Time’s Fun when you are having Flies!!

Monday, November 22nd, 2010

So, it has been over a month since we did the walks in South Dakota on 10-10-10. There were six walks, two bikes and two swims. We did the walks. We did some ahead of time, but I have not got those pictures figured out and posted. The other best part is we were able to get into the Chapel in the Hills, even though it officially closed on Sep 30. While we were doing the walk that went up to the gate, the caretaker came out to get the paper and told us there was a wedding that afternoon and we were welcome to come into the chapel and look around the grounds. So we finished our official walks, then headed back up the hill to the chapel and got a complete look. Pictures are posted here.

We also took time after the last walk and before we flew back home to check out the dinosaur we kept seeing on the hill. Pics of Dinosaur Park.

I am temporarily working in West Virginia for a month or a year, depending upon the government requirements. So yesterday (Sunday 11-21-10) I did the Charleston Capitol Walk. Strangely enough there are no volksmarch clubs in West Virginia. All of the walks are put on by clubs in VA, PA, MD, OH. I think the humidity and more air pressure is hurting my knee more, because it still hurts Monday after walking the 10k. Sigh.

Check back often. I will update as I can. Sherry is doing walks in Colorado as well, but *I* have the camera!! Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.

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Oktoberfest Woodland Park to Oktoberfest Castle Pines

Saturday, September 25th, 2010

Wow! What a week. Last Saturday was the first annual Woodland Wanderers Woodland Park OktoberFestPLUS volksmarch. The weather was simply outstanding. We had a large contingent of soldiers from Ft Carson join us. We wound up with a total of 154 walkers doing our 5K or 10K trail through the city of Woodland Park. The walk was co-sponsored by the Woodland Wanderers, the Falcon Wanderers, the City of Woodland Park, the Woodland Park Parks and Recreation Department, and the Woodland Park Chamber of Commerce.

This was the first time in quite a while that an award was offered. If you missed out on yours, there are still some left, and we should have them at the start/finish in Castle Pines.

Speaking of Castle Pines, tomorrow, Saturday, Sep 25 marks the first annual Castle Pines Oktoberfest volksmarch. Co-sponsored by the Falcon Wanderers, the city of Castle Pines North and the Chamber of Commerce, I have ordered up scrumptious weather for our 5K and 10K wanderung on the recreation trails of Castle Pines North. I am sure you have passed by many times on the highway but never thought to stop. We will be starting at the Oktoberfest tents in front of Safeway to the right, next to the Sheriff’s information booth and the (Gulp!) Democratic Party. Follow the signs to parking. Since we start at 8:30am to noon, finish by 3:00pm, and the Oktoberfest officially gets underway at 11:00am, parking should be available close to the start/finish.

If you have not checked out the pictures of the walk route, you should do so now! Hope to see you all there.

Oh, I almost forgot. Last Sunday was the 27th annual Farish Global Volksmarch. Now, I know that the AVA has officially dropped the Global, but we have done them all since the very beginning. In Washington DC, when Lowry AFB was still open, the Pentagon, the USAFA and Peterson AFB. So, in our hearts, it was still the global. The aspens were pretty much at their peak. Check out The Trail!!

Look for my update after Castle Pines. Enjoy the trails.

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How Time Flies!!!

Thursday, September 9th, 2010

Wow! It’s almost here.

I want to thank everyone that came out to Mueller State Park for the Falcon Wanderers club walk on Aug 7th. It was a beautiful day for a walk, and I think those who had never been to Mueller appreciated how great the park really is. Again, thanks.

We have been working hard on the two upcoming walks. The Woodland Park OktoberFestPLUS volksmarch is on September 18th. It starts at the Ute Pass Cultural Center, with parking at the Woodland Park High School. We have been working with the City of Woodland Park, the Woodland Park Chamber of Commerce, the Woodland Park Parks and Recreation Department, and the Falcon Wanderers.

And, Great News. This week we met with everyone to make sure all our ducks are in a row. Sue from the Chamber presented us with coupons for, get this, a dollar off entrance to the OktoberFest AND a dollar off any drink!!! This is GREAT news. Courtesy of the Chamber of Commerce volksmarchers get $2 off!! Cool.

We are also very excited that we have an award for the Woodland Park event. Those of you that have been around for awhile (and you know who you are!!!) know it has been some time since we had an award, and even longer since the award has not been a patch. This is due to the cost of stuff. We were able to make a fairly good deal and get an award that is not a patch. The cost for everyone will be $7, and that includes the credit. While it is not what we were accustomed to back in the heyday, it looks pretty good. Check out our Regular Events page to see the award and the pictures of the route.

The other walk is at Castle Pines on the 25th. Linda Nyman went back out to walk the 10K and confirm our directions are just great. Sherry and I had to go visit Mom because she is alone this week, so could not do the walk with Linda. For those of you that did the Rocky Ford walk you may have met Mom. Lucky you!!

The start will be in the Safeway parking lot. When you get off the highway, there will be signs for the Oktoberfest parking. You can see the Safeway right there on the south side of the road. Look for the Volksmarch banner for the start.

Hope to see everyone at both walks.

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Calhan Volksmarch, July 31st, 2010

Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010

Hello again everyone.

