By Cal Lang

The Boy Scouts of America converged on Fort A.P. Hill Virginia July 27 to celebrate 100 years of scouting at the National Scout Jamboree. This type of jamboree is held every four years but this jamboree was held back a year so that the National Scout Jamboree would be on the 100th anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America.

This year`s jamboree was a spectacular encampment of youth and adult leaders from all over America. There were even scouts and adult leaders from other countries at the jamboree. If you tried to count the number of people (scouts and leaders and staff alike) at the National Jamboree the number would be around 50,000 with an addition of around 150,000 visitors who also came to enjoy parts of the event.

Three scouts from Guntersville, Alabama joined others from the North Alabama area to make the journey. The thirteen hour bus drive was exhausting, but the sheer size of the encampment and the excitement in the air soon snapped them out of the travel lag. The group worked together to unload all of the troop and personal gear and then set up their tents and the rest of the campsites in just a small portion of the sight.

The size of the jamboree was enough to make the trip. It covered around 3,000 acres that included 18,000 tents, 3,600 kitchens (one for each patrol), phone centers, bathing tents, and much more. After the set up was complete, the 2010 National Jamboree was one of the fastest growing cities in the country and probably in the world – at least for the ten days it existed.

The size of the jamboree was dwarfed by the amount of activities available to enjoy. Many of the activities allowed scouts to earn merit badges. Others were just for a little fun. There were also many different exhibits open to visit including United Methodist, Lutheran, Alpha Phi Omega, and many more.

There were two arena shows to entertain scouts and guests. The first one was on Wednesday and included a guest appearance from Mike Rowe (of Dirty Jobs fame) and Miss America 2010 Caressa Cameron.

Mike Rowe made a second appearance at the arena show on Saturday. The weather was much cooler that night, and the shows rocked – literally – with a performance by Switchfoot. The night ended in a bang with an amazing fireworks display

The jamboree was an experience of a lifetime. Between the thousands of fun people you could meet and all of the activities you could do, it was amazing! I will remember it as a huge gathering of friends working, playing, and competing together. I would recommend anyone to go to the next National Boy Scout Jamboree in 2013 and join us for fun now by signing up with your local scout troop until time for the big trip.