"The Road Ahead" Takes Life

Marie Pascal used Gene Freiders' photos of the road to inspire her
original watercolor for Road Warriors 2010

Two days ago I walked up to my front door and found a modest looking package resting against the door. "What could this be?" And then it hit me...It's the watercolor of "The Road Ahead" that we asked Marie Pascal to paint for us! It's here! It's finished. And it's beautiful. I'm keeping the finished work a secret for a few more days. But we are so proud to be able to give this incredible piece of original art to one of our Road Warriors.  The Natsoulas Gallery in Davis has shown Marie's art for many years and writes this about her...we couldn't agree more!

"Marie is one of the most skillful watercolor painters in the world. Her detail and control are unprecedented in the field. While her brush stroke is carefully nuanced and her colors often glowing, her subject matter is more serious upon further reflection."

Eyes on the Prize: Road Warrior Wrap Up Nov. 6th!

We've almost reached our DONE DATE! 

The first rain of the season and cooler weather are leading us closer to our Done Date--Veterans Day, our final miles and our Saturday, November 6th Wrap Up Event at Sycamore Grove Park in Livermore (click for map). 

Please come to the park (and bring your families)

to log some of your final miles in support of our military heros.

Just show up at the Wetmore End of Sycamore Grove Park anytime between 9:30 and 10:00 am and then take off to explore the park at your own pace. Sycamore Grove has 5 miles of paved, mostly flat trail and at least 20 miles of dirt paths perfect for us...you can run, mountain bike, road bike, walk with strollers and hike with a lunch on your back. You'll have a chance to see Autumn color and lots of wild life including egrets, heron, owls, coyotes, deer, quail, wood ducks, bunnies and those ubiquitous turkey vultures (who don't seem to be eating any of the wild turkeys out there!)

This is the paved bike/hike/walk/run path at Sycamore Grove

Of Note: At Sycamore Grove Park, you'll also find water, funky bathrooms and a $5.00 parking fee (or park for free at Independence Park around the corner). Daniel, JC, Pat, Alice, Bulldog, Jamaica, and Karen...hope to see you there and spread the word! Thanks so much everyone--for all your efforts, and for keeping your eyes on the prize all summer long.

Farmers' Market Donations Continue!

Mark Nelson & Chimera make a 9/11 donation

"Can we give more?"

Today we staffed the Road Warriors 2010 Booth at the Farmers' Market with a sign letting people know they could support our veterans by "Donating the Date"...that is $10.09 on 10/09. Dan waited in line to donate and then asked "Can we give more?"

We are SO grateful to the shoppers today who added to our Pacific Coast Farmers' Market 9/11 Donation to  Wounded Warrior Project and Freedom Alliance Scholarship Fund...The total now stands at $1152.00 on our way to $1500.00. Perhaps the best story of all today though is second grader Ali who wanted to become a road warrior because it would help our soldiers. She plans to ask Mom, Dad, Grandma and Grandpa to be her sponsors. I don't think she is going to have a problem reaching her goal because she says she walks and rides her bike EVERYWHERE!

What a wonderful gift to see such an eager 

and generous heart at such a young age. 

Thanks Ali and stay in touch, ok?
We're proud of you!

BACK COUNTRY BLUES

Day 1 Beside The Big Blue of Peeler Lake 8 miles from trail head

Early am Peeler Lake Blue

Barney Lake Blue..4 miles from the trail head

Dave and I just got back from our long anticipated 8 day backpacking trip into the Hoover Wilderness and Yosemite National Park. We were planning on doing the 50 mile Benson Lake Loop largely because it's a back country trip famous for its deep blue waters. A couple of injuries made us switch to 41 mile Plan B which was an out and back trip to Benson Lake rather than the 50 mile loop. Wise move! We built in layover days at Peeler and Benson Lakes which allowed injuries to heal, gave us time to practice our fly fishing skills and soak in the beautiful blue waters and skies.

Huge Benson Lake...21 miles from the trailhead

But I gotta say, I hate coming home from a back pack trip. Now..I'm blue! It's like I have wilderness withdrawal. It's like I left something of myself out there on the trail. I miss the soft morning stillness. The crystal clear reflections of sky, scraggly pines and mountains on water. I even miss crawling up misshapened trails crammed with all sizes of stones...huge boulders I can hardly lift myself and pack over and the tiny stones that make you tumble.

I'm home, but I can still hear the sound of black bird wings moving the air above my head. I miss the chance but important conversations with fellow backpackers. I slept in a real bed last night, but I can still feel the total relief of finding a place to set up camp after throwing pack and back anywhere stationary after an 8 mile day with a hot 2500 foot climb. I'm home now and IT is all still out there doing its magical, etherial thing. The high, distant back country is still changing the people who accept the gift of getting out into IT, letting it sink in, burrow below the skin, and slide into the heart.

WOW! For both Dave and me, eight days away from home, out on the Benson Lake Loop was an incredible, unforgettable way to log miles for our Wounded Warrior Project and Freedom Alliance Scholarship Fund.

