Camping: Anytime of Year in All Kinds of Weather By: ARA (ARA) - Often thought to be reserved for summer, camping is fast becoming a year-round activity. And while camping trips are planned with hopes of good weather, severe weather always is a possibility, but it doesn’t have to diminish the enjoyment of camping. To make the most of the camping experience, it’s important to consider the weather before packing up the camper or travel trailer. There’s no avoiding the weather when camping. The United States has the most extreme weather conditions in the world, second only to China, says Susan Weaver, of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Weather Service. Weather can change quickly and is very specific to each area. Lightning Does Strike Twice? Severe weather can occur anytime of year and often with little warning. According to NOAA, lightning is one of the most underrated severe weather hazards because it usually claims one or two victims at a time and does not cause mass destruction. “You are in danger of lightning if you can hear thunder,” states Weaver. “Seek shelter inside an enclosed structure; if that is not possible squat low to the ground, with your feet close together and your head between your knees.” Maintain minimal contact with the ground and do not lie flat. It’s a Twister? In the Southern states, peak tornado season is March through May. Northern states are more likely to be hit with tornadoes during the summer. People know that during a tornado warning they should move to an interior room with no windows, or in a basement. When camping, that’s not a viable option. Experts suggest retreating to a ditch or other low area, get as low to the ground as possible and cover your head from possible debris. “Do not seek shelter under an overpass; they act as wind tunnels during a tornado,” Weaver warns. Author Brad Herzog and wife Amy of Pacific Grove, Calif., have been camping for nearly eight years. During their first trip, Brad authored “States of Mind,” a book, which chronicles their experience. One night, while camping in Mississippi, they encountered severe weather. “There were late-night tornado warnings and we were able to track the warnings by keeping tuned to a local station,” Herzog explains. They were aware of the warnings in advance and took precautions in case of a tornado strike. Fortunately the storm passed without any tornados touching down. Rain, Rain Go Away? Floods and flash floods also are serious threats to campers. “Most people underestimate the threat of water,” Weaver explains. “Never attempt to drive through standing water. It only takes 18 to 24 inches to float most vehicles.” According to Weaver, canyons are particularly prone to flash floods. She recommends not only paying attention to the weather around you but also upstream. If flooding is a possibility in your camp area, immediately move to higher ground. Running Hot and Cold Not only should campers remain cognizant of possible severe weather; they also need to be mindful of extreme temperatures or sudden climate shifts. “Extremely cold temperatures and winds rob heat from the body,” says Weaver. This, increases your risk for hypothermia and frostbite. When camping in the winter, pack extra blankets, food and water to reduce these risks. Be Prepared! It takes planning to handle any weather Mother Nature might throw at your camping trip. Simply following some basic tips can lead to a much more enjoyable camping experience. * Check the weather before you leave home. A variety of Web sites offer weather forecasts seven days in advance. NOAA’s Web site can be found at http://www.weather.gov/ * Carry a weather radio at all times. Available at most electronics stores, a weather radio can be programmed to a specific location and provide life-saving notification of a fast-developing storm. * Talk to your camping group and develop a contingency plan should bad weather arise. When it comes to providing peace of mind and safety while camping, nothing rivals a reliable power source. Onan, a leader in power generation products, recently introduced a generator designed specifically for the smaller, towable RVs. Onan’s Camp Power is the first installed generator to provide power to the towable RVs so popular with millions of campers. Now when RVers are caught in severe weather, they can have the electricity they need to operate communication devices to monitor the storm and signal for help if necessary. Brad Herzog knows how reassuring it is to have reliable power with you when the weather turns bad. “When the weather is iffy, it’s nice to be able to tune into a news station to know what’s up.” Since weather can change quickly, it is important to constantly keep track of it while camping. In addition to powering weather devices for travelers, generators can make camping more comfortable by supplying power to air conditioners to cool the RV or run heaters on