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Karen Gardner Going the Distance
Gail Boggs and Fae Brown certainly learned what it was like to go the distance in October, when they walked 60 miles to help raise money for breast cancer. They took part in the Philadelphia Breast Cancer 3-Day, sponsored by the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Walks take place in a dozen cities around the country, with 27,700 participants. The Philadelphia walk had 2,550 walkers, and they raised $6.6 million. Brown, 63, and Boggs, 58, are sisters. Boggs walks regularly, but Brown wasn't walking much until a couple of months before the walk. Brown is a real estate agent for Real Estate Teams in Frederick and Boggs works at Frederick County National Bank. They walked 20 miles the first day, 23 miles the second day and 17 miles the third day, through all parts of Philadelphia.
Finding the Nexus Between Access and Conservation
In poll after poll, hunters and anglers from across the country identify access to places to hunt and fish as the most important issue for sportsmen. Knowing this, one might ask why Trout Unlimited would consider, and consider is the operative word, not engaging in disputes over access between private landowners and anglers, as reported in Hal Herring's recent New West column. Trout Unlimited's mission – conserving, protecting and restoring North America's trout fisheries and their watersheds – hasn't changed since 1959. What has changed is the magnitude of threats facing North America's fish and wildlife. Energy development, roads, drought and dewatered streams all form a grim baseline – even before considering how things can be made worse due to the effects of climate change. Sportsmen, be they members of Trout Unlimited or not, need to work together to protect the best remaining fish and wildlife habitats and to reconnect those to restored watersheds. Trout Unlimited has a long record in Montana of defending roadless areas, restoring stream-flows, protecting places such as the Rocky Mountain Front from energy development and opposing mining below wilderness areas such as the Cabinet Mountains. I yield to no one when it comes to directing TU to be aggressive and adversarial if need-be with private, often seriously-moneyed interests, when doing so is part of the organization's mission. The problem with access disputes is that they pit TU members against TU members and sportsmen against sportsmen. Rich or poor, moneyed or not, site-specific access disputes involving private property inevitably devolve into he-said-she-said affairs.
Religion Briefs: Passover workshop slated
POWAY -- Temple Adat Shalom, 15905 Pomerado Road, holds a Passover Workshop at 1 p.m. March 18. Free. Child care on request. Reserve by Sunday to Sharon Stanford at (760) 741-7783 or outreach@adatshalom.com. The temple shows the film "Au Revoir Les Enfantes" at 7:30 p.m. March 17. Cost is $5 per family. Call (858) 451-1200.Lenten concert at mission SAN DIEGO -- Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcala, 10818 San Diego Mission Road, hosts a Lenten Concert at 3 p.m. April 1. Freewill offering. Call (619) 283-7319. .
RETURN TO COLD MOUNTAIN: Oak Ridge resident recreates Inman's walk
A story of this journey has already been written. Charles Frazier did it with his first book, "Cold Mountain," and shame on any North Carolinian who hasn't yet read it. Forget the diluted movie version for now, and begin reading it for the first, second or hundredth time to acquaint or reacquaint yourself with Inman, one of its main characters. I offer that advice urgently for your own literary edification and a better understanding of what I am about to do.
I am walking in Inman's footsteps from Raleigh to Cold Mountain.
No, I am not peddling Frazier's book; it has already brought him wealth and fame in the 10 years since its release. Nor are we related or close friends. In fact, we have never met, and I remain defeated in every recent attempt to contact him. Perhaps he is just too overwhelmed at the moment with the demands of his newly released second novel, "Thirteen Moons."
But he needs to hear my plans, for he holds the key to the perfect ending of my own story.
Venice: Down by the river
State parks are our usual destination when we head out across Florida in our RV, but the one exception, where we return time and again, is Camp Venice along the wild and scenic Myakka River.
The tree canopy is so complete, you would actually think it is a state park!
The tent area is nestled among live oaks, elegantly draped with Spanish Moss, and separated from the RV section by water. The RV sites are spacious and well-shaded by another old-growth oak hammock interspersed with hundreds of sabal palms.
The big attraction here is the scenic Myakka River, which has coursed through 50 miles of wilderness by the time it reaches the campground. A short hiking trail takes you out to the main part of the river, or you can venture forth from your campsite in a canoe or kayak to miles and miles of undisturbed, uncluttered waterway, north and south of the camp.
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