Category Archives: Outdoors

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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Adventures

American Hiking Society’s Volunteer Vacations sign-ups are open – HURRY to take advantage of some pretty great adventures!

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

The American Hiking Society has just announced that registration for the 2014 Volunteer Vacations season is now OPEN! They’re offering “more than 60 adventure opportunities” this coming year.  These slots can fill up fast (especially on some of the more interesting vacations) so don’t wait!  Discounted registration fees are now in effect.

If you’re not familiar with what the Volunteer Vacations program is, it’s a series of trail stewardship projects that take place across the country during some of the BEST vacation timeframes, that offer you the chance to give back to the trails you love. You can browse trips by state, difficulty level, accommodations, or timeframe. Remember: trail work experience is not a requirement; you only need a good attitude and the willingness to get a little dirty!

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Offroading - General, State Parks

Carnegie State Vehicular Recreation Area General Plan Public Comments NEEDED

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

From the California Association of 4-Wheel Drive Clubs:

Thanks to all of you who attended the recent public open house meetings held in the East Bay Area to detail the Draft Preferred Concept for the Carnegie State Vehicular Recreation Area General Plan (DPC). Draft Preferred Concept.

Members of extreme anti-OHV groups were also there to try to impose their closure agenda on the OHV community and DPC planning team. Over the last seven years, those closure advocates have worked with East Bay Regional Parks on a massive and fraudulent campaign to build political support for an outright ban of OHV use on the Tesla property. They have been making weekly, if not daily, visits to the offices of State Senator Mark DeSaulnier and Assemblymember Joan Buchanan demanding legislation to enact an outright ban of OHV use at Tesla.

It is critically important that we counter that smear campaign by sending comments to the SVRA planning team and the aforementioned legislators.

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Jeep

2004 Jeep Gladiator Concept

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

If ever there was a perfect vehicle in the perfect color at the perfect time, the Jeep Gladiator was it.  The Comanche was out of production, Jeep was juuuuuust introducing the 2004 1/2 Wrangler Unlimited, and the Jeep public was primed and ready for a pickup truck.

Enter Dodge and Ram trucks, who said only THEY could make trucks under the Chrysler umbrella.  Let me tell you right here and now so that we’re all on the same page: Ram makes great trucks.  Really like the Laramie Long Horn.  But … well, because they killed this truck, I’m not a big fan of the division.  I’ll walk to another dealership to buy a Ford King Ranch because this rig didn’t go into production.  Thanks, Ram.

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Off-Road Vehicles

2004 Retro Ford Bronco Concept

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Yes, I’d almost forgotten about this baby.  I’m not as big a fan of the old Ford Bronco as I am of the newer one.  Maybe it’s because the original Bronco was before my (off-roading) time.  Back in the day, I was a big Ford fan, but my fandom was limited to Mustangs and Cobras.  If it was blue and came with stripes, or Wimbledon White with two blue stripes … or, heck, even black with gold stripes and said GT350H on it I was in love.

But, looking back, Ford has always seemed to understand where the company came from.  Even today, they support old Mustang and 1940 coupe body repops.

The original Bronco was a neat vehicle, and this model stays true to it’s retro origin.  It’s a beautiful rig … although I’d want to see it in Guards blue with a white top.  Maybe one of those new Coyote V8s under the hood mated to a manual transmission.  Well … maybe.  They did bring back the Mustang fastback!

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