Monday, June 15: To Colorado Springs
 |
| Waiting for the vans to arrive at the Denver airport |
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| United States Air Force Academy |
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| Garden of the Gods |
Up at 5:00 AM. Got
ready and did last minute packing. Fried
eggs, toast and juice for breakfast.
Left for the airport at 6:50 and got there a bit after 7:00. Group check in. Security went well, but had to take Miriam’s
pointe shoes out of the duffle and move them to the carry-on as the duffle was
slightly overweight. Read the paper while
waiting to board. Carl’s C-SPAN article
was in it. Called home to tell
them. Southwest flight 691 to
Denver. Sat in the back row in the right
middle seat next to Miriam at the window.
Pretty good flight to Denver with some turbulence. Mostly read “Surprised by Joy”. Slight delay landing due to planes being
backed up due to weather. Still got in
on time. Train ride to baggage
claim. Bags showed up at 7 (instead of
9). All bags arrived! Lunch at Red Rocks Bar & BBQ and shared a
Smokehouse Platter with Miriam: brisket, hot links, beans and corn on the
cob. Rental vans showed up and we loaded
them with our stuff and us. Had to stop
right away for gas as they came empty.
Drove down to the US Air Force Academy in a slight rain. Toured the chapel and visitor center. Watched the movie and learned a lot. We decided not to hike there due to the
weather. It was a bit cold and I wore my
jacket. Drove to Rudy’s for dinner: more
BBQ – ribs and pulled pork. Went to
Garden of the Gods afterward and walked around taking lots of pictures. Drove to Peterson Air Force Base and checked
in. Got organized for the next day and
had a group meeting. In bed and asleep
at 10:00 PM.
Tuesday, June 16: Colorado Springs
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| Pikes Peak |
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| Cliff Dwelling Museum |
 |
| Miriam at one of the Manitou Springs springs |
It rained very hard last night and the snow barn leaked
in spots. Brent tried to wake me up to
move some of my stuff, but I had ear plugs in and never heard him. He wound up moving my stuff for me. Up at 4:15 AM and got ready. Out of the snow barn at bit after 5:45 AM. Breakfast at the mess hall: good and very
cheap. Drove to the bicycle shop,
checked in, and signed waivers. Came up
with alternative plans as it looked like the vans would not be allowed all the
way up Pikes Peak. At the last moment,
the vans were allowed all the way up enabling us to take the Cog Railway to the
top. It cleared up a lot on the way up
and the views were quite good, better than the conductor’s jokes. It got increasingly cold as we rose in
elevation. It was very cold and windy at
the top with a lot of snow and slush. I
had 4 layers on top, 2 on the bottom, and my hat and gloves. It was still unbearably cold. I let Miriam use my running tights to try to
stay warm. We took a few pictures and
had a doughnut. The wind was so strong
that they did not allow the doors on one side of the gift shop to be used. Conditions were not good enough to start
biking from the top. We drove down about
a mile and started there. It was still
very cold and windy, and Miriam got blown off the road. Soon after that we were driven further down
the road (below the tree line) and restarted.
The extra van ride gave me time to set up my GoPro on my helmet and use
it most of the way down. The bike ride
down was a lot of fun. Instead of eating
lunch at the Greek restaurant which was closed for vacation, we ate at Front
Range BBQ. I had a catfish sandwich and
lots of lemonade. After lunch we went to
the Cave of the Winds to enjoy the views there.
Then we went to the Manitou Cliff Dwellings Museum. It was well done though not authentic. Then we drove to Manitou Springs to enjoy the
town and have dinner on our own. Miriam
and I sampled a number of the springs.
Some were better than others, but I really did not like any of
them. We had dinner at Boodad’s
Louisiana Restaurant. I had shrimp
etouffee with grilled vegetables. We
then went to a free concert in front of the library of jazz music with a flute
and guitars. We returned to Peterson
AFB, got cleaned up, and went to bed at 10:00 PM.
Wednesday, June 17: Colorado Springs
 |
| Rafting Outfitter |
 |
| Miriam at Garden of the Gods with Pikes Peak in the background |
 |
| At Balance Rock in Garden of the Gods |
Woke up at 4:45 AM and got ready for the day. Out of the snow barn on time at 5:45 AM. Breakfast at the mess hall: omelet, hash
brown and orange juice. Miriam’s and my
breakfast together was $4. A bit over an
hour’s drive to Whitewater Adventures Outfitters in Canon City. Downloaded and backed up my GoPro videos
during the drive. Decided to rent wet
suits for rafting which turned out to be a good idea. The water was flowing at over 5000 cubic feet
per second which was the highest in 20 years.
