Boy Scouts travel Chisholm Trail

By Doug Warner, NEWS 9

A group of Boy Scouts traveled 1,600 miles from the California suburbs to the plains of Oklahoma - just for a dusty old trail.

Scout leader Michael Malone wanted to take his scouts to central Oklahoma for a trip down the Chisholm Trail.

"Most of them had never been on a horse, except for a Shetland pony in front of McDonald's posing for a photograph," Malone said. "It's sort of incumbent upon us to come up with activities that will make lives richer, memories they'll have the rest of their life and learn something about themselves."

This past week, the scouts learned the Chisholm Trial was primarily used in moving cattle in the 1800s.

Scout Thomas Brubaker said he's never been to Oklahoma  nor even seen the Chisholm Trail, just watched shows about it on TV.

"I thought it's only the westerns I've seen, shootem' up cowboy movies, roping cattle and all that," Brubaker said.

For Malone, the trip gave him a glimpse into his family's history. His great grandfather once called Oklahoma home after participating in the Cherokee Strip Land Run of 1893.

"This is for me, a trail ride into my past," Malone said. "I'm learning something every single step along the way, about myself and my history."

Malone is in the process of restoring the family's Oklahoma homestead when he can find time away from the scouts and his real job as a journalist.