All Blog Posts (116)

As most of you know Wilderness Adventures was founded in the hopes of reaching as many children in the Tri-State area and preparing them for all levels of outdoor activities in the great outdoors. Paralee in association with The Learning Center had the pleasure of working with a group of 11 to 13 year olds for the first semester of this school year. Paralee has ten years of experience long-distance backpacking and has written two books that share valuable resources to assist in the…

“True friendship consists not in the multitude of friends, but in their worth and value.” by Ben Jonson

We all like to be the life of the party and we like to feel wanted, and the more people who seem to like us, the better.

Still, we recognize who our true friends are-and we don’t have so many of these. They are the friends who don’t wait to ask what they can do when we need help. They’re the friends who tell us the things we don’t want to hear, but need to hear anyway. They’re…

My daughter is an Army Wife, and has since moved from Colorado to Louisiana. My son-in-law is a Staff Sargent in the Army. They have 2 wonderful children, my grandchildren. My daughter has to always watch their budgets and they still have to feed a family of 4 on the budget of 2, so in order to gain the biggest bang for her bucks, she does extreme couponing. Most times she can go grocery shopping and gets up to 100% return on her spending, which means a lot of times she comes out of the…

Wow, how time flies when you are or are not having fun!! The latest news is we just might have a buyer by next weekend. There is a young couple from a neighboring state that is really really interested. In fact they are going to their financial advisor on Monday and they are planning to visit us on the weekend and stay with us on the farm to discuss the sale.

We are so excited and all we can think to say about it at this time is "It's About Time". We have had…

Ever feel grumpy or unhappy? Get up from your chair and take a quick walk in nature. Look for signs of nature's beauty as you walk. It will cheer you right up. A sunny day, a light breeze, a temperature perfect for sitting outside without a jacket-such days make us feel happy, at peace with the world, grateful.

Walking in the rain, making snow angels, or watching the wind whip the trees also can make us feel happy. Nature keeps us grounded in what's real. Winter will balance summer,…

I must be tired. Forgot to mention my NEW book... something really different from what I usually write.

Available in print or ebook, details at on my site, just click here for more.

Brace yourself... there's a chance of scattered teardrops.

Back in late 2009, I released a novel entitled "JUICE."

More recently, after much editing and fine tuning, that novel was re-released. Why mention it? Well... in addition to some shameless self promotion... I wanted to remind everyone that JUICE takes place in Murphy! And even though I moved away in 2010... I still love Murphy and always will.

Based on real locations and people, over 97% of my readers have asked for a sequel (in the works). JUICE…

Nature Deficit is the human cost of alienation from nature. While it isn't an official medical term, it is an ackowledgement that there are health effects on individuals and their communities when a connection with nature isn't present in young people.

Repeated studies show how kids with existing medical conditions such as obesity, depression and attention-deficit disorders, receive great healing of their symptoms with increased exposure to and connection with nature.

Is it…

Feel free to contact Lisa Dicuffa with any questions!

1 828 361 6060

I have always had a dream of working with children. My third child was born with Downs Syndrome and I only had him in my life for four months. For years I could not find where I fit, in this dream, but it was always nagging at me to do something with children.



The idea to start a program bringing children back to nature, came to me on one of my lonely hikes along the Trail in Virginia this year.

Things are moving so fast, my head is spinning. We finally hit the Cherokee Scout…

From the What Went Wrong, JD? Department -- I apologize to anyone who received the old Murphy Gold News issue from November 2009 this morning. I was changing the newsletter in order to send out a short notice about publishing new issues and I sent the old one by mistake. I'm really sorry. I'll do my best not to do it, again.

Now that I'm feeling better and have more energy, I'm looking forward to working with the owners of the businesses featured on Murphy Gold to bring you…

Hello Murphy,

Well it has certainly been a while since I last posted on here, and I must say, shame on me. I have been busy with other things and for that I am truly sorry that I have neglected everyone here.

Some sad news, my mother passed away this past Friday and her funeral service was on Sunday. I could not be there, but in spirit I was. In fact I actually did my own service here in my special room. I celebrated her life rather than her passing. She was…

"What you get by reaching your destinations is not nearly as important as what you will become by reaching your destination." - Zig Ziglar

Some of my most amazing thoughts come while hiking along the Appalachian Trail, all alone with your thoughts. No matter where we live, summer is a special season. It's a time of richness, warmth, freedom, ease, and pleasure - a time when all of our senses are fully engaged. It is the best time of the year for a hike on one of our many…

It was brought to my attention that the name "warriors" was indicitive to a person experienced in conflict and probably not a good fit for our mission. We have changed the name to "Wilderness Advenures-connecting children to nature" which is exactly what we hope to to accomplish.

We are still looking for volunteers interested in working with our children and getting them back to nature. If you would like to contribute please click here

 …

Wilderness Warriors-Connecting Children to nature needs your help.

For more information about Wilderness Warriors follow the link below:

http://www.murphyconnections.com/profiles/blogs/connecting-our-children-with

You don't even need to leave the comfort of your air-conditioned home.

How can you help?

*     assist with the educational nature…

Wilderness Warriors is off and rolling.

I just wanted to take a hike in the woods but its always hard to find folks with time from home and work responsibilities to take the time off. Hiking alone one day I had a wonderful idea to start working with children and getting them out into the woods and encouraging them to take a greater interest in the natural world. What I won't do for a hike in the woods.

The Cherokee Scout is launching the awareness article for us. Watch the…

Children of today are probably more disconnected from the natural world than any previous generation. Reports show that less than a quarter of children now visit local green space on a weekly basis, which is half the number of their parent's generation.

Unless we reconnect children with nature it is unlikely they will come to cherish  value and take action to protect the natural environment as adults.

There seems to be a cultural shift, coinciding with the recession, to do with…