DOLAN SPRINGS TRAILS NEWSLETTER – SPRING 2015
www.dolanspringstrails.com

Dolan Springs Trail System


NEW BOARD OF DIRECTORS:

On January 14th, the new board of directors was sworn in by Jean Bishop, the Mohave County Suvervisor for District 4. After the ceremony, there was a delicious potluck dinner followed by a motivational presentation by Shawn Blackburn, the Mohave County Parks Director, who was our guest speaker. The new Dolan Springs Trail System Board of Directors for 2015 is as follows:

Sue Baughman – President: Sue "Itchy Foot", a retired Marine and resident since 1980, founded our trail system of 480 acres in 2008. Her passion for the great outdoors motivates many to go and explore all of the great trails here in Dolan Springs and in nearby towns. Sue is also the Honorary Mayor of Dolan Springs.

Gary Wilson – Vice President: A Utah native has lived in Dolan Springs since 2001. He is a former president of the Dolan Springs Chamber of Commerce and the currect president of the local branch of the Church of Latter Day Saints. Gary is an inventor, has four kids, loves hiking and the outdoors, and is actively involved in the local Boy Scouts oganization.

Marie Hedrick – Treasurer: Marie, Sue's Mom, moved here reluctantly from Indiana in 1979 to follow her husband's dream. When she was able to move back 15 years ago, Marie found that she had become a native and decided to stay. In addition to looking after our group's finances, she is an artist whose pictures are inspired by the local landscape.

Tina Miller-Ayers – Secretary: Tina moved here about a year ago after retiring as a Probation Officer in Spokane, WA. Tina got tired of dealing with all the snow so decided to move to Dolan Springs where she has a close cousin.

Jeffrey Weinberg: An artist and architect, grew up in Orange County, CA and moved here with his wife Gloria, a year ago from Las Vegas. His artwork consisting of found-art assemblages, roadside architecture, vintage cars and gas stations is on display at various locations around town. Jeffrey, an avid hiker and nature enthusiast, has redrawn and re-mapped our local hiking trails.

Ian G: A native of South Africa, moved here from Atlanta about 2 years ago looking for a healthier lifestyle. Ian worked as a Software Engineer for a start-up company before taking early retirement. He is enjoying the quiet desert beauty and slower pace of life.


A BYLINE FROM ITCHYFOOT:

Welcome members and interested parties to the first newsletter by the Dolan Springs Trails System. First off I want to thank Ian Greenberg for writing this.

We have come a long way since August 2008 when the Bureau of Land Management and Mohave County signed the trail right agreement. Our first trail was started by Volunteers for Outdoor Arizona on February 2009. Since then we have had local volunteers, three Eagle Scout projects, three Volunteer Vacations, prisoners from the Management Training Center in Kingman, AZ. and community service volunteers. We have 7½ miles of trails.

Our group sponsors National Trails Day with the Mt. Tipton School, this will be our 15th year, each year taking a different class. We are currently working on our third grant, which is the largest and will include a vault toilet, a new trail map, benches and new carinated signs to include GPS data. We also have 2 Geo Caches.

All of this could not have been accomplished without the help of Cate Bradley at NPS, River Trails Conservation Assistance Program, Bureau of Land Management, Mohave County, also, my MOM - my sounding board; Jeffrey Weinberg, our map maker; Gloria Stein, our cookbook chair person; A special thanks goes to Ian Greenberg, Denver Steinmetz and Lynn Rosati for putting us in the technology era.

And I would be amiss if I didn’t give thanks to our members T. Schroeder, Lyn Warner and David Tobin who are now building “TRAILS ABOVE".


SPRING EQUINOX CELEBRATION:

On March 20th, Gloria Stein led us in a heartwarming ceremony at the meditation circle to celebrate the coming of spring. The ceremony was festive, everyone choosing a musical instrument and sharing insights and stories about their lives and the change of seasons.

After the ceremony, everybody sat at the picnic table under the ramada and shared some delicious food and drink while enjoying the beautiful spring weather.


WHAT MAKES DOLAN SPRINGS SPECIAL?:

I have asked many people what they like best about living in Dolan Springs and the replies are varied and interesting like: beautiful desert scenery, low cost of living, mild winters, friendly people, healthy living, proximity to Las Vegas, great community and tranquility.

