.... back in the late sixties, (I guess that was quite a while ago)there were a bunch of kids looking for a good time and needing a totally cool "senior sluff" place to go, headed out on three buses down the interstate (was there an interstate back then?) to a place called "The Oasis"..... a place down in Nevada with this big ol' swimmin' pool that was filled with water from a warm spring and was different than any of the other places kids went for Senior Sluff like to Zion or the Veyo Pool or the city park.....and it was a true Senior Sluff where you had to keep it a secret from everyone except the seniors. Not sure if we pulled that one off but I'm sure we tried. Anyway, our "way cool" Senior Class President wanted to do it up big like everything else this class had ever done in their illustrious career and so the arrangements were made (or not) and the busses were boarded and we arrived at the wonderful pool surrounded by palm trees only to find it was the day the pool had to be drained because with this wonderful warm water, algae would grow readily and the bottom of the pool had to be scrubbed every week. Who knew?...or I should say, we should have known and why didn't we know? We just didn't.....Senior Class President was embarrassed to say the least but the rest of the class made the most of it because that's just the way we were. I wish I had some pictures of this event but I guess I was too busy being sad and embarrassed with said class president to really have a good time but I do remember watching everyone else having a great time playing football (in the pool) as the water streamed in and laughing and finding other things to do. It was a very memorable trip....so memorable that every class reunion, there is a new joke about it but the funniest one was when we were doing our toasts and Stef stood up and held up a pint bottle of water and said ".....this is the water from the swimming pool at our Senior Sluff.....ALL the water at the pool." There was always a laugh at Scott's expense so I guess when all was said and done, it was worth it. Why do I mention this on my blog today? Well, there was a fire at a resort in Nevada and I just got to wondering if it was the same place we ventured so many years ago. A call to my good friend Kelly Booth set me straight. The fire happened at a place that is owned by the church and has been a great place where different stakes from Nevada could go for retreats and gatherings. (Click HERE to read about the fire). This property was purchased by Howard Hughes in 1968. The church acquired it in 1978 and tried to ranch it but was unsuccessful so sold off most of it and converted the rest into what was called the "Warm Springs Recreational Ranch". Several yards from that is the "Desert Warm Springs Oasis" that we knew as kids. It burned down in 1994 and in 1997 was purchased and turned over to the Fish and Wildlife Service. I asked Kelly what is still there and he told me that there are remnants of that swimming pool there. I hadn't been down there since that ever-so-remarkable Spring day in 1968 and had wanted to go back this past fall but never did make the trip. So there you have it. Probably way TMI.....but just what I've been thinking about the past few days. If any of my classmates read this and can shed any light on the subject or provide pictures, I'd love it.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Not so long ago...
.... back in the late sixties, (I guess that was quite a while ago)there were a bunch of kids looking for a good time and needing a totally cool "senior sluff" place to go, headed out on three buses down the interstate (was there an interstate back then?) to a place called "The Oasis"..... a place down in Nevada with this big ol' swimmin' pool that was filled with water from a warm spring and was different than any of the other places kids went for Senior Sluff like to Zion or the Veyo Pool or the city park.....and it was a true Senior Sluff where you had to keep it a secret from everyone except the seniors. Not sure if we pulled that one off but I'm sure we tried. Anyway, our "way cool" Senior Class President wanted to do it up big like everything else this class had ever done in their illustrious career and so the arrangements were made (or not) and the busses were boarded and we arrived at the wonderful pool surrounded by palm trees only to find it was the day the pool had to be drained because with this wonderful warm water, algae would grow readily and the bottom of the pool had to be scrubbed every week. Who knew?...or I should say, we should have known and why didn't we know? We just didn't.....Senior Class President was embarrassed to say the least but the rest of the class made the most of it because that's just the way we were. I wish I had some pictures of this event but I guess I was too busy being sad and embarrassed with said class president to really have a good time but I do remember watching everyone else having a great time playing football (in the pool) as the water streamed in and laughing and finding other things to do. It was a very memorable trip....so memorable that every class reunion, there is a new joke about it but the funniest one was when we were doing our toasts and Stef stood up and held up a pint bottle of water and said ".....this is the water from the swimming pool at our Senior Sluff.....ALL the water at the pool." There was always a laugh at Scott's expense so I guess when all was said and done, it was worth it. Why do I mention this on my blog today? Well, there was a fire at a resort in Nevada and I just got to wondering if it was the same place we ventured so many years ago. A call to my good friend Kelly Booth set me straight. The fire happened at a place that is owned by the church and has been a great place where different stakes from Nevada could go for retreats and gatherings. (Click HERE to read about the fire). This property was purchased by Howard Hughes in 1968. The church acquired it in 1978 and tried to ranch it but was unsuccessful so sold off most of it and converted the rest into what was called the "Warm Springs Recreational Ranch". Several yards from that is the "Desert Warm Springs Oasis" that we knew as kids. It burned down in 1994 and in 1997 was purchased and turned over to the Fish and Wildlife Service. I asked Kelly what is still there and he told me that there are remnants of that swimming pool there. I hadn't been down there since that ever-so-remarkable Spring day in 1968 and had wanted to go back this past fall but never did make the trip. So there you have it. Probably way TMI.....but just what I've been thinking about the past few days. If any of my classmates read this and can shed any light on the subject or provide pictures, I'd love it.
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I wish I had photos of that day too! It was a bummer, but still fun. My most vivid memory is singing the "Banana Fana" song endlessly on the way home. We did every single person on our bus. Shirley burly bo nana fana bo burly, fe, fi, fo.... Shirley! I rmember the pool was still slimey and slippery and tho' some got in, you would slide down the incline and it was ickey!
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