Clouds and SOLAR

 On the way to Livonia today (3.5 hour drive), the clouds put on quite a show. I never drove in more than some sprinkles, however.

The purpose of the drive was to give my program for the SOLAR Outdoor Club, which has been around since the 1970s and is still going strong. There were about 70 people there.

I had a chance to visit with some people afterwards, and some went out for a social time after we had to be out of the building.

I'm spending the night with one of the members. Great day, but I'm beat. Have to sign off and get flat.

See Sky Day

Just Pretend It's November 1

You might remember that I wanted to share something that I did on November 1, but I didn't have the pictures yet. I got them today.

That morning, I gave my program about the big hike to some classes at the O.J. DeJonge Middle School in Ludington. These are 6-8th graders. They were pretty interested.

The teacher apologized for them, but I have a pretty good idea of what to expect from young teens. They asked some good questions after the program, and I even got to talk with a few of them individually.

All in all, I think it went well. The teacher is trying to get them to focus on finding some kind of outdoor activity that they might enjoy for their entire life. Looking for that healthy lifestyle choice. She was very sad to report that most of them are very unfit physically.

A couple of them were outdoorsy. The boy I'm talking with above is a Scout, and another boy was a hunter. He asked me about hunting or fishing to feed myself while hiking.

The biggest headache was the technology. They had to transform my PowerPoint into a Mac format to use it on their system. Even though they had it for a week ahead of time, there was a fair amount of technological angst, but it mostly worked right.

Today I did client work, another load of laundry (during which the washing machine developed a problem- sigh), puttered in the trailer a little more, and did some planning for my January trip. Vacation from DMS is now at 13,137 words.

See That Other November

Scottville Senior Center Program

Today began the first of the in-person programs following my second hike of the NCT. I actually am using part of the previous program with updated maps and slides, but that way it incorporates both of my trail experiences. It was a fun group with some trail people there, and some "new" people, and a couple of friends I haven't seen for a long time.

Bill Kerans is on the right- he is the director of the Senior Center. Trail friend, Ada, is on the left, but she also is the Activities Director for the Center. Behind us is one of the many lovely quilts displayed.

They couldn't stop thanking me for coming, but seriously, I love giving programs about the North Country Trail. If anyone would like me to come to your area, my fee is reasonable, and sometimes travel expenses can be combined with some other trip. My next program is in Interlaken, NY, on September 9. Contact me if you are interested.

I just have to include this. Someone has arranged the kids' bookshelf by book color! This is exactly how Marie thinks it ought to be done, so I had to chuckle.

I didn't get a lot else done, but I did start getting ready for the workshop I'm leading at the NCTA Celebration in the Adirondacks.

See Background Fun