ALBANY FITWALKERS NEWSLETTER

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1 ALBANY FITWALKERS NEWSLETTER MARCH WALK ALBANY 2016 Albany Fitwalkers, a member of the American Volkssporting Association, is a non-competitive group meeting the second Tuesday of each month at Brookdale Villas Courtyard, 1929 Grand Prairie Rd. SE, Willamette Room, Albany OR. Visitors are welcome. Yearly dues are $ WALKER WEBSITES FITWALKERS OTSVA AVA MONTHLY MEETING TUesday, MARch 8, :00 at Villa Courtyard & Brookdale Senior Living. Pre-meeting Eating a.k.a. The Walkers Wok 5:15, at Sizzler, in the Bi-Mart shopping center, Santiam Hyw. SE. Order when you arrive, giving time to arrive at the meeting by 7pm. To walk before the meeting, meet at 5:00 pm at Brookdale Start Box. Come to the meeting and Add your ideas to Club Happenings Don t fall off the list. Pay your dues Win the third door prize of 2016 In like a lion 2016 Albany Fitwalkers Officers HAPPY BIRTHDAY Sue - March 6 President Don, Vice President Janet E., Secretary Bev, Treasurer Nancy 1

2 Winners of the Presidents 2015 Challenge Albany Fitwalkers News 2015 Albany Fitwalkers Officers President Don, Vice President Jan E, Secretary Bev, Treasurer Nancy H. Prez s e-dress donreed1946@yahoo.com The Prez SeZ I ve put the Albany Historic Walk on temporary hold until I find a new start point.the Red Daisy suddenly closing on Sundays left us high and dry. The walker numbers are down, spring is on its way, so let s get out there and get some walks in. Don Reed, President Albany Fitwalkers Fun, Fitness and Friendship. HELP WANTED Budget Committee Advertising Committee - Brainstorming Bike/Pedestrian Commission Evening Regional Trails, Lebanon BLT - Evening Contact donreed1946@yahoo.com Hosted Walks in 2016 With the Peony Walk, May 14, the Albany Fitwalkers only traditional event scheduled. The Brownsville Festival of Trees on Dec. 1-3, 2016 is being explored as a second event. The Moyer House and Brownsville Museum are opened during the festival. Our Christmas Walk in 2015 had only 32 participants, a discouraging turn out. So we ll wrap it up for a season or two. 2 Don presented the winners of his 2015 special challenge to all Albany Fitwalkers. at the February 9 meeting. To her great surprise, Phoebe, who walked 28 Albany YREs (including Jefferson & Brownsville), won the one ounce silver eagle piece AND a plaque. But watch out. Phoebe said And I was just getting back into walking again. Nancy took second place, winning 5 free walk vouchers for doing 25 Albany Fitwalkers YREs. Rozy walked off with third place, 3 free walk vouchers, doing 18 Fitwalkers YREs even though she spent several months of the year in Texas. All this means is that with a little motivation a Fitwalker could sweep up the 2016 YREs Challenge. Way to Walk Winners Another Win The Feb. meeting was closed after Sandra L. won the Door Prize. The prize was a Max Gear mini pack. And yes, it did have Valentine chocolates in it. I decided to change calling the bathroom the John and renamed it the Jim. I feel so much better saying I went to the Jim this morning Remember to send your Tales from the Trails to Sandy at cramerss2@aol.com by March Send items and photos for the Albany Fitwalkers scrapbook to Sandra at stampwizard@hotmail.com

