Free walking seminar in Howell May 7

The Walk Howell Michigan walking club and the Howell Area Parks & Recreation Authority will sponsor a

FREE walking seminar at 10 a.m. Saturday May 7, 2011 in the Barnard Community Center, 415 N. Barnard St., Howell, MI 48843 with:

• Brad Hagen (NASM-PES & ACE-CPT)  -- owner of Sports Lab Consulting -- and Cally Bukovina -- creator of Adventure Quest Bootcamp – will discuss the benefits of walking, how to get started, and how to achieve top results.
• Learn about walking programs and events for every walker.
• An optional group walk will be lead at 11:15 after the program presentation.

Spring 2011 Newsletter

Historic Pathwalkers Spring Newsletter March 2011
According to the calendar spring has arrived but the warm temperatures have not. At least the snow has melted and we can again walk on clear sidewalks.
Our walk boxes will soon be in place for another season. The total for 2011 is an even dozen, three of which are year round walks. Six of our walks start on April 1 and the other 3 on May 1. We will not have a box in Douglas/Saugatuck or in Manistee this year but if anyone would like to volunteer to adopt a box for next year please let me know.
A new walk this year is the one in East Lansing which begins at Biggby Coffee, 4480 Hagadorn Rd. Okemos MI. The walk is mostly on the campus of Michigan State University with its historic buildings and sculptures. Be sure to visit the Dairy Store which is part of the Agricultural Dept and has delicious ice cream for sale. Our YRE and seasonal walk locations are as follows:
Coldwater Ludington State Park
East Lansing Lansing
Grand Haven South Haven
Grand Rapids St. Joseph
Holland Traverse City
Howell Zeeland
Once these walks begin again we are required to submit quarterly statistics to the AVA so please send those numbers to jean.woltjer@att.net so that I can send them in. This should be done at the end of each quarter and I will send a reminder when the time comes. Please continue to send any money received to our treasurer, Alma Lucas, 5261 Southbrook Ct. #51, Hudsonville MI 49426.
More information about these walks is available at www.ava.org and on our blog at http://historicpathwalkers.blogspot.com/ You can also find us on Facebook.

Historic Pathwalkers Group Walk Schedule

April 16 Coldwater
We will start from the Holiday Inn Express, 630 E. Chicago St. at 10:00 a.m.
NOTICE! The group walk in Coldwater scheduled for this Saturday, April 16 has been postponed due to adverse weather conditions.   It has been rescheduled for Saturday, April 30 at 10:00 a.m.    The start point is the Holiday Inn Express,  630 E Chicago St.
May 21 Howell
Starting from Uptown Coffeehouse, 102 E. Grand River at 10:00 a.m.
June 25 Grand Rapids
We will start from Big Boy, 407 Pearl St. at 9:30 a.m. so that we can meet for our annual business meeting afterwards.
Suggestions are welcome for July and August!

The 17th Biennial AVA Convention will be held this year from June 18 – 26 in Des Moines, Iowa. I have registration forms if anyone is interested in attending. You can also go online at www.ava.org/clubs/ava2011convention/index.asp

SEE YOU ON THE TRAIL!!

Tater Tours 2011

The Mackinaw Bridge Walk, the Washtenaw Wanderers year 'round Ann Arbor walk, and the Historic Pathwalkers Capitol City Lansing walk are features of Head Tater Mary Ptacek's 2011 Tater Tours "Mackinak Bridge Walk and More" tour originating in Baltimore and running Sept. 1-9, 2011

Tater Tours 2011 schedule includes six reasonably priced, bus-trip, walking tours of the US featuring American Volkssport Association sanctioned walks on the following dates:
Feb 15 - 27: Florida, Alabama and More
May 14 - 18: New York City and More
June 14 - June 30: AVA Convention and More
Sept 1 - 9: Mackinaw Bridge Walk and More
Sept 17 - 28: Colorado and Utah
Oct 7 - 10: Finger Lakes Region

For more information, contact:
Mary Ptacek (Head Tater)
Tater Tours
2748 Canarsy Ct.
Henderson, Nevada 89052
(702) 260-7333
mtptacek@msn.com

Resources:
Tater Tours: http://lizrose.biz/tatertours/
Mackinak Bridge Walk & More: http://lizrose.biz/tatertours/walkingtrip4.htm

South Haven, MI walk closed early

Historic Pathwalkers President Jean Woltjer reported this morning:

The walk box at Café Julia in South Haven Michigan has been pulled unexpectedly as of yesterday.  This walk, which was supposed to run through the end of November, has therefore closed for the season. We will be working on finding a new spot for the box for next year. Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience but some of these things are beyond our control.

NOTE: Nov. 12, 2010 -- Jean Woltjer reported today that the South Haven start point will return to Cafe Julia when the seasonal walk re-opens next spring. 

Historic Pathwalkers Newsletter, October 2010

From Historic Pathwalkers President Jean Woltjer:

Fall has arrived and with it we are nearing the end of our walking season. We have enjoyed a wonderful fall season so far this year so let’s hope it lasts for a while longer. 

