Rooftop Pizza

 

 Rooftop Pizza in Santa Fe. 

 Great food. Great company.

And a spectacular view.

Santa Fe

 Chad and I had the day off. So we got out of Philmont and headed south to Santa Fe. First stop, Santa Fe Brewing Company. We sampled the local brews and had a nice chat before heading off into town.

 Lunch was at The Burrito Co.-- chicken fajitas.

 

 We checked out the shops and found some memorable merchandise. 

 

While we were walking around the Santa Fe rail yard, a train passed by right before we walked into REI. We stopped there to get merchandising ideas for the store.

Columbia Bag

This is a shipping bag I got my Columbia order in. I thought it was pretty funny.

Ute Gulch, Sawmill

I went with the film crew for one of the last video filming sessions of the summer. At Ute Gulch (above) we filmed a segment about backcountry trading posts. It should be done soon.

 

And at Sawmill (above) we filmed a staff recruitment video. There, we were caught in a wicked storm, and stayed for lunch. The ride home was very slow-- the backcountry road consistency was like whipped cream and peanut butter.

Supersized

Casey and I found a pair of 54" "Action" shorts. I don't know many 54" waist people who are "active", but it's big enough for two people.

And if that wasn't enough, we put on a 6x fleece. There was still room to spare.

Staff Photo

This describes our staff photo day. We were serious as long as we had to be, then broke into chaos. The all staff photo itself hasn't been published yet.

Kilt Night

 
As with most snack bar theme nights, this one was particularly ridiculous. Some of our staff have kilts and wanted to wear them to work. It quickly turned into "Braveheart" night.

Taos and a Deer

 

A trip to Taos, New Mexico to pick up a special order for my friend Matt-- he drove. And we had an excellent Mexican dinner at Michael's Kitchen. Authentic, fresh, and excellent service. It made all of its baked goods fresh-- breads, and most importantly, sopapillas (fried dough Mexican things you put honey on).

 

It wouldn't be Taos without a Wal-Mart fashion show. They always have something ridiculous to try on. Henry, on the far left, hadn't been away from Philmont all summer. He's from Erie too. We showed him around town and stopped by the Rio Grande Gorge bridge. Too dark for good pictures.

 

On the way home, the four of us stopped at the New Mexico State Vietnam War Memorial before heading back to Philmont. Moments later, we hit a deer as it tried to turn back and run away. The buck scampered off, but the right front fender of the car was smashed up pretty good. We were all fine. What an unpleasant surprise.

Dining Services

This PhilCast was my favorite to film. I spent a morning working in the dining hall-- cooking, prepping, cleaning, and baking-- and got to see first hand what these guys do every day. There's a reason dining hall staff gets more days off than the other departments on the ranch: they never stop working.

The Hungry Farmer

It was late. Many restaurants were closing for the night. But The Hungry Farmer Steakhouse in Alamosa was open until 10 p.m.  

So I had a scrumptious meal: steak medallions, vegetables, and a cup of hearty chicken soup. Great way to end the day (and begin the 2.5 hour drive back to Philmont). 

Great Sand Dunes

Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. Alamosa, Colorado. Beautiful place. Vast. Diverse. It doesn't look like it belongs in Colorado, or the United States in general. 

There's a recreational side to the dunes as well. Sand sledding. Me and Melman tried it out. 

But the views were beautiful. 

As the sun went down, we looked across the dunes. Footprints. Sand. Sun. And a storm rolling through.

Beautiful experience. Beautiful day. 

Me and Mel's Day Off

Melman and I had the day off. Our destination: Great Sand Dunes National Park. But half of the fun is the journey itself, right? First was lunch at Yu Garden in Taos, New Mexico. 

Along the way, we stopped at the Rio Grande Gorge bridge. 

We passed Colorado's oldest church. 

And we even saw Cano's Castle, an interesting abode created by a cheerful old man named Cano. Check out the full story of his junk mansion here. 

Batman

Almost all of the trading post staff made it to the midnight premiere of "The Dark Knight Rises", the latest and final piece of the modern Batman saga. As a whole, the movie series was excellent. This movie tied everything together, and the message behind the "Batman" is what made it so good. I highly recommend it. 

Ponil

As the host of a weekly YouTube video series called PhilCast, I had the opportunity to experience cowboy action shooting-- the newest program offered at Ponil.

This is the video I hosted. The video department here did all the editing and back-end work. I just had a good time. For other videos I hosted, check out this link. 

Red River

Last week, me and three other guys from work needed a break. So we headed into Red River, a ski town about 45 minutes away from Philmont. 

This was the first time we'd ever been there, so we found a place to eat: the Lift House. It turns out burgers were half off that day. And burgers were a good choice. Tony and I also found an old snow mobile and got in. 

After dinner, we climbed the hill. I've never been on a ski hill without snow. Kinda different.

And to wrap up the night, we found a candy store. They had homemade fudge. And it was delicious. 

Andrew

Andrew at the dining hall. This is an every day occurance. 

Party at Randa's

A couple of weeks ago, we had an unofficial staff get-together at Randa's house in Miami, New Mexico. Randa is the "Lead Retail Associate" at the store and works closely with Shelley, the store director. 

Everyone on staff made something. The menu consisted of a three-meat stew, stuffed peppers, a salad (made by me), homemade Southern sweet tea, and bread pudding for dessert. What a meal.

  

Though not all the staff could make it, most of us were there. The rest were closing the store. It just so happened that this day was the highest sales day on record, with sales exceeding $50,000. 

 

But the biggest hit of the night was Randa's tractor trailer box. She uses it for storage. We used it as a playground. 

Post-It Pallet

The Post-It pallet we have in the warehouse. 

Bug

A sweet-looking grasshopper-type bug. Looked pretty cool. 

Clean Tent

For the first time this summer, I cleaned out my tent.

Everything was removed. And I swept.

Valle Vidal

Last week, I hosted a Philmont video in the backcountry. The topic was the northernmost area at Philmont, the Valle Vidal. This is one of the views from Whiteman Vega, a mountain biking camp.

 

Also at Whiteman Vega is one of the most scenic views from a toilet seat. 

 

 After Whiteman Vega, we visited Ring Place, which specializes in weather and astronomy, and Seally Canyon, which allows participants to learn and practice search and rescue methods. On the right is Waldo, the search and rescue victim. 

The view from a ridge in the Valle, overlooking miles and miles of Philmont.

Before we left the Valle, we stopped by this meadow-- so wide and open.