I’m yearning to take an all girls long weekend break. I admit, I’ve never done this before, but when I heard about Wintermoon Summersun Adventures in Brimson, Minnesota, I made it my goal to recruit three girlfriends and my two daughters and see if we could all agree on one weekend, not a small feat, where we would get together, have fun, and learn how to mush.
“I went on a weekend’s dogsledding adventure and fell in love with the dogs, the outdoors, and bonding with the women,” says sled dog breeder and trainer Kathleen Anderson. “That was 20 years ago and I was 37 and aware that I had slowly been changing my life, but I had no intention of owning 37 dogs and running trips for women!
“I think it’s important to try some activities that take us out of our comfort zone. I know I wasn’t encouraged to participate in sports growing up, but I really enjoy and benefit from physical activity that enables me to push myself and take risks in a safe and supported way,” continues Anderson. “When women take risks, the experience transfers into other parts of their lives.”
The 37 Alaskan huskies are part of a team working together and they respond to verbal commands, which I can’t say about many of the people I know. As you can imagine, guests develop an immediate bond and rapport with the dogs. It’s really neat to connect with another species and have that respect and total involvement with each other. Part of the experience at Wintermoon Summersun is learning how to mush but everyone also helps with the care of the dog team: watering, feeding, hooking the dogs up to the gangline, and driving the sled.
All guests stay in the home Anderson built herself, totally off the grid with solar power, wood heat, an organic garden, and a Finnish sauna for bathing. I thought the hardest part would be finding a weekend to fit everyone’s schedules and coordinating flights, arrivals and departures. I was surprised when my first girlfriend I invited said no, the trip didn’t appeal to her. My daughter lifted my spirits by responding to the invitation, “Way to go Mom! This sounds great!” I believe sharing this environment and the joy of mushing with my daughters and friends will be a fantastic winter weekend getaway and an experience none of us will ever forget.

Wintermoon Summersun Adventures (3388 Petrell Rd., Brimson, MN 55602; www.wintermoonsummersun.com; wintermoon@brimson.com;

The greatest part of traveling is the people I meet. When I was in New York, I met Amy Pedersen, from Atlanta. She’s a writer, I’m a writer, she immediately started telling me all about her brand new product, Slimpressions®, which is underwear.
I guess I looked like I needed some help. I had just been in Atlanta, and was about to tell her about this phenomenal restaurant I found there, The Flying Biscuit. Their friend green tomatoes are almost as good as mine.
But no, Amy wanted me to know more about her premium line of everyday shapewear, for sizes 2 – 22, designed to reconfigure women’s figures, specifically aimed at jelly bellies, arm flab and back fat. Amy then gave me a demonstration. She held her arms out straight on either side of her body and did a little wave action that reminded me of the Queen in her motorcade. One of Amy’s under arms jiggled and one didn’t. The unjiggly arm was covered in a Slimpression sleeve and the exposed arm was, well, exposed.
Next Amy (partially) unbuttoned her shirt and showed me her undergarment.
Doesn’t everyone make friends like this? “Here, watch me jiggle and now I’ll show you my underwear?” Undergarments, with sleeves, are called “The Haves,” sleevage plus cleavage control top, or “The Have Nots,” sleevage control without cleavage control — an open-front torso with a little pushup effect.
I said I had to have one. Amy is tall and thin. I’m not. I needed to know if Slimpressions would work for me because I definitely have a jelly belly, and arm flab. Somehow I’ve escaped the trauma of back fat, not to be confused with fat back.
I ordered a Have Not, and a Tanks a lot, which fits like a tank top but with a lot more support. There’s also Tanks a Little, but I figured I’d be better off with more, not less, of whatever there was to get.
I wore my new Tanks a Lot under a really cute t-shirt that is ordinarily too snug. I met a friend for a walk on the beach. The first thing she said to me was, “That’s such a cute t-shirt. I remember when you bought it.”
“Yes,” I replied oh so smugly, “but until today, I never wore it without a jacket because the glub around my midriff made me look like I was carrying around my own personal spare tire.” But all was smooth and lovely over my Slimpression, and no, I chose not to be as forthcoming as Amy had been with me. I did not show my friend my before and after jiggles or jelly belly.
The super bonus was that it reduced my bulk all the way around. I have a black linen shirt that I wear open over multi-colored tanks because it won’t button up. However, thanks to my tanks a lot, my black linen shirt actually buttons without my going on a diet.
The worst part of wearing the garment is taking it off. I made the mistake of standing in front of my bedroom mirror as I disrobed. The directions are to step in, slide up, and slim down. To take off, just step out of it. As I pulled the garment down, inch by inch, side by side, it was like releasing the Pillsbury dough boy from a can of biscuits. When everything’s in place, it’s just flab-u-less. And it rolls into a ball for easy packing and traveling.

