ALL TRAILS LEAD TO ICE CREAM

 Social distancing was introduced into the mainstream vocabulary over  the past ten months...but concept has been actively pursued and enjoyed by people who love to hike for as long as there have been trails to explore.  In 2020, my hiking boots traversed more trail than in any other year...just about 200 miles in total.  Those hiking miles due, in one part, to a pandemic and the want (and need) to be out in nature and, in another part, a personal goal that I had set for myself.   According to my Garmin stats, I have (up to this point in 2020) logged 40 hiking activities.  Math isn't my strong point...but that averages about 5 miles per hike. I'm pretty proud of that.  Looking back on the past year...I'm also pretty proud of these ten particular hikes.  Thank you to my friends and family who accompanied me on these adventures.  I hope that we continue to make some foot traffic together in the new year.  Enjoy. FAMILY AND FRIENDS HIK...

  Thomas Jefferson described Meriwether Lewis (Jefferson's personal secretary and man chosen to lead the Corps of Discovery) as having undaunted courage and "firmness and perseverance of purpose which nothing but impossibilities could divert from it's direction..."  I tell kids that Meriwether Lewis and William Clark were  ordinary people who did extraordinary things.  Their story is one of perseverance, determination, and courage.  For that reason, Lewis, Clark, and the Corps of Discovery has always been a favorite of my history students.  On a personal level, I enjoy the story of Lewis and Clark because it focuses on exploring, learning about, and enjoying the natural world around us.  There is a lot that we, over two hundred years later, can still learn from the Corps of Discovery.  Thanks, once again, to the good people at YOUR TRUE NATURE , those lessons can be learned through seven pieces of simple advice.  So here is my own personal t...