Gave up at 4:40 and got up.  Clear, 3/4 moon, 58 degrees, and a mild breeze.  Did the bathroom thing (many other Advisors present, and many of them clearly aggravated and grousing at having been woken up so early by our recently departed contingent).  Hugh and I roused the Scouts at 5:00, once again demanding to “see a light” in each tent - and also asking everyone to keep it quiet.  I went around again 10 minutes later to make sure no-one had just rolled over on us - but everyone was up and moving.  Finished my personal packing, and moved all my gear, and then the Crew gear, up to the Welcome Center by 5:20.  Spent a few minutes to lay out all the seed sacks (name up) on the picnic tables under the pavillion for backpack wrapping.  Hugh monitored the tent evacuation and cleaning, while I monitored pack stuffing and wrapping.  Done at 5:45, and once we had the packline complete we all headed over to the Dining Hall for the “Continental Breakfast” - two pieces of mild spice cake, plus cereal if you wanted it.  Well, enough to take the edge off, anyway.  Neil came up and said he wanted to exchange his belt - I told him it was highly unlikely he’d get the chance this morning, and that he’d have to do it by mail.  I got out a copy of the Crew photo (to relay to John Ruppel) and we all (once again) groaned over how terrible it was, slightly out of focus, yellowed, and with half the Crew with eyes shut or squinting against the rising sun of July 18.  NPS done us wrong once again - I hope our alternate versions (from my camera) come out better (they could hardly be any worse).  Back out to the Welcome Center by 6:10.  The guys spent a few minutes signing the Crew Flag and the “We All Made It” plaque for Luke while we waited for the bus.  Bill showed up at 6:25, with a newer (and better) bus, and we quickly loaded up, with all of 111’s gear in the last compartment underneath (we kept it intentionally separated in case we ended up in a time crunch at the airport).  Ready to roll at 6:40, so no chance for Neil to exchange his belt.  On the road at 6:45.  As we headed down Rt. 21, I pointed out the Arrowhead formation on the north side of the ToT ridge, and reminded everyone of the legend that states that if you look at the formation over your shoulder as you leave, you will someday return to Philmont (some of the adults had to be coaxed to look!)  Right onto Rt. 64 and east to Raton.  Within 10 minutes, almost every Scout (and most of the adults) were asleep - there being few things more soporific than the drone of a bus on a straight, high speed highway.  We reached I-25 at 7:35 and headed north.  A beautiful day, with just some wisps of cirrus clouds.  Climbed to Raton Pass and into Colorado at 7:45.  We had to stop at a weigh station in Trinidad, which woke most of the bus - so John started another movie at 8:10.  Naked Gun 2 ½ again (the same as we saw on the way down).  It ended at 9:30, just as we were pulling into the Country Buffet in Pueblo.  They had a great buffet laid out for us - and as usual, everyone went nuts, returning for 3, 4, and even 5 plateloads.  Most polished off breakfast with an ice cream sundae, too.  Back out the door and on the bus at 10:30, and on our way to Colorado Springs airport.  Still sunny but a little more hazy now.  We saw Pike’s Peak to the front left and we were soon in Colorado Springs, then at the airport, arriving 11:40.  Great time, much better than we had feared.  Crew 893 volunteered to clear the bus, while 111 and 796 off-loaded gear.  We were done very quickly, just 10 minutes start to finish.  Just in case, I said a quick goodbye to the other Crews’ adults (and some of their Scouts), and we headed inside to the Northwest ticket counter.  Almost no one in line there, so another piece of luck.  The ticket agent called up a supervisor to help handle us, and we started checking in almost exactly at 12:00.  Once again, fast and pleasant service.  Ted Gerarden showed up as we were halfway through checking in our packs, and he soon had Hugh and most of the Scouts engaged in conversation.  Once we were done checking everyone in, I went over and chatted with him for a few minutes, and grabbed a photo of he and Todd.  Then one of the 796 Scouts came over and said he’d heard I was a “legend” and would I autograph his hat (I laughingly agreed).  Two autograph requests in one trek; got to be careful not to get a swelled head, hee-yuck!  Ted and Todd departed for their trip to the Gunnison, and we headed down to pass through the security checkpoint.  Took a while - it was crowded and the Scouts all had to strip off most of their metal.  