Play and Work...Work and Play!

We spent the weekend at Lake Mineral Wells State Park, gearing up for our Trainer Course on Tuesday.  The park is a lovely spot to camp, hike, bike, fish, boat, climb, and just relax!  Although the trails were closed to visitors due to the heavy rains last week, we appreciated the parks efforts to protect the resources.  We are hoping that the trails will re-open today and we can go exploring!  We are excited for our last trainer course in the Lonestar state.  If you are planning on visiting the Dallas area in the future, be sure to check out Lake Mineral Wells State Park- you will not be disappointed!

Safe travels...Kate and Tracy

Life's Better Outside...

Texas has the right idea...Life is better outside!  We are a third of the way through our whirlwind tour of Texas and we have found adventure in a variety of 'nooks and crannies' all over this great state.  Today we spent the day at Enchanted Rock State Park/Natural Area.  Although the day started off cloudy and cool, that Texas sun came out and brightened our day!  We hiked up and down the rock formations throughout the park, a natural playground for kids and adults alike. With more than 350,000 visitors annually at Enchanted Rock alone, it is so important to protect the resources at the park.

We are excited to have the Texas State Parks be a partner of Leave No Trace.  The Center is offering a free one year membership to any state park that joins Leave No Trace as a partner in the year 2009!  So if you are finding this message outside of Texas and you want to protect your local state park, contact the Center at 800-332-4100!

"The Vision is Green"

Sarah Jo Lambert, a 15 year old girl from Lubbock, Texas, is working towards her Gold Medal Award in Girl Scouts through her project "The Vision is Green".  Her vision is to build green environmental center at the Rio Blanco Girl Scout camp in Crosbyton, Texas.  The center will be a place that students from the Texas South Plains can come to learn about environmental issues and ways that they can be more environmentally friendly.  Sarah has been working on this project since last fall and she hopes to have the building complete by this May.  Through her project, Sarah has brought her community together and has inspired girls all over the country to realize that one seedling of an idea, when given proper care and attention, can blossom into a garden for future generations to enjoy!

To help Sarah kick off the building of the environmental center, we traveled to Lubbock to provide a workshop on Leave No Trace and the PEAK program.  Sarah was awarded the "Packing With PEAK" grant and will be using the PEAK pack as a basis for the educational curriculum as well as an interpretive trail guide at the environmental center. Sarah hopes to encourage young children to start thinking about ways that they can help take care of our planet and make a difference for the future.  To learn more about Sarah's project, visit her website at www.visionisgreen.org! 

A special thanks goes out to the Lambert family for their warmth and hospitality!!!

Safe travels...Kate and Tracy