July 2022
Time to make: 3 hours
Finishing: 1 hour
Original design: Philmont / Bill Macfarlane
Thursday, July 14, 2022
Slide of the Month Extra- Philmont Fish Camp
July 2022
Time to make: 3 hours
Finishing: 1 hour
Original design: Philmont / Bill Macfarlane
Day 4 and we are headed to Fish Camp was one of Waite Philips remote camps (called Rayado Lodge) for well...fishing. It is said, the area was one of Waite Philips favorate areas. While you can fish here with gear furnished by the camp (if you have a New Mexico fishing License ) the best part is you can use a fly you tied yourself. You can bet I'll have a hand tied fly attached to my hat! (But at $56 for a non-resident fishing license, I won't be fishing.)
Carved from Southern (pallet) pine there, are several levels to this slide with the fish being the top level and the background being the lowest level. The slide is painted with hobby paints and the lettering is using waterslide paper. A couple of coats of poly finish it off.
Wednesday, July 13, 2022
Slide of the Month Extra-Philmont Abreu (Cantina)
July 2022
Time to make: 1.5 hours
Finishing: 1 hour
Original design: Philmont / Bill Macfarlane
Day 3 and we are heading to Carson Meadows, which I've highlighted here and here, yet all I can think of is the nearby Abreu Cantina.
It's hot, the sweat is drenching your clothes, the pack feels so much heaver than yesterday, and you've hiked too many "ranger miles" to count. Yet at the end of this part of the trek you know a there is a mug of refreshing root beer that awaits at the cantina. Abreu is one of the period staffed camps at Philmont repersenting the Abreu homestead.
Ok I have to admit, if our crew picks a southern route, I'm looking forward to getting to the Abreu site not only for the cantina and program but for the meal and shower that I will so desperately desire by this point in the trek.
EDIT: We didn't get to see the Cantina do to a "Bat infestation" but did get to go to a makeshift store in a lower building. The mugs of root beer ended up being cans of "Mug" root beer.
Kind of a simple slide to carve as it only has three levels (the door header, the building, and the inset door). Carved from southern (pallet) pine, painted with hobby paints, lettered with waterslide paper, and finished off with a couple coats of poly.
Tuesday, July 12, 2022
Slide of the Month Extra - Philmont Kit Carson Museum at Rayado
July 2022
Time to make: 3 hours
Finishing: 1 hour
Original design: Philmont / Bill Macfarlane
It is the first day of the trek and we should have taking a short 2 mile hike to Olympia camp. But then came the Cooks Peak fire so there is a change of plans since Olympia camp as well as some of the trails we would be using have been affected by the fire. As of the time I'm writing this, we will get bused to Rayado to take part in some activities then spend our first night at Toothache camp. For some reason, I got the feeling it is going to be one of the hardest because we will still be getting use to the altitude and learning all we can from the ranger. One of the nearby attractions is the Kit Carson Museum at Rayado which we might take a chance to see.
Back in 1848 when Lucien Maxwell decided to found the first American settlement in New Mexico, he asked his friend Kit Carson to provide security. From 1848 to 1853, Kit built a ranch at Rayado where he raised cattle, horses and sheep. In 1950 the Boy Scouts of America built an Adobe Museum to portray his time at Rayado.
Carved from southern (pallet) pine the carving of this prairie schooner had a difficult challenge in that I probably come back to sometime in the future - the wheels. Trying to make the spokes, felloes, and hubs look right will probably take a microscope and miro carving tool. That being said, the slide was painted with hobby paints, lettered with waterslide paints, and sealed with a couple coats of poly.
Monday, July 11, 2022
Slide of the Month Extra: Philmont 2022
July 2022
Time to make: 3 hours
Finishing: 2 hours
Original design: Bill Macfarlane
Day 1 and we are arriving at Philmont Scout Ranch. So much to do today getting ready for us setting out on our trek. The slide today is the buffalo's head which is the symbol of Philmont 2022.
Carved from a piece of red maple and the horns are made from plastic. I used a wood burner to make the hairs on the head and then stained the head a dark brown. I painted the horns black and drilled a couple of holes to glue the horns in place. The nose and beard is also painted black. The eyes were done with paint pens. Though hard to see, the lettering is done with waterslide paper and a couple of coats of poly finish it off.
