Author: Nebraska Trailblazers

A walking club in the Omaha/Council Bluffs metro area.

Wine and Walk Updates

A few updates on our upcoming Wine and Walk on September 6th:

  1. Worker’s Walk is at 8 a.m. on Saturday, August 23rd. Come a few minutes early to handle paperwork and payment. No bathrooms are available at the Start Point, so factor that in to your timing. There are gas stations nearby.
  2. On the day of the actual walk, Too Far North Winery has donated two bottles of wine for us to give away to two lucky walkers (of legal drinking age). Just pull the lucky cork from the basket and a bottle of wine is yours to take home and enjoy!
  3. Fort Atkinson will have reenactments beginning at 10 a.m. and our walk route goes through the Fort. Plan to spend extra time on the route to enjoy seeing scenes from daily life 150 years ago, or re-enter the Fort after the walk with your Nebraska State Parks sticker.
  4. The walk will pass the Washington County Museum and the Frahm House. A special price of $4 allows our walkers to enter both buildings, starting at noon.

51 Capital Volksmarches in 51 Days in Lincoln, NE

A family of 4 volkswalkers, Mom Alisa, Sons Tristan and Nicholas, and Aunt Dina, plan to walk all 51 U.S. Capitals in 51 days.  Day 38 (Monday, August 4th) is Lincoln, Nebraska!  Let’s show our support by walking the Historic Lincoln Walk with them.  We will meet at the actual Start Point for the walk at 8:45 a.m., the Office Max and 23rd and O Streets in Lincoln.  Sandy Spielman will have 5K and 10K maps for all participants, and have the waiver sign-in sheets available, rather than individual start cards.  Books can be stamped at the Registration Point, which is the Kwik Shop at 1441 N. Cotner Blvd. either before or after the walk.

The Capitol offers free guided tours on the hour, so we’re planning on getting to the Capitol by 11 a.m.   On the 10K route, this about 6K into the walk, which gives us plenty of time to sightsee and navigate congested areas.  On the 5K route, this is almost 4K into the route.  It’s a little under 1.5K from the Capitol back to where we started, if that helps you plan time-wise.  Or, we could walk “backwards” on our chosen route, and meet up at the Capitol at 10 a.m.  We’ll decide when we gather, based on weather and how perky we’re all feeling.

Sandy has put together a welcome basket for the family.  Please bring $3 (exact change or a check to the Lincoln Volksssport Club) to cover the cost of AVA/IVV Credit, plus a little something towards the welcome basket.  Any questions, ask Jeanne Miller via the “Contact Us” page.

Want to more about this family and their adventure?  Check out 51in51.com to see an itinerary, map, and some posts about where they’ve been and where they’re going.

Grand Re-Opening of Fremont Walks!

Our Fremont Walk Start Point started remodeling in mid-January of this year, and didn’t re-open as originally scheduled.  So . . . we went looking for a suitable Start Point for our 10K Historic Fremont walk and registration point for the 5K Historic Fremont and the 5K and 10K Fremont Lakes SRA walks.  Where to find a place willing to take the box, welcome walkers/potential customers with a friendly smile, a place with restrooms and tables and chairs and a commitment to fitness?  Hmmm – what about Hy-Vee, which provided the club with a speaker in May?

Effective Wednesday, July 16th, the Fremont Walks have been re-opened at the Hy-Vee at 840 E. 23rd St. (Business 30) in Fremont, on the west end of the Fremont Mall.  The walk box will be available from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day that the store is open, which means no Thanksgiving and no Christmas.  The store itself is open 24 hours and has a nice restaurant that opens at 6:30, so think about stopping there for a cup of coffee, a meal, some gas or some groceries when you come to visit.

Driving directions to the 5K Historic Fremont and 5K and 10K Fremont Lakes SRA walks have been updated and avoid construction on W. Military Avenue.

We’re in the process of updating the AVA site and all links on the website, and the entire walk box thing is new to the folks at Hy-Vee, so a little more of your patience is requested.

July News – so far (July has just started!)

A word from Butch Spaulding about our July 19th activity: Just a reminder that time is closing in on the date to make reservations for our July Activity – Picnic and Storm Chasers Ball Game. The cost for members is $19.00 and for non-members $24.00.

The original notification stated to let us know by July 11th – However, we need to finalize the number on July 11th so please notify me by 10 July – Payment should be in the mail at that time. So far there are 23 planning on attending this activity.

The picnic will be held even if it is raining. They have enough covered areas to handle this situation.

 

Wondering what to do after our September 6th Wine Walk in Fort Calhoun? The Washington County Historical Museum and Frahm House are available to tour, beginning at 12 p.m., for only $3! See https://www.wchamuseum.com/ for more information on this fascinating little museum and historic house. Another great place to visit is Super Bee Orchards, on the south side of the town, on the west side of Highway 75. They take cash or check only, so be sure to bring enough cash to visit the museum and treat yourself to a healthy apple snack on the way back home.

 

It is with great sadness that we say farewell to the Walk Seward Club. The Trailblazers will be picking up the Aurora YRE for the remainder of the year, while the Lincoln Volkssport Club will be picking up the York and Seward YREs. The Aurora walk features new 5K and 10K routes for this year and the Seward walk uses an “I Spy” theme to keep walkers on the lookout for landmarks and secrets. Without walkers, these YREs will close permanently at the end of the year. Don’t let that happen! Lace up the shoes, gas up the car, grab a friend and go!

 

We just got a report from “Bethany” Bob Kruger that another great club, the Wichita Skywalkers Volkssport Club, decided to dissolve on June 30. The YRE at Tallgrass Prairie near Strong City will be taken over by the Kansas Jaywalkers of Ft. Leavenworth. All other walks (Wichita, Arkansas City, Derby) are done!

 

Fremont Year Round Start Point Closed

The Touch ‘N Go at 740 Davenport Street, Fremont, NE is the Start Point for both the Historic Fremont and Fremont Lakes SRA Year Round Events.  The convenience store is closed for remodeling, but is expected to re-open at the end of June.

The walks themselves are still open!  Contact the POC, Jeanne Miller at jeanneno@gmail.com or 402-238-2059 to coordinate sign-in, map and stamps.