Bear Canyon

James making friends with the tiny burros. They like to be scritched behind their ears! They are happy little munchers, nibbling their way all over the place.

View of Miss Mary's lake. Really more of a pond due to the drought of the last several years. I remember it being so full that it would cover the road making us drive through the water. It is about 15 feet down right now.

Mountain Thistle which is best to stay away from when wearing shorts. I will be back to the basin tomorrow. I wanted to finish up the weekend photos. It has been so hot here, over 100 degrees.

Camp Mary White Revisited

Miss Mary's cabin off in the distance, you can just see the roof.

Old hand hewn horse trough in front of the lodge.

Mini donkeys having a snack in front of the lodge. They were quite willing to have their ears scratched. The camp is a treasure and should be saved. If you are interested in the preservation or were a camper, check out http://www.campmarywhite.com/ and see the great things they are doing to help.

We refer to this cabin as "Woody's Cabin" as she was a very influential camp director and this was the cabin she stayed in during her years at Camp Mary White. A fire came through seven years ago and came very close to destroying the camp. We are grateful to the Forest Service for saving it.

Camp Mary White Historical Marker

Six of us from our old Girl Scout troop of 30 years ago!!

We spent this weekend up in the mountains-specifically Camp Mary White which is located on the road to Weed and Sacramento.

We came along with about 50 others for the ribbon cutting on the new Historical Marker.

New Mexico has a new program for Historical Markers that honor women who made a difference for the state. We are very proud to have Mary White recognized this way. Her niece and nephew, Sally and Jack Marsh were there to cut the ribbon along with other local dignitaries such as Beth Mayhill and Miss Mary's cousins. Camp Mary White is no longer affiliated with the girl scouts, but it remains one of the oldest primitive camps in the U.S. Generations of campers have come together to form the Friends of Camp Mary White and preserve the camp as well as update it where needed so it will be available for future campers. The marker reads-" In 1927
"Miss Mary" established one of the earliest Girl Scout camps in America and the first in New Mexico. Situated on 200 acres in Otero County, a stately pine lodge, Ingham Hall, nestles amid cabins and outbuildings of Camp Mary White. Generations of girls who learned stewardship of nature and community at the camp, continue to be energized as activists by Mary White's pioneer spirit." How cool is that?