Troop Tuesday: Summer Trip

Here are some highlights from Troop 211's Summer Trip

We did paddle boarding, wake boarding, where all 11 girls and 3 adults graduated to "the big lake" next time we go! 

We saw the Ft Worth Zoo, Stockyards, Water Gardens, and Nature Center. 

The troop toured the Dr Pepper Museum, learned to line dance, and hit Burger's Lake, which is a phenomenal lake-turned-water park. 

10 of our girls even jumped off the 10-meter high dive--which I must say looks much higher from the top--but I did it too!  The girls had a great time, and since they'll all be in school together this fall for the first time, we saw some friendships getting stronger between girls who haven't been very close in the past. 

These girls have big plans for next year as Cadettes and are fired up for the coming GS year! -Amy Kastner

 Did your troop do something great this summer? Send your Troop Tuesday pics to photos@gsctx.org with an explanation of what's happening! 

Troop 891 Travels to St. Louis!

Troop 891 recently hit the road to St. Louis, MO to take in the sights and sounds as well as to educate themselves on the world around them. The girls recently took an interest in wind and weather while working on the It’s Your Planet – Love it! Breathe Journey and decided to visit Joplin, MO along the way to witness the devastation the tornados left on the community. Moved by what they saw, the girls have decided to make a video on tornado awareness for their Take Action project. On the way back home, they also visited a Texas rest stop equipped with a storm shelter and educational displays on Texas tornados.

During the trip, the troop visited a variety of places. They started with the Louis and Clark History Museum and took a segway tour along the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers to view the spot Lois and Clark began their famous expedition. The girls also encountered some scary weather but it cleared up in time for them to enjoy the Gateway Arch and take a few photos as well.

In their last few days in St. Louis, the Girl Scouts headed over to the Third Degree Glass Factory to watch demonstrations of glass blowing and even took a class on working with hot glass! After the lesson on glass art and a safety lesson too, everyone had a chance to work with molten glass in and out of the furnace. They spent their last day at the City Museum. The museum was made entirely of recycled materials and had a tunnel system the girls could climb in and around. They finished off their day by making custom troop shoelaces and rode a Ferris wheel on the roof top!

Sounds like a fun and educational trip, girls! We can’t wait to view your video.

Girl Scouts Take on Tough Terrain



This June, I traveled with ten other Girl Scouts and four wonderful adult volunteers to Virginia and North Carolina for an amazing outdoor adventure! We drove for two long days, finally reaching Grayson Highlands in Virginia, where we began backpacking on the Appalachian Trail. We hiked more than 35 miles over the course of four days, across difficult but beautiful terrain. Each day, we were witness to the amazing natural beauty of the Appalachian Trail – one day we hiked alongside fields of wild ponies! I can’t count the times we hauled our packs to the top of a treacherous mountain peak to be greeted by an exquisite view of the miles surrounding us, including the long trek we’d just completed! These views justified all of the hard, sometimes painful, hiking we did over those four days.

We finished our backpacking in Damascus, Virginia and headed into North Carolina for a couple of days of canoeing in the New River. We packed all of our camping gear into dry bags and hit the river, canoeing more than ten miles a day, and camping at the end of each day. The river was serene, and it was so relaxing to float lazily down the river to our next campsite… except when it was raining! The first day we were canoeing, we paddled into a huge thunderstorm.

Every day after that, it rained a little bit but we were lucky to have a few hours of beautiful sunshine to go rock climbing on the famous Looking Glass rock wall in North Carolina. When we were driven off the wall by a crazy hail storm, all of our gear was soaked, but thankfully our sister Girl Scouts in Ashville, North Carolina invited us to stay in their Girl Scout house for two days while we packed up – and dried out! – our gear.

The two week adventure definitely had its difficulties, but with a great group of girls and helpful adults, everything was worthwhile. The girls ranged in age from 12 to 18. I was one of the few older girls, but this gave me an opportunity to be a leader and role model when the younger girls were having difficulties on the trail. That’s not to say it was an easy trip for me, though! Backpacking for several days is physically taxing, and it took determination to keep going every day. I am so grateful to have had a motivating team alongside me!

Again, Girl Scouts has provided me an amazing opportunity to experience something new, with a group of smart, fun girls and volunteers! I encourage all of my readers to get involved in trips like this one, either as a participant or an adult volunteer. It was truly an amazing trip I’ll never forget!

For comments or questions regarding travel opportunities, please visit Girl Scouts of Central Texas Travel Pathway.




- Annie L.