School may not be in session, but summer is high time for Boy Scouts.
In July, just before the monsoons hit, the Scouts of Troop 501 hiked from Little Molas Lake to Coal Bank Pass via the Colorado and Engineer trails.
Among the skills they practiced were campsite selection, Leave No Trace and navigation with a map and compass. A map and compass may sound old-fashioned in this era of GPS, but as someone who uses digital maps, let me just say GPS is fallible at this stage of development And after reading that Australia is moving so much it has had to recalibrate its GPS numbers, I don’t see this changing soon.
My father, Charles Butler, a former Boy Scout whose older brother, Bill, was an Eagle Scout, was a geologist for whom map reading became a critical job skill. It was a skill he liked to share. He used to joke that I could read maps before I could read words, and I have been the navigator on more road trips than I can count.
The boys’ 22-mile hike was in preparation for an 80-mile trek at Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, New Mexico, where the boys are learning new skills as I write. The trip to Philmont is funded by the community through the popcorn sales, the Boy Scout version of Girls Scout cookies sales.
Scoutmaster Rob Kolter said the community is generous every year when the boys are selling popcorn and raising funds for annual operations. He wants to increase scouting‘s visibility so we know what they are doing – not just Troop 501, but all scouting.
A recent example of the troop’s community serviced was the clean up of Greenmount Cemetery after the fireworks display on the Fourth of July.
Boy Scouts have a thriving local organization, so it’s easier for me to get information about them, but as a former Girl Scout, I would also like to get more stories about both genders of scouting. The local Girl Scout troops are run out of Denver instead of Southwest Colorado, so I would like to encourage local Girl Scouts to give me a heads-up (with photos, if possible) when you’re doing something cool.
Asking for a new super-duper umbrella for their birthdays during these heavy monsoons are Summer Lynch, Rosine Stout, Ron Ollier, Don Ollier, Julie Schultz, Deborah Uroda, Cooke Seale, Kathrene Frautschy, Sue Caplan, Wayne Caplan, Alexander Trlica, Bob Pope, Bob Griffith, Phil Patterson, Roy Cook, Peri Ann Milner, Bob Lundquist, Nora Huston, Van Butler, Scott McClellan, Karen Anderson, Kent Herath, Jennifer Rudolph, Sandy Dalenberg, Laura Stransky, Judy Danielson, Glenn Francis and Roger Landgren.
No sitting in a recliner and vegging out for newly retired Miller Middle School teacher Chuck Lang.
In true Durango style, he decided to see the U.S.A. on two wheels when classes let out.
Lang just completed a solo coast-to-coast bike tour from Bellingham, Washington, to Bar Harbor, Maine. That would be 4,127 miles for those of you who don’t feel like pulling out a map and figuring out the scale. (I’m in a map mode after the previous item.) And he did it in 50 days pulling a bike trailer.
While his wife, Sue Lang, is proud of his accomplishment, she has laid down the law about future trips.
“Apparently there is a new ‘house rule’ that limits the time away to two to three weeks,” he said. “Maybe the Atlantic coast or the Sierra Cascades for my next trip, but given the new ‘rule,’ I will have to ride fast!”
Summer is high season for Habitat for Humanity of La Plata County. Not only are the organization and its volunteers in full spate on building two homes for members of our local workforce, the organization hosts High Heels and Hammers, a networking fundraiser attended by numerous members of the construction trade and participates in the Home Builders Association of Southwest Colorado’s annual Chili Cook-off.
High Heels and Hammers, held July 23, turned Ska Brewing Co., a little more pink than usual. The revenue, sponsorships and silent auction from the event are a key component of the funding for the annual builds, said Rachel Taylor-Saghie, executive director of Habitat.
“Without the local support at our Restore, fundraisers and job site, we would struggle to stay in this ever-challenging real estate market,” she said.
With ingredients from chocolate to habanero chiles, the cook-off, held at Durango Nursery, offers another chance to get together at a time when the entire construction industry is working full-out to take advantage of the good weather.
The dress code du jour was Hawaiian shirts and leis, which, while not at all associated with chili, personified the summer mood.
The first place for chili award went to Colorado Fenestra, which donated its prize money to the GoFundMe campaign for Braydon, 10, and Dylan Lappin, 8. Their mother, Bonnie Albright, a sixth-grade teacher in Bayfield, was killed in a car accident in Mexico in June.
Second place went to Western Group Insurance, which donated its prize to D-Snip. D-Snip provides spaying and neutering for dogs and cats. And third place went to Bank of Colorado, a sponsor of the event, which donated its prize money to Arc of the Southwest. Arc works to ensure that people with cognitive and physical disabilities and their families have the support and access to services they deserve.
The cook-off also offered an opportunity for homebuilders’ association president Laura McKinney to present a nice check to Habitat from the proceeds of the Contractors’ Yard Sale. This year, that check came in at a whopping $10,000.
The yard, sale was chaired by Jerry Pope, but thanks also go to the “Grandfather of the Contractors’ Yard Sale,” Bill Bader.
Kudos also go to Habitat construction manager Alan Lynn, a former board president of the homebuilders’ association, who builds stronger bridges between the two organizations as well as houses.
More than 56 percent of La Plata County residents fall within Habitat’s qualifying guidelines. Think about that.
Enjoying excursions on a bicycle built for two on their anniversaries are Steve and Lou Hudson, Richard and Evelyn Black, Gary and Ginna Harbison, Jon and Peeb Lupia, Hall and Joan Sippy, Ted and Wilma Cooper, David and Susan Kolb and Richard and Stephanie Forsyth.
neighbors@durangoherald.com
