Rich Leon sent us this notification of the passing of Walkin’ Jim Stoltz:
Legendary American Folksinger, Backcountry Traveler, and Wilderness Advocate James “Walkin’ Jim” Stoltz Returns to Earth
Legendary American folksinger, backcountry traveler, and wilderness advocate James “Walkin’ Jim” Stoltz passed late Friday night, September 3, 2010, at St. Peter’s Hospital in Helena, Montana.
Stoltz, age 57, a veteran performer for 35 years, earned his nickname “Walkin’ Jim,” by hiking more than 27,000 miles through wild country in North America. Packing a guitar and penning extraordinary lyrics along the trails, Walkin’ Jim’s always-humble-yet-strikingly-powerful songs voiced enormous respect and appreciation for the Earth, its wild places, and the wild critters that he carefully studied and truly adored. A one-of-a-kind performer known for his powerful baritone timbre, stunning photography, humorous and elucidative stories, inspirational poetry, literally awesome lyrics, and emotion-packed vocals, Walkin’ Jim Stoltz toured extensively throughout North America for more than 35 years. His last public performance in Montana, where he lived, was on March 6, 2010, in Missoula, where he played a benefit concert and celebration for the Last, Best Place Wildlands Campaign and Wilderness Watch. (more…)
It still not too late to sign up. There are two new course routes, one 47 miles and one 9 miles which means there’s really a ride for every skill level. Don’t miss this great event.
This is the editorial in the new issue of OTM. The Outside Magazine article it refers to can be found here.
Five years ago Mountain Gear owner Paul Fish and I presented to the Spokane Chamber Of Commerce on the topic of why Spokane should seek to be on Outside Magazine’s annual list of Best Outdoor Adventure Towns. OTM has always worked to raise the profile of outdoor recreation in the Spokane/Coeur ‘d Alene area, partly because we believe it’s a great economic development advantage for us. That’s why I was thrilled when I saw the August 2010 issue of Outside Magazine to read that we had finally made it.
There it was, the last city to be mentioned of the “Top 25 Best Adventure Burgs,” garnering Runner Up for Best Trail-Running behind Ashland, OR. For thoughts on our new-found distinction I spoke to one of the Godfathers of local trail-running, Spokane Parks & Recreation’s Mike Aho, one the founders of the Spokane River Run at Riverside State Park.
“We haven’t even scratched the surface,” says Aho. Aho started a new trail run last year, The Sekani Trail Run, and is looking to do another, the Dwight Dash (as in Dwight Merkel Sports Complex.) He lists a whole bunch of reasons trail-running is great here. (more…)
Five years ago Mountain Gear owner Paul Fish and I presented to the Spokane Chamber Of Commerce on the topic of why Spokane should seek to be on Outside Magazine’s annual list of Best Outdoor Adventure Towns. OTM has always worked to raise the profile of outdoor recreation in the Spokane/Coeur ‘d Alene area, partly because we believe it’s a great economic development advantage for us. That’s why I was thrilled when I saw the August 2010 issue of Outside Magazine to read that we had finally made it.
There it was, the last city to be mentioned of the “Top 25 Best Adventure Burgs,” garnering Runner Up for Best Trail-Running behind Ashland, OR. For thoughts on our new-found distinction I spoke to one of the Godfathers of local trail-running, Spokane Parks & Recreation’s Mike Aho, one the founders of the Spokane River Run at Riverside State Park.
“We haven’t even scratched the surface,” says Aho. Aho started a new trail run last year, The Sekani Trail Run, and is looking to do another, the Dwight Dash (as in Dwight Merkel Sports Complex.) He lists a whole bunch of reasons trail-running is great here.
“We’re running from town—you don’t have to get in your car to run. There are no fees to use trails. We have both flat trails and trails with elevation.”
We also have a great culture of running that goes back to the creation of Bloomsday and beyond. And beautiful trails don’t hurt either. But the reason Aho says we have just scratched the surface is that much of our trail running territory is not well known. Those who use the trails are not anxious to shout about it from the rooftops in fear luring crowds. We need to get over that. We should be loud and proud about our outdoor amenities so that people want to visit here and live here as a result. You can’t preserve, develop, promote, and be good stewards of an outdoor amenity you don’t know exists.
I’m telling everyone who’ll listen that Spokane is one of Outside Magazine’s Top 25 Adventure Burgs for 2010 and we should be darn proud of it. I predict it won’t be the last time we make the list. We can—and will continue to make this a better outdoor town. In the meantime we can all train for the Sekani Trail Run on October 16th.