Ever get tired of the same old, same old? Stir things up with a visit to the Fiddle & Dance Camp in Saugerties, New York. It’s an amazing place.
During the summer you can go there for a one week of Camp for all ages: intense music-making, dancing, eating, talking, laughing, communing with nature, and listening to some of the finest music around (www.ashokan.org). An enthused participant says, “Dance Camp is essentially about becoming part of a community.”
I’ve been thinking about Ashokan a lot with the spotlight this year on the original Woodstock Festival, the new movie “Taking Woodstock,” and the recently held 40th Anniversary celebration. Woodstock was not only about the sensational music, it was also about people coming together, uniting in love, peace and hope. Those vibes are very much alive in the Ashokan Fiddle and Dance Camp, only about ten minutes from the town of Woodstock.
After interviewing Jay Ungar and Molly Mason, performers, composers, and teachers specializing in 19th- and 20th-century American folk songs and dance music, who have run the camp for over 20 years, and including their story in my book, IMMERSION TRAVEL USA, I knew I had to get there.
Always looking for a new way to enjoy New Year’s Eve, I attended New Year’s Eve in Ashokan, a yearly event, and literally danced the night away to Cajun, swing and country blues with the Red Stick Ramblers, Swingology Band, and Jay and Molly. I particularly liked the contra and square dancing, and watching the people who really knew how to dance! There were free dancing lessons after dinner and before the music started — good move! I needed the classes and learned a lot. Participation was intergenerational, from very young children to octogenarians, or possibly older. Luckily, you don’t need to wait for December 31 to visit – there are lots of activities between now and then.
During the summer you’ll find the perfect combination of summer canoeing and hiking on 300 acres in the Catskill Mountains and weeks of music and dancing programs. There’s eclectic western and swing, contra, Lindy, West Coast country & western, Cajun, barn dances, square dances, two-step partner dances, and much more. Classes are taught by experts from all over the country who enjoy teaching and jamming.
It’s common to see a young person sitting knee-to-knee playing tunes with someone decades older, and both absorbed and intent on music-making. From beginners to professionals, people learn new things and build strong connections with each other. Start planning your costume now for the Halloween Costume Ball at Ashokan
Saturday, October 31st. This is part of the Ashokan Center’s fabulous Fall Festival with daytime activities including nature hikes, mini-concerts, and more. Halloween Evening will begin at 6pm with dinner, Contras called by David Kaynor, a costume competition, and swing dancing and waltzes to the big band sounds of Swingology. The grounds are beautiful, the food is very good, the people are warm and lovely, and the shopping is great! Woodstock is definitely the place to go for extraordinary tie-dye wearable art.

For more information: Ashokan Fiddle & Dance Camp (P.O. Box 49, Saugerties, NY 12477; 845-246-2121; http://www.ashokan.org; office@ashokan.org; about $800 per person for a full week includes bunkhouse or camping, all meals, classes, and workshops; work scholarships and trades of services are available. Weekend events are very modestly priced.
Visiting Woodstock, NY, don’t miss the Museum at Bethel Woods: The Story of the Sixties and the Woodstock Museum.
For great barbecue, stop by the Hickory Barbecue and Smokehouse, Route 28 between Kingston and Woodstock, for great BBQ salmon and brisket. Enjoy everything you do!
Jay Ungar and Molly Mason’s Ashokan Fiddle and Dance Camp is featured in IMMERSION TRAVEL USA: THE BEST AND MOST MEANINGFUL LIVING AND LEARNING EXCURSIONS (Countryman Press, 2009)

Saved by my Toyota Corolla.

I received an e-mail informing me that I won a contest. The prize is that my story is posted on their website http://laughtub.com/stories/winners

Funniest From 7-03-2009
#1091
Driving alone from Weston, Connecticut to Denali National Park, Alaska, I admit that I didn’t do a lot of pre-planning. One very long day after hours of driving through beautiful yet desolate landscape, where the only living things I saw walking around were on four legs, I was quite thrilled to spot a portable potty perched high on a promontory overlooking a beautiful mountainside. It was a windy, overcast night and as I opened my door, a gust of wind shoved me back into the car. I was startled but determined to use the facilities. Walking the 10 yards to the potty, the wind was quite strong in that open area. I had to push the door open with all of my weight.
Within moments of my becoming somewhat comfortable the potty started to rock back and forth. My immediate reaction was to yell out, “Occupied! I’ll be right out.” The only answer came from the howling wind which seemed to be shooting up from underneath the potty and out through the vented ceiling. Then the rickety structure shook so badly I thought it was about to turn completely over or take off. I felt like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, about to leave Kansas. I bolted from the porta-potty and reassembled my outfit in the safety of my car as I heard a loud crack and watched the portable potty suddenly lift from its base and topple down into the valley below.”

It’s nice winning something even if you don’t win anything in particular!

