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Today I had a hit on my site from Afghanistan. I surely doubt it was Bin Laden. I can only surmise it may have been a US soldier looking forward to "R & R" relief and it got me thinking.......

Once upon a college credit, I took an ARMY ROTC course, in addition, I joined the ROTC Rangers Program where we focused on "field maneuvers" and "military tactics". We had gone into the field for a weekend of maneuvers with "battle like" practice combat. There are two incidences that changed me... First, on a night patrol, I was assigned the position of "point". For those of you that don't know, the "point" is the lead man. The one in the front. That night, as I led my patrol through the winter woods of central Pennsylvania, signaling our progression with only silent hand signals, I could not fight back the tears as I thought of so many men, and women, that had and will have to take that walk for real. I was in no danger. I was not going to meet a fire fight. I was not going to set off a landmine. I was not going to die. I was going to meander through the winter forest, leading my college coeds. Second, on another trip, I was in a "fire fight" with demo amo or blanks. My M16 jammed while we were being overtaken by our "enemy". Let me tell you, that was gut wrenching, and it was FAKE. Your stomach falls into your boots as you try to clear the rounds in your weapon. If it was real, I'd be dead. Today, many men and women are taking that walk and banging on jammed weapons in real, life threatening situations. Many are waiting to be deployed, fighting overseas, looking at an empty bunk of a fallen comrade, or waking up from a not so nice dream. Military Members - I honor you. Thank you.

So I have decided, be it not prudent for a new business - to set aside a portion of my company's gear in order TO OFFER FREE ONLINE CAMPING GEAR RENTALS FOR ANY ACTIVE MILITARY MEMBERS to say THANK YOU. Thank you for serving our Country and keeping us safe. To offer you a few moments in the outdoors where you may find serenity and peace and see the Beauty of The World. Please call me, so you may enjoy some wonderful moments with friends or family.

I will never forget what a Frenchman once said to me when I was visiting France. "You never think about having a strong military until someone is parachuting into your backyard."

Up Close and Personal: Midnight Space Shuttle Launch.

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If you have never seen a Space Shuttle launch this is the way to go.

If you have seen a launch, believe me, you have never seen one like this!

(we will be much closer than this)

Date: Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Level: Intermediate/Moderate
(I don't want to exclude anyone - if you are a beginner and want to go email me)

Location: Canaveral National Seashore

Length of Trip: 24+ hours

Leader: Lisa Beardsley

Cost: Depends on number of participants camping.

Gear: PDF, Flashlight, Whistle, Camping Gear, Food: Dinner Tuesday, Breakfast Wednesday.

Trip Information: Date Changed Once Already...
NASA has announced the next date for the space shuttle launch; October 14th as 22:17. This will be a night launch, so it will be something to see. The sky will light up and we will be right at the base of the launch site - at close as they will let us get - so close you will see and possibly smell the smoke! Due to the time of the launch, participants will HAVE TO CAMPOUT overnight on one of the islands in Mosquito Lagoon. It is possible to paddle back to the put in site the same night, but it will be dangerous due to high boat traffic in the area. I would not recommend it. As kayaks we have access to get much closer than the powerboats so we will not have to worry about them the night of the launch.

We will plan on meeting late morning on Tuesday at the Sports Complex. We will then carpool to the launch site and arrive at the campsite to set up camp. We will have a leisure evening with time for a nap if you wish. We will have dinner and then get ready for our paddle to the launch site viewing area. If you wish you may view the launch from the campsite itself, but you will not "smell the smoke". After the launch we will paddle back to the campsite and call it a night. The next morning we will have breakfast, break camp and return to our put in location.

Wildlife: This place is a great place to see manatees!

About Camping:
If you are new to camping or have never gone camping and you have some concerns; email me.

For those of you that do not know me well - I actually Glamp; or Glamourous Camp, however this is a primitive area, so we will be Modified Glamping for the backcountry. If you have any questions or concerns, email me.

There is a cost for camping, but it will vary depending on how many campers there are. We are going to be camping with members of the Central Florida Sea Kayaking Club, so again it depends on how many people go. Last time we camped out for a launch we paid around $8.00 per person.

Want to go but don't have any camping gear? You have priority access to camping gear rentals from GITTO for this date.

Mission Description:
Space shuttle Atlantis will fly seven astronauts into space for the fifth and final servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope for an 11 day mission. The crew will be repairing and making improvements to the observatory's capabilities.

NASA webpage

Now as we all know - launches are sometime canceled. This trip will follow the re-schedule date should that occur.

Some views of the island Campsite.

Sign up by e-mailing me @ Lisa@GoGITTO.com

See you on the water, and in the light of the Space Shuttle thrusters!

Counting Phytoplankton. One, Two, Three!

Karena brevis - a Dinoflagellate
A Potentially Toxic Phytoplankton.

GITTO has embarked on a different kind of outdoor adventure; collecting and counting phytoplankton, or plant plankton as part of the Florida Paddling Trail - Trail Keeper Team.