cold days. And rain won’t put a damper on campfire cooking for campers with Camp Power installed towable. A generator can power almost any electrical kitchen appliance. Travelers can cook meals in the microwave or on an electric grill when the weather doesn’t allow them to build a campfire. Turning Lemons into Lemonade Despite all your preparations, sometimes the weather simply won?t cooperate with your outdoor plans. But that doesn’t have to ruin the camping experience. Herzog recalls when he and his wife were traveling through Kansas and they encountered severe storms. “Other people began to pull their cars over and panic,” Herzog explains.” We pulled over to the side of the road made some grilled cheese sandwiches and relaxed while the storm passed.” “The great thing about being in an RV is if you don’t feel that the weather is conducive to driving, you can pull over and you have your house with you. With powerful generators in your RVs, you can be anywhere and have the conveniences of home,” says Herzog. Stay Safe With planning and preparation, it’s possible to camp year round in almost all kinds of weather. Checking the weather forecast regularly, listening to a weather radio and knowing what your group is going to do in the event of bad weather allows campers to have a safe and fun trip anytime of year. To get up to the minute weather related information, log on to http://www.nws.noaa.gov/ To learn more about RVing and Camp Power, check out http://www.funroads.com/ Courtesy of ARA Content About the author: Courtesy of ARA Content

By ALISON BERKLEY, January 1, 2006 WHILE the jet setters schuss down the groomed slopes of Aspen Mountain in their designer ski outfits and enjoy first-class food at the summit lodge, the hard-core ski and snowboard set skips lunch altogether and seeks whatever powder can be found on the steep, raw terrain at neighboring Aspen Highlands. Instead of a pampered gondola ride, hardy skiers hike the 30 minutes to the 12,392-foot summit of the Highland Bowl. Aspen Highlands rounds out the variety of terrain from beginner to extreme offered by Aspen's four mountains. The others are Aspen Mountain, Snowmass and Buttermilk. On Dec. 10, Aspen Highlands grew even bigger, with the opening of the long-awaited Deep Temerity Lift, giving access to an additional 1,000 vertical feet and 180 acres of new terrain. The lift, which is a fixed-grip triple chair, sews together the mountain's signature double-black diamond slopes by eliminating long traverses. It also doubles the length of most of the runs in the Temerity area, including the famed behemoth face of Highland Bowl. The so-called trails weave through in trees, gullies and meadows that offer a more solitary, adventurous experience than the cookie-cutter trails on the front side of the mountain. It's also raw, with the occasional hidden obstacles the ski company is always warning people about - stumps, rocks, and other natural features. "It's early-season conditions, so there's bound to be some stuff sticking up," said John Hufker, project manager at David Johnston Architects, who has lived in Aspen for seven years. "But the terrain is superfun. There're gullies and plenty of stuff to launch off of, but it's mostly about the access, about not having to make the traverse out of the bowl." Standing at the bottom of the new lift on opening day was Mac Smith, 53, director of the Aspen Highlands Ski Patrol since 1979. As he watched his lifelong vision come to fruition, a smile spread beneath his long moustache. He listened to the whoops and hollers of skiers and boarders as the public experienced the new terrain for the first time, plowing tracks into the nail-biting steeps below the 1,700-foot lift that seems to hang almost vertically on a 53 percent cable grade. Mr. Smith has been scouting out this "new" terrain since he was 19 years old, skiing out of bounds in the same area where the new lift is located today. A horse rancher's son who grew up in Emma, 20 miles west of Aspen, Mr. Smith was on the bulldozer last summer, clearing 45-degree slopes and herding his crew of snow packers and patrollers. The Highlands Master Plan, which has been in the works in one form or another since the mid-70's, has finally been completed with the opening of the $2.7 million project. Whip Jones, the former owner of Aspen Highlands, ordered what was then known as the Deep Steeplechase lift in 1976, but a record lack of snow that same winter made its installation fiscally impossible. The name Temerity was chosen by Mr. Smith, who was once "banned for life" from the mountain (a punishment later rescinded) at age 11 for terrorizing ski school classes. "It means bold to the point of almost being foolish," he said. "That's the way I grew up, taming bucking horses for the rodeo, climbing 14,000-foot peaks in my cowboy boots, and skiing powder. I don't consider it extreme. It's just what's normal to me."

