A Chronicleof Our Adventures By Dave Pearl
Thursday, June 25, 1998
Departure from San Jose, Ca.
As planned, all participants met on the sidewalk outside Terminal A at the San Jose Airport at about 5:30 a.m. We got our bags checked and headed to our gate within about 15 minutes, with a few parents tagging along. We boarded the aircraft at about 6:10 a.m. and took off on time twenty minutes later.
The plane made an enroute stop at Las Vegas. Everyone got off to stretch and watch the slot machines or get a candy bar. The three adults played a few slots and, surprisingly, came out ahead-significantly so in Jim Fisher's case. We reboarded after 10 to 15 minutes for the 90 minute flight to Colorado Springs. This went very smoothly.
Upon arrival at the gate in Colorado Springs, we were met by Jerry Schwartz and Christine Emrick of Adventure Trails, Inc., the company which we hired to handle our logistics needs between Colorado Springs and Philmont. Jerry is a scoutmaster and has taken his scouts to Philmont 12 times. Consequently, he is very familiar with what needs to be done and, more importantly, how to do things in a fashion that scouts will enjoy.
The Adventure Trials crew issued everyone a yellow, quart-size water bottle, which we began using immediately. These helped everyone to recognize the importance of drinking enough water during our Cavalcade--at least two gallons per dayl--or eight water bottles.
We retrieved our bags and were guided to a back portion of the airport where the Adventure Trials van and trailer awaited. At this point, Jerry and Christine bid us farewell and headed off to coordinate arrangements for another arrival. Kieley Jones and Chris took over as tour leaders. We loaded our bags into a covered trailer and then climbed aboard the 15-seater van which would be our primary source of transportation for the next 22 hours or so.
First stop after the airport was -at McKay's for a buffet, allyou-can-eat lunch. This was about a 10-minute ride. Kieley pointed out Pike's Peak, which was 20 miles or so west of the airport, and he outlined our agenda and itinerary for the rest of the day as well as for Friday morning. Kieley is an interesting guy. A former school teacher, he will enroll in ' the New York City Police Academy this September. Ile's worked with Adventure Trails off and on for about six years. He's also an Asst. Scoutmaster with Jerry's Boy Scout Troop and has been to Philmont a number of times. No Cavalcades, however.
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The lunch at McKay's was quite adequate and a good bargain-$4.40. The boys particularly enjoyed the dessert selections. Kieley then drove us to the LeBaron Hotel, where we checked into our rooms. By prior arrangement, four people were assigned to each of three rooms. David Fisher joined the three adults for the evening; the remaining eight boys split the other two rooms.
Checking in required only a few minutes and we soon loaded back into the van for a tour of the U.S. Air Force Academy. We viewed a 20 minute film at the Visitor's Center, toured the grounds and the chapel. The adults were very impressed; the boys less so. We learned that Academy cadets have the option of working as Philmont Rangers during at least one of their summers. We also learned that all cadets have the opportunity to become glider pilots. We took alot of pictures.
We returned to the hotel for about an hour to relax before conanencing our evening activities. These included a visit to the Garden of the Gods and dinner and entertainment at the Flying W Ranch. The Garden of the Gods is an area of spectacular rock formations. We explored and photographed these for about 45 minutes before heading off to dinner.
The Flying W Ranch is an institution in Colorado Springs. At one time one of the largest cattle ranches in the state, the Flying W is now primarily a museum and restaurant which caters to the tourist trade in the summer. We arrived a little after 6:30 p.m. and toured the shops selling western-style jewelry, food items and souvenirs. We also sampled some biscuits prepared in a dutch oven-unquestionably, the best I've ever tasted.
At 7:00 p.m., we made our way to our assigned table--with about 1200 other people doing the same thing. The eating area was outside and the tables were of the picnic variety, each of which capable of seating 18-20 people. While we were waiting, the scouts at last resolved who would act as their crew leader for the Cavalcade. Andrew Roger volunteered to handle this task and the scouts approved his selection before dinner was served.
When just about everyone was seated, a gentleman wearing a large black cowboy hat walked up to the stage in the front corner of the eating area and stood before the microphone. This man (I believe his name was Vern) turned out to be a gifted raconteur and comedian. He kept the crowd laughing while he explained the rules for getting to the food--and how to keep from getting burned by hot coffee or run over by hungry patrons. He also entertained us with some of the history of the ranch and its owners.
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When the food was ready, Vern directed various tables to dif f erent areas of the serving line, which moved very quickly. When it was our turn, we followed a circuitous route to a stack of metal trays which were quickly filled with servings of beef, red beans, applesauce, biscuits and sheet cake. For a beverage, we had a choice of iced tea, lemonade and hot coffee. We were in line no more than 10 minutes.
The food was quite good--especially the biscuits and beans, and many of us went back for seconds and thirds. We all ate our fill and then some. When everyone was finished eating, Vern came back on stage and gave instructions as to how the tables should be cleared, which was accomplished in about 5 minutes. An hour or so of western musical entertainment followed immediately thereafter.
Few if any of the boys had ever listened to genuine western or cowboy music before and the four musicians who entertained us at the Flying W were top notch in every respect. They had great voices and played the guitar, bass, fiddle and drums as well as any band II ve ever seen. They sang alot of songs I remembered my Dad singing when I was a boy--like "Don't Fence Me In", and show cased each member of the band for a particular song. I especially liked their renditions of "Beat the Devil", which I remembered the Marshall Tucker Band doing some years back and the "Orange Blossom Special"-always one of my favorite.
The show ended around 9:45 p.m. and we boarded the van and were back at the hotel before 10:30. Andrew was instructed to get everyone up by 5:30 a.m. to be ready to leave for Philmont by 7:00.
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