Saturday we were going to American Shakespeare Center to see King Lear but I had screwed up – we were a week late and most annoyingly ASC was unwilling to help out. They said we could BUY two more tickets?! We have season subscriptions for the most expensive seats in the house. I was peeved, so we left and in our wandering around downtown Staunton we spied a Welsh flag flying outside an utterly charming shop! Apparently they have come up with a fabulous way to get people inside 20 little shops – a treasure map to Stauntons dragons!!! Meet our newest dragon!

On our way home from Staunton we happened upon a rally in support of Shenandoah National Park, so naturally we picked up a sign (May the Forest Be With You!) and joined them! They told us about the Resistance Rangers who planned the rallies and teach-ins across the country today.

ResistanceRangers.Org is a fabulous group of off-duty, illegally fired, and former/retired National Park Service employees. These stewards of public lands are dedicated to the preservation & protection of all sites managed by the NPS.

At ResistanceRangers.Org you can find many ways to help from sending postcards to attending rallies to contacting your congress creatures.

One option they mention is 5calls.org (or download the app) for an easy way to call your reps about issues you care about. Just add your location and the website will find your representatives and even provide a script you can use. In the Topics area under the Environment category you will see public land related issues, like “Defend our National Parks” and “Protect our National Forests from Unregulated Logging.” Choose a topic and start calling!

I’ve already had both Senators and our magat Rep on speed dial. I have called each one over a dozen times since the beginning of February. Now I’m adding postcards into the mix, writing to the Sec of the Interior, Chief of Forest Service, & White House. And I will make some signs to take to the next rally on April 5th!

Sunday we went to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and had a delightful time.

Then we stopped at REI to look at upgrading my kayak situation… We bought Chris a fabulous pedal kayak a couple years ago but I kept using the tandem inflatable. Not any longer! I am now the proud owner of an Oru Lake Sport collapsible kayak! It only weighs 19 pounds! I am SO excited! We’ll be able to take it camping as it folds up to be 42″x21″x11″! In fact we have decided to pick up a different Oru for Chris so we can take kayaks AND the tandem on our camping trips!