HAYDEN - Ashley Rotchford pushed and pulled on the tire iron with all her might, letting out a roar as the lug nuts refused to budge.

The petite, blonde 17-year-old was in good spirits after her failed attempt to remove the tire from the vehicle - she knows trial and error are just a part of the learning process.

"I could not turn it, that's for sure," she said with a giggle. "After he showed us how to do it with our foot, that was easier."

Ashley, of Rathdrum, and a handful of other Girl Scouts from Troop 2042 gathered in the garage of Odyssey Sports Northwest in Hayden on Saturday afternoon to learn the basics of car maintenance and safety from Odyssey owner Tom Zenahlik and service manager Michael Behne.

"The little things we're going through today, you'll carry them with you the rest of your life," Zenahlik said.

The girls were educated on a variety of types of car knowledge and tips during the automotive 101 and winter safety driving skills session, which included how to change flat tires, check fluid levels and jump-start vehicles, as well as how to safely drive on ice and snow and what procedures to follow in emergency situations.

"It's a lot better than just learning about it," said Shelby Cass, 16, of Rathdrum, who is Zenahlik's granddaughter. "I think it's helping a lot. I didn't know any of this stuff."

Shelby's mom, Tammy Cass, has been the troop's leader for 14 years. She said the girls enjoyed their automotive learning experience. At the end of the lesson, they received vehicle emergency kits full of supplies that could potentially save lives - flares, first aid kits, compasses, fire starters, food, water and more.

"They're doing great," Tammy said. "They're asking questions, they're getting in there, they're crawling down on the floor, relaying their own stories."

The juniors and seniors of Girl Scout troop 2042 are experiencing this rite of passage together. Seven of these Scouts have been in the troop since kindergarten, and have stood by one another's sides as they traded in teddy bears for boys and Barbie dolls for serious sports and scholastic endeavors.

"Not only are they great girls, they're top students, they are community volunteers, they are mentors and peer models, they are leaders in their schools," Tammy said affectionately. "They've been student body presidents, varsity cheerleaders, team captains, and they're all college-bound. That's the thing I'm most proud of, is that all seven of my girls are college-bound.

"I promised them, years ago, if they would stick with it until high school, I would stick with them, as long as they needed a leader," she said. "Sure enough, they have."

The kinship of this troop is evident in the way the young ladies laugh easily with one another, speak freely and express experiences, like sisters who have shared many a night that dwindles into morning while they whisper by a flashlight's glow.

"It's amazing. It's weird to think I've been in that long," Ashley said. "I just love all the girls that are in it. I've grown so close to all of them."

Ashley's big sister, Haley Rotchford, 18, is a senior and in her last year of Girl Scouts. Haley also discussed the tight-knit feeling of the group.

"We're just all really close," she said. "It's just been an awesome experience, and now that we've gotten older, they'll be our lifelong friends and always be there to talk to."

Selling cookies, earning badges, hiking, camping, learning about nature and training how to be good citizens is all in a day's work for a Girl Scout. But the Scouts do get to cut loose once in a while, like when they took a trip to the aquarium in Seattle or when the troop saw the musical "Wicked" in Spokane.

"We went to Olive Garden for dinner, and we dressed up in really pretty formal dresses and we got to go see the play," Haley said. "It was really fun."

Several of the girls said the more than decade-long commitment has been a positive experience, even through phases of Girl Scouts not being "cool."

"I'm proud of it," Shelby said. "I'm heavily involved in a lot of school activities, especially for college scholarships and stuff like that, and so this is just as important to me as all that stuff. Everything's kind of contributing to a better future for me."

And it's an experience that will stay with them for life.

"Everyone is unique," Haley said. "We all have our own opinion on life, and we need to accept one another with that opinion, and we don't judge people, that's just what we're taught. In Girl Scouts, you're friends with everybody."