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Showing posts from June, 2017

#NoChildLeftInside

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Just a little less than a month ago I said goodbye to another group of history students .  My parting, end-of-the-school-year advice changes from year to year...but this year it seemed very relevant and well received.  I basically just reminded my students that they only have one life to live.  I asked them to make a commitment over the summer to go outside and watch life through their own eyes...not someone else's life through a screen.  I asked them to go outside and create their own story...don't sit and binge watch someone else's story on Netflix.  Just days after school let out I was completely stoked when I crossed paths with one of my students (on his bicycle) while I was riding Rocky Ridge with Chris Keller.  Personally, I love when parents of my students tag me in photos of super cool places they visit over summer break.  After a year of seemingly non-stop testing (tests, by the way, most adults would have trouble passing) it's great to see ...

OBSERVATIONS FROM OHIOPYLE

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Visiting Ohiopyle State Park is a tradition that spans generations in my family...and I'm so happy to be able to keep the tradition alive.  It's quite possibly one of the most beautiful State Parks in Pennsylvania .  There's no doubt in my mind that it is probably the most unique of our State Parks.  The beauty and uniqueness of Ohiopyle can be observed around every corner, between every rock, over every rapid, and on every trail.   After the riding up the most obnoxious hill ever...I took time to take in the view from just outside of Kentuck Campgrounds in Ohiopyle State Park -- June 15, 2017 Thursday morning I was relaxing on the banks of the Youghiogheny River  when I decided to stretch my legs, take a walk, and check out the visitor center located near the main falls which makes up the heart of the town.  As I toured the visitor center my attention drifted towards a t-shirt with the words ADVICE FROM OHIOPYLE  followed by seven short ...

BRAKING FOR THE SMALL THINGS

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Halfway down trail A at Swatara State Park , Matt stopped and pointed out that the fungus growing on a nearby tree was the same color as my florescent orange bike.  Naturally, I stopped to take a look and to take a picture (I obviously don't care about Strava segments).  Matt was right...it was darn near the same color.  I never would ever have believed that florescent orange could be found naturally...but there it was....growing on a tree.  That wasn't the last of the orange today.  Not too much further up the trail I nearly ran over my new friend....a florescent orange turtle sitting in the middle of the trail.  I'm not a biologist by trade (I leave that to Mark).  I've no clue what the name of the fungus is or what type of turtle it was that I saw.  I just think that it's super cool that, while pedaling among all the huge rocks and trees, I was able to take a moment to brake for a few of  the small things.  Cool. My 2016 Stumpju...

KEEPING THE TRADITION ALIVE

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It's become tradition for my wife and I to RETURN TO ROCKY GAP State Park near Cumberland, Maryland every Memorial Day weekend.  The park holds special meaning for me because my mother and father would take my brother, Jake, and me there to camp when we were kids.  It's a beautiful place and it's the one of the few trips that Robin and I take that has traditionally just been the two of us.  It's a great place for us to connect and enjoy each other's company.   Hiking around Lake Habeeb at Rocky Gap State Park -- May 27, 2017 This year, however, to keep the tradition alive a few things would have to change.  Robin and I always book the weekend a year in advance in order to secure a camping spot for the holiday weekend..which leaves open the possibility for life to throw in a few curve balls.  Not that the curve balls that came our way this year were bad (actually, quite the opposite)...they just forced us to adapt.  So...on Friday afternoon,...