It's here, it's here! While you weren't looking (or were fogged in), summer-like weather arrived just in time for Memorial Day weekend. So let's get started - you don't need to listen to me when there's so much to enjoy!

Thanks to the Pennsylvania Forestry Facebook post for the lovely masthead shot of bluets at Ohiopyle along the Ferncliff Peninsula. Lovely!

~ Pam Metzger, Membership Coordinator
Pennsylvania Parks & Forests Foundation

First,a quick reminder that the t-shirt/hoodie sale through Bonfire Funds, an online merchandiser devoted to creating high quality tees for nonprofits, has been reopened until June 6 only. Visit our page and see if they aren't just the perfect addition to your summer wardrobe.

Beth got the banquet sponsor/silent auction donor thanks out this week, including the exciting news that our silent and ticket auctions once again raised nearly $2,000 for the purchase of accessible equipment for use in state park programming. It's time for us to go shopping, too!

The Hammonds/Buzzards Rocks clean-up in the Michaux postponed from last Saturday has been rescheduled for June 18. If you haven't signed up and would like to participate, please do. If you did sign up, it doesn't hurt to confirm with Amanda that you're still interested. She was going to be in touch with everyone, but you might save her an email. 

Ahead of the clean-up itself, we'll be hosting an informational session on the whys and wherefores of the project on June 1 at Shippensburg University. Contact Amanda to confirm time and room number.

Many thanks to Keep PA Beautiful/PA Cleanways for the generous gift of a power washer for the Hammonds Rocks clean-up. Pictured here is KPB's Heidi Pedicone and Marci, with the little engine that will. 

We met Samantha Fordick a few years ago during our Great Pennsylvania Outdoor Challenge and a copy of the Pennsylvania State Parks and State Forests Passport. She's been on a quest to visit all the parks and forests ever since and admits that it will take a while but she's in it for the long haul. Lucky for us, she shares her photographs along the way. Ryerson Station was Park #92 crossed off her list and she deemed it a "small peaceful park with nice hiking trails," making it her favorite kind of park. 

I can't guarantee your visit to Ryerson Station will yield an equally lucky encounter with a luna moth as Sam had but it's worth going down to the SW corner of the state to give the park a try! (Click it for the full effect.)

As you might imagine, it's a busy weekend in the parks and forests and the fun is just beginning! Let's focus on the reason for the weekend - a salute to our veterans.

East.

Veterans and their families are invited to a gentle one-mile hike along the Wood Frog Trail at Nescopeck State Park on Saturday. Wildflowers are promised!

South.

The Friends of Prince Gallitzin's moving tribute to servicemen and women takes place on Saturday morning at the amphitheater. Oh, my. I have a feeling that there is a serious push by these wonderful folks to have the new seating in place by Saturday morning! 

A Veterans Appreciation Hike along the forest trail at Cherry Springs State Park on Sunday evening will be followed by a dark skies program on Mars, Jupiter, and the Zodiac. Note that registration for the dark skies program is required.

West.

The Memorial Day holiday itself will be celebrated at Keystone State Park with a Memorial Monday Meander paddle and moment to consider the day's significance.

No matter what region you're looking to visit, our website Calendar of Events, the DCNR Calendar of Events and the ever-expanding Get Outdoors PA calendar are all great sources for things to do and see.

Good going, disc golf aficionados and aficionados to be: the three kinds of discs used for disc golf are mid-range discs and, much like regular golf, putters and drivers. As one trivia player noted, thankfully they aren't as expensive as regular golf equipment. Disc golf is actually rather affordable. 

To close out May, we're going to play visual trivia. Marci and I were on the road for a couple of days this week for a roundtable discussion on the Pennsylvania's Conservation Heritage project. Thursday we were up and out of our hotel room for an early morning walk along one of Pennsylvania's beautiful rivers. A couple of local crews were out in their shells, walkers and runners were enjoying the path across the way, and just after Marci took this shot, a cyclist came into view as well. A wonderful outdoor day in such an urban setting. The question is, where were we?

Send in your answer and we'll enter your correct answer into our monthly prize drawing. All correct answers each week will go into the hat and at the end of the month we'll draw one lucky winner. 

The more correct answers you submit in a month (up to four or the occasional five depending on the month), the more chances you'll have to win.

In closing.

The "recreation and health" infographic we shared in our spring newsletter has been translated into Spanish and enlarged into a banner. (Click the photo to visit our Facebook page and a better picture - or, better yet, ven a verlo.)