The Royal Gorge section was closed.
The section we did was more than adequate: lots of good rapids with very
little paddling. The water was cold but
felt refreshing with the wet suit.
Because of the high water flow on the Arkansas River, we did our section
pretty quickly. Changed into dry clothes
and drove into Canon City for lunch. Miriam
and I ate at a kitchen supply place that sold box lunches for $5. I had a roast beef sandwich, potato chips, a
tangerine, a cookie, and a bottle of water.
All was quite good. Drove to
Walgreens for last minute supplies. I
downloaded my rafting GoPro video there.
Drove to Garden of the Gods as Seven Falls was closed for
renovations. Miriam and I hiked to
Siamese Twins and took pictures through the window in the rock with Pikes Peak
in the background. We quickly returned as
it looked like and then did rain. Drove
as a group to Balance Rock right before a very hard rain. Drove to Manitou Springs for dinner. Miriam and I ate at a Greek restaurant and
had gyros and baklava. Drove to Peterson
AFB getting gas along the way. Saw a
very bright, double and very nearly full rainbow. Got back before the van with the snow barn
key and hung out outside the base watching the sun set, lightning and
rainbows. Back to the barn to get ready
for the next day. In bed at 10:30 PM.
Whitewater rafting video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjIxT7sPwVo
Garden of the Gods video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUMFVTxvno0
Thursday, June 18 – Day 1: Base Camp
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| Crew Picture |
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| Miriam and our ranger getting equipment |
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| Equipment shakedown |
Up at 4:45 AM and got ready for the day. Out of the snow barn at 5:45 AM after signing
a thank you note. Breakfast at
McDonald’s: split a big breakfast (pancakes, eggs, sausage, hash brown and
biscuit) with Miriam. Off to Philmont
stopping at a rest stop along the way.
Arrived at 9:30 AM. Greeted at
the Welcome Center. Miriam, Hazel, Mitch
and I checked in. Miriam got our
passports and pack tags. Assigned to
tents starting with F-49. Met our
ranger: Becca from Philadelphia. We were
her second crew, but she had done a trek and Rayado. Crew and expedition pictures. Lunch.
Our signed 2011 t-shirt is still in the dining hall. Logistics at 1:30 PM. Medical recheck at 2:30. All went well. Outfitters.
Equipment shakedown. Dinner. Found Crew 208 kite in the dining hall. Advisors meeting. Chapel: whole crew and ranger went to the
Protestant service. Opening campfire
actually had a fire. Split up the food
to carry. Repacked for the trail
deciding what to leave. In bed at 11:00
PM.
Base camp video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HayEmHrQY3o
Friday, June 19 – Day 2: Base Camp to Anasazi
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| Our bus through the Philmont gateway |
 |
| T-Rex track |
 |
| Anasazi camp |
Up at 4:15 AM.
Shaved and showered. Finished
packing. Put stuff in the van. Breakfast.
Decided not to try to tour the Villa Philmonte but made a reservation
for after our trek. Crew meeting after
breakfast. Brent got gas (for the
stoves). Bought carabiners at the Tooth
of Time Traders for Miriam’s camera and to have some extras. Final things not going on the trail to the
van. Took pictures before loading the
bus. Rode off around 10:00 AM. Good, fun ride out to 6-Mile Gate:
informative with jokes. Arrived and
formed a big pack line. Had the red roof
inn talk. Formed crew pack line, and
learned about using a map and compass for navigation. Decided to eat lunch before hitting the
trail. Hit the trail and missed the
first turn. The trail was very nice with
lots of flowers. Got to the T-Rex track
pretty quickly. Lily read the
information on display to us which was pretty interesting. Hiked to Anasazi and selected camp 4. First put up the dining fly – went well. Put up the bear bags. Probably cut the oops rope too short. Got water and sanitized it. Discovered we did not have an 8 quart pot
which made the Philmont cooking method impossible. The first pot of boiling water got
spilled. Finally got dinner finished and
eaten. More ranger training. Leave No Trace training from Cole. Devotional by Nolan. Roses, thorns and buds. In bed at 10:00 PM.