Sunday, July 10, 2022
Slide of the Month Extra: St. James Hotel
July 2022
Time to make: 1.5 hours
Finishing: 1 hour
Original design: Philmont / Bill Macfarlane
It's the day before we arrive at Philmont but we are in Cimarron, NM and one of the places we will be at is the St. James Hotel. Now I know what your thinking, why a door? I'll get to that...
The St. James has a long history in Cimarron as famous and infamous have stayed there such as Wyatt Earp, Buffalo Bill, Bat Masterson, Zane Grey, Clay Allison, Black Jack Ketchum, Annie Oakley, Jesse James, and the outlaw Davy Crockett (a descendant of the original) just to name a few. It is said there are so many bullet holes in the celling that the roof had to be replaced and a double layer of hardwood floor placed in the rooms upstairs to keep sleeping guests from being shot by some downstairs. You can still see 20 bullet holes in the dining room alone. The door? I'm getting there.
One other thing, the hotel is haunted. From Mary Lambert, the wife of the original owner, who's favorite haunt is to stand at the end of a guest's bed until they become aware of her presence to the little boy who giggles and runs through the halls. But one of the most active ghosts is T.J. Wright who won the hotel in a poker game one night. The following day he was going to collect his winnings but was shot by an unknown assailant. The wounded cowboy was carried to a room where he died two days latter. Yes, the room was room 18 which he believes is his room in his hotel. In the past when room 18 has been rented to guests, TJ goes on a rampage roaming the halls and breaking things. The owners decided that room 18 would be locked and kept for TJ Wright as his own. Every month the staff changes the linens, leave a fresh bottle of Jack Daniels whisky, and tobacco to keep him happy.
Carved from a piece of pallet pine, a simple slide to carve and finish. I first painted with a white primer first and then painted with a thin brown hobby paint to give it a wood grain look. The door knob is a black tack and the lettering is done with waterslide paper. A couple of coats of poly finish it off.
Saturday, July 9, 2022
Slide of the Month Extra: Koshare
July 2022
Time to make: 3 hours
Finishing: 2 hours
Original design: Bill Macfarlane
Its 3 days till Philmont and we should be at the Koshare Kiva in La Junta, Co. The Kiva was built by La Junta Boy Scout troop in 1949 as a museum having a large collection of Native American art and artifacts. It is also has the worlds largest self-supported wooden log roof and was built without any nails. We will get to stay here overnight but best of all we get to see the world-famous Koshare Indian Dancers. This slide represents the Koshare the sacred clown of the Hopi which I hope we will see during the show.
Carved from a stake I found in a hardware store while traveling for work. Odd piece of wood which was hard in some places and soft in others. Despite that, carving away in my hotel room with no other tools but an X-acto knife. Now you might be thinking, how did I pack a whittling knife and get through security. The answer is quite simple, I bring an X-acto handle or two with me and buy blades in the city I'm in. Before leaving, I throw the blades away but I digress....When I got home I painted the slide with hobby paints and sealed it with a couple coats of poly. When the slide was dry, I drilled small holes in each side of the hat and another hole in the hand. The cornstalk hair was made by super gluing pieces of yellow insulated wire into the ends of the hat and when dry, triming/shaping them. The stick is a toothpick glued and finished with super glue.
Friday, July 8, 2022
Slide of Month Extra: Rubber Duck
July 2022
Time to make: 1/2 hour
Finishing: 0 hour
Original design: Bill Macfarlane
It's days until we offically step foot on Philmont and after today it might be a soggy foot for today we are white water rafting at Royal Gorge in Canon City, Co. But fear not because I have my Rubber Duck with me.
OK I admit sometimes my sense of humor gets the best of me...
A very easy low cost slide to make. Dollar store rubber ducks (3 to a package) and a sharp knife is all you need. I cut a rectangular slot about 1/2 inches into the back of the behind the head and before the tail. The I cut a similar slot in the bottom of the rubber duck - easy peasy,
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