Area walks – Page 3 – Nebraska Wander Freunde Trailblazers

Announcing our 2019 Walker Incentive Program

When you do our walks, do you stamp your book(s) for credit? If you do, you’re going to LOVE our 2019 Walker Incentive Program. Details below:

Request a card at any club meeting or traditional walk event. The card can be carried with your AVA book. You can earn up to four free walks per year. Walk nine unique walks, either traditional events or year round events for CREDIT (do not repeat any of the walks) in your home club-NWFT or Greater Des Moines Volkssport Association (GDMVA). Mark off the nine events you have done and you will get the 10^th walk free. The walk must be redeemed at a traditional event or bring the card to a club meeting to redeem for a YRE. After you redeem your first walk, you can walk nine more unique events (not repeating any of the walks). You can now get credit for any events that are sanctioned by NWFT, GDMVA or the Lincoln Volkssport Club. Bonus credit for walking Ogallala or North Platte-these two walks count as two walks each. Drive a little and get double credit! You can receive another free walk from NWFT or GDMVA by showing your card with the walks crossed off as you do them. The card can be used four times. If you walk any qualifying walks prior to receiving a card, you can cross them off of the card after you receive it by showing your AVA book entry. If you do an event at one of the other clubs prior to completing your first 9 walks, you can cross them off your card when you do them but cannot redeem them until you complete the first 9 events at your home club.

Not a book stamper? Consider our New Walker Program. For only $5, you get a Distance and an Event Book, coupons for 3 free walks, a patch and an issue of The American Wanderer, our national organization’s bi-monthly publication – all included! Keep a record of all the great walks you’ve been on and log those kilometers as you walk them.

Upcoming walks

The Lincoln Volkssport Club’s annual Wyuka Walk is still scheduled for tomorrow, Saturday, October 27th. Registration takes place at the City Impact Building, 1035 N 33rd St, Lincoln, NE 68503, from 8:45 a.m. to 11 a.m. Fun Walkers are FREE; Credit Walkers (people who get their books stamped) pay $3. The LVC asks walkers to be off the trail by 1 p.m., so arrive early enough to enjoy this annual stroll through peaceful Wyuka Cemetery and surrounding neighborhoods.

The Workers’ Walk for the Rita Eldrige Memorial Pie Walk will be held on Sunday at 3 p.m. Walkers should be advised that the restrooms will not be available before the walk and to arrive early enough to complete the registration process by 3 p.m. Two 5k loops will be featured.

The Blair Pie Walk on Saturday, November 3rd will honor the memory of Rita Eldrige, longtime Volkssporter and an integral member of the Nebraska Wander Freunde Trailblazers nearly since its beginning almost 40 years ago. Bring a pie to share and registration fees and enjoy walking in Blair, Nebraska! The registration point will be the Blair Police Department’s Training Center, right next to the police station at 1730 Lincoln Street. Registration will take place from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., off the trail by 3 (but if you come that late, the pies will be gone!) Registration is $1.50 for Fun Walkers and $3.00 for Credit Walkers. We donate leftover pie to the New Visions Homeless Shelter in Council Bluffs.

Those wishing to walk as a group should plan to set out at 9:30 a.m. for one or both 5 kilometer loops.

February 2018 updates

Well, the groundhog predicted 6 more weeks of winter – but we’re predicting some walking weather in February!

Our Year Round Event in Shelby, Iowa, takes place in part on the Old Stone Arch Nature Trail. Our club supports the annual “Soup Off” which raises funds to maintain and improve the trail. This year’s Soup Off is taking place on Saturday, February 10th from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Cardinal Lofts, 304 Western Avenue, Shelby, IA. Carpooling arrangements are in place – contact Butch Spaulding soon if you will drive or need a ride. $6 gets you all the soup that you want to sample. Vote for your favorite soup using pennies, take part in the raffle or the pie auction, enjoy yourself!

The following weekend, we’re off to downtown Des Moines to do the annual Skywalk. This year, the Start Point has been moved to Wellmark Downtown YMCA, 501 Grand Avenue, and begins between 8 a.m. and noon on Saturday, February 17th. To get there, From I-235, take Exit 8A (downtown) and go south on 5th Street to Grand. Street parking is free on weekends. Some streets may be closed due to construction.. Carpooling is again available from Council Bluffs – contact Butch Spaulding for a ride.

The Worker’s Walk for the March 3rd Soup Walk is coming up on Saturday, February 24th at 9 a.m. at First Lutheran Church in Papillion, 420 N Washington St. We need lots of volunteers to make a Soup Walk a fun event for our members and guests; a worker’s walk allows volunteers to walk the trail, too! Those not volunteering are welcome to come, but be aware that we take the opportunity to test and tweak the walk that morning, so it may not be quite ready for “prime time”.

Finally, at our club meeting on Monday, February 5th, we got a group photo of those from our club who received Commendable and Meritorious Service Awards at our January dinner from the American Volkssport Association for their work on the Eclipse Events this past August. These are the people that make our events and walks great!

Pictured Left to Right, Commendable (C) and Meritorious (M).

Back Row: Jeanne Miller (M), Diane Fenlon (C), Butch Spaulding (M), Sandy Spaulding (M)

Front Row: Karen Dix-Johnson (C), Jill Champley (C), Sheila Goeltz (C), Julie Brown (M)

Not Pictured: Martha McGahan (M), Jim McGahan (M)

For a look at the McGahans, check out them out in this composite picture, saved in PDF format: Annual Dinner 2018 Awards Collage

#OptOutside Walk coming soon!

