Thirty scouts and 13 adult leaders from Boy Scout troop 895, chartered by Falls Church Presbyterian Church, recently went on a two-week trip to Colorado. The troop takes large trips once every four years, while also going on monthly camping trips and hikes.

BOY SCOUT Troop 895 spent a week in Colorado visiting various nature-oriented locations, including Rocky Mountain National Park and the Indian cliff dwellings at Manitou Springs. They spent a second week at a Colorado ranch earning merit badges. (Photo: Courtesy Gordon Theisz)

Thirty scouts and 13 adult leaders from Boy Scout troop 895, chartered by Falls Church Presbyterian Church, recently went on a two-week trip to Colorado. The troop takes large trips once every four years, while also going on monthly camping trips and hikes.

The first week was comprised of exploring the state, including hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park and the Garden of the Gods, traveling underground into the Mollie Kathleen gold mine, touring the Indian cliff dwellings at Manitou Springs, visiting rescued wolves at the Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Center, going to the Denver Mint and State Capitol and attending a Colorado Rockies baseball game. They spent nights at the Fort Carson army barracks in Colorado Springs, the Denver Armory and the Snow Mountain Ranch in Granby.

The second week of the trip was spent camping at Peaceful Valley Scout Ranch, where the scouts worked on obtaining merit badges in first aid, camping, horseback riding, emergency preparedness, wilderness survival, rifle and shotgun shooting, archery, environmental science, lifesaving, canoeing, space exploration, astronomy and small boat sailing.