"Great Park Pursuit"...

[Harold]

From "Bumpus Bites"

Great Park Pursuit Quite a Trip
LINCOLN, Neb. – For some people, the Great Park Pursuit wasn't about winning a prize, but an opportunity to visit places they had never been.

"We did not do it for the prize, but that was a nice bonus," said Amy Cole of Lincoln, whose team earned one of the grand prizes in the annual event. "Our goal was not to win. The goal was to see how many parks we could hit."

Cole, her husband and two boys made up the Explorers team, one of five to select grand prizes for their reward. The Explorers chose a camping package.

The Great Park Pursuit, adopted from a similar outdoor initiative started by the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, involves a challenge to visit Nebraska parks.

Participants follow clues to collect nature-based impressions from posts hidden in each of the selected parks. Prizes and entry into drawings are based on the number of tracings collected.

"If we had to rate it 1 to 10 with 10 being the best, we would rate it a 20," Cole said. "I would definitely do it again next year."

The second annual Pursuit concluded in September. The other grand prize winners, with team name, hometown, and prize package selected, are: The Mighty Campers, Fremont, bicycling; Girls Day Out, Bellevue, cycling; Orr Factor, Grand Island, camping; and Heller Family, Omaha, bicycling.
The Old Nit Wits team of Lincoln won the Nebraska football ticket package and the Pekny Bunch of Burwell won the two-night stay at a state park cabin.

The success of the Pursuit may be seen in its increased participation. The number of participants increased 6.5 percent from last year, the number of teams was up 10.6 percent and the number of park visits rose 100.9 percent.

The Pursuit also got people of all ages out to the parks, especially youth. Of the 1,975 total participants, 764 were age 14 or younger.

"We have always tried to get our kids outside," said Cole, whose children are 3 and 6 years old. "The Pursuit is a good way to get the family outdoors and not spend a lot of money doing it."

The participating parks in 2009 were: Fort Robinson State Park (SP), Crawford; Central Park, Alliance; Ash Hollow State Historical Park (SHP), Lewellen; Kelley Park, McCook; Bessey Ranger District of the Nebraska National Forest, Halsey; Calamus State Recreation Area (SRA), Burwell; Cowboy Trail, Norfolk; Scenic Park, South Sioux City; Lewis and Clark Landing, Omaha; Walnut Creek Lake and Recreation Area, Papillion; Platte River SP, Louisville; Indian Cave SP, Shubert; Pioneers Park, Lincoln; Pawnee Park, Columbus; and Stolley Park, Grand Island.

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission joined the Nebraska Recreation and Park Association to develop the program. The goal was to encourage a healthier lifestyle for participants while increasing awareness of the nature-rich outdoor recreation opportunities in the state. The 2009 program was sponsored by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.

For the complete news release:
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