Reminder of our November 24th #OptOutside walk:

#OptOutside is the hashtag, or identifier, used on Twitter to make a term searchable by other social media users. This one refers specifically to the idea of walking, hiking or enjoying the great outdoors on the Friday after Thanksgiving, rather than giving the day over to shopping. Our club and other walking clubs across the U.S. are organizing to offer #OptOutside events.

Our event will be a group walk of the Hanscom Park/Ford Birthsite Year Round Walk, either the 5k or the 10k. Folks will meet at the Hanscom Park Pavilion at 9:45 a.m. on Friday, November 24^th to sign paperwork and pay fees. ($1.50 Fun Walkers, $3.00 AVA/IVV credit, exact change much appreciated.) Groups will set out at 10 a.m. to work off some of that Thanksgiving turkey. Lunch together is a possibility – the Greek Islands or the 11-Worth Café are both nearby and local favorites.

Can’t make it to our event because you will be out of town? Try locating a walk near where you will be by searching the AVA’s website for walks all across the United States: OptOutside – AVA website link There are some fabulous walks out there. Don’t miss out on your opportunity to #OptOutside with the Trailblazers or with the AVA!

Traditions – Old and New

Our club is fast approaching its 39^th birthday in March 2018 and has established traditions over the years. For example, there’s the March Soup Walk, the September Breakfast Walk, going to Lincoln for their annual Wyuka Walk, the November Pie Walk* and the December Lights Walk. There’s the annual “Walker of the Year” award, voted on by club members as having made a significant difference in the club’s operations that year. (Hey, have you sent your nomination to club president Lee Frantz yet?)

(If you know of or have access to a location that would be a great place to hold our Soup or Pie Walks, please let Sandy Spaulding know right away. The Committee is planning the club’s roster of 2018 walks and those are the 2 hardest walks to schedule, due to needing a kitchen and/or sinks and tables.)

New traditions respond to new trends in communication, walking, and enjoying the outdoors. For example, the National Trails Day Walk, the first Saturday in June, is a national walking and hiking day, which the club has put on a few times. There are our somewhat monthly “Meet and Eats”, promoting an extra walk in a month of one of our year-round walks or that of a neighboring club. And we’re rolling out a new “tradition”, that of #OptOutside.

*Reminder: Our annual Pie Walk is coming up on Saturday, November 4^th at Divine Shepherd Lutheran Church, 15005 Q Street, Omaha, NE from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Off the trail by 3 p.m., but those pies will be packed up around 1, so if you’re planning to come later, plan to eat pie before you hit the trail. Where do all the pies come from? From walkers like you! Leftover pie is taken to a local homeless shelter, so non-cream pies travel best. Or eat the cream pies first!

Mid-September Calendar Update, plus a couple of other things

PLEASE NOTE: November Pie Walk has been changed to Divine Shepherd Lutheran Church, 15005 Q St, Omaha, NE 68137.

Pre-Walk for October’s Dem Bones Walk is Saturday, Sept. 30 at 9:00 a.m.

Dem Bones Walk is October 7th at the Girl Scout Service Center at 2121 S. 44th Street, Omaha, NE 68105, starting from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m.

Pre-Walk for November’s Pie Walk is Sunday, October 29 at 2:00 p.m.

Pie Walk is November 4th at Divine Shepherd Lutheran Church, 15005 Q St., Omaha, NE 68137, starting from 9 a.m. to 12 noon.

Pre-Walk for December’s Light’s Walk is Sunday, Nov. 26 at 4:00 p.m.

Lights Walk is December 2nd at the Landmark Building, 13th and Farnam Streets, starting from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

New officer nominations are needed. Lee must be replaced as President and Trish is considering not being secretary due to a heavy class load at Bellevue University. Butch will do one more year as treasurer and then needs to give it up. Larry is always concerned about being VP with the snow-birding they do.

We need a place and plan for the March 3, 2018 soup walk by late November/early December. Need church or community center for kitchen use.

Upcoming Events – late August, early September

Our ~~Breakfast~~ Walk is coming up on September 9th in Plattsmouth’s Memorial Park. The Harvest Festival will be happening at the same time, so an exciting atmosphere will surround our walkers on that day. Remember that it starts at 8 a.m., registration runs until 11 a.m. ~~and to bring a pre-cooked breakfast item to share,~~ plus $3 for Credit Walkers, $1.50 for Fun Walkers. Breakfast available at the Volunteer Fire Department Pancake Feed from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. plus many food vendors.

What if you’ve volunteered to work the walk on September 9th or can’t make it that day? Well, the Workers’ Walk on Saturday, August 26th at 9 a.m. is for you! Leave the breakfast items at home, but come 15 minutes early to fill out paperwork and to pay.

Mary Ptacek of Tater Tours is bring 51 walkers to walk the Downtown Omaha walk on Monday, September 11th, scheduled to arrive at 11 a.m. Would you be willing to walk with these out-of-towners that day and give them a warm welcome to Omaha? 5k and 10k walkers are both welcome. Like being an ambassador? Tater Tours will be in Lincoln the next day (Tuesday, Sept. 12th) to start the walk around 8 to 8:15 a.m. and off the trail by 11 a.m.

Speaking of September 11th, that’s the date that club meetings resume. 84th Street is STILL not open from Methodist Hospital south to Pacific Street, so plan your route in advance to arrive by 7 p.m. at Morning Star Lutheran Church at 331 S 85th Ave, Omaha, NE 68114.