Experiencing Philmont during any time of the year is nice but the fall is especially beautiful as the Aspens and other trees show their colors. The solitude during the fall is also refreshing as we only saw one other crew the whole time we were there. One of our guides told us that 14 or 15 crews are signed up for Autumn Adventure this year.
Our crew consisted of ten adults (7 men and 3 women) plus two guides provided by Philmont. While driving to the Cimarroncito Turnaround on Sunday, we got a close up view of Philmont's Buffalo herd, the first time any of us had seen the herd up close. During our five nights at the Ranch, we made Cimarroncito our HQ and did several side hikes. This was my first time to hike up to Window Rock and the view was exceptional. While hiking back to the Turnaround on Friday morning, we were treated to a steady snowfall, something our crew of Texans rarely experiences during camping trips.
During our four past Autumn Adventures, we've traveled straight thorough to Cimarron with a goal of arriving at the Kit Carson Restaurant for breakfast at 6:30 a.m. on Sunday. Then, on to Philmont arriving by 8 a.m. with a goal of being in the back country by noon.
This time, we went to Cimarron and spent the night of Oct. 6 at the St. James Hotel. While most of us stayed in the new part of the St. James, three crew members stayed in the old part which is supposed to be haunted. Two crew members, occupants of the Annie Oakley room, had a strange occurance as the light fixture in their room started moving a couple of times with no logical explanation.
Of course, we visited the Tooth of Time Traders (Philmont Trading Post) and the Cimarron Art Gallery. We ate one meal at the St. James and had two meals at the Kit Carson Restaurant. The Kit has the better food of the two places. We had planned to have pizza at Simple Simon's but the snow and cold wind kept us from doing that after we got in off the trail. So, we had lunch at the Kit and pizza that night in Plainview, Texas, during the trip home.
Philmont maintains a special mailing list for their off season programs (Autumn Adventure and Kanik). For additional nformation, phone 505-376-2281, e-mail philprog@cimarron.springercoop.com or write to Philmont Scout Ranch, Rt 1 Box 35, Cimarron NM 87714 and ask to be placed on the "off season program" mailing list.
YiS,
--
Calvin H. Gray
Scoutmaster, Troop 405
Advisor, Venturing Crew 405
Georgetown, Texas
I used to be an Owl (WM-62-2-98 @ Philmont)
mailto:405geezer@igg-tx.net
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