In Which I Drive to Ohio, Talk to a Stranger, Eat a Disappointing Bagel Sandwich, and Tour Octagon Earthworks in the Sleet

The teenager's Trashion/Refashion Show was also the occasion of my college student's very first weekend visit home. It was a pretty great weekend in which she picked back up right where she left off, walking the dog and gossiping about our favorite books and then reading more books while sitting side-by-side on the couch. 

Of course, like a good college student, she had class at 9:30 am the next Monday. So even though at 9:30 pm on Sunday we were on our way to get post-show ice cream with all the other cool teenagers--

--at 4:30 on Monday morning we were pulling out of the driveway and on our way to Ohio!

Not gonna lie--I am maybe about five years too old to pull off a four-hour drive at 4:30 in the morning. The airport, now? That's only like an hour away. I can do the airport at any old time. But a genuine 4:30 am road trip, with the dark, empty highways and nothing good on the radio and turning the headlights off bright whenever a car passes even though I can't see for shit without them on bright... yeah, I'll be fine if I don't have to do that too many more times in the rest of my life.

Fortunately, I had an alert and capable college student with me, so after I'd driven maybe an hour, just long enough to convince myself that I'd done my share for a bit, we switched and I had a good, long snooze while my kid drove the sun up.

It turned out that this day was also the college's Admitted Students Day--I remember when my kid and I were attending Admitted Students Day!--so campus was quite a bit busier at 8:00 in the morning than I'd anticipated, and when I swung over to park after dropping the kid at her dorm to freshen up, there was a line to get into the visitor parking garage.

A guy was attending cars as they pulled up to the garage, leaning into each driver's window to chat and then beckoning them on. I guess my sweatpants and hoodie and bags-under-eyes look didn't fit the vibe of all the other cars with family groups and teens in tow, because instead of just directing me to the parking, the attendant looked at me and then said, "Are you faculty or staff or..."

I said, "Hi! I'm actually just here visiting my freshman!"

The guy literally replied, "Visiting a freshman. Huh! I've never heard that one before!"

We both blinked at each other.

Finally, I was all, "So... the sign says there's visitor parking here? Where I can park while I'm visiting my freshman?"

The guy was just like, "Pull forward," and then turned to the next car.

THIS, you guys. When I tell you that I have a ton of social anxiety about talking to strangers and I hate doing it, it is because of THIS! I SWEAR to you that my social interactions with strangers are baffling and strange MOST OF THE TIME. It's definitely me, too, because every time I'm with Matt and I keep my mouth shut, his social interactions go fine. But if I am there and I happen to open my mouth, suddenly the Wal-mart cashier is telling us all about how all her friends think she's weird or the guy at the gas station counter is ranting about Ft. Lauderdale... that latter incident will happen to me approximately ten hours after this parking garage interaction, when all I want in the world is to buy my Diet Dr. Pepper, barbecue Pringles, and Flipz. 

Even though my kid had a full day of classes, I met her in the Student Union first for a breakfast that she'd been telling me all semester was gross--turned out, it WAS gross!--and then off she went, popping back in to check on me off and on all morning while I got some work done. After another sandwich, this one only slightly less disappointing, we finally said goodbye, so that I could spend the afternoon on my own Ohio adventure before trekking back home. 

Because as excellent luck would have it, Octagon Earthworks, which is currently leased by a golf course of all things and is only open to the public four days a year, was having one of its rare open houses THAT AFTERNOON!

Y'all KNOW how I feel about the ancient mound builders of North America. I am OBVIOUSLY not passing up a chance to see the Octagon Earthworks!

First, though, I revisited the Great Circle Earthworks for a guided tour and a look through the museum that was closed the last time I visited.

This is the view into the Great Circle, looking towards Eagle Mound.

This moat did once hold water, likely as an architectural feature to incorporate the reflections of the sky. Early archaeologists even observed standing water. When the site was used as Ohio fairgrounds, though, animals were kept in the depressions, and the area deteriorated enough that it no longer holds water. 

It was cold and raining the last time I visited the Great Circle. It was cold and raining again on this day!

