October 19, 2001
Greetings Texas Trails!
Well, all the planning, meetings, and phone calls are just about over and it’s time for all of us to get together for one fantastic weekend at Fossil Rim Wildlife Center!
I want to thank each of you for participating in the third Texas Trails Network trails building conference titled Building Great Texas Trails! Your continued interest in trail building and trail advocacy help support the mission of the Texas Trails Network.
The following are several things that you should know about preparing for next weekend. After reading through them all, if you still have questions, please give me a call at 817-410-3121 or email me at . We at TTN look forward to seeing you.
DIRECTIONS TO FOSSIL RIM - See the attached map. For more detailed information call Fossil Rim at 254-897-2960 or visit their website at www.fossilrim.org.
WHEN TO BE THERE – TTN staff will be there ready to accept delegates at 1 PM Friday. This will be when the Outdoor Skills Workshops will begin (basically some pre-cons, see agenda on next page). We will be taking late registrations and assigning cabins during this time.
WHAT TO BRING – As this is an outdoor setting bring appropriate outdoor clothing (Leave the ties and dresses at home!). In addition to your day clothes, it is recommended to bring a hat, sun screen, water bottle, work gloves, and work shoes. In additional to the above items if you have any of the following they will come in handy: safety glasses, trail work tools of any kind i.e. hoes, shovels, axes, picks, rakes, pry bars, pruning shears, lopper’s, bow saw, pole saw, sledge hammer, wheel barrow, tamping tool, level, cordless ? inch drill, tape measure, twine, or any other outdoor trail building tool that you might think of.
Other items of interest that you might like to bring: binoculars, telescopes, video camera, bicycles, fly rod, still cameras, late night snacks, wave machine, and any necessities from home.
For the sleeping quarters you will need the following: sheets (twin or whatever), pillow, blanket, and your teddy bear. The cabins are set up with 7 bunk beds per each. There will be male cabins and female cabins, not purpling! Be sure and bring toiletries, towels, flip-flops, and sleep wear. Anything else is up to you.
WHAT WE WILL DO – The agenda will be based on the following schedule, but don’t hold me to it!
Friday
1:00 Early arrival and registration / check in cabins
1:00-5:00 OUTDOOR SKILLS WORKSHOPS
Mountain Bike Tour
Dinosaur Valley Park Guided Tour
Nature Photography Seminar
Fly Fishing Seminar
(These sessions must have a minimum of 4 delegates to be held)
(There will be 2 two hour sessions for each class, please notify Joe Moore which class if any that you will be attending by email or phone)
5:30 Welcome to Fossil Rim.
6:00 Italian buffet dinner begins
6:30 Session l-Greetings/Why we are here /TTN overview
7:15 Session II The Great Texas Trail
8:15 Session III Building a Texas Wildflower Trail
9:00 Session IV Facilitated session on the National TRAILS Conference
9:45 Star Watch at Conservation Camp Observatory
Saturday
7:00 Birding / Nature Hikes
7:45 Breakfast at Overlook
8:30 Session V Trail Design
9:30 Break
10:30 Session Vl Trail maintenance
11:30 Session Vll Trail maintenance
12:30 Lunch
1:30 Session VIII Tool Safety Hands-On
2:00 Trail Work/ WildlifeTour [50/50]
6:00 Cleanup/Drinks at Overlook – CASH BAR
6:45 Dinner
7:30 Living Texas Performance
8:30 Live Music and Dancing till 11PM
Sunday
7:00 Earth Blessing/Native AmericanTraditions Chuckwagon Breakfast
8:45 Session IX Trail System Success Stories
9:45 Session X BUILDING a Friends Group
I0:45 Session XI Abilene/Tx Trail Tour - Closing Remarks
Happy Trails
Now just in case this isn’t enough information, go back to the first page of this letter and contact me. If you need to get in touch with me after I have left the office Thursday afternoon, I can be reached on my cell phone at 817-999-4108. I am really excited about this weekend and can’t wait to see you all!
See you on down the trail! Joe Moore, TTN