Closer to home, working without the big budget, small local groups are going about the actual work that the cause is all about, the hands-on, nuts and bolts, nitty-gritty stuff that goes unnoticed by everyone but the people doing it. They don’t take in millions or anything like that, and most just scrape by or get in debt trying to do what they do.

Since Critter Chatter deals primarily with pet and animal issues, the groups we most discuss are animal related, but the message applies to smaller local groups that work in all areas. You don’t have to look far to find a group that is active in a cause you are concerned with that is under-funded and/or understaffed and in some way in need of support. Any help you give these organizations, whether financially or by personal involvement, goes directly to help in the effort being undertaken.

We took a look at the financials of one of the large national animal welfare organizations to see how they were doing. Without mentioning any names let’s just say they are well known with lots of media attention. In the most recent year they took in over $130 million, with more than $100 million in direct donations. They have over $150 million in investments that produce income, and they spent over $26 million that year asking for more money. Granted, fund-raising is important and necessary, but imagine what even a fraction of that $26 million could have done if put to work at the local level.

Here in metro Atlanta and north Georgia there are hundreds of groups, mostly small and under-funded, that work hard to help animals in need. They all can use financial assistance and you can be sure that any donations made to these groups will go 100% toward the welfare of the animals. Most are also in need of physical help and welcome volunteers. If you have a few hours a week or month, or whatever time you can give, there is a rescue group out there that could sure use your help. And that goes for wherever you live in this country.

Here in Georgia, if you do not have a group in mind, a good place to look for one is at the Spot Society listing of rescue organizations . This is the most comprehensive list we know of, and while it is well organized by mission, it is also long.

Giving locally gives you a greater sense of purpose and accomplishment and a chance to see where your time, effort, and money are going and what they are doing than you can ever get by placing a check in an envelope and dropping it in the mail.

When I came home I still had the travel bug, only now I wanted to see this country. In Europe the most impressive sites are the cities or other man-made structures. In America the most impressive sites are the natural wonders that nature has provided us with, and I wanted to see it all. Europe has the Alps, and they are really something to see. I still remember my first look at them; we were driving down from Munich, and we came around a bend and there was the Zugspitz, the highest peak in Germany. It was December and it was covered in snow; it was quite a sight. I think everyone remembers the first look at the Alps. But we have the Grand Tetons, a smaller version of the Alps, as well as Yellowstone, Yosemite, the Grand Canyon and so many more incredible natural wonders, and I wanted to see them all. And I wanted the photographs to remember them by. Many of those photos adorn my walls today.

Most people see these sites from a scenic overlook set up by the park service and never get more than a few feet from their car. To really experience these places you have to get into the back country to see the out of the way sites most people never see. That was where I wanted to be. To get there you need to put everything you need in a backpack and start walking. It is worth the effort to get to these places that few even know about.

I guess my favorite place to explore is the Grand Canyon. It is so big and varied and rich with the history of time that you cannot help but be awestruck every time you see it. The view changes constantly as you descend from the rim, with each turn of the trail revealing a new and more impressive view of the Canyon that you could never see from the top. All around you the canyon walls reveal hundreds of millions of years of the geological history of the planet.

On a moonless night the canyon walls block any light from the rim. You can lie on the ground in your bag in almost total darkness and look up through the clearest air at a sky filled with more stars than you have ever seen. Light from the sun coming from the far side of the planet reflects off the skin of satellites far out in space, allowing you to watch them as they travel across the sky.

I haven’t slept on the ground in years. I still keep a backpack equipped with everything I need for a short trip, but it hasn’t been used in awhile. These days, after a day of trekking around the mountains with my dog, I like to come back to a room or cabin with a soft bed, a hot shower, A/C in the summer and heat in the winter, and a TV, preferably with cable. But most of all, I’m hungry, and for me nothing tops off a day of enjoying the great outdoors like a pizza, fresh from the oven and delivered to my room. I have eaten a lot of different foods after a day in the woods, and to be honest they all taste good when you are hungry, but nothing tastes as good as a fresh hot pizza.

I’ll use that backpack again. There are still places I haven’t been that I want to see and experience; places where you can get away from the crowd and go where most people never go, where you can enjoy the quiet and solitude and relax and reflect. And when I return I know that the two things I want most will be a cold beer and a hot pizza.