Looking towards the three-lobed Eagle Mound, likely once the site of ceremonial buildings that were purposefully burned and buried over.

The guided tour was well worth holding my camera under my coat out of the freezing rain and furiously berating myself for thinking that my hoodie could effectively substitute for a wooly cap, though. We hardy few learned that the land that the Newark Earthworks was constructed on had been previously maintained as a prairie, even though this area of Ohio was traditionally woodlands. The prairie had been purposefully maintained via regular burnings, probably at least partially for hunting, and would certainly have made a temptingly perfect spot for the earthworks construction that began around 160 BCE. 

This site is currently the largest complex of earthworks known anywhere in the world. It was also likely a tourist or pilgrimage destination for much of North America, as objects were found at the site that can be traced to places as far-flung as Yellowstone and Arizona. Post-colonial farming, construction, and urban development destroyed most of the earthworks, but there are some enticing early archaeological records that hint at earthen walls running for several miles and crossing the river, pointing directly at the ancient Chillicothe Earthworks. 

The various parts of the Newark Earthworks were also created using the same base unit, shared by both the square and circle earthworks. Even Octagon Earthworks is that same square with the sides opened up. There are a lot of interesting equivalencies and patterns, and it's clear that there was some sort of overarching organization. 

Earthen walls also form lanes to connect different earthworks. In the photo below, you can see the opening in the Great Circle, with the visitor center in the background. Past that opening, on either side of the visitor center, are earthen walls that form a wide lane that once led to another circular earthwork that contained burial mounds. I believe that these were excavated, but as with Spiro Mounds, study can't really be done on the remains because it's hard to trace a direct lineage to a current Indian nation that can evaluate the ethics and give permission. 

Below is a map of the reconstructed site. We're in that circle up top, and you can see Octagon Earthworks below it and to the right. 

This map comes from an 1840s archaeological study of the site that was published by Smithsonian. That study is in the public domain now, so you can buy cheap reprints!

Here's a fun tidbit from the museum--Stonehenge was completed about 1,500 years before the Newark Earthworks!

I had fully intended to spend the entire afternoon wandering around the Great Circle and Octagon Earthworks, but being wet to the skin and mildly hypothermic, I instead chose to sit in the car after my Great Circle visit, blast the heat, and read on my phone until it was time for my guided tour of the Octagon Earthworks:

And then it started sleeting! YAY!

The Octagon Earthworks, though, is the site that I WAS THERE TO SEE, and I was not leaving. Thanks to the stupid golf course the site is only open to the public four days a year, and it was already a lightning strike miracle that I happened to be there on one of those days.

To be honest, though, I sort of figured the tour would be cancelled and I'd just wait around and then go home, but at 3:00 on the dot everyone's car doors opened and we all bundled our way over to meet our tour guide and go on our adventure.

The golf course idea would be kind of cool if it wasn't completely sacrilegious, because apparently they DO use the earthen mounds as obstacles, like large-scale Putt-Putt. Below, for instance, is a smaller earthen circle, possibly intended for visitors to stop and purify themselves before entering the Octagon Earthworks. The golf course uses it for target practice.

At every corner of the Octagon is an opening, but then in front of every opening, inside the Octagon, is a shorter earthen wall that hides that entrance from sight:

Through photos, you can share with me the scattered showers and bouts of sleet that came and went during our hour-long tour.

So when you stand inside the Octagon and look towards the edges, you're completely visually enclosed by earthen walls. 

It's also HUGE inside:

As with the Great Circle, these trees aren't original to the site and instead grew up afterwards. Part of the Octagon Earthworks was also used as a potato field once upon a time, so needed some reconstruction.

In the 1960s, speculation really ramped up about Stonehenge being an astronomical observatory, and it became trendy to make the same speculations about all kinds of early monuments. The rebuttal to this is that you can draw all the imaginary lines between rocks that you want to, and obviously some of those lines are going to happen to line up with interesting things. 

So two professors from Earlham (my kid was accepted to this college but we didn't really consider it because WOW, the tuition!) decided to debunk the whole "astronomical observatory" theory by bringing a group to Octagon Earthworks. The plan was to draw all the imaginary lines they could think to draw, then match up whatever could be matched up to solar phenomena, then run the math to show that the whole thing was a coincidence. 

