Florida Coalcracker Chronicles: After 64 Years - I returned to the Philmont Scout Ranch

Sunday, October 11, 2026

After 64 Years - I returned to the Philmont Scout Ranch

This is the two lane road from the Interstate to camp.
This is where the plains meet the Rocky Mountains.

My Dad was a scoutmaster - he look
like this guy - big nose - big ears.
They called him Happy.

As a 14 year old boy in 1962 - my Mom and Dad worked hard for the chance to send me to Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron NM. The trip was 3 weeks long. Three trains from New York to Chicago to Denver then finally to Raton NM.

Waite Philips - a rich oil tycoon gave 38000 acres and his ranch to the Boy Scouts. They promised to keep it open for boys in America to enjoy this high adventure experience. Basically for 2 weeks we hiked through the mountains and high deserts. We learned about the earth sciences - Indian Culture - and building independence and character.

Since it was 64 years ago - I remembered some things - and time changed the manmade stuff. But the natural settings are timeless. Most of our time was spent out in the wild. Tonight we are staying in a lodge at the base camp. We are in a lodge behind the Waite Philips Villa.

Last night we slept in downtown Santa Fe at a Hilton Hotel which was made from an old adobe pueblo. Both Santa Fe and Cimarron are at about 6500 feet above sea level. Cimarron is a town about as large as Tamaqua PA. It is certainly the outback of America. They get about 13 inches of rain a year compared to Tamaqua's 40 inches of rain. There are many buttes and mesas and other geologic formations. They are easy to see because of the sparse vegetation. New Mexico only has 2 million people compared to Florida' 23 million.

Back to Philmont - this is the camp's off season. But they still use the facilities for workshops and seminars - to pay the bills. I expected to see a chain across the entrance. When we checked their web page - they offered cabins - lodges - bungalows - even tents for rent. We spent $100 for a night in a large room - designed for seasonal counselors - and administrators. When I came here the first time in 1962 - we spent the first and last night at camp here in tents. The tents are much nicer today and designed to take harsh weather - and stay erected all year.

I reflect on how a coal miner and factory worker scraped up the money to send me to Philmont. My Dad was a scoutmaster in Snyders PA. Many times he was offered the chance to take a group of kids here - but he could never afford to take off 3 weeks of work. Mom worked extra hard to pin $60 into the bottom inside of my sleeping bag. We had no internet or cell phones. No credit cards. In the 3 weeks - I never called home.

We will have breakfast tomorrow in the dining hall - then we will be off to Taos - Los Alamos - Santa Fe - and Albuquerque. Tuesday at 7 am - we fly home to Tallahassee. Things are far apart out here. The highways are wide and straight - very little traffic. We are driving a Hyundai Elantra - which is very nice. The mile meter sometimes reads 50 miles per gallon.