Nebraska Wander Freunde Trailblazers
Walk for Fun, Fitness and Friendship in the Omaha and Council Bluffs metro area
We’ve been so busy getting ready for our Eclipse Events weekend (you ARE registered, aren’t you?) that we haven’t had time to upload the ready-for-the-Internet version of the July-August 2017 newsletter.
Want to receive newsletters hot off the press? Become a club member and you’ll get them emailed to you as they become ready.
Our NWFT May-June 2017 Newsletter is available now. If you want the full version, consider becoming a club member. Club members get reminder emails of upcoming events, discounts and more. Check out these 26 people having a great time at our April “Meet and Eat” in Ashland, Nebraska.
Page 7 of the newsletter lists a lot of area walks from SD, MN, NE, KS and MO, hosted by our club and a number of other great clubs. Did you know that every single one of those walks qualifies for the “Doin’ th
e Louisiana Purchase” program, even if that special program isn’t specifically listed?
Our regular club meeting on May 1st at 7 p.m. in the lower level of Morning Star Lutheran Church, 331 S 85th Ave, Omaha, NE 68114, will feature a talk on keeping seniors moving. Don’t forget that if you’re coming from the south on 84th Street, that 84th is closed from Pacific north to Methodist Hospital (Dodge Street) and you can NOT get to the church that way! Use an alternate route.
Our Workers’ Walk for the May 13th “Florence Days Walk” in the Omaha neighborhood of Florence will take place on Sunday, May 7th at 2 p.m.
Finally, remember that Eclipse package registrations, as well as t-shirt and patch orders, close on May 25th. If you’re just coming out on Monday, August 21st, please go ahead and register for just that walk. We’d hate to run out of eclipse-viewing glasses!
The Trailblazers have been busy and have more planned – just look at our March – April 2017 Newsletter! Club members get the full version – why not join now?
Our annual Soup Walk is coming up March 4th at Maplewood United Methodist Church at 3535 Maplewood Blvd in Omaha. Please let club president Lee know if you can help – volunteers are still needed. But when do volunteers get to walk? Well, the Workers’ Walk will be on Saturday, February 25th at 9 a.m. The church won’t be open, so take advantage of businesses on 90th Street or on Maple before arriving.
The local walking season is just getting underway – check out walks in Lincoln, NE and Des Moines, IA, both on March 18th – and then again on the following week in downtown Omaha with one of our own fun-tastic Meet & Eats – lunch at the Old Mattress Factory. And then again the following week (April 1st) at the Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital in west Omaha near an outside mall that has asked us to re-route our walk to avoid their property. The club is asking you not to shop there before/after the walk if wearing a club t-shirt, because we don’t want them to think that we are “walking” on their property.
Congratulations to our 2017 slate of officers and committee chairs:
Come visit with them and other friends at the Annual Meeting and Dinner, to be held Saturday, January 21st at the Valentino’s at 5022 S 108th St, Omaha, NE 68137. Social time begins at 5:30 p.m., dinner at 6 p.m. Cost is $15 for members and $18 for non-members and includes buffet, soft drink and tip. Come find out who our 2016 Walker of the Year is!
Our next “Meet and Eat” will take place the following Saturday, January 28th, at 10 a.m. starting from the dining area in the Fremont Hy-Vee, 840 E 23rd St, Fremont, NE 68025. 5k walkers will register and then drive to the May Museum at 17th and Nye Avenue to begin their walk; 10k walkers start from the Hy-Vee. Lunch afterwards will take place at Hy-Vee’s restaurant there. The 5k and 10k routes have been changed a bit from 2016, so be sure to stay when walking with someone who has the new map!
February 11th is Des Moines’ annual SkyWalk and is expected to be the site of our next “Meet and Eat” – look for more details coming soon.
Our January – February 2017 newsletter is attached. January – February 2017 Newsletter This is not the full version of the newsletter, as we’ve noticed that this website has been attracting a number of . . . overseas . . .visitors to the site. Club members will still receive the full versions that they’ve come to know and love. Want to be a member? It’s only $10 a year for membership ($15 for a family) and supports all of the great activities that you’ve come to expect from us.
Our November – December 2016 newsletter is available here: November – December 2016 Newsletter
Saturday, November 19th sees the club return to Council Bluffs for its ever-popular “Meet and Eat” group walks of the 5k and 10k year round walk in Council Bluffs. Plan to start walking at 10 a.m. – so be at Lansky’s, 1131 N Broadway, Council Bluffs, IA 51503, 15 minutes early to complete the paperwork and pay the $3 credit walker or $1.50 Fun Walker fees. (As always, exact change is appreciated!) Lansky’s opens at 11 a.m., but the grocery store nearby does have restrooms available. We’ll eat at Lansky’s after the walk.
The Workers’ Walk for the Lights Walk in December will be held Saturday, November 26th, starting at 3 p.m. from the Landmark Building, 13th and Farnam Streets, Omaha, NE, 68131. Come 15 minutes early to complete the paperwork and pay the $3 credit walker or $1.50 Fun Walker fees. (As always, exact change is appreciated!) Omaha charges for parking on Saturdays, so bring some change to feed the meters, too.
Our annual Lights Walk takes place starting at 4 p.m. on Saturday, December 3rd (see above for address, fees and notes). We’ll need workers, group walk leaders and bakers/makers of treats to make this successful – look for your email coming soon. The club collects toilet paper (packaged, please!) and hats, scarves, gloves and mittens to pass on to a local homeless shelter, so keep those items in mind as you shop these next couple of weeks.