3 Tales of Yuma Trails By Bev Nancy and Karen walked a big sweep of trails in the southwest in early January. I was so pleased that they drove all the way to Yuma, AZ to walk the walks with me! We did the Two Nations walk first, the walk I helped establish last year. Here we are at the crossing of children s imagination to build castles and roads and fun things. The Yuma Historic walk takes in the East Wetlands Park with a Hummingbird Garden, pond, paths and play areas for all ages. Main Street, Yuma is full of colorful old West history, fountains, and Lutes, the oldest casino in AZ (now an eclectic bar and burgers eatery). It is a favorite lunch stop, and that is just what we did. A visit to Yuma would not be complete without a trip to Algadones, Mexico, and a pass through the huge Arizona Marketplace. The other thing the girls got a kick out of was picking their very own citrus! It surprised them just how tough fruit is to pull off the trees. the Ocean to Ocean Bridge over the Colorado River. This bridge was the final link in the highway connecting Pacific to Atlantic. The other side is old Fort Yuma, which is now the headquarters of the Quechan Indian Nation. This statue is a tribute to Native Americans in the various branches of the Military. Just a few days later, Karen and Jimmy drove down from Quartzsite! No time to walk, but we visited Mexico, too, and this is us inside Lutes Casino. The last leg of the walk visited Roxaboxen City Park, named after a children s book. The small park is all pebbles and painted larger stones, for 3 It is very special having my Fitwalkers friends pay us a visit. I open the invitation to all of you - come on down and I ll walk with you! Or just come visit with us. In February Mike and Evie stopped to chat. No time for a walk but good to see them!

4 Oregon Trails State Volkssporting Association OTSVA OTSVA State Meeting April 9, 2016 at the Elks 357 Club, Eugene, 12-4 pm OTSVA Flame Awards Due April 8 Club Excellence Extremely good at what they do and well known for accomplishments. Individual Excellence - leadership, professionalism, organizational skills, friendly & approachable, quality team member, great communicator Inspiration - motivator, role model, sets a great example to follow, encourages others to join, push themselves, achieves challenging personal goals Enthusiasm - love/passion for Volkssports, can-do attitude, always ready to volunteer/participate Nominate by writing one or two paragraphs for each nomination. Example: My nominee deserves this award because: (please provide specific examples.) Submit to Ed Hainline, edhainline@comcast.net, by April 8 or bring to the April 9 meeting in Eugene. American Volkssporting Association AVA is looking for human interest stories, humorous antidotes, lessons learned, and other interesting events that would encourage folks to become volksmarchers. Please forward your memories to John McClellan, President of the Happy Wanderers, johnmc82@cfl.rr.com by April 1, We hope to include your memories in articles for Reader's Digest, AARP magazine, TAW and other publications. Magnificent Milestones Walk Oregon Challenges Bev 4Bs - Banks, Barber Shops, Bed & Breakfasts, Bicycle Shops 4Ds Delis, Depots, Docks, Dogs 4Ms Monuments, Mountains, Murals, Museums Rozy 4Cs Candy Shops, Chinese Food, City Halls, Coast Walks Nancy 4Ds Delis, Depots, Docks, Dogs Don - Klubs Congratulations Way to Walk!! Walk Oregon International Federation of Popular Sports IVV World Cup Program 3rd Europiade, Kitzbuehel, Germany - May 26 May 28, rd Asianpiad, Beijing, China - September 10 and 11, Sponsored by the Chinese Taipei Alpine Association IVV Olympiad 2017 : Koblenz - Germany WALK THE WORLD 4

5 UPDATE FOR: 2016 Winter Walk to Win Contest Walk Oregon Walking Contest 2016 Sponsored by Oregon Trail State Volkssport Association When: January 1 through March 31, 2016 **** (CHANGE IN TURN IN DATE!!) Who: Paid Credit Walkers and Non-Credit (Free) Walkers WHO make at least a $1.00 Donation to the Walk. ALL Walkers will be walking in Oregon ONLY. What: Prizes awarded to winners of the drawing: 1st - $75.00 REI Gift Card 2 nd - $50.00 REI Gift Card 3 rd - $25.00 REI Gift Card Why: To benefit the walking clubs of Oregon How: Walkers will be awarded one (1) chit for entry in the drawing for every 10 Oregon walks logged. Three (3) winners will be selected in a random drawing to be held at the April 9, 2016, OTSVA State Meeting. Odds of winning depend on the total number of walks logged. Walker need not be present to win. The log sheet will contain the walker s name and address, the walk name, walk number (YRE or Event Stamp Number), address and date walked. To qualify: Log sheets must be received by the OTSVA Recognition Chairperson No Later than April 8, 2016, via or mail. THIS IS A RECENT CHANGE TO THE DATE THE LOGS MUST BE TURNED IN SINCE THERE HAS BEEN A CHANGE TO WHEN THE NEXT OTSVA STATE MEETING WILL BE HELD. Ed Hainline, SE 90 th Ave #1511, Happy Valley OR edhainline@comcast.net This contest for 2016 is different from last year. Walkers will earn a "chit" for a drawing at the OTSVA State Meeting on April 9 for every "10 Walks" they complete. The chit will be placed into the drawing by the Recognition Chairperson or the President of OTSVA and notation of how many for each walker will be kept. There are 2 (two) Walk Log Sheets, one is numbered (1-40) with each 10 walks noted and a chit will be awarded. The other sheet is unnumbered for those walkers who will do more than 40 walks in the contest time period of 3 months. Please make copies of the contest information sheet and log sheets for your friends who are not club members. The more ways this contest information gets out - the more walkers will be aware of it. There will be copies available at upcoming traditional walking events. Happy Trails to ALL!! These forms are also at (28 Feb 16) 5

