Dear Readers:
This is the third - and last - post on my amazing week at the Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, New Mexico. If you want to read the previous post, just click here.
As I noted in the original post, I was here to attend the Priesthood Leadership Conference on Scouting. The week included classes that were taught by the Young Men General Presidency of the Church, along with the Primary General Presidency.
I wanted to finish these posts by writing about a few more experiences we had during the week, as a family.
On the one morning that we didn't have a 6:30am choir practice, we chose to go on a sunrise hike. It was actually my wife's idea...something that I didn't think I could drag everyone to. This is yet another reason that I love her ; ) We got the kids up at 4:00 am and met some other hikers. Nobody else was brave enough to bring a three-year-old ; )
We spent an hour climbing into the Sangre de Cristo (Blood of Christ) range of the Rocky Mountains. It was obviously completely dark at that time...but the kids did an incredible job of keeping up. At times, L's little legs couldn't keep up with the pace, so I placed her on my shoulders. It was a challenging hike in the dark, but we reached Lover's Leap - an outcropping of rocks that allowed you to view a beautiful valley below. We all watched as the sun began to rise. We also shared a little "meal" of crackers, granola bars and dried fruit:
The view was spectacular and it was amazing to share this experience with the family...just pure joy.
This part of the mountain is called the Tooth of Time...
After the sunrise, we started the hike back down the mountain, and could finally see all the terrain that we walked up through. The kids were having a GREAT time:
Just to prove that my wife was actually there...
On Wednesday, we awoke to find the entire central lawn of the Training Center covered in American flags. It was beautiful...and moving:
That evening, we had Western Night, where everyone dressed in western gear. They held a parade and allowed kids to make their own costumes; We kept the kids in their western gear, as they looked adorable:
She really, really likes to jump in puddles of water....no joke ; )
This was the YM and Primary leadership during the western evening...equally adorable...
They managed to have cotton candy and movies and a western dance for everyone to enjoy. In addition, they had a young man come to the Training Center to brand any items that you wanted, using the working cattle brands from the ranch:
On the last full day (Thursday), we began with another wonderful flag ceremony. After attending some classes, we participated in a graduation ceremony, which included another performance from the Philmont Tabernacle Choir ; ) I was really excited to have a certificate that I can frame, to honor the experience:
I received a custom-made bolo tie that one of the faculty had spent hours carving...for every single participant:
Here's a quick video from the actual ceremony:
That evening, all of the older youth returned from their mountain trek. This was a smaller version of the Boy Scout treks, but the kids came back with a great experience to share with their parents:
That evening, the kids and the wives all participated in songs and skits, which they had practiced all week:
L needed a little encouragement from her mommy...
That night, the tent city staff prepared some delicious dutch oven-based cobbler. I'm serious when I say that it was the best I ever had. Blueberry, peach, chocolate...they had five different flavors, complete with ice cream. What a way to end the evening!!!
We arose the next day and bid farewell to Philmont. We left there a changed family - a little more loving and with a renewed testimony of the importance and sanctity of our family:
We drove all the way to Lubbock, Texas. We made a point to stop there so that the kids could see the LDS temple there. It's one of the small temples that were constructed in the early 2000s. It's still a beautiful place:
G-Man actually took this shot ; )
What a great way to end such a memorable trip. I hope you get just a small part of how amazing this experience was for us. I have so much work to do in our Stake, to strengthen the young men that I serve. I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to learn and grow during this week...and now I have the chance to help others do the same.
Thanks for reading!
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