Green Options

Imagine that: Walking through a network of trails from our Wissahickon Farms Country Inn, a rustic private cabin nestled in the woods, to grab dinner in town more than a mile away where the restaurant, Indian Creek Orchard Winery and Grille, features mostly local ingredients to prepare their Elk burgers and homemade sauces and soups. We started our hike on the 98-mile Gandy Dancer State Recreational Trail which passes through an edge of the 30-acre Country Inn property, a property certified by Travel Green Wisconsin.

Given the bears in the area, my son and I had quite the adventure: he made a “bear stick” to defend ourselves on the rare chance we might encounter one. After dinner, we wandered down to Overlook Park, featuring the River Spirit sculpture, before continuing along the riverfront on yet another trail to the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway Visitors Center – spotting a bald eagle soaring overhead along the way.  Ecopreneurial enterprises filled up many of the storefronts we peaked into downtown.

Getting around town without touching a car is completely possible in St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin, rightfully earning its moniker, “the city of trails.” While some places aspire to be something they’re clearly not, nor ever have been, St. Croix Falls is a place that features what they have in abundance: their network of walking, jogging, biking and hiking trails – and nature.

In St. Croix Falls’ historic downtown area, you can park the car and spend the rest of the time on foot or bike as you discover a segment of the 1,000-mile Ice Age National Scenic Trail or the more than 10 miles of hiking trails in the Interstate State Park. Thanks to the spectacular St. Croix River, stunning coulees and “dalles” (ancient rock outcroppings), the community has emerged from its extractive history as a logging town and fur trading post to one of the premier places in the Midwest for the enjoyment of the outdoors, on foot, bike or in a kayak on the river.

In just a few days,  I will be enjoying the great outdoors again! It’s only been 2 1/2 weeks since we’ve been back from our first trip. Were going to Mammoth and staying in a condo. Our last trip we camped for the remaining four day. Which was a bit hairy at times with a 2 yr. old and 3 mos. old but we managed. I’m so glad we did it too! It was fun to watch Tristan connect with nature. After reading Wild Animal Baby and other wildlife related books Tristan was able to put things into perspective.

During this trip we cloth diapered and had a potty trainer on our hands! The condo at Bass Lake had a washer and dryer and while camping in Yosemite we used the laundry mat at Curry Village. I only did the washing at Curry Village and let the diapers & undies air dry in the sunshine on a tree branch at our site. We were prepared to use a bucket and gloves if we did not have access to a washer! It worked out nicely though. My 2 yr. old loved being in nature and really enjoyed boat rides on the lake. He saw tons of wildlife including a BEAR! While driving back to our campsite, our first day in Yosemite, we watched a bear eating in a meadow through the car window. It was neat. Tristan also saw a “Big ole Buck” on a bike ride first thing in the morning around the campground.

It was so amazing to see nature through his eyes. He chased the squirrels to their holes and around the campsite and collected specimens to put into his bug kit. Our hike to Vernal Falls was quite a journey and I think he understood it’s significance. My husband and I consider ourselves experienced campers. We’ve done a lot of camping. Every time I walk away from a campsite, I have a new perspective on life. Unplugging for the few days and recharging your soul with Mother Nature is a must! Getting away from all the stimulus and “roughing -it” for a few days makes you appreciate the things we have in life.

Here in the great Northwest, we have a plethora of outdoor adventure options available at little or no cost to us (often only the cost of transportation and/or a day use fee of $3.00-$5.00). Our family just returned from a week at the lake where I not only enjoyed several hikes, but I also swam the lake (one mile each way) and kayaked. These energy intensive activities left me feeling revived, energized and just a wee bit hungry! Here is a variation of the fabulous high energy Logan bar recipe to enjoy on your next day (or week) hiking adventure.

US’ oldest environmental group launches social network for hikers

You’ve heard of trail networks, well how about the network, Trails?  Sierra Club Trails, that is. Don’t feel bad if you haven’t because it’s brand new. On Thursday, The Sierra Club launched what is being billed as the world’s first-ever comprehensive hiking wiki. Like other wikis, the meat behind Trails (or the GORP, as the case may be) is [...]

There are no security guards or high-tech alarm systems to protect this treasure. Instead, it is the rock climbers, hikers, campers and recreationists that are working overtime to protect this gem from being stolen. Rock Canyon in Provo, Utah has long been a haven of solitude for the humble seeker of peace and the nature lover alike; but recent disputations over land rights have formed darkening clouds on the horizon.

In the mid-1990s Richard Davis purchased nearly 80 acres of Rock Canyon along with a 1906 mining claim. Recently, Davis has sought to use his claim in order to mine quartz from the mountain; a prospect that has recreationists and naturalists up in arms.

Richard Davis, however, has legal rights to the land; and with consent from Provo city and the Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining, Davis has control of the reigns with how he will use his land. His plan: mine quartz, which is beneficial for the lucrative minerals with which it is layered. In order to obtain the quartz, rock would be cut away from the mountain, which one pro-canyon activist, Jim Knight, compared to cutting off the nose of the Mona Lisa.

Are you looking for a community, environmental project for your family?  Keep America Beautiful is launching its 2009 Great American Cleanup today with its campaign “Green Starts Here”.

The Great American Cleanup begins today with a national launch event in Waveland, Miss., which will help  restore a hurricane-ravaged town along the Gulf Coast. It will continue through May 31 with additional national events being held in New York City on Earth Day and Nashville on May 14.