Design the 2011 Bloomsday finisher T-shirt! $1,000 for design selected
August 12, 2010—The Lilac Bloomsday Association, in cooperation with The Inlander, is now accepting designs for the 2011 finisher T-shirt. Deadline for submitting designs is Monday, September 13, 2010, and the Lilac Bloomsday Association will pay $1,000 for the design selected. Details are on Bloomsday’s web site, www.bloomsdayrun.org. (more…)
If you haven’t seen The Wildest Dream: Conquest of Everest catch it now while it is still at the Riverfront Park Imax theater. It’s one of the best Imax films and one of the best climbing films I’ve ever seen.
The Wildest Dream: Conquest of Everest
– 1hr 34min – Rated PG – Documentary -
Director: Anthony Geffen – Cast: Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Conrad Anker, Leo Houlding, Natasha Richardson
The story of George Mallory, an explorer obsessed with becoming the first climber to reach the top of Mount Everest, as told through letters to his wife, previously unseen photos, and film from 1924 as well as from the 1999 expedition that discovered Mallory’s body on Everest.
Showtimes
IMAX – Riverfront Park
507 N. Howard St, Spokane, WA
1:00 4:00 6:05 8:10pm
The July Summer Parkways was a big success–see this YouTube video for proof. It’s happening again this Sunday, 8/22, from 9AM-1PM on Howard St. from Riverfront park to Buckeye as Spokane presents it’s version of Cyclovia. See you there!
If you don’t know who Leno Prestini is he is one of the greatest self-taught folk artists the Northwest has ever produced. A very rare three-part exhibit of his work concludes this weekend. Don’t miss it. There is a great cover story about Prestini in this month’s North Columbia Monthly by Jack Nisbet, which you can find for free at Auntie’s. Here’s the show details:
The Heritage Network Celebrates the Life and Art of Leno Prestini
with Three Exhibits in August 2010
Flamboyant, adventurous, primitive, nonconformist, sensitive, vagabond, and philosopher are all descrip- tions of Leno Prestini (1906-1963) by writers from Colville, Washington to Los Angeles, California. Leno was an artist—creating over 100 paintings and drawings throughout his life, and a terra cotta modeler—providing decorative terra cotta for many buildings throughout the northwest. The paintings and terra cotta sculptures of this man of Clayton, Washington are works of outstanding artistic ability. Leno was also an adventurer and inventor— climbing mountains, searching for gold, and building his own diving gear from an old water heater tank and
garden hose. He built fireplaces and even painted on gold pans. Three historical societies will jointly display their collections of this unique and colorful man. Admission by donation to help with the expenses of setting up these exhibits. Everyone is welcome—some paintings have a mature theme.
COLVILLE, WASHINgTON — August 7 through 22
526 South Main Street — 10 am to 4 pm daily
Stevens County Historical Society, whose museum is located in Colville, will show their collection of over 70 paintings by Leno, terra cotta statues, gold pans and Prestini family photos. The exhibit is too large for their museum so it will be held in downtown Colville. The intensely personal paintings follow several themes such as: World War II, western life, prospectors’ dreams, fallacies of alcohol and greed, disappointment in love, and the passing of a more innocent age. (more…)
A 38-year-old male cyclist was killed in downtown Spokane at 2nd and Scott this past weekend–I’ve heard conflicting details about the incident from different news outlets. A female cyclist was also killed on Saturday in Idaho during the Spokane to Sandpoint Relay. See the KREM video above.
City of Spokane Recognized for Planning Work Around Sustainability, Climate Change
Mayor’s Sustainability Task Force helped lead the way
The City of Spokane has been recognized for its planning work to lessen its impact on climate change and encourage sustainable practices.
The City of Spokane, has received a 2010 American Planning Association (APA) and Planning Association of Washington (PAW) Joint Planning award for its “Greenhouse Gas” inventory reports and Sustainability Action Plan. The award honors the City’s superior planning efforts and will be featured by PAW in The Western Planner Journal and APA Washington in The Washington Planner.
The award also extends to those assisting with these efforts, including the Mayor’s Sustainability Task Force, Task Force Chair Roger Woodworth, and two interns—Brandon Betty and Leon Letson—who assisted with the work.
“The City of Spokane is committed to facing the climate change challenge head-on,” says Mayor Mary Verner. “Working with our elected officials and the Sustainability Task Force, Spokane will implement plans that address this challenge.” The Mayor continues, “Winning this award for our planning efforts truly marks years of efforts.” (more…)