Take it easy. Photo by John Derych, Jr.

Volunteer Vacations

Volunteer vacations are working vacations. You might choose to build or renovate homes, teach or tutor, translate and aid in communications, garden or farm, build hiking paths, or lead tours, among many other options. Volunteer vacations reward the traveler and the host through mutual growth, understanding, and experience. They are reciprocal—benefiting both the person who serves as well as the recipient, improving the quality of life for everyone.

The “vacation” part of volunteer vacations refers to the reality that for most people any time away from work is vacation time, and taking time off to do good for others is a carefully considered decision. These are projects, trips, and opportunities for people who are serious about helping others all over the USA and want to make a difference. You will leave an important mark on the community you visit, take a big piece of your experience back with you, and return home a different person from the one who left.

Volunteer with The American Bear Association

The American Bear Association, (P.O. Box 77, Orr, MN 55771; 218-757-0172; www.americanbear.org; bears@americanbear.org) offers an opportunity to volunteer at the Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary (VSWS). Located on 520 acres in the North Woods of Minnesota, two hours northwest of Duluth, VSWS is a seasonal home to many black bears. Volunteering outdoors in an extraordinary setting, meeting people from across the county and visitors from abroad, and learning about the bears and other wildlife and their habitats are rewarding and exciting experiences.

The work varies, and your interests and skills are matched to appropriate jobs when possible. Most activities involve manual labor, so good health and stamina are necessary, along with enthusiasm. Jobs range from daily clean-ups to cooking meals for staff and volunteers, picking up and unloading supplies, maintaining the property, planting, mulching, weeding, road maintenance, and preparing bear food. You may also greet visitors, park cars, educate the public and answer their questions, or work in the gift shop.

Volunteer days begin early and may end late, with time off in the afternoon, from May 1 through September 30. You may volunteer for an hour, day, weekend or the entire summer, or any period of time in between. While it is not possible to provide housing for everyone, efforts are made to accommodate long-term volunteers. Some people stay at nearby Cabin O’ Pines Resort (218-757-3122, www.cabinopines.com), which offers a discount to sanctuary volunteers. The town of Orr offers a variety of accommodations, including motels, resorts, and campgrounds. Contact the Orr Tourist Information Center at 1-800-357-9255.

Volunteers enjoy social events together, relaxing around campfires, enjoying barbeques and picnics, and swimming in nearby Pelican Lake. There’s also fishing, boating, and canoeing in area lakes, and hiking at the International Wolf Center, Superior National Forest, and at Voyageurs National Park.

Note: Both of my new books, VOLUNTEER VACATIONS ACROSS AMERICA and IMMERSION TRAVEL USA are out in the stores and available through Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. Drop me a note to Sheryl@immersiontraveler.com if you’d like autographed stickers for your books!

Leave No Trace Behind while drinking hot chocolate. I had a summer job working in Alaska’s Denali National Park, performing living history vignettes for visitors on women in the gold rush and conservation. On my day off, I was one of 51 other people signed up for an eight hour bus trip into Denali National Park.
In an effort to cut down on the impact of approximately 3 million visitors each year to the park, individual cars were not allowed past the first few miles. Buses took visitors through the park, stopping to observe bear, moose, sheep, ptarmigan, and whatever else could be seen from the bus with binoculars. On that particular day a huge black wolf followed our bus for about a mile and later we came across a family of red fox with three babies peeking out from their fox holes between the rocks. It was very exciting. I learned that brown bear come in a multitude of colors including black, brown, grayish and tone.
We stopped for a bathroom and snack break. Annaleigh, the bus driver, handed out cookies and asked for our attention as she put out two containers, one blue, one red. “The blue container has hot chocolate for you to enjoy. The red container is for you to spill out the excess hot chocolate you don’t drink.” She paused as we all looked at her quizzically. “We practice Leave no Trace behind. Do not spill out any drinks onto the ground. That’s why I put a drop cloth under the hot chocolate, to collect any drips. The sugar, milk and chocolate can make animals sick and don’t belong in the ground. Please think about everything you are doing, and leave no trace behind yourself. Nothing should change because you were here to visit.”
I thought back to the night I’d had a date with a nonstop, gum chewing lawyer from New Jersey. As he drove, he removed a piece of gum from his mouth, started a new a stick, and dropped something out of the window.
“What did you just do?” I snapped at him.
“What are you, my mother?” he darted back.
“Really, did you just litter?”
“No,” he said in a little bad boy voice caught in the act.
“Did you throw out the gum or the wrapper?”
“Both,” he said. I couldn’t believe it. I was blown away that anyone in this day and time would throw anything out of a window as if it didn’t matter.
“A bird could choke and die on your old gum.” I chose not to see the gum chewing lawyer again, but I did send him a gift, a reusable trash bag for his car.
The night before my bus ride into Denali I had attended a class with Park Ranger Tom on the importance of practicing Leave No Trace Behind for a backcountry wilderness hiking trip I planned to take. “You need to understand,” said Ranger Tom, “that Leave No Trace is an attitude that applies to your own front porch, backyard or park just as much as it does to the wilderness.”
I practice his words. Earth Day will be celebrated this month all over the country in many different ways. Many communities are holding events with exhibitors providing information on recycling, global warming, and hybrid vehicles. Visitors are encouraged to walk, bike or take the bus to participating events.
What will you do to celebrate Earth Day? My friend Marlene collects lint from the clothes dryer to stuff pillows. Janice collects egg cartons to give to a friend with chickens. And Sarah recycles the tops of bottles for art projects at her local school. What will your celebration or contribution be? For my Earth Day pre-planning event, I weaned myself off of paper towels in the kitchen and am amazed by the efficiency of dish towels. On Earth Day, I’m going to take a walk in a nature preserve, enjoying it exactly the way it is, without leaving anything behind but my footsteps.