Millions of volunteers will work to rid streets, waterways and public spaces of litter and illegal dumpsites.  Communities will green up parks, schoolyards and other public spaces and hold recycling drives and educational events.

Tucked in forest, perched alongside coastal sand dunes and a brief stroll from the California surf in Pacific Grove on the Monterey Peninsula rests the Asilomar Conference Grounds.  It’s owned by the people of California as a California State Park, but the conference facilities and lodging is managed by Delaware North Companies Parks and Resorts, the same company that manages other accommodations in some spectacular environs including the Sequoia and Yosemite National Parks.

You don’t need to be a conference-goer to experience the grounds or even bed down in the rustic, immaculately clean, and camp-like accommodations.  Besides being a conference hot spot, ecotravelers can stay as leisure guests.  Many also come to Asilomar to celebrate their wedding, share a family reunion or host a corporate retreat — especially if they’re trying to do it more green.

Upon arriving with my family, two Black-tailed deer greeted us just before we passed between Asilomar’s welcoming stone columns at the entrance.  The hub of Asilomar Conference Grounds — which includes 313 secluded guest rooms housed in a unique collection of historic cabins and lodges, many with fireplaces, balconies or private decks — is their Social Hall, with outdoor seating, wireless access, board games and ping pong.  During our stay, a complimentary Jazz ensemble in the Social Hall provided a relaxing way to wind down the day.  The spacious guest rooms are designed for the tranquil enjoyment of nature, so TVs, radios and telephones are refreshingly absent.

Rightly deserving its “refuge by the sea” namesake, the 107-acre Asilomar Conference Grounds both inspires our appreciation of nature and is inspired by it. The grounds got its start in 1928 as a Young Women’s Christian Association (YMCA) camp, created, built and funded by women.  California’s first registered female architect, Julia Morgan, designed the buildings on the grounds in the Arts and Craft style which embraced harmony, community and natural beauty.  Every building has a face to the ocean.  I found every door opened to the outdoors (try that at your typical convention center).

I grew up in the suburbs of Columbus, Ohio. We had a yard with trees, and the park and river were not too far away.  I was fortunate my parents took me on weekend hiking trips in the Hocking Hills of southern Ohio (although I called “hocking in the Hiking Hills”). Reading Into the Trees, part of the Mini G Deluxe Baby Gift Set, I was reminded of my early adventures into the woods as a child.

Those early, enjoyable hiking trips set the stage for my environmentalism and decision to live in a remote, natural setting.

Into the Trees is the story of Mini G’s first walk into the woods. In the forest, Mini G discovers many natural wonders:

Gurgle. Gurgle. Bubble. Bubble.

Mini G had found quite a surprise.

“Look, Dad!  Look!  Look what I’ve found!

There’s water bubbling up right from the ground!”

This summer I was a guest on a local public radio program discussing Nature Deficit Disorder. Based on the number of calls and emails into the show, we were told afterwards it was one of their more successful programs. For many reasons, the topic appealed — and continues to appeal — with many.

One story, in particular, seemed to resonate with parents: It was the story of my two sons’ getting lost in 200 acres of woods on their grandparents expansive farm property. Clearly, that story could have had a terrible ending, but it didn’t. Instead, my boys used their brains and their senses to find their way back onto the property and into their mom’s worried and waiting arms.

With the holidays — or is it the holidaze!?! — all around us, plenty of parents are looking for excuses to get their kids out of the house. Why not take a family hike? While many associate hiking with summer or early fall, the winter can be a terrific time to hit the trails. Cooler months often mean far fewer crowds and present different viewing opportunities for young eyes. So with that in mind, here are seven tips for a more enjoyable hike (these work, of course, regardless of season). I won’t add it to the list, but clearly, if your climate calls for it, dress in layers — ideally non-cotton layers — appropriate for where you live. Now, the list:

Hikers in Seoraksan National Park, South Korea, form a line up the mountain trail.

Autumn is an especially busy season for Seoraksan National Park in Gangwon province, South Korea. In a year, the park sees 3 million visitors, as many as Yellowstone Park in the States. But each October, the steady stream of outdoor admirers swells to a torrent when fall colors light up the park’s jagged peaks.

Outside the front gate, the atmosphere is excited, almost carnivalesque. It would make an American think of Disneyland, except for the elderly women sitting along the queue selling steamed, starchy corn. Crowds bustle past a free wheelchair distributor at the entrance and spill into the park. There are Korean nationals and foreigners of all ages and descriptions: Korean aunts and grandmothers in distinguishing pink jumpers and visors yell to each other with their families in toe, “Bali wa! Hurry up!”; tour groups in all the latest outdoor trappings hotfoot it to the trails; a rastafarian foreign couple meander conspicuously through the stalls of wooden souvenirs and plastic toys lining the park side of the ticket gate.

Soon after the entrance, the park opens up into a courtyard populated with food carts and the occasional overpriced restaurant. On one side of the courtyard, a monolithic stone Buddha surveys the crowd. Naturally, I head straight to the carts to see what snacks they have. The first vendor sells roasted chestnuts, and I buy a bag. At another, I find wild mountain raspberry wine and fried grasshoppers. I’m curious. The woman behind the cart takes a moment away from hawking the wine to complement my broken Korean and pours me a sample of purple liquid from a large glass jar into a small plastic cup. Sipping on the wine, I decide to try the grasshoppers. They’re crunchy and slightly salty. To my surprise, they make a satisfying compliment to the wine, the chestnuts, and the brisk, healthy fall air. It’s a windy day and autumn colors are all around. Thanking the lady, I drift back into the stream of hikers making their way to the summit.