By Jennifer Gelband, Thursday, June 29, 2006 It’s no secret that everyone in Boise wants the city to become a little more culturally rich, have a little more international flair. No? Just look at all the new pizza places popping up around town! However, one thing not so welcome to the community is a tricky little virus from the West Nile region. But hey, beggars can’t be choosers. We got what we asked for. A Boise man found a dead bird in his yard and called the Department of Fish and Game, which is what you are supposed to if you suspect a dead animal has West Nile. The tip off, of course, being the hieroglyphics on the Egyptian headdress it is wearing. F & G officials called the man yesterday to tell him that the dead bird is infected with West Nile virus. "We actually just closed on this place today and we found three dead birds and a dead squirrel in the back yard, so we called fish and game,” Ben Earwicker told KTVB news. The magpie in his yard and a crow found somewhere else both tested positive for the disease. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 2,775 cases of West Nile virus and 98 deaths from the virus in the United States in 2005. This is the first cases this year in Ada County, but West Nile has been found in Elmore, Gem and Canyon counties. According to the KTVB story, there were 13 human cases of West Nile Virus reported in Idaho; none were fatal. West Nile has been found in the area in horses and birds, and it is thought the only way humans can contract virus is through mosquitoes. But recent reports have it being transmitted through alligators too. Boise can surely use more culture, and West Nile I can handle, but if alligators show up on someone’s lawn, I’m outta here.

By Courtney Lowery, Saturday, July 1, 2006 When I first re-met my boyfriend Jacob (I say re-met because we first met when I was 13. He was the cutest boy at the Centerville track meet and I'd crushed on him ever since), he asked me to a film festival. It progressed quite classically from there: A few dates in public places then the true test, a hike. In the Rockies, the dating dance is a little different than in most places. One of the first things you do with a prospective mate is go hiking, biking, kayaking, rafting, fishing ... you get the idea. My friend Tam says an outdoor activity "is one up from meeting for coffee, but below going to dinner." Not only does it give you a chance to get to know each other without having to stare across a table, wondering if that spinach from lunch is stuck in your teeth, but it also gives you a chance to see if you're compatible recreationists. This is perhaps the true harbinger of a successful relationship here in the West. Last week, I went to a wedding in Billings. One of the neighbor boys I grew up with was marrying a nice, and very active, young woman from there. The tables at the reception were decorated with river rocks and the party favors were little bags of rock-looking jellybeans tied to carabineers. Strewn about the Elks Lodge were pictures of Marc and Kathy on rafts, in climbing helmets and atop backcountry skis. When it came time for the toast, the best man, Marc's brother Eric, stood up to say a few words. He said he couldn't think of a better match for his brother. (I'm paraphrasing here. It was an open bar and I wasn't about to set my vodka/tonic down to take notes). Eric said any woman who could love to ski, hike, climb and raft as much as his brother could was a perfect match. It's true that around here, how two people work together while hiking, biking or kayaking can be a big indicator of the relationship as a whole -- or your possible relationship, as it were. Tam, who is now happily married, devised a simple test with her friend Tammy when she lived in Idaho. "Failure of the test," she says, is while hiking with a prospective mate, "seeing someone's ass disappear over the hill a quarter mile ahead of you." She says, "It came down to what was more important: hiking as fast as you could or getting to know the person you're on a date with." When giving a male co-worker advice this week, Tam said, "Demonstrate that you have the capability to HANG OUT" Jacob got this test about a year ago when I went to visit him in Glacier National Park, where he was working as a backcountry ranger. Since we were still kind of new, I was a little nervous about how I would perform. I'm a fast hiker, with short, but powerful