Year Two - Whoo Hoo!!!

On November 1st, I will celebrate having walked 
every day in a row for 2 years!

 Whoo Hoo!

It started out as a 30-day goal just to get myself back on track! Well it turns out that one day leads to another and another....A few times along the way I told Gene (my husband and co-founder of the Walking Connection) that I didn't feel like walking and anymore. He would just respond by saying, "So tomorrow morning you are going to say Day 1, Whoo Hoo!?" Yep he always knows how to get me going, in a good way of course :)

So here I am with almost two full years of days - of walks - of hikes - of miles, sometimes only ten minutes, but an accomplishment none-the-less. WOW! I really did this and now I want to share this milestone with everyone! To celebrate I am inviting all of my friends from around the world to go for at least a 10-minute walk on November 1. It can be anywhere, any place YOU are. It doesn't have to be far or fast, just walk with a purpose. Just Walk for YOU!

So far, friends that are joining this 10 minute walk are located in the states of AZ, CA, CT, NY, MD, VA, NC, SC, SD, HI, TX, OH, GA, MA, MT, MO, OR, WA, FL, MI and NE They'll be joined by my international friends in the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario and Nova Scotia. As well as the far off lands of Costa Rica, Argentina, Mexico, South Africa, New Zealand, India, Morocco, Iceland and Australia. Amazing!

 

For those of you on Facebook, I ask for you to post a comment, or even better, a picture or video on the Walking Connection page. Or check out this blog and post away! Or just send me an e-mail and let me know where you are walking. 

 

Invite your friends to come walk with YOU. We are going to make this a real walking connection and who knows, maybe it will be your "Day 1 - Whoo Hoo!"

 

Are YOU in?

Back To Right Side Up

We are back from Australia and still catching up!       

Don't even know where to begin. We have so many things to tell you about - the places we saw, the friends we made, the trails we walked and most importantly when we are going back....                 

But for now I thought I would share just a few things I learned on our Aussie Adventure: 

Koalas' pouches are backwards.  

Aussies shorten most words containing more than 2 syllables. Thus a Roo is not a rooster, but yes of course a Kangaroo.  

Watch out for "Roo doo" when Gene kindly asks you to go sit in a field to take your picture.  

The Remarkable Rocks have a fitting name. 

Tasmanian Devils are ornery little guys, but I would be ticked off too if I was looking at possible extinction.   

Still don't know what a wombat looks like in real life.  

The last known Tasmanian Tiger (Thylacine) died in 1936.      

If somebody tells you that you are going to need to "rag up", wear 3 layers.         

Little Penguins gather out at sea, form a raft, surf in together then en mass walk up the beach to find their burrows.  And it is actually some body's job to count thousands of them as they come ashore each evening at sunset.

Oh yeah and I almost forgot...Kangaroo meat is pretty tasty!

Whoo Hoo!

Click above to view my walks from down under!

Walking in Your Shoes Down Under

Gene and I will be heading off to Australia soon!  We were invited by the Australian State Tourism Committee to come experience an Aussie adventure.  The Tarkine Rainforest on Tasmania, Kangaroo Island in South Australia and the Great Ocean Walk of Victoria are just a few of the highlights.

Excited?  YES!

But after we made the commitment to go, I felt something else.  Something I don't think I have ever felt before in regards to my travels.  First of all, I am placing myself in the hopefully capable hands of a guide I trust, but do not personally know.  I won't be in charge or responsible for others and I'm not  running the show.  WOW!  I don't have to worry about the details?  How strange, but I think I can handle that -- for a while anyway.  

Then maybe I felt a bit nervous...what if I can't keep up?  What if the others are fitter, faster, stronger, younger and can leap tall buildings in a single bound? Who else is going?  What are they like? What if I am not comfortable with the people I am traveling with? What if we are doing something that I don't want to do?  What do I bring? What should I wear? (Yea that's a girl thing.) So many questions!


Then it hit me.  I realised that this must be how many of you feel the first time you sign up for a trip with us. Unsure? Uneasy? O.K., now I get that. So what can I learn from this personal experience to make your travels with the Walking Connection even better?   As we set out for our adventure down under, by walking in your shoes, I'll learn many new things I am sure. As I do, I'll keep you posted on how it is going with stories right here on my blog, images on Facebook and video on YouTube!   So check back, OK?

And for now I better get back to packing...

A Whale of a Tale

You are never going to believe this, but it is for real...