Rose: The silver on the sage meaning I was back at
Philmont
Thorn: Dinner difficulties
Bud: The trek ahead
Day 2 video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAPDbDRlAn0
Saturday, June 20 – Day 3: Anasazi to Horse Canyon
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| Atl-atl throwing |
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| Petroglyph tour |
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| On Hart Peak |
Up at 5:15 AM ahead of the crew at 5:30. Broke camp and had breakfast. On the trail at 7:30. We were the first crew to reach Indian Writings
and signed up to do all 3 of their programs.
We started with throwing atl-atls.
JJ (who knows the Allens) was our staff person. Our ranger almost hit a target. Lily did hit a target. Chris was our tour guide for the petroglyph
tour which was quite good: 4 panels and 2 excavations. Then we helped out with an archaeological
dig. We then accepted Chris’s offer to
have their staff cook our dinner to eat for lunch. We took showers and visited the museum. We hit the trail again around 2:00 PM up to
Hart Peak. Big climb right away with
great views of where we were. Some rain
with thunder along the way. Not safe at
the peak, so we only paused briefly for pictures and moved on. Lots of elevation gain on the rest of the
trail. Stopped at a well for water. Had gate training at the well and then we
proceeded to do it all wrong at the gate to our camp. Got to camp around 7:00 PM. The camp map showed no bear cable but there
was one. Set up camp and had our lunch
for dinner. Very little ranger training
due to it already being quite late.
Quick devotional and RTB. Bed at
10:00 PM.
Rose: The staff at Indian Writings and that the crew had
done well on a difficult day
Thorn: My pillow leaks
Bud: The rest of the trek
Day 3 video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpHJG80lg4g
Sunday, June 21 – Day 4: Horse Canyon to Sioux
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| Horse Canyon camp |
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| Road to Ponil |
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| Sioux camp |
Up at 5:00 AM before the crew at 5:30. More ranger training. Decided to cook biscuits and gravy for
breakfast. Youth decided to skip the
challenge events at Dan Beard and go straight to Sioux. Gave a crew shirt to the ranger. Most went to the well to get more water. I stayed at camp with the ranger and
Lily. Wilderness Pledge time. Hit the trail after 11:00. Trail was a road. It was scenic but very sunny and hot. Stopped at a rare shady spot for lunch. Our ranger left us at this point. Continued down the trail at 1:30 PM. Quickly saw a red roof that turned out to be
Ponil. Pretty quickly got to the end of
the road and into Sioux. Set up
camp. Had dinner of chicken, cranberries
and stuffing: quite good. We also ate the
pound cake with apple pie filling and chocolate icing that I had carried after
we decided not to eat it the night before due to lateness. Went to Ponil for evening activities. Got 2 root beers. Listened to the Cantina Show from the cool
breeze way. In bed at 10:00 PM after
doing RTB on the way back to Sioux from Ponil.
Rose: not going to Dan Beard which was a youth idea and
decision
Thorn: not going to Dan Beard which meant not doing
challenge events for the third time for me
Bud: getting our burro
Monday, June 22 – Day 5: Sioux to Pueblano
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| Our burro - Juan Pablo |
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| Miriam at Conservation |
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| Company meeting (campfire) at Pueblano |
Up at 5:15 AM before the crew at 5:30. Got ready and broke camp. Back to Ponil. Ate breakfast there. Burro packing demonstration. Crew picked out our burro and got him
ready. Took a shower and bought a new
pillow while the crew got the burro ready.
Hit the trail and had numerous water crossings which we got better at getting
the burro across. Lunch at Flume Canyon
where our Conservation was. Conservation
was building a new burro trail for future use.
To Pueblano, put the burro in the corral, and carried in his packs. Set up camp and quickly did dinner to barely
get to the campfire on time. It was
great. Miriam was part of the crew
leader dance off which she won winning a large rock to take up Baldy. Bed at 10:00 PM.
Day 5 video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9wLeLBMJ4Q
Tuesday, June 23 – Day 6: Pueblano to Maxwell
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| Spar pole climbing |
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| Miriam climbing the spar pole |
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| Miriam with our burro |
Got up at 5:30 AM with the crew after getting up at 4:00
to blow my nose. The stars were great,
and I could see the Milky Way. We were a
bit late for spar pole climbing at 8:00 along with most of the other crews. Blue Nose from Asheville, NC was our
instructor. Did pretty well this
time. Ate lunch at Pueblano after
packing up the burro. The trail from
Pueblano to Miranda was pretty nice.
Some rain with a little bit of hail.