legs and decent lungs. But, I have a different philosophy on hiking than perhaps Jacob does. Hiking is my best form of meditation. I like to stay on trail, take my time and look at what is happening around me. I stop for water and look at flowers. I stop for food and look at trees. I stop for food again and take in a view. You get the idea. Jacob, on the other hand, has a fantastic exploratory take on the backcountry. His insatiable curiosity about the world is one of the things I love most about him. It's also one of the things that make my legs hurt the worst when we're hiking. He wants to see what's up there, and what's down there and what the valley might look like from the top of that incredibly steep, scree-lined peak. This particular trip, we climbed Chief Mountain -- a spectacular, sacred peak at the east border of the park. I hung in as we climbed the aforementioned scree -- scree I thought would never end. I bushwhacked out with him in shorts, emerging with bloodied shins and gaping holes in my thighs from the branches I'd hit. But I sucked it up. I wanted him to see that I was tough enough to hang with him -- that I wasn't one of those whiny girlfriends who minded small things like blood and bruises. But, it all bottled up and exploded on our hike out. We'd been hiking for a while and I was getting tired. I asked if we could stop for a slurp of water. He suggested we keep going to the fence line and stop there. So, I trodded on. But, after a few minutes, I started my irrational seething. "I'm just going to go at my own pace and if doesn't wait for me, it will be a sign," I thought. (By the way, this all happened before I heard of Tam's rule, so really, the reaction is universal.) He didn't slow up. I slowed down even more to up the ante in my make believe bet with him. He still didn't flinch. By the time he got to the fence line, I was a good half-mile back. He sat down, grabbed his water bottle and took off his pack. I was furious now, hiking faster to catch up. Once I got to where he was sitting, I kicked him in the leg. Yes, I kicked him. I don't know what came over me. I haven't kicked anyone since Mark Larson called me a water buffalo in the fourth grade. I said, "If you wanted to hike alone, I would have stayed HOME!" It's been legend ever since. I was convinced it all meant we weren't meant to be. (That was me being irrational again. I have a tendency to do that from time to time -- especially when tired, bloody and hungry.) But, the truth is, it's not that he didn't notice I was falling behind. He just wanted to get to the fence line faster -- knowing I needed water and a rest. So he was being empathetic. I just didn't see that, and he didn't communicate it very well. Just because we didn't hike at the same pace didn't mean we didn't belong together -- in the backcountry or not. Outdoor recreation is more than just a shared hobby in a relationship. It's deeper than that -- deeper than just being able to keep up with each other. One of the first things Jacob and I talked about on our first few dates was how much we loved Montana. We have similar stories. We both grew up in small communities in central Montana. After college, I went to Omaha for a job. He went to Indiana for grad school. We both came back to Montana the same week. Neither of us could stand to be away from this geography. Both of us made a conscious choice to move back. On our first hike together (our third date), as we neared the top of Sawmill Gulch outside of Missoula, we sat down in the grass to take in the view. He put his arm around me and we both just sighed. He later told me how great it was to finally be able to share this with someone and know she appreciated it as much as he did. That was the day I started dreaming about out lives together. I'd known since I met him at that track meet that he could be the one for me. (And dreamed about it all through high school). But, that day looking over Missoula, I knew that I finally found someone I could turn to and sigh -- and have him understand exactly what I meant. It happened while we were hiking, yes, but the connection was so much more than just sharing a hobby. That's when I knew we really were meant to be together. This weekend, Jacob and I are backpacking into the same area in Glacier. He's forewarned me that he wants to go off trail on the trip out. I've agreed. Wish me luck. Or better yet, wish Jacob's leg luck.

