Walkin' Michigan with
the Historic Pathwalkers
member club of the
American Volkssport Association
10/15/2004
Remarks
Wayne Fieldhouse, President
P.O. Box 8494 Holland, Michigan 49422
What a great group of people we have in the
Michigan AVA Historic Pathwalkers. I recently placed phone calls to several of
our members whom I've never met. The result was enlightening and inspirational.
Every one of them had a positive story to tell. One member started Volkssporting
in Germany and would like to see us set up more events for her and her family.
Another member plans to travel out of the country with an AVA group in another
state. Then there's the 86-year-old who is still tutoring young people every
week. The stories go on and on. All it took was a few phone calls and my
understanding of, and appreciation for, our members went off the charts. I
would be remiss if I didn't mention the great people who make our Volkssporting
experience possible. They are the members of our Leadership Team,
alphabetically; Louise Blystra, Nancy and Darrell Bratt, Pat Korloch, Alma
Lucas, Ginnie Nagy, Chelane Priller, Linda Theil, Jean Woltjer and Larry
Wozniak. Thanks gang! I'm sure that they'll be looking for help from the rest
of us.
One of our founders, Anna Hartman, recently
moved to Illinois in order to be closer to her caregivers. Bon voyage Anna and
best wishes. I've heard that Anna loves reading our newsletter. It's not too
late to enjoy one of our lower Michigan Historic Pathwalker walk sites but it
soon will be for some of them so put your feet on one of the paths.
Our Eskimo Walk is Nov. 6th in South Haven. See
you there. Until then, Happy
Trails!
South Haven
Group Walk, November 6
Join us at 11:30 a.m. for lunch at the new South
Haven start point, Julia's Café at 561 Huron Street in South Haven. The group
walk will begin at 12:30 p.m. The Historic Pathwalkers Leadership Team is
scheduled to meet at 3 p.m. at Julia's Cafe. All members are invited to attend
the meeting that will focus on 2005 planned activities. Directions: Take
I-196 exit #20 into South Haven on Phoenix. Drive to the second traffic light
at Broadway and turn left. Drive one block to Huron and turn right at the
café, 561 Huron. There is a large parking lot adjacent to the cafe.
Historic Pathwalkers Louise Blystra and Jean Woltjer
arrive at 50!
by Jean Woltjer
On June 30, 2004 Louise Blystra, Darrel and Nancy Bratt, Kay
Holleman, Alma Lucas, John Pierce and Jean Woltjer left for Alaska where Louise
and Jean were about to walk their fiftieth state. After a long travel day we
walked that night in Anchorage where Louise and Jean made it official. We had
finally done it; a sanctioned walk in all fifty states!
Our trip was much more than volksmarching, though. The next
morning we traveled by train to Seward. This was our first train ride and we
thoroughly enjoyed it! The guides were knowledgeable and very personable, we
could move around, eat, and converse with other passengers all the while
enjoying the beautiful scenery. We saw
the first of many bald eagles, as well as Dall sheep and moose, on this leg of
our trip.
Upon arrival in Seward we were transported by bus to the
boat for our Kenai Fjords National Park cruise. This was a six-hour cruise with
wonderful wild life viewing. We saw sea
otters, stellar seals, whales, puffins and dolphins to name some. We also got a
close-up look at tidewater glaciers and saw some glacier calving. Most of our time was spent on deck to take
advantage of the many photo opportunities and commentary by the guides.
The next morning we were all on the train again; this time a
two-and-a-half hour ride to Whittier. Once there, we were taken by bus to our
catamaran, the Klondike Express, for the 26 Glacier Cruise on Prince William
Sound. The weather was cloudy but dry. Most of the afternoon we spent taking
photographs of the glaciers while watching and listening to the calving. We saw some huge chunks fall. Again, there was an abundance of wildlife
and even with less than ideal weather, it was spectacular. After boarding the
train, we again went through the car/train tunnel in Whittier. The tunnel is
owned by the Alaska Railroad and is open to vehicular traffic only when not
needed by the train. Back in Anchorage we ate dinner and did a little shopping.
John managed to find some special “moose nuggets” and we all had a good laugh.
The next morning we left for an early morning Tundra
Wildlife Tour. We spent the day in Denali Park with our driver and guide, Jim
Garnett. We were excited about this trip, hoping to see Mt McKinley, and were
pleased to see that skies were clear and the sun was shining! We traveled down
a gravel road and every now and then someone would holler “Stop”. We’d all try
to get a look at whatever had been spotted -- we saw caribou, moose, wolf, Dall
sheep, vole, golden eagles, pika, willow ptarmigan and we saw lots of arctic
ground squirrels. A special treat was the view of Mt McKinley; we had been told
that only twenty-percent of visitors ever see it due to the clouds that
surround it most of the time so we were very happy to be able to see it. In the evening we enjoyed Cabin Nite, which
was a local dinner theatre. It included
all-you-can eat salmon and ribs with potatoes, vegetables, dessert and a show.
It was an enjoyable way to end another great day.
Our next stop was Fairbanks. Earlier in the week there had
been some concern about smoke from wild fires in the area. However, a change in
wind direction had cleared it all out and we saw clear skies upon our arrival
there.
From Fairbanks we took a bus over 190 miles north to the
Arctic Circle. That was quite an adventure as we traveled along the Dalton
Highway, which is a gravel road running parallel to the Alaskan Pipeline. This
road was originally called the North Slope Haul Road, and was built by and for
the oil companies during construction of the pipeline. We stopped several times
along the way and were able to get photos and a close up look at the pipeline. Lunch was a picnic along the Yukon River.