Except that they couldn't match ANYTHING to a solar phenomenon, which is both statistically unlikely AND kinda points to the Stonehenge layout being a little more than coincidence, ahem. But when they switched to examining LUNAR phenomena, they started getting hits!

Once every 18.6 years, the Moon rises as far north on our horizon as it will ever rise. Over the next 9.3 years, the Moonrise shifts ever southward, until it rises at the southernmost point on our horizon that it will ever rise. Then it starts moving back northward for the next 9.3 years until it's back to that northernmost point. Octagon Earthworks marks both those points.

Probably once a day, I stop and think about that fact. If you were an ancient mathematician and astronomer, how the fuck would you KNOW THAT?!? You'd have to have direct observational records for the past hundred years to pick out that pattern. You'd have to map it in the sky, or physically mark it on the earth, to record it. Did they mark it, then build it and hope they were right, or did they wait until the timing was perfect, mark the rise that they observed, then build the walls afterwards?

We're lucky ducks, because the next major lunar standstill, this northernmost Moonrise, is in 2024/2025! 

Here's one of the walls that marks that rise:

Another interesting spot is this seeming gate at the opposite end of the Octagon, marked with curved walls:

It was originally thought that it might have once been an arch, but when it was excavated--nope! Just a cool-looking gate that was then built over!

It was still in the upper 30s and spitting down sleet and freezing rain at the end of our tour, but it was fine because a few hours earlier I'd re-rigged the loose windshield wiper back into place in a way that I was reasonably sure wouldn't come flying off again, at least if I didn't turn the wipers too high. 

So back in the car I got, shivering and wet to the skin, and blasted the heat and mapped myself back home. I waved as I passed my kid's exit, then managed to put myself in every single rush hour in every large city that I drove through for the entire trip home.

I'll see you on top of the Octagon Earthwork for lunistice!

Every Council's Own Girl Scout Fun Patch Program That Your Girl Scouts Can Earn from Anywhere: Outdoors

Welcome back to my very weird series in which I am listing, week by week, topic by topic, every single Council's Own Girl Scout fun patch program that your Girl Scouts can earn from everywhere!

My Girl Scout troop enjoys earning Council's Own fun patches, as well as official badges and retired badges. I usually look for a fun patch that they can earn in addition to a badge whenever we're planning a big project or a trip, etc. This list is essentially just my own research written down for easy reference.

This week's category: the Outdoors! This fun patch program includes fun patches that teach specific outdoor skills, as well as ones that encourage Girl Scouts to get outside in various types of weather. All the camping fun patches live in this category. I especially love all of the fun patches here that consist of a checklist of activities that Girl Scouts can do independently--I think this is a great way to encourage kids to incorporate a wide variety of outdoor activities into their daily lives outside of Girl Scouting.

For this list, I only included fun patch programs that fit the following criteria:

1. Girl Scouts can earn this fun patch wherever they are. I did not include any fun patch programs that have site-specific criteria, unless I felt that those criteria would be easy to substitute and still maintain the point of the fun patch program. I also didn't include fun patch programs that require time-specific criteria that have already passed, such as patches programs designed for the 2020 COVID lockdowns. I noted in the description of each patch when substitutions would be required.
2. Girl Scouts can obtain the council's requirements to earn this fun patch. I found several instances in which the council still sells a specific fun patch, but has deleted all the requirements from its website. If I couldn't find an easy link to those requirements from another site, I did not include the patch.
3. Girl Scouts can obtain the physical fun patch. There were also several instances in which councils still host the requirements for a fun patch program, but no longer sell the patch (or, as in the case of a few GSAK patches, they have fewer than ten remaining). If it is unlikely for a Girl Scout to be able to obtain the fun patch, I did not include it. The link to purchase each fun patch is in the caption for its graphic.

OUTDOORS

Adventure Club GSRV

Adventure Club, Girl Scouts River Valleys. Participate in three adventures. This fun patch program pairs well with any of the Outdoor badges. It's a good one for a troop to earn over the course of a Girl scout year.

