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Wizard Safari 2003 - A Memorable Wild West Round-Up

• Virtual Scrapbook

You could feel the excitement in the air as soon as you arrived at Wizard Ranch the weekend of October 10-12, 2003 for the latest version of The Great Wizard Safari.  Co-chairmen Seth Noll and John Kotchish and an outstanding team of hundreds of volunteers had been busy for many months creating their dream of an outstanding event for the council's Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts and Venturers that would offer fun, excitement and adventure, while at the same time would teach young people  about the rich history of America's Western frontier.

Based on the spirited yells of "yee haw" shouted by the more than 1,500 campers who attended the Safari, all of those hopes and dreams for the program were indeed realized.

After setting up camp jamboree-style in one of four camping areas named after historic cities in the West, Scouts quickly began exploring the camp and soon found the town of Deadwood that had been created.  Deadwood featured a general store, a sarsaparilla bar, a hotel that housed a concession stand, the sheriff's office and train station.  Throughout the camp, program areas for the following day were being prepared for action.  Back in the camping areas, Scouts and their leaders were putting the finishing touches on campsite gateways that brought to life features of the Old West including saloons, mines, covered wagons and more.

The action began to pick up pace at Friday night's campfire program that recounted the life story of Mahlon Haines, who donated the Wizard Ranch to the York-Adams Area Council in 1960 and began the Safari tradition back in 1941.

On Saturday morning, the real action got underway as Scouts of all ages pulled their covered wagons filled with needed materials and equipment throughout the camp between a wide variety of activity stations.  Everywhere you looked, folks were dressed in Western garb to complete the feel of the event.

Scouts lucky enough to be in Deadwood at high noon were fortunate to witness the robbery of the general store by the local gang of bandits.   A short while later, those bandits returned to stage a jail break to retrieve their comrades that had been apprehended by the sheriff of Deadwood.

When the activity stations finally closed for the day at 3 PM, a Native American Pow Wow took center stage and entertained and educated the Scouts with a memorable performance.  Then it was time for the traditional Pass In Review where the entire camp was assembled for review after arriving as a wagon train.

That evening, the closing campfire retold the story of the settling of the American West, and ended with a thundering display of fireworks that drew many "oohs" and "aahs" from the Scouts that covered every square foot of the campfire amphitheatre.

Scouts surely slept well that night in their campsites after a day jammed full of action and adventure in the best of Scouting's finest traditions.

On Sunday morning after religious services, it was time to bring the Safari to a close.  Co-chairman John Kotchish and Seth Noll, along with Council Vice President of Program Mark Robertson presented recognition items to the huge team of volunteers that had worked so long and hard to make this event a success.  Units were also recognized for the best campsite gateways and covered wagons.  Then, it was time for the 2003 Great Wizard Safari to come to end.

Alas, the next Safari is not scheduled to return until 2007, but the memories of the 2003 Safari will burn brightly in the memories of all who participated in the Wild West Round-Up.

To see our virtual scrapbook for the 2003 Great Wizard Safari, click here.