FOP had tons of fun at the October 14th Rangers' Community Outreach Party at the Monument!

FOP was among about a dozen participants with informational booths. There were Hispanic and Native American dance troupes putting on some amazing performances, the rangers were leading nature walks, and a taco truck was on hand to provide yummy eats for all.

The event was staged on the West side in the picnic area, next to the main parking lot, and entrance fees were waived for the day. The FOP booth was towards the end of the line, but we made it bright for maximum impact, and lots of people stopped to ask questions, chat, and pick up the #5 cam with a quizzical look.

Kelly brought Bruce's Bolt Board with various bolts pulled from routes in the Monument during FOP's rebolting efforts. This was a great example of "bad" protection, and also turned out to be a great way to demonstrate the most basic climbing concept--how you are protected by the rope and the bolt. Using the Bolt Board, Kelly was kind enough to show visitors how that worked over and over again; kids, and many adults, were fascinated. Climbing gear is basically a bunch of toys, which worked in our favor.

The group next to us, Naturalists-at-Large, had ropes on "Big Bad West" and "Passion Play" where they were belaying anyone who wanted to participate. So, people talked to us and got all excited about climbing, and then we passed them on to Naturalists-at-Large, where they got to apply what they learned from us.

People seemed to really enjoy themselves and the Park Service had the opportunity to educate the local community about the best ways to use their National Park. Most importantly, FOP got some great "face time" with the rangers and the Superintendent, discussing ideas for ways to increase our value to the park and to our members.

Special thanks to Bruce for the bolt board, Kelly for making the trip and being so darned entertaining, Denise for organizing the event and Eric and Carl for making us feel so welcome.

Here are some photos from the event
The FOP Booth	Dancer	Dancers	Tarantula	Tarantula