Click here for this week’s European Volksmarch schedule.
After a long absence from Texas, mid-July found us in San Antonio, where we walked the Fort Sam Houston Year Round Event.
When one thinks of Texas and July, heat is the first thing that comes to mind. To beat it, we wanted to do the walk early in the morning, but as we were about to begin, a group of walkers from the Randolph Roadrunners were finishing the 10-kilometer route. There were several longtime friends in the group, including Rick White, who introduced Bob to volksmarching 30 years ago.
Sponsored by the Texas Wanderers, the Fort Sam Houston Year Round Event starts at the Fort Sam Houston Billeting Office, Building 592, near the corner of Harry Wurzbach and Dickman roads. The route leads past two museums chronicling the history of the U.S. Army Medical Department and Fort Sam Houston. The walk also takes you through the fort’s historic Quadrangle, where deer, ducks, rabbits and peacocks roam freely. After the Quadrangle, you pass some of the beautiful old buildings on the post. You can see the quarters where Gen. John Pershing lived in 1917, and where Col. and Mrs. Dwight Eisenhower lived in 1941. We finished the walk at about 11 a.m. — and had all of the heat we could handle!
Our next stop was at the American Volkssports Association headquarters on Pat Booker Road in Universal City, just north of San Antonio. We enjoyed visiting the staff and seeing all the old volksmarch medals that they have on display. We also saw a room full of memorabilia that the staff hopes to have on exhibit in the near future.
Later that evening, we went downtown to the Riverwalk and had dinner at the Hard Rock Café. As we sat on its balcony above the river enjoying the Joe Perry "Rock Your World" quesadilla and the Haystack chicken salad, we said that the next time we were in town, we would have to do the San Antonio year-round walk. This 11-kilometer walk starts at the Holiday Inn El Tropicano on Lexington Avenue and goes through downtown San Antonio as well as along the Riverwalk.
These are just two of the permanent walks in the San Antonio area. To find more information about them, see the American Volkssport Association Web site at www.ava.org. Whichever walk you choose, make sure you take plenty of water and some sunblock because there is not a lot of shade on some of the trails and the sun can really bear down.
Next week, read about our walk in Port Aransas, Texas.
• • •
Congratulations to all who completed the 92nd Annual International Four Day Marches Nijmegen in the Netherlands. The U.S. delegation from Joint Forces Command Brunssum that completed the walk consisted of Maj. Doug LaVien, Staff Sgt. Jonathan Pierce, Sgt. Williams Anaab and Master Sgt. James Kagele. They walked 25 miles with a 25-pound backpack each day for four days. Job well done!
• • •
Thanks to the contributors of this week’s article: Ramona and Horst Kechelen; Tim and Luchi Lynch; John and Patty Marsh; Manfred Dahl, Lew Harrison, Egon Hatfield, Wayne Henry, Pat Patterson and Dawn St. John.
• • •
Miscellaneous short notes about this week’s events:
• Essleben appears to be about halfway between Würzburg and Schweinfurt and should be convenient to both.
• At Blaichach, the prize is a teddy bear with a scarf and stocking hat.
• The town of Hottenbach is not too far from Idar-Oberstein, so it is not surprising that organizers are offering a gemstone as an award at their walk.
• Oberdachstetten is pretty close to Rothenburg ob der Tauber, so, after the walk, visit Rothenburg’s beautiful walled old city.
• The finish for the Porcia, Italy, walk is at the top of the Campanili. You’ll see beautiful views over the towns to the mountains.
E-mail volksmarch information to two.walkers@yahoo.com. Mail brochures to Bob and Lorraine Huffaker, CMR 460, Box 278, APO, AE, 09703-0278.