Awesome Autumn Adventure GSGI

Awesome Autumn Adventure, Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa. Have fun outdoor adventures during autumn. This fun patch program pairs well with any of the Outdoor badges.

Backyard Challenge GSOFSI

Backyard Challenge, Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois. Encourages Girl Scouts to have adventures in their backyard or neighborhood. This fun patch program would be a good one for Girl Scouts to earn independently, especially if the troop doesn't meet over the summer break.

Bike Safety GSWPA

Bike Safety, Girl Scouts of Western Pennsylvania. Be a safe bicyclist by completing this fun patch program. This fun patch pairs well with the Junior Independence badge.

Bits of Joy GSEOK

Bits of Joy, Girl Scouts of Easter Oklahoma. Camp and complete activities to earn this fun patch. This is a super simple and easy to earn camping fun patch that would be especially great for a younger Girl Scout troop to earn during a troop family camp or Service Unit Camporee.

Cave Explorer GSEIWI

Cave Explorer, Girl Scouts of Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois. Learn about caves, their ecosystems, and how to conserve them while planning a real caving adventure. 

Duck GSSWTX

Duck, Girl Scouts of Southwest Texas. Camp or spend the day outdoors in the rain.

Geocaching GSMW

Geocaching, Girl Scouts of Montana and Wyoming. Earn this fun patch by geocaching! This fun patch would pair well with older or younger Girl Scouts in a troop with Juniors earning their Geocacher badge. 

Get Outdoors GSBDC

Get Outdoors, Girl Scouts of Black Diamond Council. Complete the required number of outdoor activities during the designated time period to earn this fun patch. This is a great fun patch program to have Girl Scouts earn independently, perhaps with regular check-ins during troop meetings.

Get Outdoors GSCNWI

Get Outdoors, Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana. Complete seasonal activities from this multi-patch program to experience a year's worth of fun outdoor activities. This fun patch program pairs well with any of the Outdoor badges. This would be a good patch program to use throughout the Girl Scout year to incorporate outdoor programming into troop meetings, as well as to encourage Girl Scouts to do outdoor activities independently.

Get Outdoors GSMIDTN

Get Outdoors, Girl Scouts of Middle Tennessee. Earn flames by increasing your skillset in a variety of outdoor skills.

The Great Outdoors Summer and Winter Challenge GSME

The Great Outdoors Summer and Winter Challenge, Girl Scouts of Maine. Complete outdoor activities in summer and winter to earn the separate fun patches. These fun patches can be combined with any of the Outdoor badges, or earned during a camping trip.

Hammock Camping GSH

Hammock Camping, Girl Scouts of Hawaii. Teaches kids the delightful skill of hammock camping.

Introduction to Orienteering GSC

Introduction to Orienteering, Girl Scouts of Citrus. Learn how to Orienteer using this fun patch program. This fun patch program pairs well with any of the older Girl Scout Camping badges.

Knife Safety Girl Scouts of Western Pennsylvania

Knife Safety, Girl Scouts of Western Pennsylvania. Make sure you can use a knife skillfully and safely by completing this fun patch program. This fun patch pairs well with any of the Outdoor badges, or any camping trips. My troop learned knife safety as part of our Outdoor Art badge.

Letterboxing GSOFCT

Letterboxing, Girl Scouts of Connecticut. Learn how to letterbox! This all-levels fun patch program is perfect for everyone else in a multi-level troop to earn when the Brownies are earning the Letterboxer badge.

Maple Sugaring GSGWM

Maple Sugaring, Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains. Explore the history of maple sugaring and visit a maple sugaring operation. You can substitute the place-based activities in the fun patch requirements with your own local maple sugar operations.

Moon Mayhem GSCB

Moon Mayhem, Girl Scouts of Chesapeake Bay. Prepare for and take a full moon hike. This pairs well with many of the Outdoor badges, or to earn during an overnight camping trip.

Night Hike GSOFSI

Night Hike, Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois. Try fun hiking activities that you can only do at night. This fun patch program pairs well with the Cadette Night Owl badge and any of the Camping badges. 

