Welcome to the Inaugural Edition of the Outdoor Afro Blog Carnival!
Wooo hooo….confetti falls…
So what is a Blog Carnival anyway? Well, I learned it is a terrific way to spread your blog wings into new topics, while connecting with more people. And that’s all I needed to know before signing up!  But I also recognized the term ‘carnival’ has a cultural meaning for some that is different than the experience of a spin on the ol’ ferris wheel. So I decided to honor the festive connotation of another kind of Carnival …

Last week, Outdoor Afro had a chance to chat with Audrey Peterman, author, motivational speaker, and founding organizer of the monumental Breaking the Color Barrier in the Great American Outdoors Conference held in Atlanta, Georgia last September.
Audrey Peterman (Photo: ncpa.org)
Here is the first of two parts of our delightful interview:
Rue: In the past several years you have cultivated a life where your interaction with natural spaces is a part of who you are. How did this happen?
Audrey: In a sense, it’s about returning to my roots. I grew up in …

By Dudley Edmondson
Continued from Part 1
Now you need something for the head and hands. I usually wear a synthetic stocking cap. The word synthetic pops up a lot because it is the fabric most commonly used in designing “performance clothing” that is clothing specifically desinged to be used in a number of outdoor activities from climbing to cycling, running etc.

After a Run in 25 Below Zero Winds!

I think I own more performance wear than I do any thing else. A good fleece hat and they come in many weights …

In a rare TV watching moment, I came across an even more rare REI commercial. When the commercial ended, I wondered, did I just see people of color….camping — or was it wishful thinking? Well, of course I had to find the commercial on YouTube, and after about five views, I am now about 99.3% certain a black couple came out from under that rock.
Watch and tell me what do you think.

As you know, my nephew Antione got married just a few months ago, and he and his new wife Christine departed for a honeymoon in Hawaii right after the ceremony. After checking out their vacation videos at the recent family Thanksgiving gathering, it was clear and admirable to me how the two embraced the local, wild environment as a big part of their new connection to one another as husband and wife. The following video shares the good humor and ecology they experienced while visiting the Kahua Institute in Haiku, …

Why not talk about the elephant in the room? This has to be the MOST funny video I have seen about African Americans and their experience while hiking in wild places. I wish it was totally fictional, but there is more truth here than you might imagine!
Thanks for sharing Marica Woods! — and great job Blair Underwood!
We have work to do!
Blair Underwood, Pacific Cinerama Dome

Black Hiker with Blair Underwood from Blair Underwood

flickr.com/prettywarstl: a nice plate!
Thanksgiving in my family is more than the delicious turkey, pies, and cobblers my sister Delane makes; it is also a celebration of food that preserves the memories and experiences of those who have passed on, symbolized through the remaking of family recipes…Cherrie’s dressing, Ella mae’s Pea Salad…the matriarchs of my family pulled greens from their garden for dinner, they plucked the feathers of fresh foul, and cleaned the fish they caught in local lakes for Friday fish fries.
Our family also has gratitude for the new generation …

Clothesline Photo: Renee Gunter
I was going to write about sustainable landscaping – and I still will, but something else came up:
The Laundry.
Washing clothes is actually my least favorite chore right along with mopping the floor, taking out dripping trash, and investigating that “noise” in the middle of the night. Thus, I view the laundry task through a ‘necessary evil’ lens. But I like when it’s done. The problem is, it’s never done! I think I handle laundry fairly well for a household of four, but every time I get the …

Outdoor Afro just received a note from Arthur Bronson, President of the International Federation of Black Bass Anglers (IFBBA) to let us know what his organization has been frying up these days. The IFBBA’s members are comprised primarily of people of color and its membership and outreach spans the globe. The organization also targets and mentors urban kids of color to participate in various fishing derbies and clinics.
Arthur Bronson and IFBBA members Ed Hasse and Reynaldo Anderson
Mr. Bronson says that fishing for African Americans is not new, “we have …

Santa Monica Mountains
I met Eve Fields back in 2006 through an active online community that connected people together around travel to the annual Essence Festival in New Orleans, Louisiana. From her first post, Eve advocated getting out and traveling the world, no matter the budget – or physical ability.
Eve was diagnosed with MS (Multiple Sclerosis) when she was 25.  While it has not stopped her from camping, visiting her local fishing hole, collecting stamps in her passport from all over the globe, AND running her own construction company, she has …