We had good participation at our scheduled group walks this year and were able to get those in before the summer heat. Now it’s time to start closing down the walks for another season. The third-quarter participation reports have been filed with the AVA and after a very slow start the numbers were up significantly for some of the walks. Thanks to our walkbox hosts who submitted those numbers to me in such a timely manner and for maintaining the boxes throughout the year.

By the end of November most of these boxes will be pulled for another season. At that time the stamp(s) should be sent to AVA , 1001 Pat Booker Rd., Suite 101, Universal City, TX  78148  within 10 days to avoid a penalty. Please send the final walk numbers  to jean.woltjer@att.net for our last report of the year.

Money should be sent to Alma Lucas, 5261 Southbrook Ct. #51, Hudsonville MI 49426. 

At our annual meeting this summer the current officers were re-elected for another year.  We also decided to take over the East Lansing walk from the Great Lakes Amblers, a club that is disbanding at the end of this year. John Pierce will be the POC for this walk.   It will be a seasonal walk with the walk box being hosted by Biggby Coffee, 4480 Hagadorn Rd, Suite 108, East Lansing MI.

 

We’ve also sanctioned most of our current walks for 2011 with the following exceptions:  Douglas, Ludington city walk and Manistee.

 

Each month the AVA sends out its bulletin with current news. The last issue noted that the AVA has a new logo tag line that reads: "AVA Moving together toward a healthier America." In addition they have a new national sponsor, Brazos Walking Sticks.

The AVA Biennial Convention will be held next summer in Des Moines Iowa for those who might be interested in attending. More information will be available early next year.

Thanks to all who have helped to make this another good year for our club. Your work is appreciated since we couldn’t function without you. This is the last newsletter for 2010 and as the holiday season is not far off I’d like to wish everyone a happy holiday season.

President:          Jean Woltjer, 616-392-2844 , jean.woltjer@att.net
Vice Pres:          Pat Korloch, 517-882-1495, pk55@juno.com
Secretary: John Pierce, 616-527-2413, jwpierce53@gmail.com
Treasurer:          Alma Lucas, 616-662-2359, ajlucas@charter.net

Stefan Szumko announces two AVA special events

Washtenaw Wanderers President Stefan Szumko says:

Greetings Walking Fans! Now that walking season is here, we'd like to invite you to two delightful walks:

On Saturday, September 25, we'll be joining the Oktoberfest Celebration at the Saline Harvest of the Arts Festival in downtown Saline.  Walk either a 5K or 10K route and work up an appetite for authentic German food and a thirst for authentic German bier.   Enjoy music, arts, children's activities and more.  Start your walk between 9am-noon and finish by 3pm.  Meet at the Saline Farmer's Market on S. Ann Arbor St. which is a half block south of Michigan Ave.  You can walk for free or for AVA Credit only ($3). We'll also have B-Awards from previous events on sale for various prices ($5 or less - we still have some Fairydoor Fridge Magnets, while supplies last).  For more information - http://www.ava.org/gen3/data/event_details.asp?eventid=87163.

On Sunday, October 17, join us for our annual Colorwalk starting at the Leslie Science and Nature Center in Ann Arbor.  The 10K route follows scenic nature trails for approximately 7K and is rated a 3 on a scale of 1-5 (1 being easiest)!  The 5K route is also quite scenic.  Jogging strollers are perfect for the youngsters.  Wheelchairs will have difficulty on both routes.  Park on the lawn in the lower field and start your walk on the front porch of the "Leslie House" between the hours of 10am-1pm.  Walk for free, for AVA Credit Only ($3) or for this year's National Volkssport Month Patch ($7).  http://www.ava.org/gen3/data/event_details.asp?eventid=86672.

Two of our Year-Round Events (YREs) will not be renewed for 2011 - Oakwoods Metropark and Dundee.  So head on out and walk those for AVA Credit by the end of the year.  We are, however, picking up five new YREs in 2011 - Brighton, Northville, Plymouth, Adrian, and Tecumseh.  Visit the AVA website and click on the "Find Walking Events" in the left-side navigation bar to find out details for all these events.

We are looking forward to meeting you on the trail.  Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, concerns, queries, or confessions!

Stefan Szumko
     Master Educator, Leslie Science & Nature Center
           (www.lesliesnc.org)
     President, Washtenaw Wanderers Volkssporting Club
           (www.washtenaw-wanderers.blogspot.com)
     MAEOEgram Editor, Michigan Alliance for Environmental and Outdoor Education
           (www.michiganenvironmentaled.org/)

"Go to nature; take the facts into your own hands; look, and see for yourself." -- Louis Agassiz
"Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time." -- Steven Wright

Group Walk in Manistee MI

We are planning a group walk in Manistee MI this Saturday, July 31 at 10:00 a.m. The start point is Wahr Hardware Store, 87 Division, one block west of US 31 behind the Christmas Store. The weather looks promising so come join us.