Tales from the Trail

By Carol Ruhter, Trailbound Trip’s founder and guide.

News and upcoming trips:

• Sedona is calling! Look for details in June about our November 2013 trip to Arizona’s red-rock country! Can’t wait? Email us and we’ll give you first "dibs."
• 2 openings for our trip to Yellowstone and the Tetons in June 2013! We have 2 spots for the June 16-22 trip, which has a Christian focus. Peek at the slide show and trip details by clicking on Yellowstone/Tetons under Upcoming Weeklong Trips.
• Get away to Wisconsin’s Hidden Valleys. Check out the outdoor fun!
• Win a $25 gift certificate. Click on the pink boot in the upper right corner.

Now playing on nature’s stage in the Midwest: This is the time of year you’ll enjoy the trilling of American Toads. The trill is 6-30 seconds long and is the male’s "advertising call" for females.

Nature’s ponder point: Park officials set fire to forests and meadows in spring. On purpose. Fire is nature’s way of recycling nutrients and enriching the soil, exposing soil to the sun to benefit seed germination, and clearing undergrowth that fuels out-of-control wildfires. Controlled fire only kills non-native plants. The deep-roots of native plants and wildflowers allow them to withstand the heat and bloom once again. Think about people you know who are deeply enough rooted that life’s fires refine them, but do not destroy them.

Our outdoor adventures delight, inspire, encourage, and strengthen women.

Join us for fun hiking and bicycling day trips in Northern Illinois’ wild places. Bike under canopies of autumn color and along rippling streams … hike through forests dappled with spring wildflowers or in tall grass prairies … discover coyote dens and follow deer paths … walk through pristine winter wonderlands.

Explore and enjoy the Midwest’s most beautiful gems. Dogsled through Lake Superior’s Northwoods … kayak gentle streams under covered bridges … hike behind waterfalls and through canyons … horseback ride and bike through woodlands and meadows … savor vistas and sunsets from 500-foot bluffs. (Trails by day — lodges by night.)

Follow your heart on weeklong dream trips to destinations like Acadia, Maine, nestled by the Atlantic ocean … Utah’s gorgeous red rock canyon-lands … Oregon’s coastline, cascades, and Crater Lake… Waterfall tours through Carolina’s Blue Ridge wilderness … Snow-capped mountain wildernesses packed with wildlife and beauty. (Trails by day; lodges by night).

Discover:

• Breathtaking beauty, unforgettable trails, and true outdoor adventure.
• Your own adventurous spirit, renewed confidence, and exhilaration.
• Tranquility: time to walk in silence, savor beauty, play outdoors again.
• Friends who share your love of nature and the outdoors.
• New ways to view nature and yourself through nature-based discussions. We also offer trips with a Christian focus, which are noted accordingly.

Enjoy this all with the friendliness, knowledge, and encouraging can-do attitudes of your experienced, women guides.

Join us! Explore. Dream. Discover.