6 Your Walk Number Walk Name/Title Walk Stamp Number Walk State (Oregon Only) Date Walked (chit # ) (chit # ) (chit # ) (chit # ) 6

7 From The Chat Audubon Society of Corvallis Feb. 2016, Vol. 45 #6 Conservation Corner A New Albany Swift Roost A Tower for the Birds Each year Vaux s Swifts migrate north from their wintering grounds in Central America to Pacific coast forests as far north as British Columbia and Alberta to nest. On their journey to and from summer nesting, they gather at dusk into communal roosts, from dozens to thousands together, often taking advantage of shared body warmth and the moderated temperatures of hollow standing trees and snags. With the continued loss of old forests and the large snags they develop, these have adapted to artificial structures like chimneys, requiring only a rough surface to cling to, minimal air currents, and enough thermal mass to help maintain warmth during over cool nights. We actually named their eastern counterparts Chimney Swifts as they lost their own primeval forests. We are delighted to announce the construction of a Vaux s Swift roosting tower in Albany at Cool Swanson Park (SE 6 th between Railroad and Jackson), planned to be completed in time for the April swift spring migration! Several blocks away, Albany Fire Station No. 1 will soon be demolished, and along with it, an important swift roosting chimney will be gone. Important, because by roost count records, this ranks 12 th on the entire west coast, with more than 19,000 birds seen entering on a single night! This story began, as always with the interest of people who wanted to protect their birds, this time Fire Station personnel. Through the Audubon network of Chapters, the guidance of Larry Schwitters of Vaux s Happening and funding by Pilchuck Audubon, we are grateful for the enthusiastic cooperation and assistance of Albany Parks, Stability Engineering (Corvallis), Advantage Precast (Salem), all who have made this possible. Larry helped enliven our January meeting with pictures and stories, and has us ready to help introduce this year s migrating swifts to a new roost. We all can now add to the effort by baiting the new tower with familiar scents and sounds. We ll soon have 10 pounds of swift poop collected by Umpqua Valley Audubon volunteers to put in the tower bottom. And we will need volunteers to broadcast the circling calls of Vaux s Swifts each evening during the spring migration period in early April. If anyone has suitable amplification equipment, please contact me. I already have the digital audio file ready for broadcasting. If this first tower is adopted, a dozen more all along the west coast are planned. And though economical in design, $10,000 is a lot for any Audubon Chapter. We are very grateful that Pilchuck Audubon is willing to fund this construction. And we hope you can help contribute to this effort. We look forward soon to a successful new swift roost, an interpretive display about swifts, and a broadened exposure of our Chapter mission into Albany and Linn County. Jim Fairchild, Conservation Chair The swift roosting tower will be at the Swanson Center which is on the new Historic Albany walk. 7

