Denny's

This was my last trip to Denny's.  We had a final farewell for Madelyn, who left the next day.  
Of course, it was past midnight while we were there, so most of our party was a little tired and loopy.  

Cheeks

Last year, there was a guy who worked in the dining hall.  His name was Adam, but everyone called him "Cheeks", because of his amazing cheek maneuverability.

This is Thomas, Cheeks' roommate from last year.  Though he isn't as good at it as Cheeks, Thomas still puts on a good show.  

Peace Tea

There was a surplus of Peace Tea in the warehouse.  I decided to market the product again on a second Beatles Night.  This time, we had John Lennon glasses.  It was a great last theme night.

Last time, we sold 32 teas.  This night we sold 59. 

Malts, Milkshakes and a Banana Split

I had a very cool Scout give me $10 credit at the Art Gallery in Cimarron.  I didn't do much, but he really like talking to me and he was actually the one who patched me up on the trail during Super Black Death. He is considering staff next year.  

The Art Gallery is home to Cimarron's only old-fashioned ice cream bar.  I took Holly, Kevin, and Casey to get a milkshake/malt/banana split.  They were excellent. 

Distributors 2011

These are a few of my favorite distributors from the year:

There's Paul from Frito-Lay.  He brought me all the chips, pretzels, nuts, and cookies for the snack bar. 

And Pat from Admiral Beverage.  He delivered my Australian Root Beer, Arizona teas, and Stewart's old fashioned soda.

Last is Kevin from Pepsi.  He made my job easy with his laid-back attitude and helpfulness.   No doubt, Pepsi is better than Coke (at least in Northern New Mexico). 

Night in Raton

My last day off.  Melman, Dave, Andrew, and Jeremy all went to Raton with me.  We got a room at the Holiday Inn Express to enjoy the pool, air conditioning, high-speed internet, a television, and a complementary breakfast in the morning.

Lunch was at the Oasis Restaurant in Raton-- an excellent, home-cooking eatery with delicious meals at amazing prices.   

Andrew really liked the cherry pie. 

We found a caboose and took a picture.  Melman didn't jump, in case you were wondering.  

And then we said goodbye to Brian, the seminarian from Minnesota.  He was the first of our staff to leave Philmont, so we met him at the train station.  It was the beginning of the end of the summer.  

This is Mt. Raton.  It's actually called Goat Hill, but I think Mt. Raton sounds better.  And that's what the sign says anyway.  We climbed this hill/mountain later that night.  

 

And that's the way it was.  We are the best 5 friends that anyone could ever have.  

Clark's Fork

After the visit to Cathedral Rock, Jason and I headed to Clark's Fork.  

 

 

 

Chris the cook-- my favorite backcountry cook-- fixed us up with a nice meal: baked catfish, salad, rice, and a pear dessert. 

Jason didn't want to hike anymore, so he decided to hitchhike.  Didn't work out too well.

So we took some photos and walked back. 

 

Cathedral Rock

 

Cathedral Rock and the Cimarroncito Reservoir are located adjacent to each other. The views are spectacular, and Jason wanted to hike the short distance to get some photos. 

 

So after cleaning up back at base, we headed out again. 

I got a cool photo of my shadow climbing a rock. 

The clouds were amazing and crisp on the bright blue sky background. 

And Cathedral Rock towers over the water of Cito Reservoir.  Glad we went.  

 

Waiting for the Bus

 

Jason and I hiked to Lover's Leap turnaround in the morning-- easy; all downhill.  As we waited for the bus, I sat under this tree, had some tuna for breakfast, and stretched out on my Thermarest pad.  

The Tooth of Time was in the distance.  It was some quality quite time-- something that I will not have much of when I get back to reality back home.  

A passing car offered us a ride back to base before the bus came.  We took the offer. 

Crater Lake

 

After Trail Peak, we descended to the depths of Crater Lake.  It was a long day and we arrived at camp just as they were finishing supper.  The staff made steaks, sauteed peppers and onions, and rice.  They had leftovers.  It was awesome.  

The view from the campfire area was magnificent.  As the sun went down, the Crater boys put on an entertaining show.  

Jason and I ended up staying the night there instead of heading back to base.  It was well worth the extended visit.