Nebraska Trailblazers

Mark your calendar now for August 18 – 21, 2017!

Our club will be hosting a multi-event weekend including 4 walks and 1 swim event in the Grand Island area to take advantage of this extremely rare opportunity to witness a total solar eclipse. All of the details are now live on our website – check out our Eclipse Events pages. We’ll need lots of volunteers to make these events a success, so block off your calendar and plan a fun-filled, exciting weekend in Grand Island from Friday, August 18 – Monday, August 21 next year.

We’re not kidding when we say that motel rooms are going fast, so check out the list of places to stay and make your reservations NOW!

Expect to hear and see more about this at club meetings and in future communications over the next months.

October – November events

Saturday, October 15 – Shelby, IA Meet and Eat We will start walking at 10 a.m., so arrive 15 minutes to sign paperwork and pay the $3 fee ($1.50 for Fun Walkers). If you drive yourself, park on the north side of The Corn Crib (the gas station that look like a barn just north of the interstate on the west side) Carpools from Westroads at 8-8:15 or Mall of the Bluffs at 8:45. We will have lunch at the Corn Crib after the walk.

Saturday, October 29 – Lincoln, NE Hosted by the Lincoln Volkssport Club The walk starts from the City Impact Building, 1035 N. 33rd Street, Lincoln, NE. Start times are 8:45 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and you must be off the trail by 12:45 p.m. The 5k and 10k trails go through Wyuka Cemetery and surround neighborhoods. $3 fee.

Sunday, Oct. 30 -Pie Walk workers’ walk Meet at 1:45 at New Cassel parking lot near the auditorium (lower level parking area on the north). We will start walking at 2. Exact change of $3 per person ($1.50 for Fun Walkers) is appreciated.

Saturday, Nov. 4 – Pie walk starting at New Cassel See the list of volunteers needed for this walk (at the end). There is no refrigerator in the auditorium, so if you bring a cream pie, please make arrangements to keep it cool.

Monday, Nov. 7 – meeting at Morning Star Lutheran Church at 7 p.m. Speaker will be from the Kim Foundation. We are still accepting nominations for walker of the year. Either email them to Julie Brown or Jim McGahan. Or bring them in a sealed envelope to the meeting.

Volunteers needed for pie walk:

Registration 9 a.m.-12 – 1 person
Kitchen-Cutting pie, making coffee, cleaning up-10-3 – 2 people
Greeter – 1 person
10 K group walker-9:30 – 1 person
5 K group walker-9:30 – 1 person

Let President Sandy know if you would be able to help in any of these areas – email netrailblazers@gmail.com

What we’ve done – and what we’re going to do! (August news and Fall 2016 preview)

The September – October 2016 newsletter is now available for you to read: NWFT Sept-Oct 2016

We had 26 people at our Hanscom Park/Ford Birthsite walk on August 13th and another 26 people at our tour of the Union Pacific Museum. What a great turnout! We hope to see you at one of these upcoming events, Note that some of these involve traveling outside of our area – make your overnight stay reservations NOW! Let us know if you need a ride to any of these.

September 16^th – 17^th – Prairie Wanderers Club in SD hosts 5 walks in Huron and Mitchell over 2 days. Possible carpooling to those events; will require an overnight stay. Let us know if you are interested.

September 24^th – Ogallala “Indian Summer Rendezvous”. Registration from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m.

September 25^th –October event prewalk at 4 p.m. Parking for the prewalk will be the overflow lot just south of the Playhouse parking. (There is a play that evening).

October 1^st – Omaha Community Playhouse – a Traditional Event. Registration from 9:30 a.m. to 12 (Doors do not open until 9:30)

October 15^th – Shelby, IA Group Walk (Meet and Eat) – details to be announced later. The Corn Crib is the designated restaurant.

October 29^th – Lincoln Wyuka Walk – a Traditional Event. Our club encourages you to go, but will not be organizing formal carpools to this event.

November 5^th – New Cassel (Omaha) – a Traditional Event. Registration 9-12. Group walk at 9:30. There is no kitchen or refrigerator for this event. If you bring a cream pie, please provide cooler or some way of preserving it.

November 19^th – Council Bluffs Group Walk (Meet and Eat). Eat at Lansky’s after. Time will be published as it is organized.

December 3^rd – Lights Walk – a Traditional Event. Registration from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.?? (Details being finalized) Will announce later a time for those interested in walking as a group.

