Passport to Texas

Texas Outdoor Family Weekend: Learning to Kayak

Recreation: Updating Outdated Camping Skills Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Which outdoor skills can make your next overnight camping experience successful?

04—The basics: how to put up a tent, how to get the stove going, or how to light a campfire.

When those skills are rusty, Robert Owen says people are reluctant to take their families camping. But that’s not the only reason some folks shy away from this outdoor activity.

17—Well, they’re not sure if their family is going to be interested in spending money on a tent and camping equipment just to find out maybe it’s not for them. Or time? A lot of folks think they don’t have the time to plan a weekend camping trip. Additionally, some folks just don’t have the confidence in getting outside.

That’s why Owen recommends Texas Outdoor Family Workshops. He oversees the program.

10—Texas Outdoor Families is a skills based program for families that want to get outdoors and want to get back into the hobby of camping, but for some reason it’s been left behind in their past.

A weekend workshop for up to six people costs $65, and Texas Outdoor Family supplies most everything campers need – including staff. More on that tomorrow.

That’s our show… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Running at Cedar Hill State Park

Recreation: Training for the Day One Trail Run Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Circle January 1, 2014 on your calendar for the start of a new tradition: Cedar Hill State Park’s Day One Trail Run.

18—We’ve got a huge crowd in Dallas of people that are very fit, they’re very active. And they’re huge fans of state parks. So, we figured that we would just put those things together and give them a chance to come out here if they want to do a little bit more than just hiking on January first. Start off their New Year with a good race.

Jeff Achée [uh-SHAY], from Cedar Hill SP says the event takes First Day Hikes—that occur January 1 in state parks across the US—to a new level, with 20K and 5K races.

Early registration is currently underway at Day One Trail Run dot com. You can also sign up for their newsletter, which will give out of practice or new runners a big advantage on race day.

23—Well, what we’re going to get going here pretty soon is a training plan. So, if you subscribe to that newsletter, you’ll have news about the race. We’ll be mapping out the course here pretty soon, so you can get a GPS map of the course. We’re also going to be working with a trainer. Maybe if you are new to running, you don’t have a training plan set for yourself, we’re going to have a 20K and 5K training plan so that you can follow those and work your way into these races.

Find registration and fee information, and newsletter sign up at DayOneTrailRun.com.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Cedar Hill State Park

Recreation: Day One Trail Run Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

You know about first day hikes; it’s where people spend the first day of the New Year hiking the trails in state parks nationwide. If you’d rather pick up the pace, then Cedar Hill State Park’s Day One Trail Run is for you.

09—The Day One Trail Run is our way of taking the first day hikes that America’s state parks has done every year for a while now to the next level.

Jeff Achée [uh-SHAY], from Cedar Hill SP, is helping to coordinate the event, which includes 20K and 5K races.

31—We have got a 3, and 8, and 12 mile hike and bike loop here. And it’s run by DORBA, which is the Dallas Off Road Biking Association. So, what we’re going to do is have the 5K run the 3-mile loop, and the 20K is going to run the 12-mile loop. And there’ll be some going in and out of the access roads and things like that so we can get some aid stations in there. But basically, our park is set up perfectly for these two distances. They’re going to go through the woods; they’re going to go on the lakeside prairies of the park. It’s just going to be an awesome race.

Early registration for the Day One Trail Run at Cedar Hill SP has already begun. Find details and registration fee information at Day One Trail Run dot com.

We’ll have more about this race tomorrow.

That’s our show for today… Funding provided in part by Ram Trucks. Guts. Glory. Ram.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Toni Brown, Texas Parks and Wildlife

Recreation: Toni Brown Goes Geocahing Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Toni Brown is a systems analyst with Texas Parks and Wildlife, and she has a condition called Asperger’s syndrome, which is an autism spectrum disorder.

07— With Asperger’s syndrome, you don’t understand people and people don’t understand you. You know, you just don’t fit in.

Brown says her condition led her to live a secluded life. Until, that is, she discovered geocaching.

16— And so it was with geocaching that I was able to get out in the world; you know, I was able to have fun, and meet other geocachers who had the same interests that I did – because we all had this love of geocaching. So now I fit in somewhere. It’s just made it so much better. It’s fulfilled my life more.

Geocaching is like a treasure hunt that uses GPS coordinates to find hidden prizes. Brown says geocaching opened up new doors and new friendships she once thought impossible.

12— You know, I used to go to work and go home; and now I look forward to getting outside. It’s not just about finding a box. I met all these other geocachers, and that’s when I found out how much fun it could be.

Toni Brown is living proof that Life’s Better Outside.

That’s our show…with funding provided by Chevrolet, supporting outdoor recreation in Texas; because there’s life to be done.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

No one holds a candle to Texas State Park volunteers

State Parks: Volunteering at Parks Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Texas State Parks rely heavily on volunteers.

07—Over the last several years it’s been pretty consistent; we clock about six hundred thousand hours of volunteer time.

And that’s just manual labor, says Lori Reiley, state park volunteer coordinator. Those 600-thousand volunteer hours translate into big savings for state parks.

06— Our volunteers make up about a third of our workforce. So, we really couldn’t function as well without them.

Volunteers do everything from mowing lawns and scrubbing toilets to taking entrance fees and leading interpretive programs. Reiley says state parks encourage and welcome new volunteers.

16—We could always use their help. And while we get the occasional civic organization or nonprofit that wants to volunteer for service projects, we really could always use more individuals just on a regular basis to come out and volunteer in the parks.

Find out how you can volunteer at state parks on the Texas parks and Wildlife website.

That’s our show for today…with funding provided by Chevrolet, supporting outdoor recreation in Texas; because there’s life to be done.

We record our series at the Block House in Austin; Joel Block engineers our program.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.