Night Owl GSCM

Night Owl, Girl Scouts of Central Maryland. Become comfortable with the nighttime aspect of overnight camping through fun games and activities. This fun patch program pairs well with any of the Camping badges, and would work especially well earned during a young troop's first overnight camping trip.

One Match GSOFSI

One Match, Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois. Join the One Match Club by mastering this specific skill! This fun patch program pairs well with any of the Camping badges. 

Operation Snowflake GSGWM

Operation Snowflake, Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains. Try winter activities while learning how to stay safe in the cold. This fun patch program works well with the Snow or Climbing badges.

Outdoor Patch Program GSKSMO

Outdoor Patch Program, Girl Scouts of Northeast Kansas and Northwest Missouri. Earn bars as you master the specific skills of SWAPS, Leave No Trace, First Aid and Packing, Navigation, Knots and Knives, and Fire and Cooking. 

Outdoor Experience GSEWNI

Outdoor Experience, Girl Scouts of Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho. Build up the skills needed for primitive camping. 

Outdoor Progression, GSSS

Outdoor Progression, Girl Scouts of Silver Sage. Level up a range of outdoor skills by earning this multi-patch set. This multi-patch program pairs well with the Outdoor badges. It's a good patch program to worth through over the course of a year or even a Girl Scout level.

Outdoors GSAK

Outdoors, Girl Scouts of Alaska. Try new outdoor activities. This fun patch program pairs well with any of the Outdoor or Camping badges. It would be a good patch to earn over the course of a Girl Scout year to encourage regular outdoor experiences.

Outdoor Skills GSME

Outdoor Skills, Girl Scouts of Maine. Earn this by completing outdoor activities at different levels. This is a great patch program for troops who've worn out all the Outdoor badges at their levels but still want to earn something during a camping trip, AND for troops for whom the Outdoor badges at their levels are too challenging. I always have a basic camping badge on hand for my newbie campers to earn!

Penguin GSSWTX

Penguin, Girl Scouts of Southwest Texas. Camp or spend the day outdoors in below-freezing temperature.

Sizzler GSSWTX

Sizzler, Girl Scouts of Southwest Texas. Camp or spend the day outdoors with a temperature greater than 100 degrees.

Skills GSMIDTN

Skills, Girl Scouts of Middle Tennessee. Learn knife etiquette, fire building, trail signs, compass uste, and knot tying. This fun patch program would be a good choice during a weekend camping trip or camporee.

S'more Fun GSAK

S'more Fun, Girl Scouts of Alaska. Try outdoor cooking activities while planning your Girl Scout year. This is technically a "plan your Girl Scout year in light of a global pandemic" badge, but you can easily skip the activities like "learn how to Zoom" and focus on the outdoor cooking and girl-led planning.

Snow Much Fun GSGI

Snow Much Fun, Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa. Complete activities that prepare you to be outdoors in winter. This fun patch program pairs well with the Snow or Climbing badges.

Sunsational Summer GSGWM

Sunsational Summer, Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains. Complete a variety of summer activities independently and with other Girl Scouts.

Trail Hiker GSMWLP

Trail Hiker, Girl Scouts of Minnesota and Wisconsin Lakes and Pines. Hike five trails while learning more about trail hiking and hiking etiquette. 

Troop Camping GSSWTX

Troop Camping, Girl Scouts of Southwest Texas. Camp with your Girl Scout troop twice in a program year. This fun patch pairs well with any of the Camping badges.

Winter Challenge GSMISTS

Winter Challenge, Girl Scouts of Michigan Shore to Shore. Complete winter activities from a checklist. This fun patch program is a good one for Girl Scouts to earn independently, perhaps over the winter school break.

Winter Fun GSSS

Winter Fun, Girl Scouts of Silver Sage. Complete activities from a checklist to experience fun winter activities. This fun patch program pairs well with the Snow or Climbing badge. It's a good fun patch for Girl Scouts to earn independently over the school winter break.

Winter Survival GSWPA

Winter Survival, Girl Scouts of Western Pennsylvania. Learn about winter safety and create a winter survival kit. This fun patch would pair well with any of the Snow or Climbing badges or a winter camping trip.

