2nd Annual LPPA Camping, Hiking and Conversation Outing

Back by popular demand, the Libertarians will be taking to the great outdoors for camping, cooking and having great conversation with fellow Pennsylvanian liberty freedom fighters.  We had a blast last year so let's do it again.   

Ricketts Glenn State Park has over 21 of the most gorgeous waterfalls in the northeast….one is 94’ tall!!!  The hike to see all 21 falls is about 4 miles, moderate to aggressive terrain.  (hey if my three year old can do it…….) 

It is truly is one of the most scenic areas in Pennsylvania, comprising of 13,050 acres in Luzerne, Sullivan and Columbia counties. A varied selection of recreational opportunities includes: camping, cabin rental, swimming, fishing, boating, hiking, horseback riding, picnicking, viewing numerous waterfalls and winter sports.   

The LPPA will be having the monthly Board of Directors meeting at the Pioneer Campground where campsites are available by calling 570-946-9971 or emailing pioneercg@epix.net.  Call soon, they fill up.  Ask for be with the Libertarian campsites.  Not a camper?  They have cabins, log sided cottages and camper hookups, too.  An outdoor pool, swings, pavilion and hay ride await you.  Their website is www.pioneercampground.com.   The park is located 30 miles north of Bloomsburg, east of Williamsport, west of Pocono’s. 

My family is planning on camping Thursday, September 11th for three nights so come up early and join in the fun.  The board meeting will be Saturday, September 13th,12pm – 4pm.  (Our chair promises to keep the meeting short and on track)  If you ever wanted to sit in on the state board meeting or have something you would like to share, this would be the place.   

We hope you and your family can join us.  Call me at 717-343-8474 or go to the forum at www.lppa.org for if you have any questions.  For directions and more information on Ricketts Glenn, visit http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/parks/rickettsglen.aspx.

Barry Dively – 2008 Camping Chair, LPPA   
 

That sounds pretty cool. I'll have to get the wife and kids excited about it.

maybe there could be arrangments made for carpooling....

Less than a month away....   Who's coming?  Did you reserve your spot?   

This is an academic and minor protest, and keep in mind, I LOVE camping (I was a boy scout), but shouldn't official meetings be as accessible as possible to as many Pennsylvanians and media outlets as possible?

If this were the goal, to me it would suggest locations where there are large populations, airports, bus terminals, electrical outlets, running water and the like, for example:

- Pittsburgh
- Erie
- Harrisburg
- Philadelphia

and occasionally, places like:

- Scranton
- Reading
- York
- Butler

But not a camping ground in rural PA. That is:

- hard to get to.
- not time-efficient.
- requires an overnight stay in the woods it appears.
- has no advantage of being near a large population center (3 hrs from Philly).
- rules out people who don't have cars and a significant gas budget.
- makes it hard for the press to cover you.

IOW, a lot of people are being excluded from your meeting by your choice of location. I know you probably don't hold all your meetings like this, but still.

Big organization is as big organization does, or something like that, no?

If we say we'll act like a small organization until we're big, we'll never be big. One has to have the mindset for it before it happens.


It's the accessibility that is important to me.

This is just a minor quibble I have, I'll be quiet about it now.

I'm currently outside PA, but grew up in Butler and then NE Philly, and plan to move my family to the Philly area in the spring after a 20 yr absence. I'm very much looking forward to being an active LP-PA member, working on ballot access, running for office, recruiting others to run, whatever it takes. I'm a Unix sysadmin by trade and have volunteered multiple times to help out remotely for now but have never gotten any response other than to say my message would be passed along to the person in charge.

I won't be attending the Ricketts Glenn meeting, but I had a thought after reading the discussion here.  Let me suggest another perspective to consider this. Look at this gathering and its setting as a metaphor differentiating the LP from its competitors.

Imagine the unspoken contrast with those left-wing, tree-hugging, democratic socialists.  The third largest political party in PA occasionally schedules meetings at a camp grounds.  It left the grounds cleaner than when it arrived.  It didn't have to pay its members a "bonus" to attend.

And to those right-wing, fiscal hypocrites this demonstrates that the LP is thrifty enough to combine business and recreation for its own purposes.  Just imagine how effective that attitude could take our state at finding ways to shrink government and wisely spending the taxpayers' money.

Mark

PS -- I would hope that someone (or everyone) logs their impressions in words, sounds and/or pictures.  That event could make a fun LibPenn story and maybe even a greater point about the LPPA.