2017 BSA National Jamboree - Day 8 - July 24, 2017

The main focus of the day is the President's visit this evening. We've been told that we will need to begin our hike to the stadium at 3:00, and that it will be a lengthy process getting through the Secret Service security screening.

After breakfast, the boys left camp to accomplish whatever they could given the “abbreviated” schedule they would be facing. Many of the activitiy centers closed early in prepartation for the Presidential visit. On the bright side, everyone would be receiving a “boxed” meal upon entering the stadium so at least we did not have to worry about shopping for food and cooking and cleaning for dinner!

While we were waiting in our camp site to leave, we received a phone call from one of our scouts. Unfortunately, a group of them had been “trapped” on the other side of the reservation after the Secret Service closed off some areas for security reasons. These boys would not have to go around “the long way” to get back to our camp to meet up with us. Given the distance of the hike they faced, and the current time, we weren't sure if they'd make it back in time, but fortunately, they did.

Once we had everyone gathered up, we set off on the walk to the stadium at 3:00. We finally got through the security screening a little before 5:00, found a section to sit in and awaiting the President's arrival.

While we were waiting, we watched as Air Force One made three passes over the Summit Bechtel Reserve. We weren't sure how the President would be arriving, though we all assumed it would involve Marine One. We never saw or heard any large helicopters, and suddenly, the President's motorcade appeared on the road headed towards the stadium a little after 6:00.

After the President's speech, the show continued, but most of our Scouts decided they wanted to head back to our camp, so that's what we did.

The weather forecast for the next two days is calling for perfect weather, so we spent the night encouraging the boys to make sure to go out and participate in the activity centers while they still had the chance!