Take a look back at last summer’s Camp Geronimo, the August 2011 outing to the Lava River Tubes, Palace Station 2011, the October 2011 Survival Outing, the November 2011 backpacker, January 2012 Superstitions outing and the February 2012 base camp at Weimer Ranch and Picacho Peak.
The Jacob Sized fire at Palace Station - September, 2011
It was a great year at Palace Station. Chef Red, sous chef Dave and the kitchen put on a culinary extravaganza serving up slow roasted beef brisket with Carolina BBQ sauce, the best cowboy beans and the tastiest fresh-made potato salad ever. We got a record amount of work done preserving this important piece of American history (the historic Palace Station stage coach stop). The U.S. Forest Service was there helping us with Ranger Ron and the official archaeologist for the Prescott National Forest. We had crews who finished staining the wood on the cabin, a crew who worked on the landscaping in the Station yard, a crew who replaced rotting fence poles around the graveyard, a crew who did some great trail work and of course, the first year scouts felled several trees while earning their Paul Bunyan award. We had a Jacob-sized campfire with good skits and stories. The night was topped off by six different Dutch oven cobblers from Chef Red’s kitchen.
| Boy Scouts of America Celebrate 30 years of caring for Palace Station | |||||
Boy Scouts of America Troop 109 recently celebrated 30 years of caring for the historic Palace Station on the Prescott National Forest. Alfred Spence built the Palace Station stage stop halfway between Prescott and the Peck Mine in the late 1870s, and it continued to serve all the mining communities south of Prescott until the early 1900s. Now it is one of the few remaining stage stops in Arizona. Most of its outbuildings disappeared over time until the Prescott National Forest took ownership of the site in 1963. It is a private residence but people can view the station from the road. It sits along Senator Highway (Mt. Vernon Street in Prescott) about 11 miles south of Gurley Street. The road is rough south of Groom Creek, so a four-wheel-drive vehicle is recommended. Troop 109 has been highly instrumental in preserving the Palace Station, a National Historic Register site. Every September, the troop travels from Phoenix to the forest to help care for the building and surrounding land. The work brought the troop a National Take Pride award from President Ronald Reagan in 1988. Troop projects over the past 30 years include building and repairing fences, installing interpretive signs and a flagpole, clearing overgrown brush, maintaining a nearby forest trail and improving a helipad. This year the scouts, led by Scoutmaster Russ Carpenter and Forest Service official Ron Rodgers, painted stain on the stage stop’s old timbers to help protect them from the ravages of monsoon rains and winter. Then the boys celebrated their 30th anniversary at the station with a special evening barbecue. Prescott National Forest archaeologist Elaine Zamora presented special patches honoring the scouts’ efforts, and also presented awards to several others who have helped preserve Palace Station over the years – past scoutmaster Tom Potter, longtime Troop 109 supporter Ron McElhaney, and retired Prescott National Forest official Doug Vandergon (who lived at the station for 16 years). “They are helping preserve, protect, beautify and maintain one of the most important historic sites on the forest,” Vandergon said of the troop during a previous gathering. |
Troop 109 just had its annual outing to the historic Palace Station. This year, we chopped down over 30 dead trees killed by a recent forest fire. We used some of them to repair the fence at Palace Station.
The Troop in their Class As after the Sunday service at the station.
First year scouts gather around for axe safety training.
Eagle scout instructs Axe safety.
Senior scout conducts safety Q&A on axe safety.
Scouts quarter the tree that they fell.
You can never be 100% safe.
Scouts debark logs for use as fence railings.
Freshly prepared timber ready for the fence.
U.S. Forest Service Ranger helps Troop 109 mend the Palace Station fence.
Troop 109 Patrol Leaders give some well worn American flags a proper retirement.
