Wild Women - Transcript
On Location
[Narrator]
Each year for six years now one whole bunch of women gather at the Women’s Wilderness Weekend near Alma in south central Nebraska. They come to learn outdoor skills from archery to sailing to training hunting dogs in an atmosphere designed just for them.
[Chuck Burr]
This is a non threatening environment. We do have some men instructors here but its all women taking the course so they feel like they can ask questions and talk about things and not be threatened.
[Narrator]
They come to let their hair down and they clearly like being in the driver’s seat.
Me? I’m not so optimistic. I’m sure these women have that outdoor gene so pitifully lacking in my DNA. They’re learning outdoor skills but why am I here? I don’t much like outside, I hate bugs, my favorite activities don’t generally involve a lot of movement and I tend to get lost outside.
But thankfully there’s a night out planned. And I find myself at the Theater of the American West in Republican City. Now this is wilderness I understand.
[Chorus]
[...you may be standing out in the cold, but still you wouldn’t trade it for a bag of gold, let’s go on with the show.]
[Narrator]
So okay, let’s get on with the show. Perhaps I need a little encouragement.
[Hope Voss]
You’ve gotta try it.
[Narrator]
Hmm, maybe something else.
[Merle Illian]
We’ve got a lot of women here that just come for the recreational part of it. To get away for a weekend, have fun. Some of the sessions we’ve got doesn’t require much skill level, especially like floating down the river in innertubes.
[Narrator]
Bingo! Tubing.
[Rolling, rolling on the river. Rolling on the river.]
[Narrator]
Now this isn’t bad. Not bad at all.
I’ve never been good at sports, however...
[Mary Ethel]
Am I aiming the arrow for the target there... the point?
[Narrator]
I do have high aspirations. Maybe I will take from the rich and give to the poor.
[Mary Ethel]
Because I’m Robin Hood. I’m vanquishing...
[Narrator]
Still, my favorite season has always been indoors, preferably with food.
And what would my cats think of this unexpected treachery with a dog.
[Mary Ethel]
You’re sweet. Yes.
[Instructor]
All right, then pull them back in line.
[Narrator]
Never mind. I do believe I am starting to get into the spirit of things.
[Mary Ethel]
Whoa!
[Instructor]
Let her go.
Wasn’t that fun!
[Mary Ethel]
That was fun.
[Instructor]
Did it hurt?
[Mary Ethel]
No it didn’t hurt but did I hit it?
[Instructor]
I don’t know, I wasn’t watching.
[Narrator]
Maybe I didn’t hit the target but I’m having a pretty good weekend. What do my fellow Wild Women think?
[Ayn Danlke]
I needed some time off. Yeah.
[Sherri Rosendahl]
The first day I did mountain biking. Yesterday I took sailing.
[Bonnie Hahn]
Its kinda my philosophy to try things... new things so... this was new.
[Narrator]
For me new also applies to a practice I most often associate with the microwave. Not Dutch ovens and open flames.
[Susan Rhynalds]
Anything that can be cooked in your ovens in your kitchen you can do it with a cast iron.
[Narrator]
Despite the fact that the self defense class reminds us of dangers back home, here in camp you make friends quickly.
[Bonnie Hahn]
Everybody out here is your friend. I mean they all just...are so friendly. It’s just wonderful.
[Girls just want to have fun.]
[Narrator]
And I thought that dorm life and cafeteria food were great for me in my past -- well I’ve learned I can be all wet and still have fun. Did I learn anything else during my wild departure from normal life? Much to my surprise, even I can develop a taste for the outdoors. Besides where else can I have my cake and eat it too.
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