Tambu is over! I can think again!

I know I haven't blogged in a long long time, but that is because I haven't been able to sit for a half hour and concentrate on anything. Every time I would try, little things would pop into my head related to Tambu, and what I needed to be doing to prepare the girls. I have been making many lists.
It's over now, and it was amazing.

We left on Friday, it took my car and Katie's van to get us there. Next year, we will have to take a truck, but more on that later.
We arrived at about 6:00. The competing troops had been there since 4:30, setting up their campsites. Each site had a fairy tale theme. Each of the sites had a gateway which was lashed together and decorated according to their theme. The campsites were to be set up and abandoned for judging by Saturday at 9:00. They were judged on neatness, organization, use of knots and lashings, proper food and supply storage and use of theme. Because my troop was observing, we were allowed to tour the campsites with an experienced judge. It seemed like each site was as impressive as the next.
For the fire building competition, troops were given two cedar shakes when they checked in. On Friday night, girls shaved tinder and split kindling. On Saturday morning, they took turns starting a fire using only two matches. The fastest troop to burn through two strings stretched over the fire pit won.
There was an orienteering competition, which we did not see in progress. The girls did get some instruction which proved helpful and I am delighted that my daughter shows a particular aptitude for orienteering.
The first aid competition had two parts. In the first part, troops were presented with three emergency scenarios and asked to act out the first aid they would provide. In the second part, troops were given a stack of poles and some rope and tasked to make a carrier for an injured girl. The troop had to carry their girl about 30 yards, and they were timed and judged on their lashings.
The dutch oven cooking competition was the highlight of the event. Troops are given three hours to complete a meal in the presence of a judge who is evaluating their food safety, fire safety, presentation, teamwork, campsite, appearance of food and how their foods fit into their theme. (The Three Little Pigs troop served pigs in a blanket, the Dumbo troop fried elephant ears, and the Alice in Wonderland troop served heart-shaped tarts)
Here's the kicker: Troops were allowed one canned/ boxed ingredient. Everything else had to made from scratch, with NO at-home prep. No grated cheese, no salad dressing, no Worcestershire sauce, no pre-sliced or pre-washed veggies.
My troop joined with other training troops to cook their meal and since they weren't being judged, they got to use some more convenient ingredients. They prepared lasagna, meatless lasagna, enchilada casserole, green salad, biscuits and garlic bread. They learned to use dutch ovens and box ovens (one of which caught on fire) and how to manage a camp kitchen. My daughter volunteered to be our troop's dishwasher when our trainer explained that the dishwasher is responsible for the most points in the cooking competition. I was also really proud of her friend who was trained to be our "fire girl", the girl who manages the coals and the ovens. She was a real standout in the training.
The final competition was the Surprise Dessert. Each troop was given a grocery sack which contained 7 or 8 unlabeled Ziploc bags filled with ingredients. Every troop got the same ingredients, and although they were not required to use 100% of each ingredient, they did have to use them all and the only additional item they could add was water. This year the ingredients were flour, sugar, salt, baking soda,eggs, milk, lard and whole oranges.
I let my troop try this pretty much on their own. They identified the white powders on their own. I did tell them that it looked like those ingredients would make a cake type dessert, not a pudding or jello. One of my girls correctly guessed that the intended dessert was individual cakes in orange rinds, but the other girls quickly poo-poohed that idea. They made a eggy cake similar to a Finnish dish I know called pannukkakku with an orange "glaze" that in all seriousness was not that bad.
After competitions on Saturday we had a big "campfire" which was a strange name as we were in a lodge with no fire. Many troops did skits, mine included. We sang and cheered and then the awards were presented. Troops were divided into two categories, Novice and Advanced, and each competition had first, second and third place in each category, and there was also an overall competition so there were lots of ribbons handed out. My troop even got a green participation ribbon, which as far as my troop is concerned might as well be a trophy made of crystal and gold.