On February 28th the weather was incredible, and so was our turnout - with 'over' fifty (50) volunteers. Below you'll see some of our youngest volunteers and their families. Cub Scout Pack #1 was our featured group. Having so many volunteers was challenging to manage, but it went really well. We got a great deal done and I believe that our scouts had fun. Unfortunately we didn't have time to take as many photos as we would have liked...
Pictured below is our crew leader, Jerry Granahan. He is giving instructions to some of our volunteers, while in the background others are at work. What we're doing here is working on the connector trail that will connect the future parking area with our existing trails. We have almost completely defined the connector trail's routing.
This is the project that last year's Heart of the Park Fundraiser was supporting. It is a great project, one we are very excited about it - and it is going well. It is a major undertaking so ongoing financial support will be necessary. As was mention last post we'll be holding another fundraiser this year on National Trails Day.
It will be held on June 6th at 6:30 pm at Hillcrest Park. We will again have Jumbled Pie as our band. North Sound Brewing will provide the beer, with appetizers from Skagit Valley Food Coop. And there will be another raffle, again Skagit Cycle Center is providing the grand prize - a bicycle.
But let's get back to our session photos. In this third image (below) you can see Rick Levine with a Pulaski in hand. Roughing out a new trail is not easy...
Here another of our favorite core members (Maggie Sullivan) as she flashes a big smile at us.
Here Lyall Bishop (another regular), with his back to us, is hard at work.
And below are a few more shots of the boys and their families.
And below in our last photo is a special session that took place the following Sunday. Skagit Valley College's Wildland Fire Crew Training Class was at work on another trail, one that was recently approved. It will tie the mid-mountain area to the bicycle skills park. They were great, two groups - one in the morning and another in the afternoon.
This is a great program, Skagit Valley College and Steve Biggs (of DNR) are great partners. We need the help and they need hands-on experience. We sincerely appreciate their help!
At our next session (3/14) we plan to do more rockwork at the main gate. We are working on the area where the connector trail will cross the park access road, connecting to La-Z-Boy. We have capping to continue, and more work to do clearing deadfall and duff from the lower section of the new connector trail.
We expect two clubs from Skagit Valley College; the Outdoor Club and Veterans Club. We are pleased with the support we're seeing for this project. Like last session we'll meet and work at the main park entrance, right at the yellow gate. Jenny Sandbo will be providing our lunch. Thanks Jenny!