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SCOTTY'S
DEN ARCHIVE #1 THE SCOTTY'S DEN ARCHIVE OF PAST COLUMNS CURRENT SCOTTY'S DEN SCOTTY'S DEN ARCHIVE #2 |
FEBRUARY
1st, 2005 |
GROUNDHOG
NEEDS TO HELP OUT Wow, look at the date. Spring is just around the corner. I for one can’t wait. As I have gotten older I’ve come to not like the Winter Season as much. I don’t know where that feeling went. I know, that you know, the one of which I speak. That feeling of excitement when you’d wake up and there would be fresh snow on the ground. A 'Snow Day' was a thing of wonder that we’d treasure. No School! A whole day to do what you wanted. And of course what you wanted to do was hit that snow running wide open. Who cared that the temperature was below freezing? Who cared that all your clothes would be getting wet? Not me! I’d stay out until my clothes had so much ice on them that I couldn’t walk and I had a blast doing it. I don’t know where or when I lost that feeling of wonder. I guess it went away with childhood. Now that, with work and things, there are times when I have to be out in that kind of weather. I guess that kind of brings the luster off of the cold, snowy days. But I’ve made it through January. For me that means Spring is right around the corner. (I choose to ignore the fact that we’re only about half way through Winter.) And with Spring comes the time when we all begin to come out of our Winter Holes. Before long we’ll be planning *trips and vacations and all kinds of good things. I for one can’t wait. *THE RED RIVER SAGA: SPRING VENTURE June 18th- 19th, 2005 |
OCTOBER
4th , 2004 |
CUT
IT! PRINT IT! THAT'S A WRAP! Red River Saga 28: The Forefather Legacy has just wrapped up. This year has turned out to be a more memorable one. After 28 years you'd expect some years to stand out more than some. RR28 exhibited some qualities that make it one of the more unique ones. Several things come
to mind. First of all would be the fact that we were at another
site. Unofficial Ridge is a great spot. Second, and equally
important, was Cindi's return. Although this was the first time
that I had met her, I could see D.W. and Tara, who
always bring a touch of class to the proceedings, also brought
their lovable little pooch Bailey. John, Paul, and
Heather just about stole the game Saturday night. Their strategy
of acting like they were lost almost Speaking of the
game, props go out to the team of Tara, Sure, and Cindi. Their
definitions were so believable that I would like to
thank everyone for making this trip so much fun for me. It isn't
easy to do this trip thing. Schedules Anyway, this year is really going to be one that stands out in my memory. You know, that's precisely why I go. |
SEPTEMBER
20, 2004 |
FAILURE
IS NOT AN OPTION Red River Saga 28: The Forefather Legacy is turning out to be more than just our Yearly Venture. We have not had this much adversity thrown out way in the almost 30 years of our history. This year alone we have had torrential rains and flooding which shut down our easy access to the Glen. Also we’ve endured our Second Postponement due to Hurricane Ivan. Yet we will prevail. As you
know, each year we travel to Red River because we truly want to.
