I GO

One of the great things about working for a park district is that the people that work with you often know more than you. This comes in handy when you need some advice or have a question that needs answering. These knowledgeable folks-combined with a credo that reads Conservation, Education, Recreation-come in handy on occasion, most notably in the form of IGO or The Institute of the Great Outdoors. IGO is the park district's version of community education classes. Available for most any subject at some time or another, IGO gives folks who don't know a chance to learn from folks who do. Up until now I've only taken advantage of one IGO course (orienteering) but that will change soon. I just finished signing up for (alcohol) Stove Building, Basic Backpacking and, because my wife says I need to meet more people, a backpacking trip to Oil Creek State Park in Pennsylvania. After too many years of saying I wish I could, I'm taking the initiative to "just do it." And as an added bonus, taking the Oil Creek trip and taking the ADK trip in June will fulfill one of my New Year's resolutions, which was to camp at least twice this year. Now if I can only do the 'lose 50 lbs' one.