Out for a sun bath

I wish I was in the Everglades right about now instead of here in extremely cold, more snow expected, Connecticut! One year ago I was the writer-in-residence in the Everglades National Park. There’s a national program that I want everyone to know about. You too can apply and who knows where you could be spending next winter.
Chances are you’ve visited a few of the National Parks Service’s network of almost 400 environmental, cultural and recreational sites but did you know that you can apply to live inside a national park as a special guest for a few weeks without paying rent? Imagine being surrounded by the sea views and dramatic cliffs in Acadia National Park in Bar Harbor, Maine or observing elk, bighorn sheep and the endangered California condor in the untamed wilderness of the Grand Canyon’s North Rim. Simply apply to be an Artist-In-Residence at one or more of the twenty-nine National Parks currently participating in the program.
Artists including writers, poets, screenwriters, photographers, painters and performers compete for positions all over the country. Each participating park must be applied to individually and has its own eligibility requirements, application guidelines, timeline and expectations (http://www.nps.gov/archive/volunteer/air.htm).
Artist-in-Residence Programs often host one artist at a time. They provide housing, accessibility to and education about the park with the hope that the artist’s experience will be expressed in future work. The artist is expected to interact with the public by offering a workshop or presentation and donating a piece of work representative of her style and reflecting her stay to the park’s permanent collection. The artist bears expenses for professional supplies and personal needs such as transportation and food.
The application process involves submitting a one or two page résumé, a one page statement of what the applicant hopes to accomplish as an artist-in-residence, a description of the proposed presentation, references from people familiar with the artist’s professional work and samples of recent work. Applications are available online by contacting the individual parks (search artist-in-residence @ www.nps.gov).
A few programs charge a nominal non-refundable application fee. The competition increases each year for an awesome opportunity of a lifetime. It’s definitely worth the effort. And the program is highlighted in my book, IMMERSION TRAVEL USA. There are over 200 diverse opportunities for phenomenal trips in five categories: helping, learning, working, caring and playing, and amazing opportunities you might not know about.

July 2007– There were over a hundred wooden stakes, some with red strips of plastic tied to the tops, some with yellow, dotting the approximately 6 mile stretch of Juno Beach (Florida) marking Loggerhead sea turtles’ nests. The females leave tracks, called crawls, from the water into the vegetation lines and dunes to create nests and lay their eggs. Signs warn visitors not to disturb the nests at risk of breaking the law. My friend Beverly and I arrived early at the beach to walk as the sun rose. Volunteers from the Loggerhead Marine Life Center rode along the beach in all terrain vehicles (ATV’s) documenting the newest crawls, and nests. About 60 days after the eggs are laid, baby turtles will hatch deep in the sand knowing their mission, to climb up toward the light to make their way directly to the water. We paused to photograph the turtle crawls and nests when suddenly Beverly grabbed my arm and pointed to where my foot was about to trample a struggling new baby. The tiniest of turtles, smaller than the length of my big toe, scurried across the sand when suddenly she was pushed back by a mighty wave. She came out of it to push forward again, thrown by another bigger wave which flipped her over right before our eyes. I leaned down to watch her struggle to right herself. We’d read all of the warning signs as we approached the beach. I repeated the words as I remembered them, “Endangered Species. Penalty of law to interfere with the sea turtles in any way.” “Can I touch her?” I asked my friend.“It’s that or watch it die,” Beverly responded. The tiny turtle had climbed its way out of the sand and down the 20 feet of beach to the edge of the water but was unable to flip herself over. I dropped to my knees in the wet sand and with my left pointer finger gently touched the left underside of her shell which was cold and sand covered. She easily flipped over to catch the next wave out. The survival rate of newborn turtles making it to adulthood is estimated by some to be as low as 1% but I knew my turtle would make it. She’ll return to this beach someday to make her own nest and all because I was there to flip her over and save her life.