Your Very Next Step newsletter for March 2013
By Ned Lundquist
www.yourverynextstep.com
“Nature is trying very hard to make us succeed, but nature does not depend on us. We are not the only experiment.”
-R. Buckminster Fuller
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”
– Lao Tzu
“Your Very Next Step” newsletter, published by Ned Lundquist, is a cooperative community, and everyone is invited, no…encouraged, no…urged to participate. Share your adventures with the network today! Send to lundquist989@cs.com.
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You may note that our YVNS newletter (www.yourverynextstep.com) has received a make-over. Bear with Ned as he learns how to use it.
*** In this issue:
*** Heather Murphy: Keep on Truckee’ing
*** Most U.S. Flights Are on Smaller Jets; Tight Squeezes and ‘the Right Amount of Misery’
*** Regulations and Permits on the AT
*** Uncomfortable seats, bag fees rank high among air travelers’ dislikes
*** How to Climb Katahdin
*** Does Southwest really save you money?
*** Hiking Food:
*** Ribbon of Blue – The Connecticut River then and now
*** America’s State Parks
*** National Rail-Trail of the month:
Trail of the Month: February 2013
California’s Truckee River Bike Trail
*** Trail/Outdoor/Conservation volunteer opportunities:
1.) Experienced sea kayakers, AMC Staff at Knubble Bay Camp, Georgetown Maine
2.) Tour Guide Manager, Grand Circle Corporation, Boston, MA
3.) Director of Development and Communications, National Ability Center, Park City, Utah
*** Travel/Adventure/Outdoors/Conservation employment opportunities:
1.) Associate Director of Corporate Practices Communications, The Nature Conservancy, Washington, DC
2.) Director of Marketing, International Expeditions, Birmingham, AL
3.) Pass Programs Manager, Colorado Ski Country USA, Denver, CO
4.) Guide, Raft Masters, Canon City, Colorado
5.) EVENT STAFF, Glacier Park, Inc., Columbia Falls, MT 59912
6.) Publisher, National Wildlife Federation, Reston, VA
7.) Marketing Manager/ Writer, National Recreation and Park Association, Ashburn, VA
8.) Communications and Media Coordinator, Management Assistance Team, National Conservation Leadership Institute, Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, Shepherdstown, WV
…and much more…and it’s all FREE!!!
*** Do you have a travel adventure to share?
Send me your stories and I’ll post in the “Your Very Next Step” and on the YVNS website (http://www.yourverynextstep.com/).
*** Heather Murphy: Keep on Truckee’ing
Ned,
I enjoyed the latest Your Very Next Step, especially the segment on the National Rail-Trail of the month: California’s Truckee River Bike Trail by Laura Stark. I was lucky enough to be on a trip to the greater Lake Tahoe area in fall 2010. This was in the shoulder season — after peak summer and before the winter snows. There were many trails to explore and the crowds were thin.
We made it up to Truckee and were lucky enough to have a fabulous breakfast at the Squeeze In. It is a tiny place at 10060 Donner Pass Road in Truckee that purports to serve “The Best Omelettes on the Planet.” That assessment is entirely accurate with bonus points for excellence beyond any omelet I’ve eaten. I should add that Squeeze In has been featured on a Bobby Flay Throwdown. Every single thing about the restaurant was exceptional — from the collection of kitsch and stickers on the wall to the amazing food. My squeeze ordered a side biscuit with sausage gravy — I took a sample. I’m not really a biscuits and gravy person but the Squeeze In’s was nearly a religious experience…and who doesn’t need a little religion? (http://www.squeezein.com)
Truckee also has a variety of quaint shops. One of my favorites was Ambiance Home Comforts, owned by Bill & Mary Kay Benner (10156 Donner Pass Road, Truckee, CA 96161 — TOLL FREE (866)401-4440). This shop stocked a variety of candles and Christmas ornaments and other gift items. I happened to open the lid of a candle that smelled exactly like the name: Balsam & Cedar. Trying to travel light, I did not buy one. Months later, I called the shop and Bill & Mary Kay knew exactly what I was talking about, shipped the candle and made it possible to enjoy an aromatic reminder of the stop in Truckee.
Cheers, Ned. Thanks for an enjoyable trip down memory lane.