Our last club meeting of 2016 happens on December 5th at 7 p.m. at Morning Star Lutheran Church (basement), 331 S 85th Ave, Omaha, NE 68114. We’ll vote for our 2017 Officers and our 2016 Walker of the Year. Be sure to read the newsletter for a description of the nominees. Online or paper ballots have been sent to all registered club members – follow the instructions to make your vote count.
Saturday, December 17th – mark your calendars for our trip to Kansas City, Missouri to walk among the Plaza Lights. (Weather dependent!!) More details coming soon.
Happy Thanksgiving from the Nebraska Wanderfreunde Trailblazers. We’re thankful for each of YOU!
We resume our monthly club meetings on Monday, September 12th. The first Monday of the month in July is July 4th. We want to wish you a Happy Independence Day! Please take care when traveling and celebrating – we want to see you at all the events happening this summer.
July 9th is the annual Germanfest Festival in Syracuse, Nebraska. No walk is planned, but some club members might be heading down for brats and beer.
On July 16th, we are planning to meet in the parking lot at 2301 “O” Street in Lincoln (now home to Lutheran Family Services) at 9 a.m. for a 5k walk. Carpoolers can meet at Mangelsen’s in Omaha (84th and Frederick) at 8 a.m. or at 8:15 a.m. in the far NW parking lot at Nebraska Crossing Outlets in Gretna. The 5k group will return and have a late breakfast or early lunch at the Farmhouse Cafe, next door to Mangelsen’s. There is also a group interested in doing the 10k, which will go through the Haymarket District, where the Farmers’ Market is held during summer months.
August 13th is our Hanscom Park walk, also a morning walk to beat the heat. More details to come later!
The Union Pacific Museum at 200 Pearl Street in Council Bluffs is the site for our next get-together on August 27th at 10:30 a.m. After our group tour, we will adjourn to the Main Street Cafe, just a block and a half down the street. That will be the extent of the walking planned for the group, but the Council Bluffs YRE is available for those who want to stretch their legs after the group’s activities.
For more details and contact information for any of these events, read the latest edition of the newsletter, available here: July – August 2016 Newsletter.
Our club has been so busy that there’s been little time to sit down at the keyboard!
Our next event will be out at Prairie Queen Recreation area, just west of Werner Park (home to the Omaha Storm Chasers minor league baseball team) on Saturday, May 14th. Register from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., off the trail by 2 p.m. Check out ALL of our upcoming events via the calendar on this website, on Facebook, on Meetup or download and print out the attached PDF of upcoming events.
If you’re planning to come to the National Trails Day walk at Chalco Hills on June 4th, 2016, please be advised that the stretch of Giles Road closest to where you get off I-80 is closed (144th Street and Giles Road). You have to go past Giles north to Harrison Street, west to 156th St., south to Giles, and then east to the entrance to the Recreation Area’s parking lot.
Thank you to everyone who participated in The Big Give S.A., which benefited the national organization to which this club belongs, the American Volkssport Association. The totals aren’t closed out for the event, but they’re nearly to their goal of $50,000. Some big changes to the www.ava.org website are coming in the near future and new programs and activities will be rolled out soon, now that funding has been secured.
Upcoming events Apr – Dec 2016
We had 19 people come to walk with us at our Westroads Group Walk! The topic of club t-shirts came up, since so many walkers were wearing club t-shirts and sweatshirts. Be sure to read the newsletter for information on how to order YOUR t-shirt (short or long-sleeved) and/or sweatshirt. Our vendor requires 12+ items; why not order one of each?
Our latest newsletter is available here: January – February 2016 Newsletter (please note that the Cross Plains, WI walk listed under “Mark Your Calendars” is April 16th, not April 6th).
Here are more events coming up in February that didn’t make it into the newsletter, from Sandy Spaulding:
Shelby Soup Cook Off – Saturday, February 6 from 5-7 p.m I do not have the complete details yet, but it is usually held at the Cardinal Lofts at 304 Western Ave. Cost last year was $6 per person for all the soup you can eat. Very yummy and a lot of fun. They also hold a raffle and our group has won a lot of prizes in the past few years. We like to support this event as it provides funds for the Stone Arch Trail which we use for our Shelby year round event. If there is interest, we may carpool to this event.
Des Moines Skywalk – Saturday, February 13, start times 8-12, finish by 3. Start point is in the Kaleidoscope at The Hub Food Court (third floor), 555 Walnut. There are two trails available, one entirely in the Skywalk and another outdoors. Pets are not allowed in the Skywalk system. If there is interest, we may carpool to this event.
Westroads Group Walk-Saturday, February 20. Meet near the children’s play area between J C Penney and Dick’s Sporting Goods at 7:45 so we can start walking at 8 a.m. We will have the walkbox there for registration.
Our latest newsletter, NWFT Nov-Dec 2015, lists the nominees for this year’s “Walker of the Year” award. We’ll have a combination of online and in-person voting available this year. Maybe you’ve taken an online survey using Survey Monkey? Well, that’s what we’ll use. Each club member with their own email address will receive a link to the survey. Those who do not have email will be mailed a ballot or can vote in-person at the December 7th club meeting. Look for ballots to come out November 16th.
Before that, though, put on a jacket and your walking shoes, bring a pie and come walk with us on Saturday, November 7th at Morning Star Lutheran Church, 331 S. 85th Ave., Omaha, NE 68114. Registration is from 9 a.m. to noon, and you need to be off the trail by 3 p.m. Leftover pie goes to Mohm’s Place in Council Bluffs. Rumor has it that the folks there look forward to the Pie Walk more than we do!