts learning how to use the troop camping equipment, completing advancement and having fun. Who said putting up a tent in the dark is not fun? We had a great breakfast –these kids can cook! Now if they would only learn to share with the adults.

Advancement Campout 4/22–4/24/2016 Starved Rock State Park IL 
Taught younger Scouts outdoor skills for outdoor experiences. Used nearly every tent and every Dutch oven for some great cooking. Excellent campfire finished up the night after a tiring 5 mile hike from Mr. Zahn that included bush bashing the way back to camp!

Indy 500 Time Trials 5/20–5/22/2016 Indianapolis Motor Speedway & Camp Belzer, IN. 
Indy 500 Time Trials, lapping at about 230 mph! The adults had the pleasure of one driver clipping the wall around corner 2 and leaving much of his car scattered down the track. Finished the day with a nice camp fire.

OA Spring Fellowship 6/3-6/5/2016 Camp Freeland Leslie
Five new Ordeals, one new Brotherhood braved the weather to get the camp ready for summer.

Webelos Overnighter 6/3-6/5/2015 Green Valley Forest Preserve
The annual Webelos Overnighter with a chance to show off Troop 505 to the cub scouts. Eight boys and adults taught the new requirements for some of the Cast Iron Chef, Camper and Scouting adventures. Which means we are still all about tents, cooking eggs and building fires! 

2014-2015 Troop 505 

July – Summer Camp - Ransburg, IN
We were well represented by the 29 scouts and 10 adults attending summer camp when we were awarded a Certificate of Excellence at the closing campfire. All the boys were productive as shown by earning of 119 merit badges with 17 partials. Another milestone was reached when all participants returned safely from a Friday night/Saturday morning hike around the reservation.

July – High Adventure - Boundary Waters – Northern MN
Four crews enjoyed the spectacular, pristine Boundary Waters. The scouts practiced Leave No Trace outdoor principles to help ensure the beauty and integrity of the fragile environment. They also endured sparrow-sized mosquitoes, rain and derecho winds of 70 mph that felled ancient trees, which made portaging between lakes even more challenging. Spectacular scenery and outstanding fishing, we hope to repeat this experience soon.

August – Air Fest – Romeoville, IL
Tug-a-war with a corporate jet, welding, flight simulators, robotics, model rockets, and RC airplanes, what more can I say, but; Funky Circus Band with hundreds of glow sticks and beach balls, followed by spectacular fireworks.

September – Warren Dunes State Park – Bridgeman, MI
Sun food and sand; the sand blew hard but we climbed every dune.

October – Feast of the Hunters Moon–West Lafayette IN
Food, fires, wood smoke, knives, explosions, root beer jugglers with flaming batons, and cannons! What's not to like? Did we mention food?

November – Lincoln Trail/ Thanksgiving Feast–New Salem State Park, Petersburg, IL.
Hiking the historic district of Springfield makes for a hungry Troop! Deep Fried Thanksgiving Turkeys with all the fixin’s hit the spot. We ate like Kings! 

December – Survival Campout! – Grand Junction, MI
Welcome to the frozen tundra of Camp Chobak, Michigan in December. Grab a tarp and design your shelter and redesign it and design it again. Minimalist camping. Cooking and eating over open fires. Thinking of snow. Making great memories. 

January – Klondike Derby – Von Oven - Naperville, IL
Chopping trees with axes, Mr. Bukowski’s gourmet lunch, all-you-can-drink hot chocolate... and Cub Scouts, mushing their sleds over to learn scouty things like egg cooking, ladder lashing and knife safety. Just enough snow + sun + 7 scouts = a chill Klondike!

January – Ski Trip Cascade Mountain – Portage, WI
Awesome snow, weather, snowboarding and skiing – if you please, now if Mr. Schmidt could just find his keys!

February - Tobogganing Campout- Pokagon State Park, Angola, IN
Great weather, great cabins, great snow and a fantastic toboggan run. 
What can we say but -Weeeeeeeee! 

March – New Scout Camp-in – Woodridge United Methodist Church – Woodridge, IL
Ten new scouts all working with older scouts learning how to use the troop camping equipment, completing advancement and having fun. Who said putting up a tent in the dark is not fun? 
Now if we can get the letters off the scouts and on the patrol flag.

March – EAA Museum – Oshkosh WI
EAA Museum was great fun with many cool airplanes. We felt like real pilots after the flight simulators. Then we got to hangar around all night. 

April - Advancement Campout - BSA Adventure Camp – Rochelle, IL 
We started out with a spot of rain but before long knots were being tied, fires built, knife and ax learned followed by bit of first aid. We ended with a hike down to the lake were we found a pirate ship. YO-HO, Now that’s Scouting, matey!!

May - Indy 500 Time Trials - Camp Belzer - Indianapolis, IN
The roar of the engines, the Indy cars were faster than ever. When they went around the track they sounded like thunder. Wait, that wasn’t the cars!

June – Webelos Overnight – Camp Thunderbird (Green Valley) – Naperville, IL
Three for three on rainy campouts, but no unhappy looking cub scouts. Who could be unhappy when you get to cook and start a fire! Great help from the boys, including several new scouts. In the troop only a few months and already teaching the cub scouts. Topped off with a campfire run by 505 with a nicely done flag ceremony.

June – OA Spring Fellowship – Camp Freeland Leslie – Oxford, WI
Five new Ordeals, one new Brotherhood and a few of us old guys, braved heavy rain and cold weather to get the camp ready for summer. The rain broke in time for the shiny new sashes to stay dry. Although we did find out that one of the 3 Ws in OA stands for wood chips.