8/17/2007

Trout Lodge offers Becoming an Outdoors-Woman classes

Learn new skills while making friends from around the nation and the world.

POTOSI, Mo.-The YMCA of the Ozarks invites women who would like to learn or improve outdoor skills to Camp Lakewood Sept 14 through 16 for the Becoming an Outdoors-Woman (BOW) program.

BOW events offer the opportunity to learn skills such as archery, fishing, Dutch oven cooking and geocaching from experts while meeting other women who love the outdoors. Outdoor Education Director Mariah Hughes said the program has something for women of every skill level.

"BOW is a great way to get started if you haven't spent much time outdoors," said Hughes, "but our program is so diverse and our instructors so knowledgeable, anyone can learn something new."

BOW is open to women 18 and older. It offers classes in archery, backpacking, canoeing, kayaking, map-and-compass orienteering, use of GPS (global positioning system) units, green lifestyles, target sports, fishing, hunting and more.

Participants stay in modern accommodations at the scenic Camp Lakewood facility near Potosi. Meals are served in Camp Lakewood's cafeteria.

Hughes said the program draws participants from across the United States, Canada and several other countries. "The social part of the experience keeps women coming back year after year," she said.

For registration information, contact Judy Gillam, (573) 438-2154, ext. 114, jgillam@ymcastlouis.org, or Mariah Hughes, (573) 438- 2154, ext. 238, mhughes@ymcastlouis.org or visit www.ymcaoftheozarks.org,

-Jim Low-