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NOVEMBER
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Meeting
The November meeting will be on Thursday, November 5th at the Community Center starting at 6:30 p.m.
The program will be a presentation on the Grand Canyon assembled by Ed Funk who has hiked the Grand Canyon eight times. Merlin Wheeler will begin the presentation with a brief explanation of the Grand Canyon geology. This will be followed by a ten minute, four-part PowerPoint show on the human endeavor, Canyon plants, Canyon waters, and Canyon vistas. John Graves will be playing a piano accompaniment that he assembled for the presentation. NOTE: The pictures on this presentation have been taken by published photographers.
Refreshments will be provided by: Fred Reese, Margaret Kleiner, Bob Milford, Kari Plante, and Carolyn Warszawski.
Don't forget money for the Education Fund Raffle.
Tickets are $5 for 7 or $1 for one.
Up for grabs:
Next Door - surprise, don't know what it is yet, but it will be good!
Overlook Spa - Day Pass
Desperate Housewives Board Game
Half the Cash
Up for grabs:
Next Door - surprise, don't know what it is yet, but it will be good!
Overlook Spa - Day Pass
Desperate Housewives Board Game
Half the Cash
Proceeds benefit Pagosa senior students going to college as well as younger students studying nature and conservation and learning outdoor sports and skills.
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PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
The snow has started to fall and Wolf Creek opens this weekend, so it's looks to be a good winter. The Ski Swap was a tremendous success last weekend and the comments from the vendors and shoppers overwhelmingly supported the move to the Community Center. The preliminary numbers show sales in excess of $22,000 and the Bake sale took in over $500. This money goes back into the general fund for use totally in support of our members. The girls deserve a lot of credit for putting on a festive and tasty bake sale that really adds to the overall fun of the swap. I'm really proud to be part of a group of volunteers that worked together and had fun with such a huge effort. The scholarship fund will profit and the community was well served. There were way too many people involved to thank individually but congratulations to everyone involved for a job very well done.
See you on the slopes, Barry
See you on the slopes, Barry
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UPCOMING ACTIVITIES
The Calendar of Activities can be found on the sidebar under "Useful Links". Click on any activity to get all the details.
Please remember to check the Calendar several times a month, things will get posted during the month just a week or two before the activity. You don't want to miss out!
So far for Nov., we will have our first easy snowshoe on Sat., Nov 21st led by Gregg Howard, bowling on the 18th, and the Thursday morning ladies walk / coffee ( which will turn into snowshoeing or XC skiing when conditions dictate).
Take special notice of the Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser hosted by SJOC on Friday, Nov. 6th from 6-8pm at the Pagosa Youth Club. Proceeds will benefit the Wolf Creek Race Team.
Also, note that, per Jean the Queen of Clean, there will be no highway trash pickup during Nov.
FESTIVAL of TREES
The SJOC entry for the Festival of Trees needs your help. We will have a box at the November 5 meeting to collect donated ornaments for the tree. They can be used (if in good condition) or hand crafted or store bought. The ornaments need to reflect the outdoors, outdoor activities or nature. For those of you with crafting skills, we would love to have your handmade ornaments which would make the tree unique.
We want to encourage our SJOC membership to bid on the tree. Our charity has not been confirmed yet but will most likely be the SJOC Education fund – tax deductible. Just think -- no hassle to pull out tree and ornaments. If you’re the winning bidder, your tree will be delivered on December 5 and you can enjoy it for the remainder of the holiday season. Plus, it is a pre-lit artificial tree and can be used for many seasons to come.
The SJOC tree will be on display along with the other entrants during our SJOC Christmas party on December 3. Please plan to attend the Festival of Trees party and auction on Friday, December 4, from 6pm-8:30pm and bid on the SJOC tree. The evening will include catered hors d’oeuvres, cash bar and music. Dress for the season and the cost is only $10/person.
Pagosa Nordic Ski Club
In the sidebar under "Useful Links" you will find a new link to the Pagosa Nordic Club's website.
If you like to cross country ski, this is the site for you. It has trail maps for the different areas that will be groomed this season and it will tell you when each one has been groomed. Even though they do this for free, I'm sure they would welcome new members and donations to help with the expense. Check it out!
Helping Hands
If you like to cross country ski, this is the site for you. It has trail maps for the different areas that will be groomed this season and it will tell you when each one has been groomed. Even though they do this for free, I'm sure they would welcome new members and donations to help with the expense. Check it out!
Helping Hands
Get in the Holiday Spirit.
At the December meeting, we will be collecting donations for Helping Hands. I believe you can get all the details at City Market. Joyce will also give details at the Nov. meeting. What a great way to help those that are less fortunate. Remember, the greatest joy is in giving!
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OCTOBER MEETING
Brian Swett gave a fantastic presentation on climbing Mt. McKinley in Denali National Park.
All eyes are on Brian.
The lucky raffle winners.
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OCTOBER ACTIVITIES
SKI SWAP
Our annual Ski Swap was held Oct. 24th at the Community Center. Check out the President's Message for the results.
Our annual Ski Swap was held Oct. 24th at the Community Center. Check out the President's Message for the results.
Anne and Donna manning the bake sale table loaded with delicious treats.
Yummy cookies donated by The Floured Apron Bakery
And the rush is on to find the perfect gear at a fantastic price
Lots of skis and boots
At the check out counter - skis for everyone
Just rewards for some of the volunteers. Nothing like relaxing by the lake with a great beverage.
PAGOSA PEDALERS
The Monday bike group enjoyed a colorful, but cool ride along Monument Park Road and then out through the forest to the backcountry hut. A few snowflakes occasionally drifted through the air and the fall colors were still pretty. All in all it was a good workout and hopes for making it a loop ride back to the Turkey Springs Hut were discussed.
It's all downhill now.
Monument Park Hut
Rolling along, enjoying the fall colors.
GRAND CANYON BACKPACK
Once again, David and Shirley Hunter led a fantastic trip into the Grand Canyon. Joining them were Jim and Jean Scott, Marvin Sacks, Susan Milford, Betsy Cotton and Judy Aswell, (Betsy's friend from Texas).
This was a 5 day trip - down the Boucher Trail, across the Tonto Trail, and back up the Hermit Trail.
The Boucher Trail is not maintained and was quite challenging.
The first night, we camped on Yuma Point and had really strong winds with gusts up to 60mph (according to Park Rangers). The Scott's tent collapsed, the Hunters got bent tent poles and a hole in their rat sack (from being blown against a tree limb), and Betsy got a hole in her tent (from being blown against a rock all night). Needless to say, there wasn't much sleep going on that first night. The weather improved the next day and was pretty darn good until the last night when it started raining. We packed up our wet stuff and headed out at first light. It continued to rain off and on all day with a little hail and lightning thrown in for fun. We did get to see some georgeous rainbows - making it all worth it. The scenery the rest of the time wasn't too shabby either. A good time was had by all.
Here we go, heading on to the Boucher Trail.
Our campsite on Yuma Point, little did we know what the wind had in store for us .
Shirley, working her magic on Jim's tent.
Marvin, with the best camp hair.
Betsy and Judy at Boucher Rapids. Still friends, even though Judy thinks Betsy lied about the difficulty of the trip.
Relaxing on Hermit Creek below our campsite
Group shot on the Tonto Trail.
Another shot along the Tonto Trail.
Looking down on the River from the Tonto Trail.
One of the spectacular rainbows we saw while hiking the Hermit Trail.
Another shot of the rainbow - look real close and you can see the full moon right behind the rainbow ( toward the left side).
That's It!!!!!
Hope to see ya outside - in the snow