8 COME WALK WITH US Albany Fitwalkers THURSDAY WALKS Carpool to YREs Walk from 10:00am to 12:30pm See weekly or contact Julia at or On Thurs with cellphone: March Walks Tentative March Schedule -- working around the cherry blossoms at the Capitol: March 3 - Albany - Timber Linn Park, 5/10Km, rated 1A. New walk. March 10 - Lake Oswego Neighborhoods, 5/11Km, rated 1B, sponsored by Rose City Roamers. March 17 Salem non-ava walk in South Salem with a 5/10Km with some hill climbing. March 24 Sherwood Town & Country, 5/10Km, rated 1A sponsored by Cedar Milers. March 31 - Salem: Waterways (for cherry blossoms at Capitol -- may be earlier/later due to when they may be blooming) 6/10Km, rated 1A, sponsored by Willamette Wanderers <<<<<<<<<< >>>>>>>>>> Silver Striders Walks Albany Parks & Recrestion Program at the Albany Senior Center Tues. and Thurs. 9:30. Guide Helen hikingmac@yahoo.com <<<<<<<<<<< >>>>>>>>>> Albany Fitwalkers Sunday Stroll March 27, 2pm Albany Southeast Parks Walk 5/6/10km, rated 1A, start Brookdale Villas Courtyard Corvallis Cruisers 1 st Sunday Stroll March 6 2pm Philomath 5/10km rated 1A There are two 5 km loops Start at the City Park on 23rd Street. From Albany and Corvallis on Hwy 20/34, enter Philomath. Turn LEFT at the light on 19th (by Dairy Queen). Turn Left on Applegate St., then right on 23rd which leads into the park. For more information call Don at (541) or JoVanna's at The Cruisers are hoping to have an event walk this year in conjunction with the Philomath Frolic & Rodeo, held July 7-10, Walk with the Wanderers willwander.weebly.com Meeting Wed, March 16, 2016 No pre-meeting walks during the winter. 5:30pm, Bldg D, Salem Hospital,890 Oak St, Salem Wanderers Officers for 2016 are Jim as President, Julia as Vice President, Bonnie as Secretary, Susan as Treasurer, and Debra as Membership Chair. Karen W handles our club website, Facebook, and Nancy publicizes our walks on Meetup. We have approximately 40 members Salem Second Sunday Stroll Sun,, March 13, 2:00 PM McMinnville 5/10Km, rated 1A. The 10Km has been revised to includes the historic downtown plus some western/eastern neighborhoods. The 5Km concentrates on the downtown Public Art. Traditional Events Coming up Sun., May 22 Iris Event Sat. Aug 27 Salem Event For More Salem Walks 8

9 Mosey with the Mossbacks Calendar for walks and car pool (Reservations Required) or call (541) Eugene-Springfield Mossbacks walk for the fun of it Sat. Mar. 5 -West Salem YRE, 8 AM to 3 PM, 5/10 km, 2B Mon. Mar. 7 - Check walk West Eugene Wetlands, 9 AM to 1 PM, 5/10 km, 1B Sat. Mar Riverfront/Delta Ponds YRE, 9 AM to 12 PM, 7/10 km, 1B Sat. Mar Sherwood St. Patrick's walk, 8 AM to 4:30 PM, 5/10 km, 1A Sat. Mar Brownsville YRE, 8 AM to 1:30 PM, 5/10/13 km, 2B Sat. Apr. 2 - McMinnville YRE, 8 AM to 4 PM, 5/10 km,1a Build Lebanon Trails Buildlebanontrails.com Lebanon Trails CommitteeMeeting Lebanon Samaritan Hospital Sweet Home Trail Hike at Hobart Park Saturday, March 12 at 10am Touring with Sweet Home Trails on their hike at Hobart Park. This 60 acre park was adopted by the Sweet Home Rotary Club now working with the city to construct a trail system. Round trip distance is about 2 miles. Meet at Hawthorne Elementary School in Sweet Home and be guided by the Sweet Home Trails group. The terrain is level but you will need waterproof footwear or rubber boots. Directions: Meet at Hawthorne Elementary School (3205 Long Street, Sweet Home, OR). Turn right off Hwy 20 on Clark Mill Rd after Ace Hardware Sweet Home Ranger Station Winter Snow Shoe Trek March 5 Winter Snow Shoe on the Santiam Pass tour. Explore what early travel was like in the forest in the historic Santiam River Area that once linked the Willamette Valley to eastern Oregon. Tiffany Young leads the group. Conditions can be tough, no novices please. To attend please register through: phone Sweet Home Trails March 12@10am. Hobart Park The newest park in south Sweet Home is Hobart, currently under trail construction. This 60 acre park was adopted by the Sweet Home Rotary Club, working with the city to construct the trail system. The round trip distance is about 2 miles. Meet at Hawthorne Elementary School in Sweet Home and be guided by the Sweet Home Trails group. ALBANY FITWALKERS Year Round Walks Albany - Historic - 5/10km, rated 1A, start The Red Daisy Coffee Shop North Albany - 5/10km, rated 1A/2A, register at Starbucks, 633 NW Hickory, North Albany Southeast Albany Parks 5/6/10km,rated 1A, Start The Brookdale Villas Courtyard Talking Waters -10 km, 5 km - 1B, start Holiday Inn Express Hotel near the airport. Timber Linn Park - 5/10 km, rated 1A register at Holiday Inn Express Hotel near the airport. Brownsville Historic 5/10/13km - 2B, Start Brownsville Chevron Gas Station and Mini-Mart,203 W. Bishop Way. Brownsville Jefferson Town Walk 5/10 km, rated 1A, Start Jefferson Thriftway Grocery SW Albany Seasonal 4/1/16-9/30/16 5k,10k - 2B, start Java Network, 5444 Pacific Blvd Bike Route Seasonal 4/1/16-9/30/16, l26k - 1B, start Holiday Inn Express, 105 Opal Court NE Willamette Wanderers YREs Capital- Revised Governor s Mansion, 6/10 km, 1A Capital -Waterways, 6/10/12 km, 1A Historic NE Salem, 6/10 km, 1A West Salem, 5/10 km, 2B, start W. Salem Courthouse Fitness Keizer:5 Park and a River, 5/10 km, 1A, Start Safeway, 4990 River Rd, at Chemawa Rd, Keizer. McMinnville Walk, 10km-Wildcats and Parks & 5km- Public Art, 1A, Start McMenamin's Hotel Oregon Monmouth, Home of Western Oregon Univ. 6/11 km 1A Start: Hi-School Pharmacy, 1357 Monmouth (Hwy 51), Independence. 9