We'll be back!

Head Out For Some Back Country, Sky High Miles

In a few days, Dave and I will be heading into the Eastern Sierra to begin our long awaited 50 mile Benson Lake Loop. We'll be out 8 days, but even a 3 day weekend in the high sierra is worth looking into for logging some unforgettable Road Warrior miles. If you don't have backpacking gear or don't like idea of using that famous little orange shovel, you can stay in a mountain cabin and come back to a soft bed, a hot shower and fireplace after a day hike. Get the book "Hot Showers, Soft Beds and Day Hikes in the Sierra" by Kathy Morey if you like this idea.

Fall is the perfect time to launch out into the wild--cooler weather, no mosquitos, and very few peeps. Just say, "Bad bear, bad, bad bear" and clap your hands above your head every once in a while. ;-)
The 14 mile round trip hike to Cloud's Rest in Yosemite is a BIG day but the 360 degree views are simply spectacular. Take water and food, not much chance to pump water along the trail.

The Top of Cloud's Rest in Yosemite-You're higher than Half Dome. 

We stay at Tioga Pass Lodge at the eastern end of highway 120 when we want to hit Yosemite in the fall and avoid the cold nights on the ground. They have a great little restaurant and store, cabins on the creek with and without kitchens.

Tioga Pass Lodge in Yosemite

Another very worthwhile and much easier day hike out of Tioga Pass Lodge is to drive down the road 4 miles to the 20 Lakes Basin. Kids love it because you take a water taxi from Saddle Bag Lake and then make an easy, mostly flat loop hopping from lake to pristine lake. Photo ops are never ending.

Typical View Along the 20 Lakes Basin Trail
out side of Yosemite 

"I can TOTALLY do this!"

The Walnut Festival 5K-10K run was definitely the place to be this morning. The weather was perfect and before I had even finished setting up the red, white and blue RW info table, 4 new young Road Warriors had signed up vowing, "I can totally do this!"


Long story short, I gave away every single packet I had with me! 20 new road warriors are on board--and they all agree that putting in 100 miles before 11/11/10 is doable. Three of our new road warriors will be getting our T shirt transfer in the mail this week so they can iron it onto their own shirts.

Iron On T Shirt Transfers given away

Gotta love these guys and gals today, especially the teen agers! They want to participate in something meaningful. They have a heart for our soldiers and their children. The grade school runners loved the Wounded Warrior Project wrist bands--couldn't give them away fast enough.

This was an exhilarating weekend. Bigger and better than I ever imagined. Thanks to all the new road warriors out there willing to do something tangible for soldiers they don't even know. It was obvious that every person who decided to become a Road Warrior this weekend knows our military deserves our miles, our praise and our support. 


We welcome these willing warriors to the road....Gisella, Nancy, Ross, Chris, Alice, Anthony, Helene, Parisa, Juliette, Tom, Whitney, Rowena and Marvin, Tricia, Brent, Jamaica, Elvira, Siobhan, Laurie and Kevin. 


Remember to have fun out there!

9/11 Brings Out Proud Patriots!

Young American Patriots Fife & Drum Corps

September 11th was HOT today at the Farmers' Market in more ways than one! Not only were we treated to the historic sound of a fife and drum corps, but we had record warrior sign ups, record donations and words of praise for 2 veterans recorded on our Road Warrior T Shirts...

Chris Miller writes words of thanks to Corporal Allen Silveria

AND...We blew our old record of 5 Road Warrior recruits in one day out of the water with 15 new sign ups! From curious moms with strollers to guys in cycling gear, everyone wanted to know the same thing..."Tell me about Road Warriors". And I did! These new warriors will be logging about 11 miles a week for the next two months and looking for sponsors to support their awesome commitment. 

THANKS TO ALL OF YOU!

What great hearts you have for our military.

New Road Warriors Jamaica & Daughter Elvira

Not only will we have 15 new road warriors logging miles and raising money all the way to Veterans' Day, we also have today's donations from our 9/11 memorial. Tallying up our incredibly generous donation of $750.00 from Pacific Coast Farmers Market Association plus the heartfelt 9/11 donations from our market shoppers....

Today we raised $1101.22!

I wish I could express to you the enthusiasm and sincerity with which each donation and decision to become a road warrior was made. If you know an active military person, veteran or family of a veteran, please let them know that the heart of America is for them, and always will be. Tell them about the mother who handed me her $10.00 donation as quarters filling up a baggie. She and her daughter had gathered them together that morning. They did it as family....counting quarters to give away to support our military children. Tell them the words one of our new road warriors wrote on the T shirt we will give to Corporal Allen Silveria...

Thanks for your big sacrifice 
so we still can live our dreams.
De todo corazon, Gisella

Saturday Oct 2 brought in $26.00 more in donations
for a total of $1127.22 and
10 more new Road Warriors!
We are still aiming to reach our donation goal of $1500.00