Lone Star Travelers Blog » Volunteering

The Cowtown Marathon, Fort Worth Texas

joanie7 — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 04:31:15 +0000

The 32nd annual Cowtown Marathon takes place in Fort Worth, Texas on Saturday February 25th, 2010. More than 18,000 people are expected to participate in the marathon, half marathon, 50K ultra marathon, 10K, adult 5K and the kid’s 5K. This year the number of runners will be limited in the marathon, half marathon and 50K ultra marathon. There will be no race day registration so register in advance on-line or in person. Registration fees range from $20-$110 depending on the race you wish to run in and the date of your registration. The earlier the better! You will be issued a timing chip to record your race time. The Cowtown Marathon is a certified race in respect to qualification for other races such as the Boston Marathon. This multi-race event for adults and children promotes community health and wellness to Texans through the non profit Cowtown organization. If you would like to volunteer at the Cowntown Marathon call the volunteer hotline at 817-735-2033. A related event on this same weekend is the Health and Fitness Expo held downtown at Sundance Square’s Chisholm Trail Lot in the big tent on Friday and Saturday February 26th and 27th, 2010. www.cowtownmarathon.org

Leaving Fort McKavett

joanie7 — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 18:33:59 +0000

We are winding up our two month stay at Fort McKavett State Historic Site on the edge of the beautiful Texas Hill Country this weekend and heading back to the Dallas area for Thanksgiving with family. It has been a great two month stay at the fort. As resident volunteers we have helped inventory the fort library, catalogue blueprints, and have led visitors on tours of the re-furnished buildings at the fort. We have learned a lot of the history of this fort and have shared stories of the people, both soldiers and civilians of this 1800′s frontier fort. We have enjoyed assisting the staff at Fort McKavett, and have great admiration for this group of people who are preserving Texas history for all of us and future generations.

Petrified Forest National Park Volunteer Training

joanie7 — Thu, 22 May 2008 16:17:40 +0000

Yesterday we completed training at Petrified Forest National Park and will now settle into a regular schedule as volunteers for the National Park Service here. The last day of training was “program training.” We accompanied one of the interpretive rangers for the day as she presented programs to the visitors in three different locations. They were Puerco Pueblo, Painted Desert Inn and Crystal Forest. At the end of the day we were given an outline and information on how to prepare and present our own programs. We have a lot more information coming about this beautiful park and lots of pictures to post.

Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site

joanie7 — Thu, 15 May 2008 21:09:27 +0000

Visit our Hubbell Trading Post Photo Gallery

Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site located on the Navajo Reservation in northeastern Arizona is the oldest continuously operating trading post in the Navajo Nation. An approximate 45 minute drive from our summer home as volunteers at Petrified Forest National Park we decided to make a day trip on Saturday May 10th and visit Hubbell Trading Post and Canyon de Chelly. John Lorenzo Hubbell, born in 1853 was the son of a Connecticut Yankee who went to New Mexico as a soldier then married into a family of Spanish descent. He became a trader and for half a century was also a respected, trusted friend to the Navajo people. He learned their ways and language. In 1876 he began trading Navajo blankets, wool, sheep pelts and silver jewelry for groceries, tobacco, tools and cloth. At one time he had an empire of 30 trading posts. Hubbell’s goal was to make money. He believed that if he prospered the Navajo would as well. When a small pox epidemic swept the reservation in 1886 he cared for the sick and dying, using his own home as a hospital. The Navajo traveled long distances to trade and socialize at the Hubbell Trading Post. The main trading area, called the bullpen, stands much as it did 100 years ago. The Hubbell home is opened for ranger led tours and is a treasure trove of rare books, paintings photographs and rare antiques as well as Navajo rugs, baskets and memorabilia. Don Lorenzo as he came to be known provided free room and board to the many important people who passed through this area including former President Theodore Roosevelt. John Lorenzo Hubbell died in 1930 at the age of 77. He is buried on “Hubbell Hill” with his wife and closest Navajo friend. Following Navajo custom his grave is unmarked. The National Park Service has a visitor center here. A booklet for a self-guided tour of the grounds is available.

Visit our Hubbell Trading Post Photo Gallery

Petrified Forest National Park Volunteer Training

joanie7 — Fri, 09 May 2008 23:50:27 +0000

We have completed our first week of training at Petrified Forest National Park and Painted Desert. Internet access has not been readily available until now so I am back and from now on should be posting regularly. We have had 5 days of training and now are in the middle of 3 days off. The first day of training was a brief orientation, a little bit of paperwork and then we were off for the day in a government vehicle with one other volunteer who is training with us to explore the park. The second day was in a conference room with the supervisor ranger and 5 staff members including we three volunteers mainly going over rules and regulations. The third and fourth day consisted of training in the Painted Desert Visitor Center and the fifth day training at the Painted Desert Inn. As I learn more here at Petrified Forest National Park I will blog in detail about the various features of this park. We will also be posting lots of pictures and a photo gallery so everyone may see how beautiful a park this is.