Heather Murphy
*** Most U.S. Flights Are on Smaller Jets; Tight Squeezes and ‘the Right Amount of Misery’
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323478304578330293636960034.html
*** Regulations and Permits on the AT
http://www.appalachiantrail.org/hiking/hiking-basics/regulations-permits
*** Uncomfortable seats, bag fees rank high among air travelers’ dislikes
*** How to Climb Katahdin
Planning a trip to Baxter State Park to hike the focal point of the destination, Katahdin, can be a task heavier than one’s backpack. Carey Kish, editor of the Maine Mountain Guide, explains ways to plan ahead and prepare—including camping, hiking trails, and safety—that will jump-start a successful trip to Maine’s highest summit.
http://www.outdoors.org/publications/outdoors/web/how-to-climb-katahdin.cfm
*** Does Southwest really save you money?
Study Challenges Southwest’s Low-Fare Image
By Jay Boehmer
*** Hiking Food:
For short hikes, food is more of a nice to have rather than a necessity. But, on long hikes, an adequate food supply is critical to success and safety.
http://hikingdude.com/hiking-food.php
*** Ribbon of Blue
The Connecticut River then and now
By Michael Tougias
AMC Outdoors, March/April 2013
http://www.outdoors.org/publications/outdoors/2013/features/paddling-the-connecticut-river.cfm
*** AMERICA’S FIRST BLUEWAY
Establishing the Connecticut River Watershed as a National Blueway will help promote access to the rivers and trails in the watershed for outdoor recreation, conservation of wildlife habitat and working lands, and support travel, tourism and outdoor recreation economies throughout the watershed.
http://www.outdoors.org/about/newsroom/press/2012/first-national-blueway.cfm
*** America’s State Parks
America’s State Parks helps capture the collective strength and importance of the great park systems developed in the 50 states. With over 7,000 units and more than 720 million visits, America’s State Parks works to enhance the American quality of life. NASPD board members representing each region of the country initially governed the America’s State Parks alliance.
http://www.americasstateparks.org/About
*** National Rail-Trail of the month:
Trail of the Month: March 2013
New Hampshire’s Northern Rail Trail
By Laura Stark
Daniel Webster, the famed orator and New Hampshire native, was a featured speaker at the 1847 ribbon cutting for Boston and Maine Railroad’s Northern Line. At the ceremony in Lebanon, before a crowd of more than a thousand, he said of the railroad, “It is the spirit and influence of free labor, it is the indomitable industry of a free people, that has done all this.”
The same could be said of today’s Northern Rail Trail, which begins just steps away from where Webster gave that keynote address and follows the same path as the railway once did. It was built by the hard and loving labor of hundreds of volunteers and is now the longest rail-trail in the state, spanning 52 miles.
“This is one of the best examples in this region of a trail that’s being developed at the grassroots level,” says Carl Knoch, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy’s (RTC) manager of trail development in the Northeast.
Although the corridor was purchased by the state when the railroad abandoned the line in 1996, the trail’s development has been fervently pursued at the local level. “It probably has the greatest number of groups involved in trying to develop it as a trail,” says Chris Gamache, Chief Supervisor for the New Hampshire Bureau of Trails, which oversees the trail. “There are lots of groups working together to the same end goal.” It was for this reason that the Northern Rail Trail was featured in RTC’s 2012 Community Built report, highlighting exceptional local efforts across America of citizens and volunteers using community strength to build and maintain public pathways.
Shortly after the trail was turned over to the state, snowmobile groups saw the potential of the corridor for recreational use and began to work on it. “The snowmobile clubs were the original maintainers of the trail,” Gamache says. Volunteers from the Andover Snowmobile Club, Lakes Region Snowmobile Club, Town Line Trail Dusters and others removed railroad ties, redecked bridges (the trail has more than a dozen), trimmed trees and completed other tasks to make the trail safe and operational.
To address the needs of the trail during the warmer months, two nonprofit groups were formed, one in each of the two counties that the trail traversed.
“Our work was relatively low cost because much of the trail did not have heavy ballast on it,” says Dick Mackay, chair of the Friends of the Northern Rail Trail in Grafton County that manages the trail’s northern end. “We didn’t have all this broken stone. We had cinder, a black, grainy material that’s soft and resilient. It’s actually one of the best possible surfaces. When the ties were pulled out, we had a trail!”
Volunteers at the southern half of the trail did not have it so easy. “The railroad construction in the two counties was dramatically different,” says Alex Bernhard, vice president of Friends of the Northern Rail Trail in Merrimack County. “The railroad upgraded the southern half by laying heavy stone ballast. It has great drainage and is stable for the ties. But when you take up the ties it’s impossible to walk on or ride a bike on for any length of time and you can’t ride a horse on it either.”
