We take our service projects seriously, it’s true. But we take our play equally (and pretty darned) seriously, too. The places VISIONS groups go offer splendid scenery, geography, wildlife and history. Always there’s time, and every opportunity made, to re-charge our batteries by exploring and enjoying the outdoors. Adventure comes instantly to mind with a first glimpse of most locations’ landscapes. Take Montana with its spectacular Rockies, wide-open plains and crystalline rivers, alpine peaks and mirror-like lakes of Glacier Park, and the primitive Bob Marshall Wilderness. The majesty of the Andes and mysterious ancient ruins of Peru and Ecuador, and Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands, offer unbelievable hiking and exploring. Very different yet equally powerful are the Caribbean West Indies, white sand beaches and turquoise blue oceans, lush rain forests, tropical waterfalls, and fragrant volcanic mountain trails.
Perhaps less obvious, but no less compelling are the adventures on Mississippi’s Gulf Coast. Every summer we kayak or canoe the Wolf River. We swim and snorkel the ocean and barbeque on the beaches. There’s cane pole fishing off bayou docks. Flat-boat crabbing in meandering, mysterious river channels. Trips to two different barrier islands with historic forts and other places on the Historic National Registry. Dauphin Island is the first landfall encountered by hosts of birds as they migrate from South America, and Turkey Creek, where we live, is a vital watershed haven for an incredible variety of birds.
VISIONS programs never lack for adventure recreation and good old-fashioned fun.
