Arrowhead Ranch: Ft. Lone Tree

After the Family Dinner, the skits, and the campfire music were over, we bedded down for the night in our bunkhouse. Jen enjoyed sleeping in a bunkbed and Dobbie just goes with the flow. As long as she can tuck herself down underneath the blankets, she’s a happy clam. And as I fell asleep, the most beautiful sound on earth serenaded me to sleep: Rain, Blessed Rain.

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In the morning, I woke up at 7am and went for a long walk around the ranch, before any of the other campers awoke. It was a great way to start the day. When I got back, it was time for breakfast, followed by packing up all our stuff, to head on down the road. After Jax and Jem shared many goodbyes and hugs, we were on our way.

Our first stop was just a few miles down the road at the Smokey Bear Historical Park, where we were going to find a letterbox.

Smokey Bear’s Gravesite

It is a beautiful, peaceful area to just enjoy nature, and that’s just what we did after returning the letterbox to it’s hiding place.

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Another mile down the road, we stopped for another letterbox and after stamping in, tried to entice the cattle to pose for photos, but with our monsoon season blessing us with daily rain, the grass is just too good for any self-respecting cow to even take one moment away from munching, to pose for the camera.

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Moving on. We drove right on through the historic town of Lincoln, NM, the former stomping grounds of Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. Billy the Kid broke out of jail for the last time in Lincoln, killing Deputy J. W. Bell and U. S. Marshall Bob Ollinger, in the process. We didn’t stop to visit this time because we were just there last year. You can check out that post and all it’s photos with this link: Lincoln, New Mexico.

Soon after we drove through the little town of Hondo, and then about 45 miles further east, we finally reached Roswell, where we had planned to do some exploring and letterboxing.

We were hungry as soon as we arrived and we thought it would be fun to eat inside the only Space Ship designed McDonald’s in the world.

Smurfs look like aliens, too.

Afterwards, we went in search of a place to hide our own letterbox….and we did.

We thought the location was perfect! We hope others do, too.

Then we drove back down Main Street, checking out all the Little Green Men everywhere we looked.

We then found a quiet, deeply shaded, cool and breezy bank parking lot to park the van, so that Dobbie could wait inside with the windows open, so we could head inside the International UFO Museum and Research Center to look for a letterbox.

It was simple to find. All we had to do was ask for it in the library. The lady also gave the kids some packets filled with educational material about UFOs, the Roswell Crash Site and Cover Up, and lots of fun, entertaining, collectable goodies.

The Research Library was a very cool place to explore and while I stamped into the letterbox, Jem found an interesting book, from the Area 51 Series, to read about the famous top secret Area 51 in Nevada.

The letterbox packaging was cleverly done inside the book, with a cut out area inside for the stamp and logbook. There were also additional clues inside for two bonus boxes to find later.

So, have you ever seen a UFO?

I don’t think I’ve ever seen one, but when we lived in Rio Rancho, NM about 17 years ago, I saw Ball Lightning, which at the time was pretty terrifying because I’d never seen a blue ball of lightning traveling across the ground before. It was only about a mile from our house on the desert mesa, and I must admit that after I watched for a few minutes, I closed the door and locked it and said a little prayer.

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Anyway, after we got everything put away and cleaned up, we explored inside the museum for a little while.

Afterwards we walked outside to search for the two bonus boxes and once found, we walked back to the van. I was worried about Dobbie, but she was just fine. In fact, the ice in my soda hadn’t even melted, so I was very relieved. We drove around exploring some side streets and enjoying all the unique murals and storefronts with Little Green Men.

And then we drove further into Roswell, to look for another local letterbox inside of a little community zoo and park.

Up Next: Purple Cows and Spinning Chickens

I know I didn’t mention it, probably because talking about it just made me sad, but my twinlings weren’t home for the past two weeks because they were attending Fort Lone Tree High Adventure Bible Camp down in Capitan, New Mexico in the Lincoln National Forest, near Ruidoso, NM.

They’ve been going to Ft. Lone Tree for 3 years now. The first two years were as campers, and only for a week each time. And Jax participated in a weekend Homeschool Band Retreat there, a couple years ago when he was playing Trombone. This summer they were going to be Counselors in Training and we’re going to be away from home for 2 weeks. That’s a long time for their Mama who spends most every day with my super terrific sons, whether it be during our homeschool day, or while we were out running errands, attending classes or lessons, going camping, hiking, or letterboxing. We’re together a lot and I think I can safely say that we really enjoy our time together and miss one another greatly when we’re apart.

But, my sons are growing up and we all need to get used to them spending more time away from home because it’s an inevitable stage of life that in a few years they’ll be wanting to experience life on their own terms, as adults.

But I don’t have to like it. Because Boy Howdy! I sure missed those boys of mine while they were gone these past two weeks. I missed their kind and helpful ways with their sister and me, always willing to lend a hand. I missed their interesting conversations, and their absolutely fabulous sense of humor and silliness that always makes me laugh.

Jem wearing his new Geek Glasses that a friend from camp gave him last week. It’s not the glasses that are so funny. It’s what he does while wearing them that is a riot!

And I missed their creativeness and intelligence and ability to problem solve, especially when something breaks or my computer goes haywire. Jax especially is my own personal Geek Squad and is able to fix just about anything at all that goes wrong with my computer. I think when he moves out on his own one day, I will have him on speed dial. But I also missed just relaxing and reading books together with Jem. Both of their cats, Hopi and Sage, missed their boys, too. And their sister Jen, was beside herself without her big brothers around. She asked me to play Little Big Planet on PS3 with her while her brothers were away, and she told me plain and simple, that I just wasn’t as much fun as her brothers on the video game. Oy!

