Day One

Wednesday, 7/1 - Finished packing by 12:30 am, then headed on into work for a few more hours. Managed to polish off a few last hanging deadlines, and finally cruised just before 4 am. Clear skies, still rather humid, 66 degrees. According to WTOP, I-66 East was blocked by an accident or construction at Sycamore Street (not sure which), so I took Old Dominion Drive back to the Parish Center, with a quick stop for a donut and a small coke at one of the Lee Highway 7-11's - at this point, I need the sugar and caffeine, and that's a fact. Arrived at 4:20, with John A. and Mike S. right behind me, and Heidi and Matt C. two minutes later. Then everyone else in quick order - but then Gordon P. indicated he had driven by the W.'s house to pick them up and found it dark with no answer to hard knocking. Had him call their house immediately on the Parish Center phone - they were home (slept through their alarm), so Gordon took off again to go get them. Already 4:35 at this point, so we're behind schedule right off the bat - but not too big a deal (yet), since we have plenty of slop built in on this end of things. Everyone debated on which way would be quickest to BWI, with Al and several others suggesting a through-DC route to save 15 minutes or so. OK by me, as long as we caravan - we sure don't want anyone breaking down alone in the "less desirable" environs in our fair Nation's Capital!!! At 4:50, finally gave up on Gordon and Rick, and started piling everyone into the vehicles, with me staying behind to ferry the W.'s when they arrived. Al took off too early, with no-one tailing - something lost in the translation, there - just as Gordon showed up. Everything got put on hold while we quickly loaded them into Howdy B.'s station wagon, and we again started off again, immediately managing to get completely split up at the Lee Highway/Military Road intersection. Not exactly an auspicious start, and I'm having a hard time controlling my temper (3 hours fitful sleep a night for 2 straight weeks, along with summer camp, not helping a bit.) Oh well, this too shall pass. My van (driven by John K.) followed Howdy and Rick out Military Road to Chain Bridge, up 123 South to the GW Parkway, and around I-495 to 95 North. The long way around, but pretty much foolproof. Made it to BWI at 5:45, pushing the time schedule, but not redline yet. Al had apparently just arrived, and had already arranged curbside check-in with a rather obnoxious but (thankfully) competent TWA baggage handler (who also arranged a by-pass of the check-in counter inside, which was already wall-to-wall.) Gave the guy a $25 tip for his efforts, and headed for security (with a group toiety along the way.) In one quasi-amusing incident, Al indicated that the second baggage handler chased him down to check how much of a tip we gave the first guy - apparently, he was afraid he was getting stiffed by his partner. As always, security went slowly for me, since I insisted on a hand-check of my film carry-on luggage (which included about a half-dozen rolls of ASA-1000 speed film, along with about 60 rolls of 100, 200 and 400.) The security guy also wanted me to open the three factory sealed waterproof/disposable cameras I had for the whitewater rafting trip, which got me a little hot and bothered - I mean, give me a break here! - but another security guy came over, took a quick look, and waved me through. Walked quickly down to our gate (D3), where the attendants were not overly thrilled to see us sans boarding passes, but they handled us in quick order nonetheless. Everyone was in order except Nathan, who for some reason had his very own electronic file, not linked to my name. Weird. Canceled Daniel H.'s and Neal K.'s tickets while I was at it. 6:25 at this point, and the gate area was already empty of passengers, so we headed immediately down the tunnel (Rick almost missed the turnoff to the plane), where an attendant took our passes and waved us on board. Everyone looking at our fully uniformed bunch with some interest - any diversion at 6:30 in the am, right? The flight attendant asked me for specifics on the group, which they later announced over the intercom - cool! The flight turned out to be very full, and we were no sooner seated than they came on over the intercom asking for volunteers to give up their seats in exchange for one free ticket anywhere TWA flies, good for one year. Well, if I didn't already know that the next flight to Colorado Springs was already sold out, I might have been tempted, for the whole crew! - that'd be one way to reduce costs, for sure! I got Seat 32A (near the back of the plane), with Brad and Brendan sharing the neighboring seats. Nearly everyone got electronic headsets (12 channels to choose from, from symphonies to hard rock), and we quickly taxied out for an uneventful 6:50 liftoff. Fair amount of noise in the back of the plane - we're right on top of the engines. Guys all donned the headsets while I worked on Jenner's Ph.D. thesis [Note - my housemate.] Breakfast at 7:30 - Wheaties, milk, OJ, and a muffin. I gave my Wheaties and milk to Brendan - however, the muffin was actually pretty decent, and died a quick and violent death. Talked about the previous year's trek with Brad and Brendan; they both indicated they had communicated on-line with K.C. in Singapore, even though he's 12 hours out of sync with DC now [Note - K.C. Baker, a Scout from the 1997 trek.] Terminated the conversation as it turned to increasingly crude comments on cyber-girlfriends. By 8:30, we were getting intermittent views of the Mississippi River, and quickly descended into St. Louis; touchdown at 8:52 Very slow de-planing for some reason - we all played "peek-a-boo" with