We were taking the trail down to the beach for one last walk before heading home after a wonderful week in Todos Santos.  All of a sudden we heard a powerful whooosh.  Looked up and there was a spout from a whale right off the beach.  I mean -- RIGHT THERE!  So excited we hurried the rest of the way.  It was sooo close.  And then...we saw another whale and another and another.  There we were right in the midst of an unbelievable show and Gene without his camera that he ALWAYS carries.

Photo by Wendy Greenberg

Because the drop off from the beach is so deep they could swim right up almost to shore. They stuck their noses up in the air (do whales have noses?) and looked at us. We looked back.  They rolled in the sand, floated awhile and glided. We walked along beside them as they headed north. I think they liked our company.  They flipped their tales and waved.  We reluctantly turned away. Dragging our feet we had a plane to catch, a plane back to reality.

Photo provided by Todos Santos Eco Adventures

But I AM going back

so that perhaps I can walk with the whales once again... 

Come Walk With Me!

Best Cookies and my new most favorite hiking trail for the moment....

It is hard to pick which ones I want!

OK first the most important part: BEST COOKIES! 

1.  Sugar Mamas Bakery in Binghamton, NY owned by baking goddesses Marie Lupo Lawton and Susan Lupo Schofield (hoping this free plug will get some cookies sent our way)

2. Jacob Lake Inn's Bakery on the way to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon - it is a must stop.

3. The ones Janet Kummer is making for Gene's birthday this weekend!
Now on to how we earn our cookies - by going for a hike!  Recently we hosted a group at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.  (If you haven't been to the North Rim you must go!  It is nothing like the South Rim, very quiet, very peaceful)  This is our third year that we have gathered a group together on "the other side".  Always looking for something new we decided to hike a trail that we had not done before -  The Ken Patrick Trail.  It is a 10 mile trail one way, but I only had plans to go as far as I felt like and then turn around.

I love this trail!  And I always love doing a trail that I have never hiked before.  Nobody else was on it besides us. (Thank you Kevin, Kathy, Sam, Wendy and Suzi for joining me)  It went up and down and up and down, rambling through pine forest then opening up to the new green growth of old burn areas. Fields of ferns topped by my favorite treat from nature -  wildflowers.  Purples and pinks, orange and yellows all embellished with lacy whites. Wildflowers make me smile... And then at the 3 and a half mile point the ground opened up before us, as GRAND as could be.  Silence.

Now back to cookies...nothing like sitting at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon watching the sun set after a full day of hiking savoring a Ginger Snap from Jacob Lake with a cup of tea.  Ahhhh...TITL (This Is The Life)

Safari Time

Maasai Mara, Kenya

If you have been to Africa once, you will understand...Africa gets in your blood. You long to go back. Images of the tawny landscape stretching deep into the hazy distance draw you in.  You crave the anticipation of what gift from nature a new day will bring. Elephants wallowing in the mud around a reed-fringed waterhole as a warning cry echoes across the water. A herd of waterbuck crash through the shallows at the sight of a wandering lion. You have to go back...

The Walking Connection has traveled to Kenya, Tanzania, Zanzibar, South Africa and Zimbabwe in the past. This time we want to do something different... BOTSWANA! 

Botswana is one of Africa's success stories. It is a stable country with a booming economy. After their independence in 1966, its forward thinking leaders secured Botswana's borders from poachers.  The game concentrations multiplied and flourished.  Since then the country abandoned mass tourism and focused on high quality / low volume tourism as the best way to create a sustainable industry that would employ a large percentage of its people, while still preserving the environment.

Low volume tourism = a more intimate and personal experience.  Sounds perfect for the Walking Connection!  We are working on an itinerary for June 2012.  Are you interested?  e-mail me!

Why We Go Where We Go!

I am asked all of the time where am I going next and why am I going there?  Well the short answer is... next I am going to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon because it is cool, quiet and I find it very peaceful.  After that, possibly Australia to take a look at some new Walking Connection Adventures. In November it is off to the Galapagos Islands with Walking Connection friends followed by more of an exploration of Ecuador in search of another volcano to conquer! (See Conquer the Volcano)

In regards to what trips I plan for The Walking Connection and why, it's simple:

Jo Ann & Gene at the North Rim 2010

timing, gut, my dream, you asked for it, new discovery, friendship with locals, up and coming destination, contacts, curiosity, media article that is intriguing, currency fluctuation in the right direction, something different and unique, a cool/interesting/special place to walk or hike and occasionally I ask Gene's opinion.

Do you have a destination on your bucket list that you think would be a great Walking Connection Adventure? If so e-mail me.  The World Is Our Limit! (At least for now...)