Tucumcari The Gateway to New Mexico

joanie7 — Sat, 03 May 2008 23:48:30 +0000

Although we have arrived at Petrified Forest National Park and will begin working our volunteer positions tomorrow I want to digress on this posting back to our driving trip from our home outside of Dallas Texas, through New Mexico and on to Arizona to let any readers know who may be driving out west this summer of the opportunity to camp for free at the San Jon Municipal Park just east of the town of Tucumcari. It will be dry camping in a large flat parking lot overlooking the park which does offer covered picnic tables and a little shade. Tucumcari itself does have 6 RV Parks including a KOA. Nearby the next town driving west is Santa Rosa offering just one RV Park,a Good Sam at exit 277. This is important to know because there is no more camping until you arrive in Albuquerque more than 100 miles away.

Petrified Forest National Park

joanie7 — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 19:53:07 +0000

We arrived at Petrified Forest National Park midday on Monday. We are now settled into our RV spot for the summer and will begin a two week training period on Saturday for our volunteer jobs with the National Park Service. So that means this whole week is “off” and playtime. The RV area consists of 6 spots. 4 others are currently occupied but 2 are about to leave. A cold front has approached Northern Arizona with high winds and gusts of up to 50 mph ahead of the front so we really haven’t explored the park yet. Our training consists of two weeks of four (8-hour) days orienting to the park with 3 consecutive days off together. After that we will be on the sked 4 days on/3 days off but only one of us needs to go to work. I say whoever DOESN’T work needs to have dinner ready at 6PM. I think that means Bob may work most of the shifts?? Maybe.

We arrived in Amarillo

Bob — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 03:32:34 +0000

It’s a pleasant drive once you get out of the madness of Dallas and Fort Worth. Uneventful until we ran into some rain about an hour east of Amarillo. We checked into our RV Park just before the winds gusted up to 40-50 miles per hour. Not unusual for the Texas Panhandle at this time of year. We will be on the road tomorrow morning for day 2 in this road trip on the way to our volunteer jobs with Petrified Forest National Park and Painted Desert in Northern Arizona. No pictures tonight due to the stormy weather.

On the way to Petrified Forest National Park and Painted Desert

joanie7 — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 19:13:04 +0000

Tomorrow is the day we leave for our summer volunteer position with the National Park Service at Petrified Forest National Park in Northern Arizona. The first leg of the trip is 359 miles from home in Dallas Texas to Amarillo Texas. We are headed for the Overnite RV Park right outside Amarillo. This is the best park ever if you travel with your dogs. You may request a campsite with a dog corral that is just for your use. There is no extra charge just call and ask them to reserve a site with the dog pen. For a roadside RV park this is a pleasant and fairly quiet place to spend the night. I will try to get some pictures tomorrow night of that wide open West Texas sky.

Rainbow Bridge at Lake Powell

joanie7 — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 18:29:42 +0000

Visit our Rainbow Bridge Photo Gallery

“How do I get to Rainbow Bridge?” This was a question we answered many times as volunteers with the National Park Service at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. There are two ways you can get to Rainbow Bridge while you are visiting Lake Powell.

Most people journey the 50 miles up lake to Rainbow Bridge by boat, either your own or a tour boat. If you go on your own be sure you have a map of the lake. You can purchase one at the Carl Hayden Visitor Center at Glen Canyon Dam. If you wish to go on the tour boat it is an all day trip leaving from the Wahweap Marina at Lake Powell Resort 5 miles north of the dam. It is an approximate 3 hour cruise to Rainbow Bridge, the largest natural bridge in the world. You will have an hour and a half to hike the 2 1/2 mile round trip from the floating dock to view the bridge, an incredible site at 290 feet high with a span of 275 feet. Many Native Americans consider Rainbow Bridge to be sacred and ask that you are respectful and do not approach too closely.
The other way to get to Rainbow Bridge is to follow in the footsteps of the early explorers and hike the 28 mile round trip from the Navajo Mountain Trading Post to Rainbow Bridge. A permit is required from the Navajo Tribe. You must carry food and water for the two day trek out and the two day trek back plus carry out what you pack in. An alternative is to hike out and make arrangements for a ride on the tour boat back to Wahweap Marina. Note: Please see my posts archived in the Glen Canyon section of this blog and visit our website for photos and more suggestions of things to do while you are visiting the Lake Powell area.