We went to the volksmarch in Calhan on Saturday, Jul 31. It was the last day of the El Paso County Fair. It was a glorious day for the plains – partly cloudy with temperatures in the 70s. Perfect!!

This is the Paint Mines walk. If you have never been to El Paso County’s Paint Mines Park, you need to go. Just that is reason enough to go to Calhan. For additional interest, make sure and stop at Cadillac Jack’s Antique store on the west end of town. You will not believe your eyes in either case!!

This year there was a 5K stroll through town. The 10K went out the south side of the fair and you walk 1.5 miles on the dirt road to the trailhead at the park. Then, a stroll up and down the trails though the hoodoos.

We brought Doris and Ralph along. Doris is insatiably curious, and Ralph is a Mineralogist. We decided to do the 5K through town, because we had never really seen the town. Then, we drove out to the trailhead and walked 5K or so in the park so we could see all the geological formations.  Pictures can be found at CalhanVolksmarch2010.

A Wonderful time was had by all.

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Woodland Park OktoberfestPlus Volksmarch

Friday, July 23rd, 2010

Well, things are finally coming together. We have an award designed, the brochure is done, the course is mapped out. Just need to walk it to make sure nothing got washed away in this week’s gully washer (Tuesday afternoon, July 20). Check it out: Gully Washer and Deer.

Go to our Regular Events page and click on Woodland Park Oktoberfest. I’ll have some pictures there pretty soon.

Remember, the walk is September 18 in Woodland Park. Park at the high school. The start is at the Ute Pass Cultural Center. Come and have a great time.

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Castle Pines Oktoberfest Volksmarch

Friday, July 23rd, 2010

The Falcon Wanderers in Colorado Springs (falconwanderers.org) got a call from Doug Gilbert in Castle Pines wanting to do a volksmarch in conjunction with their Oktoberfest. Karen called me, and we met. Usually, getting all the stuff together for a walk takes about 6 months, a year if there is any kind of government involved. This was a concern, because the Castle Pines Oktoberfest is Sep 25, this year.

When we want to do a walk, we spend a great amount of time explaining what it is we do. This time, Doug is already a volksmarcher. As we had our first meeting and were discussing some of the operational issues, there were places where we probably needed permission. Turns out, Doug is either that entity, or knows everyone involved. We essentially had no issues for permissions. Thanks Doug!!

So, Tuesday, July 20 we met at the start point for the Oktoberfest walk, in the square between Safeway and King Soopers. Doug had established a preliminary trail that, on paper, seemed to meet all of our druthers. We would druther it not be an out and back, we would druther it not be too up, we would druther to be off streets and into open space. And we have hit a home run!!!

I have posted pictures of the 5K (woodlandwanderers.org/CastlePines). We only walked that because of the weather. Got back right before it rained. Karen and Linda from the Falcon Wanderers was there, as well as Sherry and myself, and of course Doug. It is a superb walk. Rolling hills, but gentle. Felt like more down than up. Yes!! The 10K follows the 5K route, then has a 5K loop at the top, then rejoins the 5K route. Lots of views, nice houses, scenery, bridges, garden. We are very excited.

So, mark your calendars. September 25, 2010. Start times 0830-noon, finish by 3. I will post the brochure as soon as it is done, which will be shortly. See you There!!!

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Looking for ideas

Friday, May 28th, 2010

We did a walk the weekend of May 22nd in Rocky Ford, CO. This was the first time EVER to do a walk there. I was able to get the information published in the Rocky Ford Daily Gazette, and the La Junta Tribute-Democrat. Even though we had 60 participants, this is low for the Falcon Wanderers. They have 300 members. There were only a couple of people from the Denver Metro Area, and only one couple from La Junta that I know of.

I am looking for ideas to get new participants. How can we make this interesting to them. It seems there is a huge interest if people walk for some cause. It seems to not be enough for them to walk just for themselves.

What can we do??? Let me know your thoughts.

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Rocky Ford Event, May 22, 2010

Wednesday, May 26th, 2010

Saturday was a really big day. This was the first time ever we did a walk in Rocky Ford, home town of our club president. We marked the trail on Friday afternoon. The start point was at Christine’s Restaurant on the east side of town. The Falcon Wanderers of Colorado Springs provided the volunteers to staff the start/finish, and the Woodland Wanderers staffed the checkpoint. At the checkpoint (Grandma’s house!!) we had lunch available for the walkers, featuring a Russian/German delicacy known as Bierocks (Beer-oaks). These are sealed bread dough filled with seasoned ground beef, cooked cabbage and a few onions, then baked to a golden brown. Yumm.

We had a participation number of about 60 for the walk. That was good considering we started at the unusual time of noon to 3pm, finish by 6pm. That, and the temperature went up to 95 degrees!! Fortunately there was quite a bit of shade.

Pictures can be found at woodlandwanderers.org/RockyFord2010 – enjoy.

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Hello world! Welcome to the Woodland Wanderers!!

Wednesday, May 19th, 2010

Hello everyone. Glad to see you here. This page is for you to interact with us. Let us know what you think. We will be suing this to send out information about our upcoming events and exciting changes to our sport.

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