For me, it's a sense of acceptance, no one cares where you're from or what you look like, you are part of the community simply because you live here. Could be the friendliest small town in the country. This feeling of community can be felt in every aspect of life here like: the waitress that remembers your name, the cashier that takes time to ask you how you are doing, the barber that makes house calls and the librarian that takes an interest in your life as well as what you are reading. In the city, I was always told to be quiet in the library, but like everywhere else in town meeting, greeting and socializing is always encouraged. 

Every year there are community events that bring people together like the Loyalty Day parade, Dolan "Daze", Easter Sunrise services, Equinox/Solstice celebrations, potluck dinners, hikes and Christmas lunch at the community hall. 

The Trails Group provides a unique opportunity to hike and socialize with like-minded people while making Dolan Springs better by providing trails as good as any you would find in larger cities. Being part of the group, members are able to contribute in many ways, like fundraising, trail work, taking pictures, providing computer skills and writing grants.


EARTHING:

Throughout history humans walked barefoot and slept on the ground. But our modern lifestyle, including the widespread use of insulative rubber or plastic-soled shoes, has disconnected us from the Earth’s energy and, of course, we no longer sleep on the ground. Fascinating new research has raised the possibility that this disconnect may actually contribute to chronic pain, fatigue, and poor sleep that plague so many people.

You can’t see the Earth’s energy but some people can feel it as a warm, tingling, and pleasant sensation when they are out walking barefoot along the water’s edge at the beach or on a stretch of dew-moistened grass. 

The remedy for the disconnect is simple, stand barefoot on the ground for 20 minutes a day (please be careful, this is the desert!). This simple practice is called Earthing, also known as Grounding or getting your "vitamin G" from mother earth. The soft sand under the bench at the Meditation Circle is the perfect place for getting grounded.

For more information, read the book "Earthing: The Most Important Health Discovery Ever?" by Clinton Ober, Stephen Sinatra, M.D. & Martin Zucker. The book and earthing products are available at www.earthing.com.


NATIONAL TRAILS DAY:

American Hiking Society’s National Trails Day®, the largest annual trails celebration is scheduled for Saturday, June 6, 2015, and promises to deliver a wide variety of outdoor activities for the public to enjoy. Now in its 23rd consecutive year, National Trails Day challenges the public to explore nearby trails, to engage in outdoor recreation activities like hiking or horseback riding, to learn new outdoor skills, and to support the volunteer efforts of trail organizations. Many National Trails Day events are family-oriented and offer attendees a tempered introduction to a new set of activities and recreation destinations.

Last year, activities at thousands of sites attracted more than 140,000 Americans to participate in the National Trails Day festivities. Participants hiked, biked, paddled and volunteered at more than 2,000 registered events in all fifty states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Canada.

Here in Dolan Springs, we celebrate by taking students from the Mt. Tipton school on an educational hike on one of our local trails as well as a hike for our members on the Sue B Loop.


TRAILS COOKBOOK:

Gloria Stein is hard at work on a cookbook, showcasing cuisine from diverse ethnic and global backgrounds. Gloria needs to collect at least 150 recipes, so if you have a favorite, please send it it her by the end of April to be included in the book. The book will be on sale in Dolan Springs by early fall.


GROW YOUR JOY:

Following is a summary of a column by Lauretta Hannon, a native of Georgia, on increasing your joy:


TECHNOLOGY UPDATE:

We now have 3 ways to stay in contact with our group: 

Visit our website at www.dolanspringstrails.com, like us on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/dolanspringstrails or join our google group to get regular email updates of our activities by going to https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/dstrails and clicking on the "join group" button.


UPCOMING EVENTS:

April 5th – Easter Sunrise Services (15th st ramada at 6am)
April 8th – Monthly Trails Meeting
May 2nd – Loyalty Day parade
May 13th – Monthly Trails Meeting
June 6th – National Trails Day
June 10th – Monthly Trails Meeting
June 20st – Summer Solstice celebration


CARTOON:

Dolan Springs Trail System

Cartoon by Jeffrey Weinberg
 


Copyright 2015 – Dolan Springs Trails Group, www.dolanspringstrails.com