If this is your first time camping with Tahoe Nation, we want to say "welcome"! We know the first couple of campouts can be a bit intimidating for dads (and daughters), especially if you don't know anyone or even if you only know 1 or 2 other families. Rest assured, that goes away and eventually you and your daughter(s) will both be counting down the days to the next campout.

Hopefully you've read the information on the home page and the what to bring page. The information there should prepare you for the types activities we do and what you should pack.

If you've found this website, hopefully it's because someone from Tahoe nation referred you to it and you already know which Tribe you're planning to join. If that isn't the case, the first thing you'll want to do is figure out which tribe is right for you. You can do this by calling the Ecke YMCA Adventure Guides at (858) 514-4411 and tell them a little bit about yourself and your daughter (i.e. age/grade and school). From there, the YMCA will find you a tribe with similar aged girls (ideally from the same school).

One of the biggest factors we've found for long term success is to join a tribe with your neighbors and daughter(s) classmates. From there your network will grow and before you know it, it won't matter who else is going because you and your daughter will have met so many people.

Activities
While each campout has planned activities, we also carve out a lot of free time since we believe free time provides a great opportunity for dads and daughters to connect with each other and their tribe. It is important to know, that unlike Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts, all activities are completely optional. You and your daughter should participate in the activities you want and feel free to skip the ones you don't. This is your campout.

Bead Trading
A consistent activity that the girls love to participate in is bead trading. Throughout the campout, girls will ask one another if they want to "bead trade". Each campout also has ~1 hour carved out Saturday afternoon for all the girls to come together and bead trade. During this official "bead trading" time, girls have an opportunity to bead trade with BC and Med Man. They can simply trade beads with them, or they can recite the "Six Aims" to earn patches for their vest. All of this is completely optional. There is more information on the what to bring page regarding bead trading.

At the end of each campout, you and your daughter will receive a patch, designed by one of the tribe chief's daughters to commemorate that campout. The patch will have the name of the event and the year, but mostly it's a drawing with the girls best representation for that campout. Most of the girls will want a vest to keep all their patches and wear during the campout. For some dads, the vest can seem a little "silly" at first. But as time goes on, most dads realize a vest (jacket, poncho, or something) is the perfect way to "store" all the patches they collect throughout the years. Each patch on a vest represents a weekend spent together, and the distinct memories of that particular campout.

There are lots of other opportunities for daughters (and dads) to earn other patches along the way. For example, you can earn a six-aims patch for reciting the six-aims to BC or Med Man. BC, Medicine Man and tribe chiefs can also give out patches whenever they see a girl (or sometimes a dad) going above and beyond to help out another family, being respectful of the environment, having an awesome attitude in the face of adversity, trying the hottest hot sauce this side of the Mississippi, cooking an awesome meal, etc. In the end there are a lot of ways to earn patches and placing them onto a vest is a great way to keep them safe for years to come.

The purpose of Tahoe Nation is to foster understanding and companionship between father and daughter. Our slogan is "Pals Forever” & “Friends Always". The rules we try to live by can be summarized by the "Six Aims".

1. To be clean in body and pure in heart.

2. To be "Pals" Forever with my dad (or daughter).

3. To love the sacred circle of my family.

4. To listen while others speak.

5. To love my neighbor as myself.

6. To seek and preserve the beauty of our Creator’s (or "the great spirit's") work in forest, field and stream.

At Nation Fire all tribes come together to watch BC, Medicine Man, Fire Starter, Sound Warrior and all of their daughters put on a show around a massive camp fire. Nation fire usually kicks off right after sunset and lasts ~45 minutes to an hour.