For a change, my pass-through was fairly easy - it was Hugh who got the third degree today, with extensive “wanding”.  We finally got that over with, and headed down to Gate 10.  Called Jenner’s answering machine and left a message to let him know I’d be back tonight.  Another Crew from Cincinnati came down and sat alongside us; they were heading out an adjacent gate.  Headed back up the hallway for a coke, but instead chatted with John Ruppel for about a half an hour; we were later joined by Dan Ross.  I eventually walked back (sans coke) and called the Logistics Department at Philmont to confirm that the Shaefers Pass spring was still dry, based on my conversations with John and Dan.  This had still been a question mark the day before, so they (seemed) appreciative of the update (the previous update had been about 3 weeks old).  Sat back down and relaxed a bit (the guys were playing cards again), and watched three or four other Crews come down the hall and sit at nearby gates.  Quite a zoo.  At 1:35, they started boarding for our flight; they announced our seats at 1:45, at which point we joined the line.  Another very crowded flight!  I exchanged seats with Charlie so he could sit with the rest of the Crew.  Pushed off a little early (2:05) and took off about 2:20.  NW Flight 1654 to Minneapolis/St. Paul.  Bumpy climb up through some low cloud cover, then a smooth ascent up to 37,000 feet.  Today’s snack was a tiny bag of pretzels and a lone shortbread cookie (yum).  Our descent started at 3:30 (4:30 local (Central) time), so a fast flight.  We landed at 3:40, but held on the tarmac for a few minutes before hitting the gate.  Exited at Concourse D, so once we were all assembled we headed down to Concourse C (Gate C-3) for our final leg.  Gave the guys $60 for late lunch/early dinner, and their release for an hour (I watched the gear again).  Reset my watch back to EDST while I waited (now 6:20 “our” time).  Everyone returned by about 7:15, and we started boarding shortly thereafter.  Pushed off at 8:00 EDST, still sunny and hot outside.  The captain gave us the preliminary reminder about staying seated for the last 30 minutes of the flight as we taxied to the runway.  After what seemed like a long wait in line, we lifted off at 8:15.  NW Flight 102 to Washington/Reagan National.  A smooth and easy ascent, with a nice view of Minneapolis/Saint Paul outside the windows on the right side.  Once we reached altitude I just put my head down and wrote diary like crazy, filling in today and some past gaps.  We ran into a weather front in Ohio and Pennsylvania, so things got rather bumpy from 8:55 til 9:40 as we fought through it.  We got the “stay seated” 30 minute warning at 9:45, but of course the seatbelt sign was still lit anyway, so it was almost a moot point.  Once we were past the front, however, things were smooth again all the way into National, and we landed at 10:12 pm, and got to the gate about 10:20 (a little late).  I held up in the deserted gate area, and once we were all assembled I reminded everyone to neaten up their Class A’s and to remember to thank their parents.  Then we headed up towards Security as a group, exiting to a round of applause from our assembled families and the wondering looks from everyone else who were waiting for their own passengers.  I hunted for a good “Awards” area while everyone else got the usual hugs and kisses out of the way, and eventually settled on a small corner near the Security Gate that just had some seat-racks (but nothing on the walls).  After getting permission, Rob and I moved the seat-racks temporarily out of the way.  Then Joy Gough, Noel Schulz, Jim Dooley, Rob and I sorted through the various awards, while the guys collected all the gear from baggage claim, stripped off the wrapping, and pulled the Troop gear out.  We got everyone assembled one last time in our little cleared corner, noted Todd’s absence “for the record”, and I gave my usual end-of-trek remarks.  Then we presented each Scout with all his awards, to multiple camera flashes.  [Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4]  Once that was done, we moved the seats back in place, and headed outside - into ghastly humidity and heat (still over 90 degrees, and about 75 percent relative humidity).  11 pm and it feels like a sauna out here.  Welcome to Washington in late July.  We quickly loaded all the Troop gear and my own personal stuff into the White Van, said our final farewells, and headed home.  This year, I drove the white van home alone, since it was such a short drive compared to BWI or Dulles.  Once home, I sat on the front stoop and reflected one more time - another great trek, and probably my best Crew ever (and that’s saying a lot!)