Split up to send 4 to turn in Juan Pablo (the burro) and 5 to get camp
setup started. Long search for the
latrine which turned out to be quite close.
Dinner. Got ready for our big day
tomorrow. In bed at 9:30 PM.
Day 6 video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ny90MjNRLDY
Wednesday, June 24 – Day 7: Baldy Side Hike
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| Crew on Baldy |
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| Miriam and Dan on Blady |
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| Hiking on snow descending Baldy |
Up at 4:15 AM with the alarm and crew. Hit the trail at 5:20. Stopped at Miranda to drop off garbage and
extra food and get water. Up the trail
through Black Horse seeing lots of abandoned mining equipment and
structures. The crew did a great job
going up. Did a caterpillar to get up
the summit together. Got there at
10:30. Took a crew photo before the
other crew got there. Walked all around
the summit. Ate lunch. Took a combined crew photo. Started our descent at 11:30. Took the safest approach down the backside to
the meadow and ridge and then down the switchbacks to Copper Park. Took a road then the trail to Baldy
Town. Food pickup with fruit and
strawberry milk. Took a very cold shower
and bought batteries for my headlamp that had turned on in my pack. Filled up on water and hit the road back to
Maxwell. Everyone was tired. Even so, dinner got made and eaten and the
bear bags put up. Got to bed at 9:30 PM.
Rose: going up Baldy as a group in great weather without
much difficulty
Thorn: my feet have begun to hurt
Bud: 5 more days at Philmont
Day 7 video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkQ633fltSU
Thursday, June 25 – Day 8: Maxwell to Black Jacks
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| Crew before leaving Maxwell |
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| Miriam with Baldy in the background |
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| Sunset at Black Jacks |
Up at 6:00 AM before the crew at 7:15. Organized my equipment. Hot breakfast. Hit the trail at 11:00. Back to Head of Dean. Ate lunch there at their covered picnic
table. Rained some. Trail to Upper Dean Cow – nice trail. Saw 2 bucks and a turkey. Tough, long, uphill climb into Black Jack. Found a camp that had never been used with a
great view of Baldy. Set up tents first
as it started to rain, and then set up camp.
Watched the sun set right next to Baldy while dinner was
rehydrating. Great campfire. Bed at 10:30 PM.
Rose: Black Jack camp – we were the first to use our fire
ring and sump, our tent area was great, and the sunset was spectacular
Thorn: my feet still hurt
Bud: program activities at Harlan
Day 8 video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kOUASGDt24
Friday, June 26 – Day 9: Black Jacks to Harlan
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| At Black Jack's hideout |
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| About to cross under Highway 64 |
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| Miriam reloading a shotgun shell |
Up at 5:00 AM before the crew at 5:30. Barely hit the trail before 8:00. Stopped off at Black Jack’s Hideout. There was a cool, fossilized log inside that
was turning to coal. We had a long stop
to filter and purify water from the stream in the middle of the road. Long downhill to Turkey Creek Turnaround
where we crossed under Highway 64 and over the Cimarron River. Stopped there for a couple of liters of water
which were treated during lunch along the river. Tough climb from there. The crew did great, but I melted in the heat
and sun. Finally got to Harlan. Got to reload 3 shotgun shells and have a
shooting safety talk, but shooting was rained out (due to very little rain) and
rescheduled for the morning. Took a
while to find a camp as the one we initially selected was bad and the next one
was already taken. Set up camp and had
dinner. Burro racing right at 7:45 PM
lasting only a minute or two. Reid
won! Had hot cider at the advisors’
coffee. Early to bed at 9:20 PM.
Rose: getting to Harlan after another long and hard day
Thorn: melting in the afternoon
Bud: getting to Cimarroncito (and the promised best
showers in Scouting)
Day 9 video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pljzb3FVjOY
Saturday, June 27 – Day 10: Harlan to Cimarroncito
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| Miriam shotgun shooting |
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| Muddy trail |
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| Stream crossing |
Woke up at 5:30 AM after a very large storm during most
of the night. We were informed that some
places in Philmont had gotten 4 inches of rain, and we were held in camp until
it was determined that is was safe to hike.
Had breakfast and broke camp.
