Philmont - Sunday afternoon

The cloud moved out and the fog finally lifted. Temperatures were "lifting," too


Our tent is the one through the trees.


Going from 72' above sea level to 10,000' was fun.

You're not looking for Waldo but two hikers up on the road, one has a white jacket, the other has a red one.

The mini-bear on the tree root has a mouth full of dried leaves for her nest. This is one of my favorite pictures.

Jawbone of a deer eaten by a mountain lion. And not too long ago. A leg bone was still there, covered in fur still.

A feldspar.

Crew 622 H2 going for an outing in one of the original cars left at Baldy Town.

Remember the conservation crew from this morning? This is the new trail they're working on.

Back at Baldy Town, Craig is explaining the geology of the area and why there was gold, silver and other minerals found here.

Jim, one of the other geologists, is on the porch teaching geology.

Philmont - Sunday morning

Woke up to fog. Down the hill from my tent the conservation crew was preparing to go work on the new trail. Temperatures at night were getting down to the 30's.


The fog wasn't getting better, which made for some great pictures.


In fact, a cloud rolled in and the temperature dropped 10 if not 20 degrees. The meadow on the upside of our tent.

The trail leading to our tent.

Anna and Regina gave up their tent so we would have cots to sleep on. They slept in the commissary, on the cardboard boxes. They joked about which boxes were more comfortable to sleep on, it amazed me that they gave up the best spot in town for us.

It was rare to see James sit and take a short break, Kiernan catching up on Philmont News. The fog is still on the ground, which you can see through the window.

Philmont - Saturday afternoon

Headed to Baldy Town - once we were off the highway, the back road wasn't too bad, sort of bouncy.

Padre is driving. The chaplins do quite a bit of driving and being of service in the backcountry.

You can see not only by the road but the mountain ahead (behind the rear view mirror) that we are higher and closer to Baldy Town.

Can't tell from this picture, but this stream cut across the road. I leaned out the window and took this photo.

View from Baldy Town looking down the valley, this was shortly after we arrived.

Sunset. With a storm down the valley. The rain is lit up in pink colors.

Philmont - Saturday

After packing up, saying good-byes to new friends we headed across the street to Philmont Base Camp and checked in, bought our staff uniform shirts and headed up to Baldy Town in a four-wheel suburban. After a 35 min ride on the highway we hit the dirt road and for the next hour we climbed over 3,000 ft. in elevation on backcountry roads.


Tall Timbers District Key 3: Craig, Brett and Bill


That's Baldy Mountain ahead, below timberline and just above the pine trees in front is Baldy Town. We still have a ways to go.


Time out for a photo op. Machinery required for road maintenance.

Philmont - Friday

Surprise, surprise, didn't take any pictures. Dad did take a short video. Spent all day finishing up the leather belt for Dad. Even missed the Ice Cream Social in the afternoon for all the Silverados - spouses of those attending the Training.



Friday evening we did have a program where all the kids and spouses did skits. Our skit was a fun song.

Philmont - Thursday Night

We went into Cimmaron to eat dinner at the St. James Hotel. The first chef was in the 1860's, straight from the White House. Abraham Lincoln's personal chef came here with his family.

St. James's has been recently renovated but all the original stuff like this walk in (for me) safe and the bullet holes in the ceiling of the saloon are still there. Fortunately for the occupants in the room above the saloon, there is 24" of solid wood between them.

I Broke the Camera...not really

Dad didn't notice it right away but by Tuesday his pictures were coming out in pinks and neon greens. Except for this one picture, which I considered an improvement, all the others were unacceptable. So on Wednesday when we had a chance to go to Taos, he bought another little camera. This camera was only about 8 years old, sure don't build them like they used to...