Following the completion of our training by NOAA, we will be participating in the Phytoplankton Monitoring Network assisting a group of researchers at the Center for Coastal Environmental Health and Bimolecular Research and the Hollings Marine Laboratory in Charleston, South Carolina with monitoring Harmful Algae Blooms or HABs, along the US Coast. We will be sampling in the Intracoastal Waterway just south of the St. John's River in Jacksonville, Florida.

The goal of the program is multi fold. Essentially we hope to monitor a specific water area throughout the year to help scientist create a comprehensive list of harmful algal species inhabiting coastal marine waters and help identify trends where HABs are more likely to occur.

Why?
Some algae produce potent toxins which cause morbidity in humans and often mortality in marine life. Often, these blooms have significant economic and sociocultural impacts on the area they affect. The estimated national economic impact exceeds 82 million dollars per year, with the majority of costs occurring in public health and the commercial fisheries industry. Florida is often affected by the organism pictured above which causes respiratory symptoms in many people and results in the death of large numbers of fish.

NOAA's Plankton Monitoring Program hopes to minimize future public health effects, sociocultural impacts, economic losses and costs by improving prediction of blooms and developing methods of controlling the blooms that do occour.

Who Cares?
Almost everyone may be affected by harmful algae blooms. Effects range from the availability and cost of seafood items, to respiratory and sometimes neurological symptoms, to reallocation of governmental resources, to simply just not being able to Get into the Outdoors to enjoy recreational activities.

GITTO hopes that our assistance with this program may aide scientist in their discovery of why these organisms experience periodic blooms and why their dormant toxins become active. Ultimately we hope to increase our governments ability to make accurate predictions of blooms.

The Chemical Structure of Brevitoxin - Floirda's Red Tide

In the near future, GITTO Events hopes to educate children participating in our Safari Mornings programs by letting them assist with the collection and identification of dinoflagellates and diatoms after our official collections and counts are completed. How exciting it will be for them to discover, long before high school biology, microscopic life exists all around them!

Circumnavigate the Florida Peninsula in a Kayak along the Florida Paddling Trail!

Once only a dream, The Florida Circumnavigation Paddling Trail is now a reality. Still in its infancy, campsite and paddling community resources along the trail are being developed by volunteer Trail Keepers. The trail is organized into various sections and is sure to become one of the premier paddling destinations in the United States.

Locals and visitors alike may enjoy various ecological habitats extending from Big Lagoon State Park near Pensacola, down the west coast, around the Keys, and up the east coast to Fort Clinch State Park, located on the St. Mary's River and the border with Georgia. The entire length of the trail is 1,550 miles, not including any side trips that lure paddlers from the trail itself.

Visit the Florida Paddling Trail Association's website which has information on Trail campsites, launches, sights to see and facilities along the trail.

GITTO Gear offers online rental gear specialized for kayak camping. If you are new to camping or if you want to take one of your friends along on a segment of this trail, we have the gear that you need. Check out our Kayak Adventure Series or our complete kayak camping packages.

GITTO is also a proud to announce that we are one of the Trail Keepers for Segment 25 in Jacksonville, Florida. We are currently working on developing, sponsoring and constructing primitive campsites along the trail! In 2009 we will begin to host overnight kayak campouts through our GITTO Events department.

National Wildlife Federation's - Make Tracks! Family Trail Weekend.

The National Wildlife Federation is a well know national organization that has adopted a mission to connect kids, and all of us, to nature again

Recently, in response to an increasing phenomenon dubbed "Nature Deficit Disorder" (a nature-child disconnect), the NWF has begun to organize events that promote increasing unstructured outdoor play and discovery for our Nation's children. They have developed and promote national events such as the Great American Backyard Campout, where they encourage families to spend one night camping out in their yards or local parks. This year marked the fourth year for the event. They now have embarked on a new event - Make Tracks! Family Trail Weekend! scheduled for the weekend of October 11-13.

The goal of this event is to get families outdoors and out on a trail for one of the three days - be it on a bike, in a stroller, on your own two feet or atop a horse! A secondary goal is to encourage people to explore their community resources and discover nearby green spaces that they may visit more often.

The NWF's website offers a "sign up" sheet so they may keep a tally - for fun! There are also many informative links, and a trail/park finder tool called NatureFind where you just enter your zip code to receive a list of local green spaces.

Be sure to log on to their website and sign up for this event, and more importantly, start making plans to Make Tracks!

This event is part of the the national movement to get kids outside again where the NWF is promoting what they call Green Hour where parents give their kids (and themselves!) a daily dose of the great outdoors.

Watch their promotional video on you tube.

In response to this event, GITTO will be hosting a "refreshment stand" at one of the Lakeside Pavilions in Kathern Abbey Hanna Park in Jacksonville, Florida for hikers and bikers from 9am until 4pm. We will also be having Volley Ball Games and a GITTOGear demo display on site!

Great American Backyard Campout 2008

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GITTO Events Partnered with the National Wildlife Federation to promote their
Great American Backyard Campout - June 2008

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We had a wonderful time camping in Huguenot Park, Jacksonville, Florida.

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