Upon arrival at the Arctic Circle, our guide Tara welcomed us with a red carpet
ceremony! The occasion called for lots
of photos with the official sign. On our return trip we had another interesting
stop and that was an opportunity to feel the permafrost under the tundra. Tara
dug a hole about six inches deep and we could put our hand in it to experience
it for ourselves. It was another long,
but very interesting day.
And of course, we couldn’t leave Fairbanks without doing one
more volksmarch, which we did the following day. It was warm and sunny and we enjoyed walking again after the
train and bus rides of the previous days.
Lunch was at a Fifties-style diner followed by a stop at North
Pole. The last day was spent visiting
the University of Alaska Museum for its history and cultural exhibits. At the
entrance were totem poles and finally a grizzly bear! Unfortunately it was only a stuffed one. The day also included a visit at the
Georgeson Botanical Garden with its test gardens of flowers and
vegetables. There were displays of
beautiful flowers and huge cabbages.
Finally it was time to leave for the airport and home, but
not before John had a shower of “duck water” while helping Nancy get some last
minute photos. He can provide details
of the experience. It was a very memorable and enjoyable trip for all of us and
a terrific way to finish “Walking the USA”.
June 22-24, 2005 AVA
Biennial Convention host hotel accommodations ready to reserve
from Diane Evans
The Hilton Philadelphia/Cherry Hill Hotel has been selected as the 2005 AVA
Convention Host Hotel and convention site. The Hilton is where all convention
activities: Executive Council and State Association meetings; Meet and Greet
social; workshops; general business sessions; silent auction; convention
seasonal walk plus swim; and closing banquet will take place. The Hilton has
408 rooms and our goal is to fill them all with AVA walkers. A large block of
rooms is reserved until May 23, 2005 under the group identifier "American
Volkssport Association." You are advised to reserve your room early!
Reservations can be made by phone at 1-800-HILTONS (1-800-445-8667) or on-line
through our Convention 2005 web site at http://www.2005avaconvention.org/.
The Hilton's 2005 AVA Convention room rate is $105 for single, double, triple
or quad occupancy. This special rate is valid for reservations beginning
Saturday, June 18 through Sunday, June 26, 2005. If you would like to
arrive earlier than June 18 or stay past June 26, please call the hotel
directly at 1-856-665-6666 and talk to the Sales Department for an extended
group rate.
There are numerous public and private campgrounds available in New Jersey.
Private campgrounds which are the closest to Cherry Hill include: Timberlake
Campground in Clarksboro, NJ; Lake Kandle Campground near Glassboro, NJ; and
Hospitality Creek Campground near Williamstown,
NJ. Public campgrounds include: Brendan T. Byrne State Forest (formerly known
as Lebanon State Forest) located near the intersection of Route 70
and Route 72; and Wharton State Forest located near Atsion on Route 206. More
detailed information on these camping facilities can be obtained at
http://www.newjerseycampgrounds.com/
or to obtain a FREE full hard copy of the 2004 New Jersey Campground and RV
Guidebook leave a message at 1-800-2-CAMP-NJ. To further assist you in planning
your visit to New Jersey visit http://www.visitnj.org/
or order a FREE copy of the 2004 New Jersey Travel Guide plus a New Jersey
Lighthouse Guide by calling 1-800-VISIT-NJ.
For more convention information, check the web at http://www.2005avaconvention.org/
See you in June 2005 at the 14th Biennial AVA Convention!
Reactivated Michigan AVA affiliate
Jim and Carolyn Steelman of Sterling Heights, Michigan have reactivated a ten-year-old AVA Michigan affiliate named the Michigan Pathfinders, AVA Club #025. Don Vartanian of Indianapolis is the reactivated club's treasurer. Although the two Michigan clubs, our Historic PathWALKERS and the reactivated Michigan PathFINDERS, have similar names, they are two separate AVA clubs based in Michigan. Jim and Carolyn Steelman may be contacted at 2810 Burningbush Drive, Sterling Heights MI 48314, phone 810-739-4781.
For
brochures about 25 events in Indiana and some in Michigan, too, contact Don
Vartanian at donvart@yahoo.com or send a
self-addressed envelope to Don Vartanian, 6330 Woods Edge N. Drive, #2-B,
Indianapolis, IN 46250-3530.
Membership
Alma Lucas, Membership
5261 Southbrook CT #51
Hudsonville, MI 49426
616-662-2359 ajlucas@worldnet.att.net
Alma Lucas is in charge
of club membership and requests for information about the Historic Pathwalkers.
Please contact Alma if you'd like to join.
The Historic Pathwalkers
is a member club of the American Volkssport Association on the web at http://ava.org. See Executive Council highlights and
the AVA Checkpoint on the web at http://www.ava.org/avanews.htm.
For more information about the American Volkssport Association: 1001 Pat Booker
Road, Suite, 101, Universal City, TX 78148, 210-659-2112
Information
line: 1-800-830-WALK.
Share your news
Linda Theil, Editor
If you have any walking information or adventures you'd like to
share with the club, please send them to me at my address above. Also if
neighboring clubs would like us to promo your walks here, please send me the
information. Please share our newsletter with anyone you know who is interested
in walking. Our page is online at http://www.ava.org/clubs/pathwalkers/.
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