From: don@hummellawfirm.com
Date: Thu Mar 28 2002 - 10:18:11 CST
Funny, I was just asking these questions last week myself. I'll share the
answers I've gotten
I'll be at PTC the second week in July, with spouse, 11 YO Son and 8 YO
Daughter
> Can you tell me
> what to expect and how to prepare?
You may not have gotten it yet, but PTC sends a "Family Guidebook" that
answers virtually all these questions.
Including what to bring.
> - What will the weather be like (typically) in the 3rd week of June?
Depend on rain everyday at 3pm. The frequent discussion here is that
poncho's are inadequate and will leave you miserable (probably not as
important at PTC as on the trail, though) and that rainsuits are far better.
It is my understanding that nighttime temps will hover near 40 degrees F
>
> - What activities will the kids be involved in?
Answered in the Family Guidebook. Your daughter would be in Muchachas who
will "participate in Villa and Museum tours, hikes, field sports,
handicraft, projects, nature activities, a horse ride, outdoor cooking,
games, and an overnighter" (not a backpack). On the overnighter, I'm
informed their gear will be trucked to their hike destination and they
should only carry a daypack with at least 2 liters of water to drink. Your
son will be in cub scouts (not webelos, they do it strictly by age, 10 for
their webelos group), he will have activiites "including hiking, villa and
museum tours, archery, pony rides, air rifle shooting, sports, nature hikes,
cub scout games, and handicrafts. I'm told the kids will bond with their
fellows and that is part of the fun they'll be having. You may want to
bring some supplies for patch trading :-)
>
> - What should we see while we are out there?
Answered in the Family Guidebook, along with additional materials about
Cimmaron and its activities.
>We'll have a week of vacation
> before arriving at Philmont, traveling from Minnesota.
Are you asking what to do during that week? That depends a lot on where you
will be during that week. Here's what I've gatheredd from the group.
>From what I'm hearing, a trip into Taos is pretty common on the Wednesday
free day, kit carson museum and house, all that stuff, so it would appear
visits to more outlying areas might be pretty reasonable. We'll be spending
a couple days in Santa Fe, a town that was founded a 1000 years ago and the
Spanish came to in 1610. There're several 17th century structures to view,
etc. Albuquerque also has a lot of interesting sites. East from Santa Fe
is Fort Union, the Federal supply fort that was started in 1847 and served
as the main depot for the southwest during the Indian wars. You may also
want to go to Taos and Taos Pueblo, and leave Cimmarron or hiking for your
free day at the PTC.
With an entire week, if you are flying into either Colo. Sprgs or
Albuquerque, you can go to a lot of stuff that is near either. Try the AAA
Tour book if you can get it.
>
> - How many kids are typically there in my kids' age groups
Now there is a question I didn't ask. It sounds like the number is
manageable, since there appear to be 2-3 crew members assigned to each
group.
> - Any other advice or information you feel would be helpful to us?
>
I think the best piece of advice I got was to make sure you bring some small
gifts (maybe food, given advice 4 below) to give to the guides who are
working with your kids.
The second best piece of advice I've gotten is to relax and just enjoy it,
spouse and kids will have a blast and won't want to leave, so stop worrying.
The third piece of advice is since you're at high altitude (if 6,600 is
high), drink LOTS of water while there, it will make you feel better.
The fourth piece of advice is that the food is marginal so bring lots of
tasty snacks to supplement the meals.
Since I'm in your shoes, I can only say YMMV and hope you will enjoy
yourself and report back here about the experience when you get back.
Regards
Don Roberts
ASM T1201
Fullerton, CA
Eagle class of 73
JWF July 7-13 at PTC
Philtrek August 2003
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