The Merrimack County group has spent much of its budget (largely provided by Transportation Enhancements and Recreational Trails Program grants) purchasing, trucking and laying down a custom-designed stone dust over the rocky ballast. Without this special mixture, the trail would only be useable in the winter when heavy snowfalls cover the uneven surface. Another project has been the careful restoration of the granite mileposts lining this section of trail, lingering relics of the corridor’s past. Used by train engineers, the numbers on the posts indicate the distance from either B (Boston) or WRJ (White River Junction).
When track construction was attempted through Enfield, the railroad had an unexpected fight on its hands. Although the conservative Shaker community in town did not want the gleaming modern trains within sight of their quiet enclave (a place so beautiful they called it the “Chosen Vale”), they recognized the value of a readily accessible means of exporting their wares. So a deal was struck: in return for an investment in the railroad venture, the tracks were moved away from the Shaker village to the other side of Mascoma Lake. One of the railroad’s locomotives was even dubbed “The Shaker.” Less than a mile from the trail, the Enfield Shaker Museum offers an intriguing place to learn about the Shakers that settled here in 1793 and practiced equality, celibacy, pacifism and communal property ownership.
Further south, in Andover, history buffs will not want to miss a stop at Potter Place, a Victorian rail station maintained by the Andover Historical Society. Inside, the feeling of a busy train depot in the early to mid-1900s is carefully preserved. An adjacent caboose can be explored. Across from the station lies the homestead and gravesite of Richard Potter, a magician and ventriloquist who broke new ground as an African-American performer throughout the country in the early 19th century. Another notable stop is Franklin, where you can visit Daniel Webster’s birthplace, as well as nearby Webster Lake, where he spent many summers.
For those interested in nature, the trail does not disappoint. New Hampshire had been vying to be the most-forested state in the lower 48, and recently nabbed the title over Maine, its longtime rival. Nearly 89 percent of the Granite State is forested, including the area through which the trail runs. If you’re looking to see moose south of Alaska, Tewksbury Pond and the surrounding marshlands between Canaan and Grafton is a place they frequent. The occasional bear can be found here, too, as well as eagles, herons, and a flock of wild turkeys in Canaan.
With its increasing year-round popularity, there are movements afoot to expand the trail from both ends. In the north, fundraising is underway to begin construction on the Mascoma River Greenway that would seamlessly extend the Northern Rail Trail four miles closer to the Connecticut River along the state’s border with Vermont.
A hoped-for trail terminus is White River Junction, Vt., where the Northern Railroad originally ended. From the rail-trail’s southern end, plans are to extend the trail from Boscawen to Concord by summer 2015. This would provide easy access to and from the state capital and I-93, a major thoroughfare.
“The comment we always get about the trail is, ‘This was here and we didn’t even know it!” says Mackay. “They’re stunned that there could be such a wonderful place to walk or bike so close to home.”
http://www.railstotrails.org/news/recurringFeatures/trailMonth/index.html
*** Trail/Outdoor/Conservation volunteer opportunities:
1.) Experienced sea kayakers, AMC Staff at Knubble Bay Camp, Georgetown Maine
Knubble Bay Camp in Georgetown Maine is looking for experienced sea kayakers to join their committee and help guide AMC members on excursions from the camp. The camp is run by a committee of volunteers since 1979 and regularly provides training to club members who want to learn how to sea kayak. Potential candidates should posses good communication skills, group leadership experience, and a willingness to support the mission.
http://activities.outdoors.org/search/index.cfm/action/details/id/23790
2.) Tour Guide Manager, Grand Circle Corporation, Boston, MA
http://www.linkedin.com/jobs?viewJob=&jobId=4893884
3.) Director of Development and Communications, National Ability Center, Park City, Utah
http://www.idealist.org/view/job/MT9htXKMn3H4/
*** Travel/Adventure/Outdoors/Conservation employment opportunities:
*** From Mark Sofman:
1.) Associate Director of Corporate Practices Communications, The Nature Conservancy, Washington, DC
2.) Director of Marketing, International Expeditions, Birmingham, AL
http://www.linkedin.com/jobs?viewJob=&jobId=4895241
*** From Andrew Hudson’s Job List:
3.) Pass Programs Manager, Colorado Ski Country USA, Denver, CO
http://andrewhudsonsjobslist.com/index.cfm?PID=805&ID=8788,30012,0&#j8
4.) Guide, Raft Masters, Canon City, Colorado
http://raftmasters.com/guide-training.php
5.) EVENT STAFF, Glacier Park, Inc., Columbia Falls, MT 59912
https://external-glacierpark-viad.icims.com/jobs/2446/job
6.) Publisher, National Wildlife Federation, Reston, VA
http://jobview.monster.com/GetJob.aspx?JobID=120291232
7.) Marketing Manager/ Writer, National Recreation and Park Association, Ashburn, VA
The National Recreation & Park Association is actively seeking a team player with strong writing skillsto join our team as a Marketing Manager. This role will be responsible to manage several marketing projects but will also serve as the point person to craft messages to our members that will motivate them to take action. This position will entail editing the content from other departments as well as developing new content for a wide range of multimedia channels (web, email, social, mobile, video, etc.) copy for emails, publications and the web. Specific experience in an individual membership organization, marketing products and services to members is highly desirable.
