Taos Night

The night before the Harry Potter debut, I and some compadres decided to head into Taos to get tickets.  A number of staffers had purchased their tickets online, but I wanted to be sure to attend the midnight showing.  

What started as a simple task, turned into quite a night.  Next stop was Baskin Robbins.  

Then Albertsons, a grocery store.  We discovered bargain baked goods-- a common practice among grocery stores that want to get rid of the day's bread, doughnuts, etc.  So we each pitched in and purchased over 2 dozen doughnuts for $4.  We had a feast on the display lawn furniture outside.  

Inventory

Jean, the warehouse manager, has commented numerous times on the amount of beverages we currently store in the warehouse.  We've never had so many.

So far, we've sold over 1,100 Australian root beers.  I've bumped up my orders every week, most recently from 14 cases to 16.  Other products have a similar effect, like Peace Tea, Stewart's old fashioned soda, and anything that screams Mountain Dew or Dr. Pepper.

Health Inspection

Health inspection.  I knew one was coming up, but nobody knew when.  Some clerks probably think I'm micromanaging and picky when it comes to cleaning.  But that's alright-- I passed inspection with flying colors!

The only thing we needed was a thermometer in one of the ice cream freezers.  

Crew 714 B-1

A few weeks ago, my blog was posted on the Mercyhurst College website.  One of the summer employees on campus noticed my blog and saw that I was working at Philmont-- the same place her dad and brother were going for a trek this summer. 

So yesterday, I met up with Crew 714 B-1.  They're from the Cleveland, Ohio area.  And Adrianne's brother and dad made sure to stop by and say hello.  It was good to see a fellow Laker.   

Joe, Adrianne's brother, created a blog to document the crew's excursion.  To read the crew's blog, click here.  

Management Dinner

A week ago, I and the other managers from the trading post enjoyed a nice steak dinner at my boss' house.  Loaded baked potatoes, stuffed mushrooms, Caesar salad, and, of course, succulent steak.   It was a nice break, compared to the monotony of my usual daily schedule.  

Shelley has a trampoline for her two boys.  As the managers were taking turns jumping, I noticed Jason-- a usually stoic and unhappy manager, attempting to loosen up.  

Hanging Out with the Crew

I had the wonderful opportunity to hike with one of two crews from the French Creek Council back in Erie.  This crew was mostly made up of Scouts from Troop 59, my troop back home.  

So when I told them that I couldn't hike with them the week they were here, they were understandably disappointed.  But I ended up getting a couple extra days off last week and surprised them at their next stop: a camp called Clark's Fork.  

Together, we saw the sun set on the Tooth of Time, Philmont's infamous 9,003 foot rock face.  It was a long day of hiking, but the view was worth it.  

We woke up the next morning and descended the ridge line back to base camp.  Early morning hiking is the way to go; we started at 5 a.m. and made it to base camp around 8 a.m.  

And they all made it without injury or illness.  Sounds like a 10-day miracle to me.  The other crew from the French Creek Council wasn't as lucky-- on their last day, one of the Scouts went down with the heat and an adult advisor blew out his knee on the top of the ridge.  But they too made it in the end.   

Fourth of July

We decorated the Snack Bar for the Fourth of July.  It looked so good!  I also put together a 8.5 hour playlist of American music-- anything from John Phillip Sousa's "Liberty Bell March" to Neil Young's "Keep on Rockin' in the Free World".

In celebration of the holiday, we loaded up the ice cream machine with vanilla ice cream and dyed one side Patriotic Blue.  The other side was Revolutionary Red.  Together, they made a very American twist.

Business was up that day, and a day later (July 5), we broke a record for the second time this season: highest sales day in the Snack Bar's history!

Best Vacation Ever

My brother Matt, our friend Dom, and I embarked upon an epic adventure in Colorado Springs.  

First, we hiked around Garden of the Gods, an amazing city park full of natural landscapes and unique rock formations.  

Then we got a glimpse of our next stop-- Pike's Peak-- through the rock.  The day was partly cloudy, but we figured we'd give the summit of Pike's Peak a shot. 

We took a train up-- on the Cog railway.  It was scenic and got progressively colder as the ride went on.  

But it was worth our few-hour journey.  The top was amazing, all 14,110 feet of it.  

The next day, Matt, Dom, and I went rafting in Clear Creek-- the same creek Coors Brewing Company gets it's water to make its beverages.  Anyway, I'd never been whitewater rafting in a creek before.  It's quite exciting and consistently action-packed, given the creek's narrowness.  

While we were in the area, we decided to take a tour of the Coors Brewing facility in Golden, Colorado.  Matt got free samples.  I had root beer.  

The next morning, we headed to Seven Falls, a natural attraction near Garden of the Gods.  

Matt and I went exploring and found an eighth waterfall.  (I wonder if they knew about that one.)

And off we went, into the wild blue yonder-- all the way to the United States Air Force Academy.  

The cadet's chapel was magnificent, complete with a modern, aeronautical design.  The inside was just as amazing as the exterior.  A promenade filled with bronze models of historic Air Force planes was located nearby.  We checked out those too.  

 The adventure wasn't complete without an encounter with the police.  Matt was pulled over by the only cop car in Cimarron, New Mexico (just outside of Philmont).  I warned him, but he didn't listen.  45 in a 35... cost him a light donation to the Village of Cimarron.  He wasn't too happy.

But neither of us were not happy to end our most excellent vacation.  But all things end eventually, and work and other visitors were calling me back to Philmont.  Nonetheless, it was one of the best vacations I've ever had.  

A Stunning Surprise

So my brother decided to show up at Philmont last Sunday.  He told me for months he wasn't coming to visit like he did last year.  And there he was with his friend Dom on the bench just outside the store.

And my parents didn't know either.  They found out via Skype...

Rain

It's been so smokey, dusty, and dry.  We finally got rain this week-- what a miracle.  But we need more.   I hope this is the start of the summer rain season here in Northern New Mexico; we sure could use more.