On a the journey West I met Finn, who’s name reminded me of Finland even though he’s from Bolingbrook. Together we coin the name Finn and Finn Detectives.
Upon departing the train we switched to another mode of transportation, the bright yellow school bus kind. With all of our backpacks in the middle of the desert, it felt a bit like we were soldiers in a scene from Breaking Bad. Our bus driver dropped us off at McDonald’s in Raton, our last real meal for the summer. After introducing ourselves at dinner, we returned to the bus and an hour later were dropped off at base camp. We had only been off for seconds before the bus sped away in a cloud of dust.
We went through our med check, filled out paperwork and got our IDs.
While getting mine I stepped into a room with a girl and a guy both around my age.
The girl said “Macomb, is that what you want on here?”
The guy threw in, “you can really put anything you want on there.”
“Anything?” I asked.
“Anything” he said.
I was silent, thinking to myself for a few moments. “Tampere, Finland”
“How do you spell it?” she asked as they tried to hide their smiles.
“T-a-m-p-r-e Finland” I spelled out.
I stopped by the Villa to say hi to Rory, turns out I had just missed seeing one of the gardeners from last summer. My tent was empty when I arrived except for my roommates belongings, spotless white Nike shoes and a high-quality Eddie Bauer jacket. Our tent number was B306.
Our first meals were at the dining hall on the other side of camp, a 30 minute walk. Our first meal was corn dogs, Rory’s favorite. He hates them. During dinner it turns out Rachel mentioned, “yeah, it’s my 6th summer here.” She used to work in the Conservation Department (Cons). Part of her responsibilities included clearing forests with a Pulaski, a pickaxe with a hoe on the back of it. Apparently, they put hoes on everything there according to Everett.
The rangers arrive on base today. The first two weeks are frigid at night. I put on three layers of clothes, and two blankets to stop shivering. Everett buys a blanket from the trading post and Nargess is able to borrow an extra one from our storage closet at the Villa.
Today is All Staff Training Day. After being split up into groups for a few hours, at 13:30 all 1300 staff return to the Villa lawn. The atmosphere is a bit like a concert. People standing on each others shoulders, waving tall sticks, cheering. With our giant of a gardener Owen, standing at 6’ 5”, we know he is the tallest when he begins waving a giant wooden pole up in the air.
Kearny is back from the grounds crew. He loves pallbearer and death metal. That afternoon we help Rory by the logistics office helping him and others set up for a small business fair with shops from Cimarron. The small fair included the lady from the Burrito Banquet and the Cimarron Mercantile. This is the only day all summer the offices are closed.
Our first day of museum training begins at 8:00 am in the Beaubien classroom, named for Charles Beaubien of the 1.2-million-acre Beaubien-Miranda Land Grant. Just like our first day of high school we spread into groups among several tables as Rory begins to go through an early morning PowerPoint. Some of us take notes, some drift off lazily. Clearly a very active and engaged group of classmates. I start sketching in my workbook. What I Learned in Boating School Is … What I learned in First Aid Is … Sitting next to me, Joey was shocked at the monstrosity coming to life on my page, a hand with bones and eyes peering out like the monster of Pan’s Labyrinth. We all learned a lot in our lessons today including that Joey has 4 tourniquets. “If both your arms and legs are cut off, I’ve got you, but if your head is gone too, we’re all outta luck. Sorry.” said Joey.
Our next day of training is with the entirety of the museum staff from the entire ranch. It takes place in the meeting room next to the library at the National Museum of Scouting. We go around and introduce ourselves.
“I’m Racheal, from Nacogdoches, Texas. This is my 6th summer here.”
“Everett from Philly.”
“I’m Chris, this is my 2nd summer at the Villa and if you read my name tag, I’m from Finland.”
“Oh lord, how on earth did you pull that off,” exclaims Sara Lou as everyone giggles.
In the afternoon we split up and search for clues, the Villa staff head back together. Back at the Villa Sara Lou wheels an in an old squeaky black TV cart, just like elementary school. We watch Nancy Kleins training video on VHS. Nancy was the Villa Curator that passed the torch off to our current boss Rory. She held the position for over 20 years and now serves on the board of the Chase Ranch foundation, helping maintain the home there. Watching the video reminds me of staying in during recess and playing tic-tac-toe or connect 4 or drawing maps with markers on notebook paper as it was snowing outside. It also reminds me of watching BBC’s Planet Earth with our class in 5th grade. Great Times.