We started our trip to Philmont early on July 31st. My wife picked up Carter, Spencer, and Ray at their house (3:20 AM), and we all drove to the Credit Union, and then on to Logan Airport.
Because I was asked to join the trip at the last moment, I took a different flight from the rest of Troop 158. They flew American through Dallas, I flew United through Chicago. Neither of us experienced delays; and we both arrive in Co. Springs around noontime, got three rental cars, and we were off.
We drove right to the Garden of the Gods, and got a bite to eat in their visitor’s lounge. It was there that Dave told me about the incredible Manny Ramirez trade, which was huge news that many of us had wondered about. The Clarks showed up (they had been on vacation in AZ and NM), and Adam joined the gang. We walked around the grounds, saw some rock climbers (requires a permit from the town), took a lot of pictures (kissing camels at the Garden of the Gods), commented about how many of the rocks looked like JG (“… not big enough!”), and then piled back into the cars to drive to our hotel, which was on exit 150 nearby. Here is a picture of Matthew and myself at the Garden of the Gods….View this photo
The hotel had a nice pool and water slide, so we washed a day of travel off of our backs, and then we went to an all-you-can-eat pizza place called Cici’s. If you ask the troop it was the highlight of the trip (we went back there after the hiking was over!).
Since we were so close to the Air Force Academy I wanted to see if it was possible to visit a cadet who is a friend of the family (Colby). So Pat Bodden and I drove up there, but since she was still in boot camp, she wouldn’t have been able to see us, so I wrote her a quick note and dropped it to her in the mail.
We all crashed in our hotel rooms, and everyone went to sleep right away (at least as far as I know!).