a small child in the seat behind us, which managed to kill about 10 minutes, and finally escaped. Already hot in the access tunnel, but quite cool inside the terminal. We found that our next flight wasn't even listed yet, so I gave Chris and Rusty each a fresh $100 bill - one of the new ones, which excited plenty of comments - to take their respective crews and go find some "brunch." Everyone dumped their carry-on into a pile for Rick and I to watch, and away they went (Rusty and Crew A right, Chris and Crew B left - hmmmmm....) Wrote some diary, and was startled to hear the roar of (obviously) military aircraft taking off - headed over for the window, and managed to get some shots of double F-18's (twin tails) taking off in tandem - hope these turn out! Huge roars for each pair, even inside the terminal. The Missouri National Guard strikes again! At least 6 sets took off, plus some solos. Guys returned by 10 am local, and we shifted everything to Gate D6, our (now-listed) departure gate. Some of the guys - Chris W., Brendan, Jay, Matt S., JT and Brad all played cards (Hearts), while Ryan and Matt C. played "Magic;" everyone else got their release `til 11:20, and immediately returned to the arcade (I think.) Boring wait, although Brendan managed to liven up our crowd by (accidentally???) "shooting the moon" in the game. Area slowly filled up, everyone waiting in line for the gate attendants - glad we got our boarding passes for this flight at BWI! - I'd have hated to have had to lean against the counter for an hour! Took a minute to set my watch to Mountain time (two hours back). The arcade guys returned on the dime at 11:20, just as they started boarding - Mike regaled us with his tale of getting photos with the waitresses at the "Cheers" restaurant in the airport (we'll have to wait on the photos to pass judgement on this one!) Finally boarded ourselves - an older 727 with 3/3 seating again. No movie or electronic headphones on this flight. Mike managed to wheedle a photo with an attractive young lady in 16F, after which I confiscated the camera for the duration. Everyone on board by 11:45, and departed the gate at 11:50. Long wait on the jetways, and finally takeoff at 12:20 - very long takeoff run, with a bumpy rise through light/moderate clouds. Most of the crew napping within 10 minutes. The attendants started serving lunch immediately - not a lot of spare time on this flight; turkey, ham and cheese sub sandwich on wheat, raisins, cookie, potato chips and a drink, not bad, and I was starving at this point anyway. Clouds thickened to near complete overcast, then thinned out to low, scattered cumulus, giving us hazy views of Kansas to the left. Guys watched for the first views of the Rockies, but since there was little or no snow line this year, it took awhile. Didn't really see any mountains until the actual descent. Fast and hard drop into Colorado Springs, but a pretty smooth landing, 1 pm local (Mountain) time. Everyone woke up with the landing except Brad, who was still out like a light. Five minutes to the gate, and a reasonably quick deplaning (had to wake Brad.) I immediately took off for Budget Rent-a-Car, leaving the crews to handle our carry-on and luggage retrieval. At Budget, got a quick ride via a courtesy vehicle to their truck rental center in Colorado Springs - 40 minutes away. Our van was the last, lonely one in their lot - and a huge one it was, too, with a good 12 foot bed - all the room we could possibly need. Everything in order except the price - the guy wanted to charge me $39.99 a day instead of the quoted $29.33. Just a bit of a difference on a 16 day rental, so I pulled the quote sheet for an argument. Turned out he was missing the fact that the weekends were free on the "Manager's Special" I had, which accounted for the disparity. Hit the road just as a heavy thunder-storm hit the area, and drove through it and into the clear as I approached the airport. Located our crowd at the far end of the terminal, with Al and Rick having already secured one of the mini-vans and the car, and the guys loading sleeping bags and carry-on gear into the back of the van and car-trunk. Rick was unhappy to find that one of his checked bags - containing both his and Chris' Colorado stuff - didn't arrive with our packs, not good. He went back inside to continue discussions with the TWA folks; I went back on in to the Budget counter to arrange the cargo van temporary lot storage and pickup for Tim (not due in `til Friday night, late), and also to snag the keys for the second mini-van. Turned out Rick already had the keys for the second van, so all that was left was the cargo van arrangements. Assistant Manager (Amanda) OK'd the arrangement, and I headed back out to help load the stripped packs and other miscellaneous gear into the cargo van, and move it over to the return lot. Turned out the lot manager didn't like the deal (claiming they'd be fined for storing the cargo van in their "close-in" lot), so another 15 minutes was lost while we shifted it over to their ancillary storage lot (about 2 miles away.) No big deal, but we're behind schedule by about an hour now. Back at the main lot, grabbed the second mini-van, finished installing the CB radios (Rick's van's cigarette plug in was dead, so only Al and I had radios), distributed the crew T-Shirts (a big hit, as always, even though everyone was expecting them), and hit the road. Yet another thunderstorm (the second one of the day) moved in from the North as we exited the lot. Took Academy Boulevard to 115 South, and immediately outran the storm on our way to Canon City. Rt. 115 has been somewhat improved now, with new macadam and some passing lanes on the uphills, so