The Swimming Pool Guide By Richard Martin, 7-03-06   Can we do this all summer? My first pool was the downtown YMCA in Little Rock, Ark. It was an old-fashioned 20-yard tile pool with narrow lanes , often murky water, and a traditional men's swim where fat naked guys got in and paddled end-to-end for an hour every day. Things have improved since then. Below, just in time for the 4th of July, is a brief guide to some of the more notable pools around Boulder County, both indoor and outdoor. This list is highly subjective and incomplete; we invite you to send along your own favorites in the comments section and we'll add them to the list as the summer progresses. Spruce Pool 2102 Spruce St. 303-441-3426 A neighborhood pool with a small lawn area and an adjacent playground, the Spruce Pool is within walking or biking distance for many of Boulder's kids, and as such it can be jammed on summer afternoons. There's a small slide and, almost always, a couple of laps open for lap-swimmers. Like most Boulder aquatics facilities, the Spruce Pool also has a dedicated corps of masters swimmers who work out in the early mornings. Scott Carpenter Pool 1505 30th St. (30th & Arapahoe) 303-441-3427 Named for the Mercury astronaut, Scott Carpenter is the granddaddy of Boulder Pools. With its big, fast waterslide, diving board, and its 50-meter lap section, it's a favorite for families and serious triathletes alike. I'm not a huge fan, myself: I find the hours somewhat wacky, it seems to be closed down arbitrarily often (including full summers in a couple of recent drought years), and I got reprimanded there for having my son standing on my shoulders. But it's got an adjacent skateboard park and one of the best playgrounds in Boulder, plus it's right on the Boulder Creek Path so it's easily bicycle-accessible. Bay Aquatic Park 250 Lamar Street, Broomfield 303.464.5520 A huge and fairly new aquatic facility, the Bay is one of those places where an 8-year-old can spend a full day and not get bored. Featuring two serpentine slides, a zero-depth entry leisure pool, an interactive water play structure, the inner tube slide and a tot pool with slides and a waterfall, the Bay is also one of the best picnic spots among Boulder-area pools. Not a great place for lap-swimming, though. East Boulder Community Center 5660 Sioux Dr. 303-441-4400 The 8-lane indoor pool at the East Boulder rec center is among the finest in town for serious lap swimming; with floor-to-ceiling windows looking up to the Flatirons, it's one of those pools that just feels fast, and some of the Boulder's best triathletes train here year-round. Ironman immortal Dave Scott coached the early morning master's workout here for years. For the recreation-minded, there's a very fast water slide, a powerful "lazy river" feature, and an open play area with a water-basketball goal. The rec center also offers an excellent basketball gym, climbing wall, cardio area, and a wide array of exercise classes. North Boulder Recreation Center 3170 Broadway 303-413-7260 With a lap pool that's almost as fast as the one at the East Boulder rec center, N. Boulder has the added plus of a deep end and two terrific water slides, one of which dumps you into the diving well after a startingly abrupt ride. The Boulder High swim team trains here, as does two-time Ironman world champion Tim DeBoom. The kids' pool, which can be jammed on a stormy summer afternoon, has the usual array of water fountain features plus a bench at one end where weary parents can sit it out. The rec center also has one of the city's top gymnastics facilities. Sunset Pool 1900 Longs Peak Ave., Longmont 303-776-5823 There's something classically American about this facility, adjacent to the Sunset Golf Course in north Longmont. With a huge crescent-shaped expanse of water, a lap section that's always open, 3 diving boards, 2 waterslides, a grassy picnic area, and even a sandy beach, it's a great place for families to spend the day. But even more, it's the kind of teen hangout that might have featured prominently in any number of coming-of-age movies from American Grafitti to Dazed and Confused. How many summer romances have budded and flourished by this pool? One drawback: there's no concession stand to speak of. Apex Center 13150 W. 72nd Ave., Arvada 303-424-2739 A half-hour drive south from Boulder, this is the mother of all rec centers. If there's a bigger and more lavish public athletic center in America, I sure haven't seen it. Besides the enormous aquatic center, which offers three pools, abundant play features, a couple of waterslides, and a great circular lazy river, there are two ice rinks (the Apex Center is one of the centers of youth hockey in the Denver metro area), a hug climbing wall, a state-of-the-art cardio room, a basketball court, and a lot of stuff I haven't even found yet. Don't come to the Apex Center just to swim; come to spend the day and become a fitter family.