Del Albright

PICKING UP AFTER OTHERS IS JUST A NECESSARY EVIL Some people have no manners and just do not get it. By Del Albright Keeping our backcountry open sometimes means getting our hands dirty -- even with other people's trash. It's ugly; it seems unnecessary; and it certainly isn't fair.  But as good stewards of our public lands, sometimes we just need to stop and clean up someone else's mess. I think there must be a place where some inconsiderate people are born in a barn and raised by monkeys without manners or consideration of our great country. Thank goodness for clubs like the  Mile-Hi Jeep Club  and their famous event All-4-Fun in Colorado every year where good stewards like Matt Hiller and Cory Moul lead land use clean up runs every day of the event. (snown in pic above). Every off-pavement recreation group advocates taking care of our public lands and waterways; and packing out your trash (and sometimes even your human waste).  Unfortunatel...

The Days of Running Free and Riding Off Into the Sunset Are Only For the Movies! But Freedoms Still Exist and We Need to Keep Them. By Del Albright This story is about off-pavement motorized recreation and how the "cowboy" claim to fame of riding free is just not real anymore.  Not for us as people who put a motor rather than an horse under us. Now please don't get me wrong, there is a ton of "freedom" built into what we do; but in today's world we cannot behave like riding and roping cowboys on public land and expect to have a "horse" under us much longer.  By that I simply mean we must follow the rules, obey the laws, be good stewards, and set the example for the younger folks behind us. I also pray (literally) that we will always have real cowboys on ranches, doing real horse riding, roping and cattle driving.  I also fight for and work hard to help make sure cattle grazing on public lands continues to be a viable lifestyle.  But h...

The Spirit of Cooperation Through Helping Hands Is the Solution to Successful Volunteerism and a Better Future for All By Del Albright Volunteer efforts from churches to charities to clubs and organizations must engage the concept of "helping hands" in order to build better bridges to a successful future. That was the theme of a recent talk I gave at an off-road/four-wheeling event in Empire, CO (August 1, 2016) called All-4-Fun conducted by the Mile-Hi Jeep Club of Denver, CO. Too many volunteer efforts fall apart because of egos, personalities, bickering or even jealousy.  Turf battles take over meetings and conversations.  People drop out right and left and find something else to do -- or another club/place to do whatever it is you were doing. It has to stop if the effort is to survive at all. The best solution is to encourage everyone involved to use their "helping hands" to save the cause, keep the sport alive, keep the charity strong, or keep...