Category Archives: Activities

Activities

Trail Life USA – Christian alternative to the Boy Scouts of America launched January 1, 2014

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

On Wednesday, January 1, 2014, Trail Life USA (TLUSA) officially launched its outdoor adventure program for boys and young men nationwide.  TLUSA is a Christian scouting-like program for boys and young men ages 5-24.  The program focuses on outdoor adventure, character, and leadership and is starting with approximately 500 troops in 42 states.

Trail Life USA is being birthed on the same day that the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) officially implements its new membership policy of allowing “open and avowed” homosexual youth in their program. Around 60% of the new members of TLUSA are former members of the BSA and 40% have no BSA background.

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Activities, Adventures

TreadLightly! Unveils Newly Re-Designed Outdoor Education Website for Kids

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Move over Elmo. Take a hike Dora. Lightfoot is back in town – and he has a new website your kids need to check out now at tlkids.org!

In a national effort to engage children in outdoor education Tread Lightly! has re-vamped tlkids.org – a website designed to help kids learn to recreate responsibly in the outdoors.

The newly re-designed site offers fun, interactive word games, trivia, coloring pages and other activities teaching children the importance of safe and environmentally responsible outdoor recreation.

From TreadLightly!:

In a national effort to engage children in outdoor education, the nonprofit organization Tread Lightly! has re-vamped TreadLightlyKids.org—a website designed to help kids learn to recreate responsibly in the outdoors.

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Activities, Adventures, Jeep

2014 Jeep Jamboree Registration Opens December 1st @ 12:00 AM (EST)

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Jeep Jamborees are two-day, family oriented four-wheel-drive adventures.  They’re for every level of expertise from novice to veteran and everyone in between.

From Jeep Jamboree’s website:

Any Jeep vehicle with a 4-LO transfer case can participate – that includes everything from showroom stock all the way up to highly modified rigs. Experienced guides help navigate you through scenic switchbacks and some of the most challenging off-highway situations you never thought your Jeep vehicle was capable of. And, perhaps best of all, you’ll be meeting and making new friends along the way.

This year’s registration opens on Sunday, December 1st at 12:00am (EST) (that’s 9:00pm (PST) for us west coast folks!).  These events can fill up fast, so DON’T FORGET TO SET YOUR ALARM!

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Activities, Big Bear Lake

There’s Still Good Mtn Biking in Big Bear!

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Big Bear Mountain Resorts website is reporting that there’s still plenty of ground left to cover for your biking pleasure.

From the website:

Lift accessed mtn biking may be over for the season but the riding in Big Bear is still really good! The valley did get a small snowstorm but did not receive a substantial amount making the trails clear and tacky. Get out your warmer gear, temperatures are lower and the winter breeze makes the ride a bit cooler. Big Bear offers tons of cross country type rides and the south facing slopes of the mountains tend to warm up and melt off snowfalls quicker than the north side. Meaning trails on the north shore of the lake like Grout Bay are accessible for large parts of the winter.

You can find out more on their website HERE.

Activities, Writer Reference

Manifrotto recommends a great book for landscape photographers

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Jose Antunes has posted reviews of a number of great photography books, including one of the great ones about landscape photography.  From the post:

There are tens of eBooks about landscape photography, making it hard to choose one. Still, if I could only buy one, this would be it: “Visual Flow – Mastering the Art of Composition”, by Ian Plant, with photographs by this author and George Stocking. If there’s one easy way to enter 2014  widening your horizons in terms of Photography, it surely is through the reading of Visual Flow – Mastering the Art of Composition.

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