10 DATES TO REMEMBER MARCH 2016 AVA TRADITIONAL EVENTS 2016 March 19 - Portland - West Hills St. Patrick s Day- Teddy Bear Walk, 5/10km, 1A, 9-1, Cedar Milers April 9 Eugene - West Eugene Wetlands, 5/11km - 1B, Eugene Springfield Mossbacks THURSDAY WALKS Tentative March Schedule -- working around the cherry blossoms at the Capitol: March 3 - Albany - Timber Linn Park, 5/10Km, rated 1A. New walk. March 10 - Lake Oswego Neighborhoods, 5/11Km, rated 1B, sponsored by Rose City Roamers. March 17 Salem non-ava walk in South Salem with a 5/10Km with some hill climbing. March 24 Sherwood Town & Country, 5/10Km, rated 1A sponsored by Cedar Milers. March 31 - Salem: Waterways (for cherry blossoms at Capitol -- may be earlier/later due to when they may be blooming) 6/10Km, rated 1A, sponsored by Willamette Wanderers SATURDAY WALKS Build Lebanon Trails (BLT) Sweet Hoe Trail Hike at Hobart Park Saturday, March 12, 2016 at 10:00am SUNDAY WALKS Corvallis Cruisers 1 st Sunday Stroll March 6 2pm Philomath 4/5/10km rated 1A There are two 5 km loops Start at the City Park on 23rd Street Willamette Wanderers Salem Second Sunday Stroll Sun,, March 13, 2:00 PM McMinnville revised 5/10Km, rated 1A. Albany Fitwalkers Sunday Stroll March 27, 2pm Southeast Parks 5/6/10km, rated 1A, Start Brookdale Villas Courtyard Coming in 2016 May 14, Peony Walk, Albany Fitwalkers Sun., May 22, Wanderers Iris Event AVA s 40th Anniversary Walk June 10-12, 2016 Columbia Gorge Walks, June 16-19, 2016 Sat. Aug 27, Wanderers Salem Event NW Regional Conference Boise, ID September Portland Marathon October 9, 2016 Coming in 2017 AVA Convention 2017 in Billings, MT International Federation of Popular Sports IVV World Cup Program Come Join Us ALBANY FITWALKERS VOLKSSPORT CLUB POST OFFICE BOX 1218 ALBANY OR