Philmont Scout Ranch
We drove up to Cimarron, NM to visit Casey at Philmont
Casey has just come in from an 11 day trek covering about 85 miles
Walking with Casey and some of the rest of his troop. You can see all the stuff they were carrying.
Dropping their heavy packs but before showering, David, Cary, Casey and the rest of the troop headed for lunch.
Looks like everyone grabbed at least 3 cups of ice cream :-)
After lunch we all toured the Waite Phillips home
The Boy Scouts originated in England but quickly spread to the United States and other countries.
Waite Phillips was the largest benefactor with his donation of 127,500 acres to the Boy Scouts for the creation of Philmont Scout Ranch south of Cimarron, NM, the largest Boy Scout camp in the world. The name Philmont was a combination of the Phillips family name plus the mountains of the area.
More information about the Philmont Scout Ranch is available at their web site
As you can see, the Phillips lived more than comfortably
The tour guide requested everyone to remove their shoes and carry them before entering the home to protect the carpets.
One of the scouts on the tour said he knew how to play the piano and gave us a short sample.
Packing this many scouts that had just come in from an 11 day hike into a confined area without their shoes was an aromatic experience
best not repeated :-)
Phillips had quite a collection in his gun room
Phillips also had quite an antique automobile collection
Phillips entertained Wiley Post and Will Rogers, whom my mother and father also had the good fortune to meet at an airport.
This picture taken while strolling around the camp shows some of the terrain. It also shows that Casey has really grown up, he is taller
now than I am :-)
Apparently one of the traditions for those scouts sick of hiking was to throw their boots over the gate when leaving.
I imagine discarding hundred dollar boots was not popular with the parents.
Casey's scout master, Cary Mans was nice enough to allow Casey to join us for supper in the historic St. James Hotel.
This is a view of the saloon where many gun fights occurred in the mid 1880s. Some bullet holes remain in the pressed tin ceiling
More about the St. James Hotel is at
We returned from dinner in time to attend the evening campfire ceremony
Saying our fond farewells to a super young man