For some it ranks as one Yes,
this year has turned into a Quest. We have made so many concessions
so far. We had Schedule Changes, Locations No,
not only do we want to go this year, We Must! We must come though
with a Great *Gene
Krantz—famous NASA Flight Control Director during the successful
recovery of the Apollo 13 Space Mission. |
AUGUST
30th , 2004 |
"UNOFFICIAL
RIDGE" A GREAT SPOT As reported by Greg, there is a possibility that Forest Service Road 9 will not be open by the time we leave. This means we will have to stake our claim at the Alternative Site on Tunnel Ridge Road. Rest assured that this is a Great Site. As much as I love the Glen, I have to say that this new site (Unofficial Ridge, as it is known) has some advantages. One being easy access. Staying here it is much easier to get out to do those important things like get ice. Another is that this place is super easy to find. Getting people down there who are not familiar with the Gorge will have no problems finding the spot. Another advantage is that we very rarely visit this end of the Gorge as we are stationed on the other side. There are some great views that we might never have seen is we weren't right on the spot. Of course the biggest advantage will be the facilities. We have had our own versions in the past years with varying success. These things are nice. I hope as much as anyone that 9 is open by the time we get going. There is something to be said about the tradition. I for one would like to be part of the group who will hike in to keep the streak alive if necessary. But alas my schedule will not permit it. Anyway that is just for the tradition part of it. The most important part is the people. I've said it before, "This thing is about you." You know how much fun the Glen can be. I for one have been to "Unofficial Ridge" and I will say that it is a Great Spot. I know you will have fun there too. |
JUNE
7th , 2004 |
MOTHER
NATURE'S BEST SHOT Ah, Mother Nature, isn’t she grand? I, like the rest of you, am disappointed with the rescheduling of this year’s trip. Who could have foreseen the wrath that she had in store for us. I guess we should be a bit grateful that we were not down there when it happened. As stubborn as we are we’d have tried to stick it out. But we have an opportunity to show Mother Nature she can’t keep us down. In fact we have two such opportunities. With this weekend's venture, we will get to release some of the built up excitement that we had for “The Forefather Legacy.” I’m sure that some of you are like me and need this trip. Of course it may be a bit more difficult than in than the Annual Trip. I say let’s accept this challenge and make the best of it. I know we’ll have a great time. As for the official trip, the last that I was informed, it is being rescheduled for September 12 thru 19. It has the possibility to be great. Do you remember last year? But we have time to plan on that later. It has been written that 1993 may have been our finest hour. Just think of what can be said of this year. If you have already planned to come this year, don’t change a thing. We may be in a different place but we will still be in the Gorge. Mother Nature gave it one whale of a shot. She practically shut down part of the Gorge. But she will not stop us. Not only are we going camping this weekend, this year we are going camping twice! |
JUNE
1st , 2004 |
TWENTY-EIGHT
YEARS IN THE MAKING The Red River Saga: The Forefather Legacy, twenty-eight years in the making, nine months in the planning is almost here. There is a certain excitement in the air as the time approaches. I’ve noticed it and I’m sure that most of you have also. When the sun goes down you think to yourself, “Would it be great to be sitting around the old campfire tonight?” When you’ve been firing up the old grill in the backyard you think, “This would be perfect if I was in the Gorge.” When (like in the last week) it rains you think, “Go on Mother Nature get it out of your system.” Well the good times are coming. Next Sunday, a brave group will head down to set up camp and begin our latest chapter. I can see it now. Within the next two weeks you will take the exit at Natural Bridge and head toward the Gorge. Just a quick stop to pick up a parking pass and off you go. Heading through Nada Tunnel now. (Don’t forget to turn off those headlights.) Off to the left, look at the cars parked at the trailhead. Ok, crossing the bridge now, just look at the river. Oh, there’s the barn. Man why don’t I get down here more often? Got to get over, car coming. Crossing the bridge, hang a left, only a half mile now. Heading over the rise now and there it is, our little piece of paradise. With the aforementioned nine months to make plans for this year’s trip, I’m now looking forward to the payoff. (This is not to say that have I put in more work than other people.) I’m just looking forward to a bit of relaxing with some of my best friends. I, like most, just wish that times like that would come around more often. So until I see you in R.R., be safe and start making your way down, even if you can only do it in your mind. |
APRIL
5th, 2004 |
TIME
