End of the Road

We have had a pretty great season and we owe it all to Leave No Trace and Coleman. We conducted outreach in 14 different states at 51 events, and trained around 9,000 youth and adults this summer. Along the way we were able to have some very memorable recreational trips like paddling in Boundary Waters Canoe Wilderness Area, climbing at Tahquitz in Idyllwild California, Paddling the Current River in Missouri, mountain biking the Slick Rock Trail in Moab, and of course biking, hiking, and climbing when passing through Lake Tahoe. We want to thank all of our program contacts, for having us and hopefully continuing Leave No Trace education and getting outdoors. Today is our last day in Boulder as we hit the road tomorrow for California to start a new journey in Arcata on the North Coast of California attending graduate school and working. Once again Thank You to Leave No Trace, our coordinator Dave, and all the office staff for making the e-tour of 2009 amazing and fulfilling.

Happy Trails from the e-tour,

Alexis & Topher

Coleman Country

Our last program this season was located at the Coleman Factory Outlet and Museum in Wichita, KS. This is one of the most unique Coleman stores, featuring some of the first made coolers, lanterns, and even coffee makers by Coleman. While at the store we had two awareness workshops, teaching local scouts, parents, and scout leaders about Leave No Trace and how to minimize the impacts while on outings. Some of the participants were avid fisherman, so we discussed making good decisions while fishing and how to properly dispose of fish entrails. We also talked about Trash your Trash, and the affects our trash has on the environment and on wildlife. After we wrapped up our workshops, we headed out of Kansas to Colorado to end the season.
Thank You Coleman for having us, we appreciate all your great staff at the store and your support for Leave No Trace.

Happy Trails from the e-tour,

Alexis & Topher

Coleman Headquarters

This morning we had the pleasure of presenting to 35 Coleman Brand Specialist at Coleman Headquarters in Wichita, Kansas. Coleman has been a partner of Leave No Trace for a long time, and the sponsor for the e-tour for the past three years. As we wind our season to an end, we informed Coleman on all of our youth outreach programs, and some of our highlighted events from the 2009 summer tour. We shared some stories from the road, successes on programs and how many people were reached with the leave no trace message, and how thankful we are for their support and dedication to Leave No Trace. After our presentation we toured the factory, and saw all the behind the scenes of how Coleman makes such amazing coolers, lanterns, and two burner stoves...pretty awesome! We want to give a big Thank You to Coleman and Jim, Nicole, and Joan for having us this morning and supporting the outreach and education of responsible recreation and stewardship of our public lands.

Happy Trails from the e-tour,

Alexis Ollar & Topher Marlatt

Mall Madness

Friday night we joined 1600 girl scouts in Wichita Kansas at Town East Mall for a lock-in and a night of shopping, games, movies, dancing, pizza, and of course E-Tour fun!!! We set up a scavenger hunt in the mall, which educated the girls and their leaders on the 7 principles of leave no trace. Outdoor gear was hidden in natural settings within the mall (trees and plants), and the gear corresponded with scavenger hunt questions. We had 100 scouts successfully finish the scavenger hunt, and were rewarded with recycled bags, glow sticks, and leave no trace educational materials. At 2 am we raffled off a Coleman sleeping bag and pillow to one lucky girl scout who participated in the scavenger hunt. It was a late night/ morning and full of action in the mall. Thank you to the Girl Scout Heartland of Kansas Council, and Angela for having us.

Happy Trails from the E-Tour

Alexis & Topher