Their Dad, missed them, too, but only while he was home for a few days, from his job in Phoenix. He said it was much too quiet in the house. I agree. And typically I like it quiet, because both hubby and I were only children and are used to that. But things are different now and I’ve had a little peek into the future and it makes me kind of sad.

But this isn't supposed to be a sad post. MY BOYS ARE HOME!!! HOORAY!

And I want to share some highlights of their time during camp and our road trip and letterboxing adventures on the way back home.

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Jen, Dobbie (because my little dog goes everywhere with me) and I drove down to Capitan on Friday afternoon. It’s about a 3 hour drive from our house. We drove south from Tijeras, east through Estancia, southeast to Corona, turned east at Carrizozo, and drove east into Capitan. I always enjoy this drive because until we get closer to Carrizozo, it’s rare to see more than a few vehicles sharing the road with us. I love having the entire road to myself and the beautiful vast New Mexico scenery spread out before me on all sides.

I was so excited to see my boys and that last few miles driving down the gravel road to the camp was filled with anticipation. After I parked and had a look around, I finally saw them and was shocked and amazed at how much it seemed they had grown, how healthy, tanned, self-confident, handsome and happy they looked.

They seemed to know everyone’s names and everyone knew them, too.

They had me taking pictures of their new friends left and right.

They are such goofy guys!

(Jax and Jem were all wet and messy from a skit they did just before this photo…..more on that later. It was hilarious!)

Even with the kitchen crew, who Jax worked with every night because he chose dishwashing as his favorite after-meal chore. They both appreciated getting to know these two special people, and in fact, the gentleman in the middle gifted Jem with a brand new Study Bible with DVD, too. Jem was pretty touched.

You can bet there was a lot of huggin' going on! They give the best and biggest hugs ever! Did I mention how much I missed them boys? hehe!

(Here they are with one of the adult counselors, who is 24 yrs old. Yeah, I know my boys are tall!)

Once we arrived at Ft. Lone Tree Adventure Bible Camp, we got settled into our bunkhouse. Jen and I brought our sleeping bags and pillows and we had our own room, right beside Jax and Jem’s room, that they shared with some other Counselors in Training.

(Their room is on the left and Jen and I had the room on the right. Each room had about 4-6 bunkbeds inside, as well as showers and a bathroom)

The entire camp resembles a Fort, high up on a hill with views south towards Ruidoso.

Each week of camp, Jax and Jem were assigned a group of young campers to be responsible for in getting them to all of their activities, which included Zipline, Ropes Course, Rock Wall, RC Cars, Archery, Shooting Range, Challenge Courses, Water Slide, Water Games, Horse Back Riding, Rodeo Games, Bible Study, Campfire each evening, and all meals. They were often given the opportunity to join in the activities, too, especially on the weekends, when their young campers went home and they prepared for the next group of young campers to arrive.

I was kind of surprised to hear that Jem went horseback riding and participated in Rodeo Games several times, while Jax didn’t ride at all. The well-trained horses at Ft. Lone Tree are used to packing kids around every day and are as safe as they come. But Jax is still harboring some residual fear from when he was bucked off Bella last summer, so I need to get him a lesson with Jessica, who I know can get Jax back up in the saddle on Apache and help him move past his fear.

Anyway, after we got settled in it was time for Family Night, which included a delicious dinner of Beef Brisket, mashed potatoes, corn, bisquits, watermelon, cake and drinks. The Counselors in Training helped serve the meal to everyone before they were able to sit down and eat. They did a great job, very professional, too.

After dinner, while all the kids cleaned up, all the parents were invited to gather in the Mess Hall to watch a fun video of their kids having a great time doing all the activities during the previous week of camp. I laughed every time I saw my boys on the screen. It was obvious to see that their young campers really liked their leaders and how Jax and Jem enjoyed spending time with their campers, too. A sense of humor and a laid back personality go a long way in a place like summer camp, that’s for sure!

Right after the movie it was time for Entertainment, in the form of skits. The Counselors in Training were up first, which included Jax and Jem.

(Photo taken behind the stage curtain after they completed their skit. Jax seemed to get the worst of the mess. lol!)

Right away I knew what their skit was all about, because ironically, just before they left for camp two weeks prior, I had I shared with them one of my own fun camp experiences, which involved a skit. It was a skit where I sat at a table with another camper squatting down behind me, invisible to me and everyone else, with their arms inside a smock that was draped in front of me. They were posing as my own arms, preparing to scratch my nose and head, give me drinks of water and bites of food, while I sat on my own hands, at the mercy of the unseen presence behind me. It was akin to the blind leading the blind. And it is hysterically funny to watch!

This photo is after the meal….what a mess! Perhaps they should have been the last skit of the night. lol!

I took a few still shots after the skit was through, but most of it I video taped. You don’t have to watch all the videos, but I included them all here for the sake of their Grandparents, who I know read my blog. Each video is actually short, but there are 5 of them. And I know that if you decide to watch these videos, you won’t be sorry, just try to ignore the cackling lady with the video camera.

Exit Stage Right!

I was laughing so hard I was crying. I think I annoyed my friend Suzanne who was sitting beside me, because a little later she said, “It was funny, but not that funny” I had to explain to her that it really was that funny for me because it brought back all those memories of my own camp skit from years ago. And, really, my sons are just so stinking funny, that they never fail to make me laugh. I can’t help it. I love to laugh whenever I find the opportunity. Life is too short to be unhappy. So there! *grin*

Naughty Jax! No picking your nose at the table! lol!