it's a better road than in years past. Took Rt 50 West through Canon City (with a temporary error turning back onto 115 South in town, quickly rectified), and on to Royal Gorge, arriving around 4:50 or so. Dark skies threatening, but no rain or thunder - yet. As usual, a bunch of deer were wandering around the parking lot, all being petted and fed by tourists oblivious to the "Please Do Not Feed the Animals" signs all over the place. Had to stop the crew from enveloping one of the larger does - these deer are semi-tame, docile, and well familiar with humans, but even so don't like being surrounded, and "hospitalized for concussion after being kicked in the head by a deer" would be a pretty sad epitaph to anyone's Philmont trek. Our reservations were in order, so after a couple of group photos by the water clock (just inside the entrance to the park), I gave the guys a quick orientation on what was available (only Nathan and Rusty had been here before), plus a general warning to continue drinking plenty of water, and turned `em loose. Virtually everyone headed for the bridge. Got a few more shots of the older guys, who hung back a bit to check out some of the overlooks on the near side, then we all followed the first group to the other side. Royal Gorge boasts the highest suspension bridge in the World, almost 1100 feet above the Arkansas River. An awesome place - the pictures don't do it justice. The walkover is a bit intimidating because the bed is only lumber ties turned sideways, with plenty of gaps between the boards. Very exciting when vehicles drive across. I managed to snag some pretty good photos, especially of John, Nathan and Mike holding the Virginia State Flag (the entire bridge is lined with flags from all 50 states); I hope Rick is working the other group with his camera. Mike very nervous on the bridge - but nowhere near as bad as Robert M. back in `96, who had a serious case of the willies. Distant thunderstorms seem to be fading away with the day; certainly less threatening than when we arrived. Snagged a coke from the tourist-trap complex on the south side of the bridge (which got me separated from everyone), and headed up for the aerial tramway, gasping for breath the whole way up (not exactly encouraging after all the prep work I did in Arlington!!!) Hooked back up with John, Nathan and Mike, and we all took the tram back to the main complex (shared the ride with a group of Mennonites, all done up in standard "plain" dress.) Spectacular views in all directions; got some great shots. Back at the complex, the guys wanted to hit the snack bar, so we parted company, and I headed back out to the van for more film. Returning, I hit the little kiddie-train that does a 1/4 mile loop around the upper reaches of the park - even though I've been here 4 or 5 times, I've never tried this, so what the heck. Shared the ride with a bunch of giggling children and their parents. Not much of a ride, but I got some pretty good pictures of flowering cactus which would never have survived around the parking lot with all the tourists picking at them. Had an enjoyable chat with the engineer afterwards - interesting guy; he's been working there for decades, but still seems to enjoy himself. He also the mechanic for the train, so not just a driver. Finally headed down to the incline tramway, and got an immediate ride all the way down to the Arkansas River - however, virtually the entire crew was waiting at the bottom, and told me to stay on, since they had been waiting "forever" in a long line. The guy running the show gave me a break, and allowed me to stay on board, so I avoided being a needless half-hour delay on our departure - lucky! Back to the top at 6:50, and (after John, JT, Nathan and Mike had their fun riding around on the kiddie carousel - every Scout still has a little 5 year old boy locked up inside himself) we headed for the exits. Asked the gatekeepers for their recommendations on decent places to eat in Canon City; they recommended K-Bob's (and who could resist a name like that???) at the end of town in Canon City. Cruised back to town and found it in quick order - big place, and they said they could take us immediately, so good deal. Excellent salad bar and dessert bar, and good food, too - I think we found another winner here. Back on the road at dusk, and up 115 North to Colorado Springs. I'm starting to lose focus now (35 straight hours without sleep will do that to you), but full A/C and the occasional half-dozen hard slaps in the face worked wonders (if somewhat tough on Brad, who was freezing to death in the shotgun seat!) Up I-25 to the Air Force Academy; tried to drop off Al and Rick at the Scout Huts, but they insisted on following me all the way to the Firehouse for the keys. Took about 10 minutes to find someone who knew where the keys were located, then back to the Scout Huts. Quick unloading, setup of the hall, and immediate bedtime - another long day tomorrow. 62 degrees, clear and starry, but distant lightning both north and south. I again set myself up in the "side office" again, but basically crashed right after clearing the dining room area and organizing the receipts and next day's activity files - nothing left of me for diary writing tonight! Rick took the far back room, while Al crashed with the Scouts in the main (front) room. Plenty of room after all, so we didn't need the dining room floor as I had originally thought; good to know if I ever end up taking 3 crews out here. Mike apparently regaled everyone with a 15 minute long rap harangue after lights-out, but I was in a coma two minutes into it (and so didn't hear the bitching about it until the next morning.) A good day, and a good start.