Durango Ready to Go

Sunday, March 25th, 2012

We traveled to Durango, a six hour trip, to bring the box and to validate the directions. Amazingly enough, we have never been to Durango. We have driven past, but never stopped. I had no idea the town had this much to offer. There are many many different restaurants to choose from. The ones we tried were excellent. Many more to go.

If you have never set up a trail, then this part won’t make much sense. If you have, you know how hard it is to go to a new town, figure out what is there, and walk around trying to find a trail that not only makes sense, but has a flow and finds everything you think you should find, assuming you knew what to find anyway. Just getting an initial cut at the trail could take several days. And while you did that you were taking extensive notes so you could figure out how to write the directions so anyone could find their way around. Another several days, because your notes are all over and have places you thought you could go but can’t, etc, etc, etc. If you want to know more, just ask me!!

But, Durango is a long ways away from us. And we are working again, so there are not too many days we can spend away from home. This time, I used all the new technologies to research, layout and plan the walk, and wrote the directions without ever having been in Durango!! And, when we did get here and actually walked the trail I had designed, there were no changes to be made. I had done it perfectly!! Slap me on the back!! To find out more, send me an email at walking@woodlandwanderers.org and I will happily explain.

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And We’re Back

Tuesday, March 20th, 2012

It has been a tumultuous year! Lots of stuff going on, and no time to sit down and type.

The Woodland Wanderers have renewed their year-round and seasonal events for 2012. The year-round events are the New Santa Fe Trail in Monument and Red Rock Canyon Open Space in Colorado Springs. Our seasonals are Palmer Park in Colorado Springs, Mueller State Park in Divide, Historic Trinidad, and Woodland Park. Many of these walks have had the route modified this year to pick up as many of the Special Programs as we can without getting ridiculous. All of our events qualify for three of the special programs: 1) Walking the United States (Colorado), Walking the USA A-Z (The city name), and Strolling Somewhere Over the Rainbow (Colorado means red in Spanish). For those places in Colorado that have been around a long time, I have also updated the walking directions to point to places you pass that are on the National Register of Historic Places.

We have also sanctioned TWO NEW SEASONALS this year. The first one is close to Denver and runs from April 1st through September 30th, and is in Castle Pines North. Two years ago we did a walk in conjunction with their Oktoberfest. We are doing their Oktoberfest Regular Event again this year in conjunction with the Falcon Wanderers, on September 22nd. The trail for the seasonal is ready to go and the box will be at the DazBog Coffee and Yogurt shop near Castle Pines Blvd over by King Soopers (Lagae Rd). The regular event trail will be different.

The second NEW SEASONAL walk we decided to do after we received a request from a volksmarcher. It is happening in DURANGO, way down near the 4-corners area, and the home of the Durango-Silverton train. We are able to cover 11 different special programs, as well as many many places on the Register. The start point is the Durango Community Recreation Center at 2700 Main Ave on the north end of town. The trail follows the river on the Animas River Trail, then winds back through the downtown area. It is an AWESOME trail.

I updated the trail for Trinidad, but only minor changes. It is essentially the trail we set up to minimize the elevation change, but rerouted through the historic downtown area to cover 11 special programs and many many historic sites.

The other thing I will be doing is adding information on the web site with information about the historic places you will be walking past. I have indicated them in the walking directions. If you know you are going, you can take this information with you and read all about the places you are walking while you are walking. What a concept. I will also try to get some downloadable PDFs so they are easier for you. Of course, that takes time.

If you have never set up a walk before, you would not believe the amount of time it takes to do it. And how much more time and effort it takes to do it right. When you are out walking, please take a minute and highly thank the folks that have taken the extraordinary steps to set up a walk Just For You!!

I will add a post with the links for the historic information. Enjoy your walking.

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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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