Shot shotguns along with our sister crew. Missed all 3 of my shots. Talked to 2 Scouts from Beijing Troop 729. We were cleared to hit the trail which we did
at 11:00. Very soon after hitting the
trail, Connor noticed he had forgotten his rain jacket and went back with Cole
to get it. Played Frisbee with Nolan
while waiting. The trail was very
muddy. Had a number of stream crossings
including one using a rope and wearing camp shoes right before lunch. Miriam, Brent and I went separately to pick
up food at Ute Gulch while the others continued on to Cimarroncito. The trail there was very nice as was the one
to Cimarroncito. We were informed of a
bear siting just down the trail where we had just been. Got to Cimarroncito after the rest of the
crew had checked in and gotten shower and climbing times. Took showers from 5 to 6 which felt great:
hot and clean. Prepared dinner with Kay
and Miriam while the others went to yoga.
Went to bed at 9:30 PM. A hole in
my mattress made sleeping a bit difficult.
Rose: meeting and talking to Scouts from China and
surviving the storm with little trouble
Thorn: a hole in my air mattress
Bud: climbing in Cimarroncito
Day 10 video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2iA0kYBgYg
Sunday, June 28 – Day 11: Cimarroncito to Upper Clarks
Fork
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| Rock climbing |
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| View from Window Rock |
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| Miriam and Dan at Cimarroncito Reservoir |
Up at 6:00 AM before the crew at 7:00. Broke camp and had breakfast. Rock climbing at 9:45 AM. Did well and enjoyed it. Hiked through Hidden Valley and up to Window
Rock with Brent, Cole, Nolan and Miriam.
Unfortunately we missed a trail due to thinking it was for Conservation only. This cost us a lot of time and effort as we
went down a series of switchbacks and had to go back up them. Hidden Valley and Window Rock were worth the
effort. We ate lunch at Window
Rock. Unfortunately we got to Hunting
Lodge so late that we did not have time to tour it. Quickly hiked through the Demonstration
Forest to Clarks Fork. Had my hat
branded on top with “TT” for the Tooth of Time.
They actually heated the branding irons with a regular fire. Took a shower while dinner cooked at Clarks
Fork. Rained on us a bit there and on
the trail to Upper Clarks Fork.
Fortunately the rain stopped, and we set up camp right next to our
sister crew. We had a combined campfire
and RTBs. In bed at 9:30 PM.
Rose: This was day 35 for me at Philmont. I was happy to be here with Miriam enjoying
the experience together and learning more about her.
Thorn: missing the trail to Hidden Valley and thus
missing the Hunting Lodge tour
Bud: going home
Day 11 video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfDe_LvXokM
Monday, June 29 – Day 12: Upper Clarks Fork to Base Camp
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| On top of the Tooth of Time |
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| Our crew making it back to Base Camp |
 |
| We All Made It! |
Up at 4:30 AM with the alarm and crew. Broke camp, had breakfast, and hit the trail
a bit before 6:30. Tough climb to
Shaefers Pass where we stopped to get water from the spring. Rocky, slow trail to the Tooth of Time after
numerous false teeth. Rock scramble up
the Tooth of Time for lunch, group pictures, and great views. Long, hot trail back to base camp. Fortunately it was overcast. Got in to base camp at 3:30 PM. Checked in and dropped off the crew gear that
we had borrowed. Next to Logistics and then
Registration. Needed to pay my trail
credit bill at the Tooth of Time Traders where Miriam got a belt and
buckle. Back to Registration to get our
physicals, crew pictures, and arrowhead patches. Shaved and took a shower. Went into Cimarron for pizza and shared a
large Pepperoni Pounder with Miriam eating 7/8 of it between us. Stopped to get Advil and had an ice cream
cone. Back to Philmont for the closing
campfire which was fun and entertaining.
Miriam got our “We All Made It” plaque.
Back to the tent to pack for our return home in the morning. In bed at 11:30 PM.
Day 12 video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A675KEX5zwc
Tuesday, June 30: Return to Cary
 |
| Sunrise before leaving |
Up at 4:15 AM before the crew at 4:30. Finished packing up and loading the van. Took a few pictures. On the road at 5:30. Stopped at a small town for gas. Stopped at McDonald’s in Colorado Springs for
breakfast. Arrived in good time at the
Denver airport. Checked in and went
through security. My duffle bag weighed
exactly 50.0 pounds. Ate lunch at La
Casita in terminal C and had tamales.
The flight was fine and on time.
Greeted by and large and enthusiastic group at the RDU airport including
Leslie-Jean and Bethany. Handed out our
crew’s physicals, crew pictures, and arrowhead patches. Got our luggage and walked to the
minivan. Bethany drove us home. It was a great adventure!
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