Why Tha Wookie?

I've had friends asking about the event we have coming up on the 29th with Nate "Tha Wookie" Olive. I thought it might be a good idea to give you some background and tell you a little about the event and what we are hoping for.

Early in the summer, we were looking for a speaker that we could bring in that could embody what we envision for our new room. Becky sometimes looks through online journals of thru-hikers to read their experiences. She was looking through Trail Journals (www.trailjournals.com) when she came across Tha Wookies journal. A side note: Tha Wookie is a "Trail Name" or nickname that hikers give each other when they are doing thru-hikes of long distance trails. Anyway - she started reading Tha Wookies journals.

We were taken with his writing skills and insights into life on and off the trail. We did a little more research and found his site (www.thawookie.com) and read about his historic hike of the American West Coast Trail. His pictures were so phenomenal, and his writing so inspiring, we decided to ask Nate if he would come to Lafayette to speak.

At first, he was hesitant. Nate is pursuing a doctorate in forestry and wasn't sure if he would have the time to do a program in Lafayette. We kept pursuing him, plying him with tales of great food and great people. He finally relented and agreed to come.

To me, Nate is the perfect speaker for our facility because he embodies everything we dream of in a program: His program focuses on outdoor adventure. He brings beautiful photography that will inspire us. He's an interesting speaker that will challenge our thinking on the outdoors and life. He will be combining original live music (banjo and guitar) with his presentation that will bring a beautiful artistic flair to the whole event.

So - that's the story of how the Wookie is headed to Lafayette. We are very excited and hope that you'll attend.