Summary:
•Create innovative and effective messages that compel members to engage, renew, donate, volunteer or take another actionfor a variety of media platforms including email campaigns, online and mobile experiences, and social applications.
•Manage the process and deliverable for several short term and long term marketing projects.
•Display agility in balancing short-notice requests with longer-term projects.
•Ensure that projects are delivered in keeping with established campaign schedules.
•Proactively gather resource material and conduct cursory research for campaign development and strategy.
•Consult and partner with staff, clients and members in a collaborative effort to ensure the highest quality of the associations creative work.
•Stay current with advances in consumer media consumption habits, techniques, emerging technologies and tactics.
DISCOVER the BENEFITS at NRPA!
Conveniently located off the Dulles Greenway, in Brambleton Regional Park in Ashburn, NRPA boasts a warm professional environment, with a relaxing and peaceful view of nature at its finest! All staff have access to indoor & outdoor eating areas, as well as indoor & outdoor fitness opportunities. Our facility has a brand new air-conditioned fitness room with access to showers, as well as foot trails for the outdoor enthusiast. Full time staff enjoy a very rich benefit package that includes group Health, Dental, and Vision for employee and family, paid 80% by the employer;403(b) fully vested upon hire; Life insurance, Short Term Disability and Long Term Disability paid 100% by the employer; accrue 26 Paid days off per year plus 13 paid holidays, eligibility in the first month of employment, Length of Service Awards and much, much more! NRPA is committed to promoting an environment of work-life balance. To promote healthy lifestyles, at work and away, we have established programs like Teleworking, FlexTime Schedules, 37.5 hour work-week, Employee Assistance Programs, Educational Assistance Programs, Lunch-and-Learn sessions and more. Discover what we already know about NRPA … it’s a great place to work!
APPLICATION PROCESS
Position will remain open until filled. Applicants must apply through NRPA’s Recruitment system to be considered. Also submit resume, salary requirements and salary history. Enter information in the “Notes” section to include a cover letter or list employee referrals.
NRPA is an EQUAL OPPORTUNITY employer with a COMMITMENT to DIVERSITY. Women and ethnic minorities ENCOURAGED to apply.
Salary Range: $50,000 – $55,000
NOTES: Local Residents Preferred (No Relo)
Requirements
•Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, English, Marketing Communications, or related discipline preferred
•3-5 years’ experience in conception and execution of email, copywriting, communications field, association experience a plus
•Knowledge of Microsoft Office (Outlook, Excel, Word)
•Experience in creating compelling copy for: email promotions, e-newsletters, online display media, campaign web copy, storyboards and scripts for interactive and viral marketing pieces.
•Knowledge of online and mobile experiences, email campaigns, and social applications, as demonstrated through a robust portfolio.
http://asi.careerhq.org/jobs#/detail/5252621
*** From Amanda Myers:
Please post the following job in your newsletter. Thank you!
Amanda Myers
Training and Information Services Administrator
Management Assistance Team
National Conservation Leadership Institute
Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies
Shepherdstown, WV
www.conservationleadership.org
8.) Communications and Media Coordinator, Management Assistance Team, National Conservation Leadership Institute, Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, Shepherdstown, WV
The Management Assistance Team located in Shepherdstown, WV, seeks an individual with strong communication and media skills to join the team of five other high performing professionals. Duties include a broad spectrum of communication and multimedia production responsibilities. Excellent written and verbal communication skills as well as working knowledge of MS Office required. Skills in desktop publishing and digital video editing software strongly preferred. Competitive salary based on experience plus benefits. Go to www.matteam.org for a full position description and instructions on how to apply.
*** Send your job opportunities to share with the YVNS network to lundquist989@cs.com.
*** Your Very Next Step is a service of the Job of the Week Network LLC
© 2013 The Job of the Week Network LLC
Edward Lundquist, ABC –
Editor and Publisher
Your Very Next Step
7813 Richfield Road
Springfield, VA 22153
Home office phone: (703) 455-7661
lundquist989@cs.com
www.nedsjotw.com
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