Here's a look at my complete fun patch series:

• Arts and Crafts
• Culture, Diversity, and Equity
• Games and Sports
• Geography/History
• Outdoors
• Practical Life Skills
• Reading and Writing
• Science
• Service Learning
• Social-Emotional Skills
• Technology, Engineering, and Math

Follow my Craft Knife Facebook page for more Girl Scout resources as I exhaustively compile them!

Trashion/Refashion Show 2023: Quick Change

 

It was about 4:00 pm on the Sunday of this year's Trashion/Refashion Show. The teenager and I were happily ensconced in our spot on the landing of the upper lobby's balcony, the one that replaced our previous traditional spot in the back of the audience in the balcony and our previous previous traditional spot on the floor in front of the accessible seats halfway back on stage right. We were eating our traditional snacks of fruit gummies and sparkling water in cans, and had bonus snacks of full-sized Lara Bars(!!!) from the complimentary snack table backstage. We were sitting in companionable silence, each on our phones (I have found a blog that does a snarky episode-by-episode recap of Gilmore Girls and I will do nothing else productive in my life until I have read the entire run of recaps, including those for A Year in the Life!), listening to a couple arguing in the lobby below. Whenever one of them said something especially shocking, we'd make expressive eyes at each other. We were anticipating the 5:00 backstage pizza delivery, the 6:30 opening of the house, and, of course, the 7:00 top of the show.

A thought suddenly occurred to me, so I looked up from my phone and told the teenager, "You know, I think this is one of my favorite days of the year to spend with you."

She said, "Right? We should do this more often."

Alas that our town's Trashion/Refashion Show happens only once a year! I eagerly anticipate it every spring, and it IS one of my favorite days, and favorite nights, of the year. 

As much as I love watching this kid grow up, watching her grow away from needing her mom's help is a little bit of lonesome--once upon a time, I sewed the kid's entire garment based on a single markered drawing, helped her with her hair and makeup, taught her a runway walk, helped her practice it, chaperoned her every second backstage, and escorted her through the final Model/Designer walk. The first year she sewed her own garment all by herself, I essentially reattached the entire thing together using safety pins and duct tape between the dress rehearsal and showtime. Even last year, I spent the whole week leading up to the show figuring out how on earth to create those dream moth wings of hers, finally finishing them so the teenager could paint them the day before. 

This year... well, let's see. I held her several extra emotional support hair ties for her, and her ipod. I figured out how to keep the tops of her sleeves secure around her upper arms after they kept slipping down. And I took the photos and videos that she requested. 

My help was so unnecessary to my own designer/model that I volunteered to do emergency mending for anyone in the show who needed it--and THEN I had plenty to do!

As always, this kid's concept and execution amaze me. Her idea for this year was a garment consisting of skirt, bodice, sleeves, veil, and flowy overskirt, all separate pieces:

The flowy, modest overskirt is easy to detach--

--resulting in a look appropriate for a night out dancing:

It turned out beautifully, and she wore it just as beautifully on the runway!

Afterwards, the teenager was thrilled that some of her friends had come to see her--

--and I managed to sneak in a little love, too!

And just in case you'd deluded yourself into thinking that you'd be able to see her face if only she would ditch that veil...

Always and forever our favorite mask! I need to pick up pack of 100 before we leave for England.

Next year will be the last year that this kid designs and models as a grade school kid. If she's accepted next year, it will be her fourteenth time accepted into the show and her thirteenth walk down the runway (fucking Covid). I don't know if it will be her last time participating, but it WILL be her last time as the child phenom who's been designing and modeling her own original garments since the age of four--there are a LOT of college students in the show every year!

Contemplating all that, I had another thought, so this morning I asked the teenager, "Hey, can I design you a garment next year?"

TEENAGER: "Hmm, I've never modeled two garments in one show before."

ME: "Right? Could be fun!"

TEENAGER: "Sure, why not?"

Even though the teenager will also do her own entry, I kind of love the idea, for me, of finishing out the Trashion/Refashion Show where I started it--designing and sewing a garment, with lots of love, a little bit of skill, and maybe a couple of secret staples, for this awesome kid.