#Staunton State Park

[reasonsforhope]

By the time Sue Shusterman turns away from the bench at the overlook and back toward the trailhead, she knows the paddleboarders are out in force 300 yards away on the gleaming blue surface of Chatfield Reservoir.  

She knows the high runoff waters have flooded the roots of Chatfield’s willows and cottonwoods, and that the first spring-green layers of the foothills rise to the west like soft fabric. 

How she acquired these life-affirming memories is at first a mystery, since Shusterman is blind and is heading back toward the parking lot making her usual sweep of the path in front with her ever-present white cane.  

But then a friendly voice emerges from the phone that Shusterman is pointing toward the path from her other hand.

A little to the left to stay on the paved path. Looks like there’s a trail all the way down to the beach, about 75 yards, if you wanted to go. I’ll just be here watching, let me know if you need anything. 

The voice is from a live, trained human guide FaceTiming through Shusterman’s phone camera on the Aira ability-assist app. Sight-impaired people have been using Aira’s guides to make it easier to do anything from navigating an airport to filling out an online job form. Now, all 42 Colorado state parks like Chatfield are geofenced to allow any visitor to use Aira for free to stroll the trails with a helpful set of eyes. 

The Aira guides seemingly effortlessly offer what a blind hiker either needs, or wants. If there’s a dangerous steep drop-off on the right, they warn. If the hiker would rather know if the sneezeweed is in bloom or the sailboats are luffing through a turn, Aira offers that instead.

For Shusterman, trying Aira as an outdoors adventure for the first time, the allure was simple: “Independence.” 

“So she’s doing, I think, a phenomenal job of including the necessary safety things, but the perks of the scenery, too,” Shusterman said, as she paused during a conversation with an Aira guide based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. “She’s doing great.”

State accessibility officials recently announced the expansion of Aira to state parks grounds, after previously providing Aira free for other state-related functions such as navigating a government building or getting help on an online site or filling out forms. Colorado cannot control the cellphone signal, though, so parks officials encourage visitors to try Aira at a familiar or close-in park space before ranging farther afield with it. Popular parks like Staunton or Golden Gate contain pockets where signals are not strong. 

For consumers buying access on their own, Aira costs about $50 for 30 minutes of assistance a month. Private employers and governments often buy package access to Aira and other accessibility apps for all employees to use. State accessibility coordinator Theresa Montano, who is blind and accompanied Shusterman on her Chatfield walk, said Amazon buys access so that sight-impaired shipping center employees can navigate steps to pack orders.

Montano uses Aira at her state job, saying the guides on the app can share her computer screen and help her get through an online task in 30 minutes that might take her four hours without help or through older accessibility tools. 

Adding Aira for state-owned lands was wrapped into the overall $250,000 budget for free Aira use on state property and with state websites. The additional utility is an obvious plus, Montano said. 

“This gives blind people the same opportunity to come and enjoy it by themselves or with their family if they want to, and be independent,” she said...

Shusterman walked away taking more from the big picture experience, rather than any particular scenic detail. 

“For me, it was, you know what, I could go for a walk on this path, and I could feel completely safe, and I would enjoy a nice walk and get some exercise, in an unfamiliar area,” Shusterman said. “It’s definitely a real confidence boost for me.”  

-via The Colorado Sun, June 11, 2024

[aleja-213]

From my hike a couple of weeks ago in Staunton State park.

[dreamywoodsy]

staunton state park

[itspeacethroughculture]

Tobacco Barn, Staunton River Battlefield State Park, Virginia

[faina]

Staunton State Park

[eazy-group]

'Go Marmot Go': Hitchiking Marmot Provides Brief Comment After Being Rescued From Garage

New Post has been published on https://eazycamping.net/go-marmot-go-hitchiking-marmot-provides-brief-comment-after-being-rescued-from-garage/

'Go Marmot Go': Hitchiking Marmot Provides Brief Comment After Being Rescued From Garage

Colorado Parks and Wildlife say a rescued marmot that hitchhiked its way into the city of Wheat Ridge has been set free in the wild.

If you’ve ever hiked in the Rocky Mountains, there’s a good chance you’ve come across a marmot. The animal is a very large ground squirrel that often approaches hikers with their round little bodies and squeaky, high-pitched squeals. 

Thank you to Wheat Ridge Animal Control for catching a marmot hitchhiker who ended up in a garage. Our wildlife officers and volunteers released the critter in Staunton State Park on Friday. Go marmot go! pic.twitter.com/JIWIUQ3ILE

— CPW NE Region (@CPW_NE) August 29, 2023

Park rangers posted a video of the animal’s release into Staunton State Park. There’s no official word on how it made its way to Wheat Ridge. The city is a suburb just outside Denver city limits, far from what marmots call home.

However, plenty of marmots call Staunton State Park home. Parts of the park sit above 10,000 feet of elevation making it an ideal place for the animal. In fact, marmots are so plentiful in the park they’ve become an official mascot. The animals will soon prepare to hibernate as winter approaches and the mountains become snow-covered. 

Colorado Parks and Wildlife jokingly posted a second video of the rescued marmot, saying the animal had little to say about the situation.

Source

[johnandtracyslittleones]

Archery at Staunton State Park

First, a brief lesson with the park rangers.

Then off to the new archery range to practice with our friends!

The targets at the range were canvas and hard for the arrows to stick in. She had a couple better shots, but they kept bouncing off. Only one or two stuck.

[a-stark-photography]

[carolina27moon]

Slow motion running water 

carolyn-sheridan.pixels.com

[nicholasevansca]

[heavenskiriot]

Frozen Elk Falls | Colorado 

        Tumblr | Instagram | Society6

[itspeacethroughculture]

Staunton River Bridge, Staunton River Battlefield State Park, Virginia

[adventureswithteddy]

When was the last time you climbed a tree? Here Teddy scampers up one in Staunton State Park.

[beardedmrbean]

Cory Lee has visited 40 countries on seven continents, and yet the Georgia native has never explored Cloudland Canyon State Park, about 20 minutes from his home. His wheelchair was tough enough for the trip to Antarctica but not for the rugged terrain in his backyard.

Lee’s circumstances changed Friday, when Georgia’s Department of Natural Resources and the Aimee Copeland Foundation unveiled a fleet of all-terrain power wheelchairs for rent at 11 state parks and outdoorsy destinations, including Cloudland Canyon. The Action Trackchair models are equipped with tank-like tracks capable of traversing rocks, roots, streams and sand; clearing fallen trees; plowing through tall grass and tackling uphill climbs.

“I’ll finally be able to go on these trails for the first time in my life,” said the 32-year-old travel blogger, who shares his adventures on Curb Free with Cory Lee. “The trails are off-limits in my regular wheelchair.”

Georgia is one of the latest states to provide the Land Rover of wheelchairs to outdoor enthusiasts with mobility issues.

In 2017, Colorado Parks and Wildlife launched its Staunton State Park Track-Chair Program, which provides free adaptive equipment, though guests must pay the $10 entrance fee. Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources has placed off-road track chairs in nearly a dozen parks, including Muskegon State Park. In 2018, Lee reserved a chair at the park that boasts three miles of shoreline on Lake Michigan and Muskegon Lake. “It allowed me to have so much independence on the sand,” he said.

Mobility FTW