The term “volkssport” is German for “sport of the people”. Volkssporting is a family-oriented sports and recreation program open to all that promotes physical fitness and good health. Volkssporting in the United States is sponsored by the American Volkssport Association (AVA) which has a nationwide, grassroots network of over 200 active clubs presenting more than 2,500 volkssporting events each year. People of any background, age, and ability participate in these noncompetitive sporting events such as walking, biking, swimming, canoeing, cross country skiing, or snowshoeing. You may choose your time to start within the start/finish “window” and participate in the sport at your own pace. One local organization, Lilac City Volkssport Club has three sanctioned walks available in Colfax, Pullman, and Moscow. A sanctioned event gives you the opportunity to earn patches and awards for completing events and distance. Here at the library, you can pick up directions for a 5k or 10k walk in Colfax, or in either one of the other Palouse towns.

As part of the Colfax celebration of 150 years, the Whitman County Library will host a guided historical volkswalk of six kilometers (3.7 miles) on July 24 at 9:00 AM. Each participant will receive one of the library’s brochures of Historic Colfax produced in conjunction with the Whitman County Historical Society and Whitman Heritage along with a collectible library sticker for your water bottle. After the walk, stay and have lunch in The Center, a community gathering place and Libey Gallery. Later that afternoon, take part in the Cycle Colfax event at the historic Perkins House or the Frisbee Golf Tournament at Schmuck Park.

Whitman County Library offers patrons numerous opportunities to enjoy the area that we call the Palouse. As part of the state Check Out Washington program, the library has eight backpacks with Discover Passes, binoculars, and hiking brochures available for a two week period. Check Out Washington is a collaboration between the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission and the Washington State Library to allow individuals to “check out a state park” without paying the parking fee.

We have two geocache bags with GPS devices preloaded with local geocache finds in them. Geocaching is an outdoor recreational activity in which participants use a Global Positioning System receiver or mobile device and other navigational techniques, to hide and seek containers called “geocaches” or “caches”, at specific locations marked by coordinates all over the world. The main reason for Geocaching is to have fun while providing people with a good reason to enjoy the outdoors. Within ten miles of Colfax, you can find over 50 geocaches. Other backpacks available to checkout include a birding backpack with binoculars and books for both children and adults. The fishing backpack includes a fishing pole, a tackle box with fishing gear, bait, and extra line, first aid kit and fishing-related children’s books. We also have a hiking backpack that includes local trail guides of Whitman County and the surrounding area, books, compass, and binoculars.

The Palouse is home to the Palouse Scenic Byway which combines 208 miles of paved roads through rolling hills and farmland with rich history, small town charm, spectacular scenic vistas and outstanding recreational opportunities. Along the route, there are places to stop and enjoy the beautiful scenery such as the channeled scablands near Lacrosse, Palouse Falls State Park, Kamiak Butte, the Snake River Trail and Wawawai Park, and finally Steptoe Butte State Park and the Steptoe Battlefield State Park.

One of the newer and more popular features of the Palouse is the Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail which covers 250 miles of rail trail bed from Western Washington to the Idaho border. This trail will hopefully one day complete the Great American Rail-Trail Route across the United States. Featured improvements to the trail in Whitman County will include paving the 9 mile route between Malden and Rosalia. The newest improvement is the opening of the Tekoa Trestle which spans Highway 27. The bridge built in1909 by the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul railway is 975 feet long and 115 feet high. The bridge, which was closed for years, was recently renovated by the Washington State Parks and is now a feature attraction for the Palouse to Cascades State Park.

We look forward to seeing you the weekend of July 23 and 24 for the Colfax 150 Celebration.

Read the article in the Moscow-Pullman Daily News