A Few Upcoming Events in the State Parks

80th Anniversary of the Dedication of Pine Lake
Sponsored by the Friends of Pine Lake
June 17, 2006, Pine Lake Lodge

The celebration will begin at 4 p.m. with a pictorial history of Pine Lake. The parks history will be presented with over 70 pictures beginning with the original Pine Creek to the present. There is also park memorabilia including an ice cream freezer used by the CCC and a water toboggan sled, both on loan from the Hardin County Historical Society.

The local Pork Producers will be on hand grilling their pork burgers. They will start serving at 5 p.m. Along with the sandwiches they will also be serving chips and cold drinks. There will be a charge for the meal.

At 6:30 p.m. a musical program will begin. The outdoor concert will be performed by area talent. Be sure to bring a blanket or lawn chair and come join the fun!

A Natural Blast – Party and Fund Raiser for Iowa’s Environment

Please join me on June 17 for A Natural Blast! This fundraiser for Iowa’s Environment will be an evening full of friends, fun, food, and festivities. There will be a silent auction and dinner starting at 5pm, followed by music by Cousin Eddie - a self described Country Blues band, they also play a little bit of everything including originals and crazy covers from The Gourd's, Danny Barnes, Old Crowe Medicine Show, Dylan, Dead and Stones. Will you join me?

The tickets are $25 and you can get yours by e-mailing iowaswaterandlandlegacy@gmail.com or call 515-707-0266. All proceeds benefit Iowa Environmental Council in partnership with Iowa’s Water and Land Legacy, a coalition of environmental groups working together to establish a trust fund for the protection of Iowa’s natural resources. You can learn more about the trust fund at http://www.iowaswaterandlandlegacy.org/home.aspx

The party is being held at the Izaak Walton League at 4343 George Flag Parkway in Des Moines.
Hope you can join me! It should be lots of fun and for a good cause, too.

Iowa Trails Summit
http://www.iowadot.gov/iowabikes/trailsummit.html

Friday, June 18: Some of Iowa’s leading experts on trail development and healthy communities share their ideas on the challenges and opportunities trail organizations face in the coming years. There will be four auditorium sessions with expert panelists moderated by leaders in the trails community. The panelists represent a cross section of professionals, and each will present an innovative and interesting view of issues important to the future of Iowa trails, as well as participate in question and answer sessions.

Participants may select one of the following registration options.
• Friday summit to be held at the University of Northern Iowa’s Lang Hall Auditorium in Cedar Falls from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; fee $25 ($30 after June 3)
• Friday summit and barbeque party at the Gateway Park in Cedar Falls (from 6 to 9 p.m.); fee $35 ($40 after June 3)
• Friday barbeque party only fee $10
Saturday, June 19: There will be a variety of outdoor recreation exhibits open to the public at Waterloo’s Riverview Recreation Area on Hawthorn Avenue from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. This will be an exciting day for the public to explore the wide range of trail recreation opportunities available, as well as a great chance to network with other trail users. Families are welcome. All events on Saturday are free, with food available for purchase.

Brushy Creek State Recreation Area - No Women Left Inside
When: Saturday, June 12, 2010
What: The Iowa DNR and Webster County Conservation are sponsoring the No Women Left Inside event. Great time to meet women with similar interests, learn new skills, enhance old ones and just enjoy the outdoors. Women ages 13 and older are invited to participate. Youth under 18 must have a parent present to participate. Contact Erin Ford at 515-576-4258 for more information.

Lake Anita State Park - Kids Fishing Day
When: Saturday, June 5, 2010, 10:00 am - noon
What: Program to learn about fish and fishing. An opportunity for all kids 0 to 16 to fish. All kids present will win prizes. Free lunch is provided.

Paragliding as Tourism Product in Northern Pakistan

“When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return”, said Leonardo da Vinci.

Flying like birds has always been the earnest desire of men. The launching of HIKAP [Hindu Kush Association for Paragliding]—the first registered Civil Society Organization with a mission to promote paragliding in northern Pakistan—on December 6, 2009, is a big leap forward towards the realization of this unusual dream of the Chitrali youngsters.

The association has opened categories of professional and honorary membership with fee of Rs 1000/- for professional members. The beginners have to pay Rs 2000/- entry fee to learn the sport.

To begin with, Miftahuddin, ACO Chitral administered oath to the new office bearers of the association and wished the sport could be instrumental in the wellbeing of the entire region by highlighting it into an ideal destination and attracting more national and international paragliders on equal footing to Phokran in Nepal.

The speakers underlined the significance of paragliding as an innovative technology for tourism growth in future and ranked it as a budding product after the Kalash communities with mountaineering and free style polo to be ranked at third and fourth respectively.

Meanwhile the forum appreciated the step of the paragliders who, at first hand, learnt the sport without institutional supervision and now working assiduously to impart the gliding skills to other young people. The total number of senior pilots and new entrants is ten at present.
Given the perfect launching points and open landing spots coupled with clear blue sky, lofty snow-clad peaks and the buoyancy of the everlasting thermals keeping a pilot afloat for nine hours at times, Chitral could be the hub of both national and international paragliders.

Mr Saifullah Jan, himself a pilot and the newly elected president of the association shared his story of how he learnt to fly. He lamented the fact that in the beginning people discouraged him that the sport was life threatening and a difficult one. Despite all difficulties, he did not surrender. He saved some money, proceeded to Islamabad for some training and learnt it. Now he is recognized as a good trainer also.

“I can not find words to express the thrill that come when you fly through the air. It is a unique and unusual experience only to be appreciated by those who fly”, he said. He believes the sport is safe and easy for energetic youngsters to learn. “I was motivated for the first time when I saw a foreign paraglider who landed in Chitral polo ground twenty-three years ago. “On the inauguration of Jashan-e-Chitral 2004, five years ago, when I landed in the same polo ground for the first time, the crowd believed I was a foreigner. But when I took off my helmet, they were awe-struck to see a Chitrali paraglider”, said Mr Saifullah Jan. He thanked Shahzada Capt Siraj Ulmulk for the moral and technical support in the course of learning the sport.

We can not arrange international cricket or soccer events in Chitral given the deficiency in infrastructure and the huge budget that it involves, but we can easily organize an exceptional international paragliding contest as we don’t need any preparation or ground infrastructure for the sport. So why should we not use our favorable natural topography for promoting the sport and earn handsome income?

The participants termed the sport as an innovative sector of community development necessary to diversify people’s livelihood opportunities the way it has done in other parts of the world. They thanked the pilots to take adventurous initiatives to promote paragliding in region.

In his concluding speech, Mr Sartaj Ahmed Khan, Tehsil Nazim Chitral, appreciated the launching of HIKAP as a good omen for the future development of paragliding in Chitral and considered it not only an innotative area of entertainment but also a new sector of tourism promotion in future. He pledged his committed support from the Tehsil administration for the cause.