Graduation Trip

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After spending 5 years getting an engineering degree,
A short vacation seems in order before working you see,
This poem explores the week my cousin and I took camping,
Before heading for our lifelong jobs and our lives revamping.

 

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Graduation Trip

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My cousin Rick and I graduated Texas Tech the last week in May,
It was 1966, and we were both Mechanical Engineers all the way.
We decided to take a one week vacation before starting to work,
The vacation had to be cheap because we were both about broke.

 

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We thought about it for a while and decided on a camping trip.
On the Conejas River where we camped when we were kids.
This beautiful river was In the Colorado Rio Grande National Park.
Not far from Antonito, in the tall pines with the fragrant bark.

 

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We dug out the old camping gear and loaded it all in one car,
And bought enough food to sustain us out under the stars.
We found a good camping ground and set up for our short stay,
Just like the good old days, we were going to do it our way.

 

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It was the first week in June, so it was cold in the mornings,
I got up to go trout fishing and with no previous warnings,
It started snowing on us making fishing outdoors quite chilly,
Reeling in my lure I had ice on my line and actually felt silly.

 

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But the trout didn’t care and we caught quite a few good fish.
We cleaned them right there in the river feeling hungry I guess.
They fried up crisp and tasted good with baked potatoes in foil.
What a nice lunch this made in the great outdoors on God’s soil.

 

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The game warden came by to check on our fish a time our two,
But we were always legal and our licenses were up to date to.
As recent college grads, we tried to impress him with knowledge,
But he just told us that he learned the hard way, not from college.

 

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We took some long hikes up the mountains in the very brisk air,
There were mule deer, big elk and even some black bears there.
We took lots of pictures,to capture all of the beautiful scenes,
To preserve the trip memories of the mountain area so green.

 

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Along about mid week, Ricks Dad dropped by with a work friend,
They were working close by so we welcomed them to the camp then.
They stayed all day and fished then visited as we ate fish again.
Then hit the road that evening to finish the job they did begin.

 

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We both loved our short time outside in the great outdoors,
Roughing it as campers relaxing before our new work tours.
I don’t think we could have picked a better prework vacation,
As I think we both loved the great adventure and its fine sensations.

 

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That next week, I went to work for Phillips Pettoleum Company,
And worked there until I retired making that very good money.
And Rick went to work for Texaco in the town of Amarillo,
And later moved to Bakersfield with them and retired quite mellow.

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By Bill

 

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Thanks for reading Graduation Trip,
Bill