December 17^th – Kansas City Plaza Lights Walk (Meet and Eat). Carpools would leave in the early afternoon, to arrive around 4 p.m. Details to be announced later. Westroads Mall alternate walking site if roads are icy.

August Event updates

Our walk on Saturday, August 13th is set for 8 a.m. at the Hanscom Park Pavilion. Enter the park from the southeast, just west of Park Avenue on Ed Creighton Avenue, off the Martha Street exit on I-480. A picture is attached to give you an idea of where the pavilion is located within the park. DON’T go further west to the entrance to the tennis courts and swimming pool! There will be road work on 32nd Avenue, on the west side of the park, so keep that in mind as you navigate. The fee for credit walkers is $3 and $1.50 for fun walkers. Please bring exact change to speed up the registration process. Afterwards, the group will be heading to the 11-Worth Cafe for a late breakfast or early lunch. The 11-Worth Cafe is at 2419 Leavenworth Street and is an Omaha icon.

Hanscom Park walking start point

The second event of the month will be on August 27th, at 10:30 a.m., on the other side of the river. Meet us at the Union Pacific Railroad Museum, 200 Pearl Street, Council Bluffs, IA for our personalized tour! Those wanting to join us for lunch after the tour will walk a very short distance to the Main Street Cafe, at 102 Main Street.

Chalco Hills YRE Start Point has moved!

We’re sorry to report that the Pump and Pantry closed, so effective July 15th the Walk Box will be located at the Holiday Inn Express, on the south side of Highway 370 and just north of the Walmart. The address is 16175 Stevens Point Circle, Gretna, NE 68138. Be sure to say thank you to the folks at the Registration Desk when you ask for the box.

June Events: National Trails Day and Club Meeting

Our National Trails Day Walk will be held at Chalco Hills Recreation Area at 154th and Giles Road, on Saturday morning, June 4th. Thank you to the Papio-Missouri Natural Resources District for opening up the building for us and helping suggest and mark trails for you to use.

The 10k is a slight modification to the regular Year Round route (normally available at the Pump and Pantry off of I-80 and NE-370), while the 5k route is quite a bit different, heading off onto natural paths and trails for more than 50% of the route. Stop by the Visitors’ Center between 8:30 and 10 a.m. on Saturday, June 4th to register, pay and get a map, if needed. Group walks will begin at 9:30 a.m. Cost: Fun Walkers are FREE (but donations are gratefully accepted); those stamping books pay $3. If stamping books, we will stamp them at the BEGINNING of the walk.

Giles Road is completely blocked from 144th to just before the entrance to the Visitors’ Center, so you have to drive up to Chandler or to Harrison, head left (west) to 156th, left (south) to Giles, and left (east) on Giles to the first right. There is an ominous sign at 156th and Giles, saying that the road is closed to thru traffic, but don’t worry! The road is open to the entrance to Chalco Hills Recreation Area.

Our last club meeting before the summer break will be Monday evening at 7 p.m. at Morning Star Lutheran Church, 331 S 85th Ave, Omaha, NE 68114. The speaker this month is a guitarist, who will play and talk about playing, followed by a short business meeting. After that, stay for light refreshments and some social time!

Mar – April 2016 Upcoming Events

Bellevue Walk Prewalk–Saturday, March 26 at 9 a.m., Thanksgiving Lutheran Church, 36^th& Hwy 370, Bellevue. Please arrive 15 minutes early to register. Restrooms will be available at the start. See below for trail descriptions. $1.50 for fun walkers and $3.00 for credit walkers. Exact change is appreciated.

Trailblazers Spring Event-Saturday, April 2, Thanksgiving Lutheran Church, 36^th & Hwy 370. Start times 9-12, finish by 3. There will be a 6 K (Hilly, picturesque trail) a 5 K (out and back, fairly flat trail) and a 10 K trail that follows a hike bike trail. Come see the pretty spring flowers!

Monthly Meeting-Monday, April 4 at 7 p.m. Our monthly meeting will be at Morning Star Lutheran Church. Our program will be Marilyn Asher speaking about Prison Ministry.

Magician showing a trick. Notice that his hands are so fast you can't even see them? — Magician showing a trick. Notice that his hands are so fast you can’t even see them?

Highlights from our March meeting magician program!

Group Walk– Nebraska City YRE-Date to be announced. The apple blossoms should be blooming. A great walk through a historic downtown, through Arbor Lodge State Historical Park and past the Lied Conference Center.