November Trails Talk
TRAIL BENCH PROGRAM GROWS
Cameron Dean Condon, January 22, 2013 – June 16, 2015
Ten new trail benches were placed around the trails system this fall. Four benches were set in September and another six were installed in early November. Every bench has a special story so DCTB is featuring them through Trails Talk to celebrate and share the stories of families and friends that are being honored through a bench donation.
Celebrating Cameron
Steve and Barb Condon bought their home on Lake Minnewashta in May of 1999. Barb shared memories of her grandson Cameron and the family’s story here in the Iowa Great Lakes.
“We have been blest with summer after summer of great times with our four children in the earlier years; and now our son-in-law, daughters-in-law and now our grandchildren are also enjoying the lake. One of our sons, Adam and his wife, Ranelle enjoyed bringing their son, our grandson, Cameron up to our lake home in the two years he was with us. Cameron love
Adam & Ranelle visit their son’s bench at Lake Minnewashta
d music, going for walks and chocolate milk. He had the most beautiful smile and contagious laugh. Although he wasn’t a big fan of life jackets, he did enjoy boat rides around Okoboji. In 2015, he was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer that he battled for a couple of months at St. Jude Research Hospital. While his life was short, the impact he had on so many people was incredible. At this fifth year of having lost him, we decided to celebrate his life with a memorial bench that is located very near to our lake home. The bike trail runs directly across the street from our home and if you follow it over the bridge between Lakes Minnewashta and Lower Gar you will find his bench. It is a short walk from our home and offers a quiet place where we can dwell with his memory while enjoying a beautiful view looking out over Minnewashta.”
A beautiful tribute to their sweet Cameron and we hope this memorial is a place of peace, joy and love for their family.
HOPE ROLLS DONATES ADAPTIVE BICYCLES
Adam enjoys his new ride at Spirit Lake High School
Garret enjoys his new ride at Okoboji Elementary School
The DCTB partnered with Hope Rolls for a fundraiser in September and over $5,100 was raised to support trail development and gifts of adaptive bicycles for children with special abilities in Dickinson County. In October, Garrett (Okoboji Elementary School) received his new ride and Andy (Spirit Lake High School) got his new wheels in November. The DCTB is honored to raise awareness of this great cause and be a part of this fun adventure. We cannot wait to see them out on the trails! Please visit the Hope Rolls Facebook page to find more information on what they do and how to support their mission.
FALL FRIENDS CAMPAIGN
2020 was an exciting year for Dickinson County Trails with nearly 6 miles of new trail construction and over 4 miles of new surface overlays! Tatanka Ska Trace saw 4 miles of expansion and a number of street route gaps were filled in with new off-road trails. All of these improvements would not have been possible without the generous support of our donors. The DCTB has momentous projects planned for 2021 so we are now in the midst of our Fall Friends Campaign and we hope you consider joining Friends of the Trails. Your gift will enable us to enhance the quality of life in the Iowa Great Lakes while making a substantial contribution to the area’s health and economy. You can find information about donating to the trails at our website www.dickinsoncountytrails.com. We truly appreciate the community’s support in the work we do to improve the trails system.
As always, Happy Trails to You and Yours.
Erin Reed, DCTB Executive Director