During the planning of this journey down the Shenandoah, I have been fortunate to meet many great people along the way. Leslie Mitchell-Watson, executive director of the Friends of the North Fork of the Shenandoah River, has been very helpful. She and all the other people at the FNFSR ( www.fnfsr.org ) are doing an important job of looking after river by water sampling to check the purity of the river, river cleanups and educating the local communities about what is happening to the river and what we can do to protect it.

The FNFSR's counterpart is the Friends of the Shenandoah River ( www.fosr.org ). George Ohrstrom, president of FOSR, and everyone else at the FOSR monitor the South Fork and the main stem, the stretch of river beginning at the confluence of the South Fork and the North Fork and continuing to Harpers Ferry, WV.

Jeff Kelble, the Shenandoah Riverkeeper ( www.shenandoahriverkeeper.org ), is the person who is also dedicated in protecting the river. He handles the legal actions with cleaning up the river by taking polluters to court and monitors companies and developers to make sure they are following and respecting the Clean Water Act.

Steve and Gayle Shaffer, owners of Blue Canoe Crew ( www.bluecanoecrew.com ), have been great with helping me be prepared for my journey. They also have been kind enough to display some of my photographs of the river in their store. If you need outdoor clothing, camping gear, etc, they have a great store located along Route 11 on north side of Woodstock, VA. They also have seminars throughout the year on hiking, canoeing, kayaking, and other topics listed on their website. Stop by for what you need in the outdoors.

These many people and groups need your support. Become a member, volunteer some free time, or give them your business. They are all dedicated to the Shenandoah River and Valley in trying to protect and preserve it. When I take my little daughter down to river and spend some time, we enjoy the great gift of the outdoors. Sadly, we always see trash around and do our part by picking up what we can. If my five year old daughter can help take care of this River and Valley, so can anyone.