During stage 1 we will kayak 1,400 miles from Seattle, Washington to Skagway, Alaska. The Pacific Northwest is home to a wide range of aquatic and terrestrial animals. We will be studying whales and other marine mammals, kelp forests, salmon, and many other species.
The Pacific Northwest is home to a variety of large land mammals including Grizzly Bears, and Black Bears. Above and below the surface we are sure to find plenty of things to learn about. Many of these large mammals need large undeveloped spaces to thrive and the roadless sections of British Columbia and Alaska provide the perfect habitat.
From Skagway, Alaska we will hike over the Chilkoot Pass in the footsteps of thousands of gold seekers who struggled across the pass to reach the Klondike. Many of artifacts remain from those early days, and we will follow their path all the way to Dawson City along the mighty Yukon River.
From Bennet Lake on the eastern side of the Chilkoot Pass we will canoe through a chain of lakes that form the headwaters of the Yukon River past White Horse and down the swift flowing Yukon River to Dawson City. 
From Dawson we will hike 100 miles through the mountains to the headwaters of the Blackstone River. The Blackstone flows into the Peel River, which flows in the McKenzie River, which will lead us to the Arctic Ocean. The rivers flowing through these rugged mountains as some of the most pristine wild rivers in North America, with hundreds of miles of flowing waterways between towns or roads.
After over 2,600 miles of paddling and hiking we hope to reach the Arctic Ocean before freeze up. We will spend the month of October,2010 training our dogs, and learning about native life in the Arctic. In November we will head south along the McKenzie River by dog team, crossing 1,800 miles of frozen wilderness. There are many remote native communities along our way and we are sure to learn a lot from the people we encounter.
When the ice melts in the Spring of 2011 we will transition from dogsled to canoe and paddle 2,300 miles along the historic travel and trade route pioneered by Alexander McKenzie, Samuel Hearne, and other Canadian Explorers in the 1700's. We will finish this stage of our journey in the fall of 2011 by completing the 8 1/2 mile Grand Portage which will lead us to the rock shore of Lake Superior.
After spending the winter giving presentations and making final preparations we will begin 4,800 mile kayak journey from Grand Portage, Minnesota to Key West, Florida. The first 2,200 miles will take us through the Great Lakes and out the Saint Lawrence Seaway. 
During the final stage of our journey we will kayak the length of the Atlantic Coast from the Saint Lawrence Seaway to Key West, Florida. We will be following the seasonal whale migration from the Bay of Fundy in Maine to the warm clear waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way we will visit cities large and small, and study a variety of ecosystems and environmental topics. We also plan to take side trips into the cyprus swamps and Everglades National Park looking for Alligators, birds, and other critters.
Green and Simple Food 5 Great Reasons to Go Organic
5 Great Reasons to Go Organic
Thursday, 14 May 2009 17:00
We hear so much about the benefits of organic food and why we must spend more on them because it means a healthier life for all of us. It�s ironic, what we call organic today, was a natural way of life half a century ago before the invention of pesticides and chemicals. And now we�re reinventing the wheel and giving it a new name, spinning a yarn about its benefits and advantages. Do we really know how organic translates to better? If you�re among those in the don�t-know category, read on to find out the benefits that organic food have in store for us:
- Poison is not food: Who wants to knowingly eat poison? Well, those who are not taking organic foods seriously. Regular foods are sprayed with pesticides and other chemicals to keep the bugs from getting to them. But the toxic chemicals end up getting to you, and you find yourself suffering from inexplicable allergies and ailments. Organic foods hold much less metal content � aluminum, lead and mercury � than regular food. Aluminum has been linked to increased rates of Alzheimer�s disease, mercury to brain damage, and lead to poor IQs.
- Nurturing Mother Nature: When we switch to organic foods, we are silently sending Mother Nature a message that we care. Chemicals and pesticides are not just harmful to us; they also cause untold destruction on nature � they pollute the water we drink, they kill the natural habitats of animals, plants, birds and fishes, thereby poisoning them and driving them to extinction, and they make land totally worthless for farming or other life-sustaining activities.�
- Getting back to our roots: Growing your own organic foods is the best way to go organic � you�re reducing your carbon footprint to the minimum. Even local produce and meat have to travel a certain distance to reach you, but your garden and your kitchen can be bridged by a few steps at the most. When you commune with nature in the most basic way, you feel at peace, both with yourself and the world. Gardening has been proven to have a therapeutic effect, and when it�s organic plants you�re growing, you have the added satisfaction of knowing you�re doing your best for your family and the environment.
- Giving your children a healthy legacy: Children are more susceptible to damage due to pesticide exposure because they have smaller organs, faster metabolisms, standard diets and speedy growths. When they�re encouraged to eat healthy organic food right from the time they can chew, you�re setting the stage for a fitter and better life ahead for them.
- More nutrition is better: Organic foods have been proven to have a higher nutritive content than their non-organic counterparts. They are richer in Calcium (for strong bones), Magnesium (good for the heart), Boron (prevents bone diseases), Lithium (treats depression), Selenium (an antioxidant) and Chromium (prevents diabetes and the hardening of arteries).
This post was contributed by Kelly Kilpatrick, who writes on the subject of Womens Apparel coupons. She invites your feedback at kellykilpatrick24 at gmail dot com
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