Bama, good to be back posting again
Loved reading the responses so far, I have a few I'll share myself.
I've stayed at Creekside Meadows a few times, all with the Boy Scouts (Eagle Scout class of 91!). So I would say the majority of my trips were in the late 80's to early 90's (including at least two in the 90's). I can relate to a lot of what Bama Ed talks about.
1) I definitely remember the dew being everywhere. You would wake up, and sometimes it would be lijke a river outside your tent, just this fine layer of dew branching out in all directions.
2) We never had to wear our uniforms when we went to the parks, thankfully. We just wore shorts and a t-shirt, although I do think a guy or two wore his scout shorts in. Nothing was worse at that age then having to wear high socks :/
I also remember all the open campfires, we had some huges one's back in the day. Back then it seemed that Creekside Meadows got a lot more use. Oh, and let's not forget this is also the times of the Marshmallow Roast!! Those of you that have done it know what I'm talking about, where you would take the canoes, go back to the little cabin on the south east corner of Bay Lake, roast marshmallows, sing songs, etc... We used to sing this song where you would put a banana in your mouth, sing "Banana, banana, chomp" and take another bite of banana. The thing was, you didn't have time to chew, so you ended up singing with a big mouth full of banana, great memory, we still bring that song up if someone is eating a banana to this day.
I also remember one year we had a really bad case of pink eye go through Creekside Meadows. Lots of guys came down with it, myself included. Woke up one morning with the crusty eyes, ugh, that is such a crap feeling. Feels like it's been so long since I've even seen a case of pink eye. Guess with Reilly, I'll be seeing more of it again in the future...lol.
Also, Bama, your post about your annual planning meeting trip sparked some memories of my own. Never went to Seabase (strange, considering it was the closest one to us), but never heard anything but great things about it. Did a lot of research on it once as well. We've stayed at another campground they have, where you camp right on the ocean, but it's just a campground, not all the activities like Seabase. You guys are going to have a blast, what activities are you guys doing?
As for Philmont, one of the GREAT experiences of my life. My dad still has our black and white group photo holding up our trip number (just a wood sign with replaceable numbers) hanging up in his garage. Was great that my mom went along on the trip, along with two other adults (including my dad, the scoutmaster), and about 7-8 of us scouts (including my brother). We spent 8 days walking in the hills and mountains of the Sangre De Cristo mountain range.
So many great stories from that trip that we still all relate to each other, it's one of those really big bonding experiences that we had no clue was happening at the time. Although, it does have one experience that I always refer to at times throughout my life. It was pouring down rain, like I mean heavy thunderstorm, barely could see about 5 feet in front of you. Was also cold, and we were in the middle of nowhere, with full packs, pulling a mule. It was also, even though it was middle afternoon, pitch dark outside from the storm, could not see anything.
We came to a fork on the trail, that was not on the map. So we have our flashlights out, and we're all looking at this map that's in a plastic krinkled bag. With all the lights shining, it was even harder to see. So I took the map, got my compass out, went and found a little bit of cover, and did some calculations. Then my assistant Senior Patrol Leader did the same, as well as one of the adults, Jim Kerns (ex-Marine). EVERYONE said we needed to keep on going straight and head to the north. I had seen something on the map though, that made me think that we had to go west, up harder and higher terrain. No one would agree with me, but in the end, the final decision was up to me. So in the middle of the dark day, in the pouring down rain, in the cold, and mud, I decided to go against everyone, and go with what my gut was telling me. Let's just say, the adults were not very happy with the decision, and it was probably the only time I ever heard them question a leadership decision in front of everyone. But I just knew what I saw, and I knew it would take too much time to try to convince all of them.
It was a lonely 2 hour walk after that, the rain didn't stop up, and the cold became biting. Nothing was telling us we were going the right way, minus a few times when we thought we noticed the valley we were trying to find. And finally, we did find it, and we walked in, soaked, but relieved. Come to find out, it actually had been the right way, and had we gone the other way, we would have come to a flash flood river that had built up, and we would have either had to try to cross it, or spend an hour backtracking. And even if the river would have been crossed, it still was a roundabout out of the way back to the valley.
So some of the staff were worried about hypothermia, so they put us in these big bulk showers, that were outdoors. We were like, what the heck, it's freezing, and you want us to sit outside. But then they turned on the hot water, and soon the whole outdoor area was freaking covered in steam. It was like the greatest shower ever. We ate soup and had hot chocolate after that, on the side of a hill under a tarp. Slept like a baby that night though
Sorry, that turned into a big long rant about Philmont. Anyways, that moment always sticks with me, whenever I feel like I'm being overrun and I know I'm right. Doesn't mean it always works out, but there is always a chance it will.
