This past summer I got the chance to go to Philmont Scout Camp in Northern New Mexico. After two days driving driving driving, we finally got there, strapped on our packs, and headed out for the trail. Only now, some three or four months later, I am actually posting the pictures because Kayla uploaded them for me and is only making me type.
Before I go into each picture, I first wanted to mention how hard Philmont was, not because of the hiking- that part was fun- but it was hard to be away from Kayla and David with not even cell phone reception to keep in touch FOR TWO WEEKS!
This picture was actually taken at the camp we stayed at the night before we finished our 10-day trek. Off to the left is a building, a small Cantina, where they offered Root Beer for about 75 cents. Believe me, after spending 9 or 10 days drinking only water and gatorade, Root Beer of any brand tastes great.
This is an actual toilet that I had to use... I won't go into all the details, but as you can see, there are actually two seats available. This particular type of latrine is called a pilot to bombardier. The other available type of toilet at Philmont is the pilot to co-pilot, a side by side version of this fixture. Despite the two holes, I never had to use it with someone else... thank heaven.
This is a picture of plane wreakage of a military accident that occured years ago. You can hike to the peak of the mountain where the plane crashed and see the wings (which I'm sitting by in the picture), propellers, wheels, etc.
The only reason I took this picture is because I thought it was hard to tell which one's the human and which one's the mule. Some of the staff camps have staff who take on historical roles about people who stayed at Philmont before it was a scout ranch.
This is me milking a goat on Father's Day. I guess it made me happy.
This is a picture of my shadow while I'm on a horse. The reason I took this picture was mainly because my horse had a funny habit of sticking its tounge out. He kept his tounge out the whole ride- about 45 minutes! It was very gross when I touched it. He was a good horse- very obedient, and it always came when I called its name.
This is a picture of me (finally showered up and clean!) at the Villa Philmonte, the former home of the man who donated the land of Philmont.
I was happy I could go to Philmont. What really would have made the scout experience better would have been to have David there with me. Maybe we'll have to go again in a few more years!