Many Sacramento residents are unaware that they live just around the corner from a world-renown hotbed of whitewater rafting. Whether you are rafting the South Fork of the American River in El Dorado County, the Middle or North Forks, Cache Creek or one of the many other rivers flowing in the Sacramento area, here's a great article on how to go about planning your trip. As a first-time rafter, many questions are likely running through your mind if you are considering a trip. Maybe you’re nervous. Perhaps you can’t swim. Are you going off of waterfalls? Are you fit enough? Are you old enough? Are you young enough? What do you wear? How do you wear it? Do you need special shoes? Not to wo

I, like you, have been inundated with the word, Green. For me, I'm not tired of it, in fact, I find it interesting how many 'main-stream' companies are embracing the concept but I worry many will tire of the barrage. Some tuned out long before this recent surge began and they're probably untouchable when it comes to converting them to Green champions. Others are in the wait and see mode of learning and then there are those of us who are interested and dabble in Green exploration and of course, the complete Green geeks. I'll stop right there, for this isn't a call to arms, a political piece or a lambasting of the corporate structure in the US. This is a short tip-sheet to help those that w

Are you having fun? Are you taking those moments so very necessary for good mental health? I know it's difficult to carve out time and space for yourself. Our work places are more competitive. Our bosses are up against greater pressures to produce more with less. Thus, we're up against it, trying to be more productive with less time. Many of us find ourselves logging longer hours, sometimes... No, not sometimes, OFTEN, we're doing so off the clock, essentially working for free, more out of self preservation than a love of the job. Think of puppy love or simply the act of falling in love. Some people are addicted to this, the rush. Remember? You can stay up all night, eat a grain of rice a

In part one, we looked at some of the courses taken out of our school and why it's important to find a supplementary program for our children. We learned there were many benefits to experiential education but focused on just 5-benefits: Experiential outdoor education programs help in a great many ways, here are a few main points of impact this type of education will have on a student: 1. An environmental / ecological awareness. 2. Physical challenge and accomplishment positive for both the physical and emotional well-being. 3. Self-awareness / empowerment 4. Interpersonal relations, communication and leadership skills. 5. Socialization and community development. Through real life camp ex

To say folks are frustrated with much of the US education system is an understatement, many people are fighting angry, spitting mad. For many of us part of the US's founding intentions were to provide the best education in the world and evolved into a bragging right for the US. While there are many quality teachers to be had and good classroom programs, the diversity in our childrens' education is virtually gone. Will stories of the good old days of school begin with, once upon a time there was driver's education? The argument rages as to how this happened or why but we're not going to develop that argument here. How we can help our children, what we can do for them is our focus. The appr

It' s because you care, you're reading this article. Chances are you've explored the options and are getting close to sending your child or children to a residential camp. It doesn't matter whether this is the first camp experience or whether you're an old pro, it's a near certainty a couple of things have crossed your mind. First, there are a lot of camps. Second, many appear to offer the same program. Third, they're not necessarily cheap. Finally, for the money spent, isn't it fair that I expect a little enrichment? You're exactly correct in each thought. The volume of camps is overwhelming. They do cost a fair amount of money, there are similar programs and yes you should be able to h

Trying to find just the right "summer camp" can be a frustrating journey. The internet will return hundreds of pages, sorted for their terms, not yours. Undoubtedly at or near the top of the search results will be camp focused directories. While no directory can pick a camp for you, they can help you form a good idea of what you're looking for in a summer camp. Then, you can do some additional research to help insure your summer camp experience is the best it can be. In the search results there will be web links that relate to one specific camp. You may chose to look at some of these as well as the directories but going camp page to camp page will take too long, limiting your exposure to