GROWS SHORT OK folks here we are with less than 70 days to go. Time is growing short. Are you getting ready? Are you getting the itch to get out and do something? How about making your plans for the trip? I know that most people don’t worry too much about the trip until it is time to go. There is nothing wrong with that if you can pull it off. As a matter of fact I used to be the same way. I had way too much stuff on my plate to worry about something a month away. Soon though I figured out that I wouldn’t have any more time later. Preparations for the trip got cut short. I paid for that mistake. So trust me when speak of getting an early start on planning. You don’t have to go into “Major” mode as some have. Too much of that can zap the fun out of the experience also. Take it easy at first. Think to yourself, “What can I do to make this year’s trip the best ever?” Think back on other years’ experiences. Where your sleeping arrangements up to par? Maybe a new tent would fit the bill. Did that unplanned hike a few years ago catch you off guard? This year make sure that you have a couple of comfortable shoes packed along. Don’t be afraid to make suggestions to anyone. I think I speak for all who go when I say that we wouldn’t be offended. What can we do to make your trip better? Would more trips outside camp be nice? How about more happenings around the campfire? More games? Less? Speaking of plans, I know of a few that has already been made for this year. Project Norton is in wrap up phase. (That is community project with Andrew as crew leader.) The plans here at SDK are moving right along. We have three projects that are in the works and are close to being wrapped up. One more is certain with yet another possible. Sorry if that is a bit confusing. I have also been informed that that Soundtrack Project is also underway. I’m sure it will be up to the usual high standards. The planning that goes into one of these things is surprisingly large. With twenty-eight years of experience at this we should be getting things together pretty good by now. Just remember that these are things to make an already great experience better. Just being there is the main thing to accomplish. Without you being there the trip loses something. Every single person contributes to the success of each years adventure. Let us know what you think. More than anything we want to have fun ourselves at the Gorge. Believe it or not we have the most fun when YOU are having fun. |
NOVEMBER
17th, 2003 |
BRING'EM
BACK! "As many of you know preparations for RRG 28: The Forefather Legacy, are under way. The theme of next year's trip is a return to the spirit of the earlier years. Recent years have lent themselves too more modern ideas . . . not that modern ideas are a bad thing. With that being said, I propose that we bring back some of the earlier traditions that have fallen by the wayside. Some of our younger members have had no experience with the pre-camp-out cookout. The cookout/volleyball game was a great way to spend and afternoon before the actual trip. I have a lot of great memories of those get-togethers. I'm sure others do too. What about the "Waldo"? I know that the newer crowd has only heard the bragging of the Waldo winners (Or to a lesser extent, what about the "Zombie" award?). There is an untapped market of potential winners to pose with Waldo by the rock. And who doesn't want their picture taken with that shining piece of plastic? Of the last camping related stuff, what about bringing back the Shrine? Sure it was hard to explain to those who do not actually go camping with us but it was unique. The Shine ceremony kind of actually put the official stamp on the trip. It was like the trip wasn't over until the Shrine was lit. Moving away from the Gorge, what about the New Years Party? It was one of the few times that this crew got together in its entirety. How can you beat ringing in the New Year with this crowd and Dick Clark? It can't be done. I'm not proposing that all these things be brought back at once because as they have left new projects have taken their place. But with RR28's "retro" theme, I say it's a good time to show the ones who were unlucky enough to miss out some of these traditions.” |
OCTOBER
6th, 2003 |
SOMETHING
SPECIAL “I don’t get it.” How many times I’ve heard that when telling someone about our annual venture I can’t count. I tell them about the work that everyone puts into each and every trip. I tell them about all the hours spent on CD production, and T-shirt design. I tell them about showers and steps. Some do not understand why we put so much energy into “The Trip”. As if it was merely about spending a week outdoors. Of course if one were satisfied with just staying outdoors the Red River Gorge would be a hard place to beat. You will not find a more beautiful and peaceful place. But our yearly get-together is more than that. In my opinion we could meet every year in the Wal-Mart parking lot and have just as much fun. No, our trip is not just about the Red River Gorge. It is about people, friendship, and tradition. A better group of people you will not find. Each one willingly sacrifices their time, talents, and efforts for their friends’ benefit. And talk about tradition. We have it by the truckloads. Three decades will do that to you. For something to have that many people put so much effort into it, for so long, for no other reason than the enjoyment of the their friends, it must be something special. Everyone should be that lucky. So for all those who say, “I don’t get it.” I say, “I feel truly sorry for you.” |
