Walking with Wendy
Vancouver Discovery Walks
April 25 - 27, 1997
Day 1: Mayor's WalkDay 2: Saturday Walks
Day 3 of the Vancouver Discovery Walk
Sunday was cloudy and cooler in Portland/Vancouver. Elizabeth Ireland, Jamie Mitchell and I set out at dawn to decorate the checkpoints and put out "Burma Shave" signs along the route - with rhymes about walking and about upcoming IML events in other countries.
The 40K walkers moved out, followed by the 30K, 20K, 10K and 5K groups. The route first went north through Vancouver neighborhoods to John Ball Park. The park checkpoint was decorated with Oriental themes to commemorate the IML walks in Japan and Taiwan. Here the 5K route turned around to return to the start, while the longer distances continued onto 4th Plain Boulevard. 
Along the way to the next checkpoint, the walkers were entertained by Burma Shave sign rhymes from Sam Korff. At the Port of Vancouver they entered a little bit of Germany. Checkpoint workers wore lederhosen and alpine hats, German flags and international flag streamers decorated the entry, and German music set a festive mood. Inside, the Port provided pretzels, cookies, hot coffee, water and candy, plus a nice place to stop and sit and chat. Outside, the checkpoint workers made sure everybody got across the road OK, aided by Boy Scouts, and directed onward if doing the 20K, 30K, or 40K routes or sent back towards town if doing the 10K.
The longer routes now progressed past wetlands to Vancouver Lake. Walkers viewed ducks, geese, eagles, hawks, and heron. The emergency medical technicians on bikes patrolled the route. The Vancouver Lake checkpoint had a Dutch and Norwegian theme. Here the 20K walkers turned around to return. The 30K and 40K walkers continued to Frenchman's Bar. The checkpoint there was French, with tricolor flags. The walkers also enjoyed the delicious oranges donated by a sponsor. The 40K walkers continued on past houseboats on this backwater of the Columbia River to a final turnaround checkpoint that had a British theme. The walks were all of easy difficulty without hills and all on pavement. While storms threatened, the weather held up throughout the day. Meanwhile, back at the start/finish many T-shirts and New Walkers Packets were sold and the crowd listened to music and visited and enjoyed free Pepsi.
At the closing ceremonies, Mayor Royce Pollard presented token gifts to to the international visitors. The IML judges gave thanks for the hospitality and the enjoyable events. Bill Byrd recognized his key volunteers. The Boy Scouts closed the ceremony with a vespers, encircling our international visitors in a ring of friendship, joined by the Eagle Scouts from the audience. There were many damp eyes in the crowd. Now the Vancouver Discovery Walk Committee is steaming ahead to plan for April 24-26, 1998. We await approval of this event as a sanctioned IML event, to be voted on at a future meeting of the IML. The committee invites all walkers to come and judge for themselves in 1998 at our second annual event. Come walk with us for friendship, fitness, and fun.Full Disclosure: Wendy Bumgardner was an officer of the American Volkssport Association, which hosted the event.
Previous Walking With Wendy:
April 12-13: Downtown Portland and Tualatin, OregonApril 19: Champoeg State Park March For Parks, Oregon
April 25: Vancouver Discovery Walks: Friday Mayor's Walk
April 26: Vancouver Discovery Walks: Saturday
Walking Trip and Event Reports
