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Acashshortagedoesn't mean a family vacation is completely out of the ques- tion. Clever and creative parents can turn sev- eral days off work into an amazing va- cation ex- perience — without even leaving town. MAKE A PLAN. Call it a stay-at-home adven- ture. Create a schedule and itinerary for each day that includes activities and meals. Make a big, color- ful chart and let the kids help plan. NOTIFICATION. Let ev- eryone know the dates you'll be on vacation. They need to know you'll be just as unavailable dur- ing your staycation as if you were to fly to another country. THINK LIKE A TOUR- IST. Google the name of your town, plus the word "tourist." You'll be amazed at what you discover. We're talking hiking trails, bike paths, community events, and even museums and playgrounds that you may not even know ex- ist. Look for special deals, coupons and other good- ies local merchants are of- fering. CHANGE ALL THE RULES. This is the fun part. Break all the rules during your stay-at-home vacation (within reason). Sleep in, stay up really late, watch videos, play games, go on bike rides, explore places you've never been. A few days of junk food is not likely to create any serious problems. CAMP OUT. Kids love to camp, so get out your basic camping gear (or borrow or rent it) and set up camp in the backyard. Create a fire pit so you can sit around the campfire late at night. But take proper care and be mindful of lo- cal rules. Brush up on the old campfire songs. Plan a meal to cook, and plan your sleeping arrange- ments, before you get out- doors. UNPLUG. This is the biggest challenge, for parents especially. Ev- eryone has to surren- der their cellphones and computers for the dura- tion. It will be an adjust- ment, but it's possibly the best move of all. Let your mail collect until you re- turn. Giving your kids your undivided attention — well, except during the times you'll be taking some well-deserved naps — will make this a true vacation. You'll vacate the normal routines and stresses of life. MEMORIES. Be sure to take lots of pictures. After your vacation, let the kids help you create a scrap- book of memories. And don't be surprised when they call it the best vaca- tion ever. Would you like to send a tip to Mary? You can email her at mary@ everydaycheapskate. com, or write to Everyday Cheapskate, 12340 Seal Beach Blvd., Ste. B-416, Seal Beach, CA 90740. EVERYDAYCHEAPSKATE Spendingsummer vacation at home CHICO Chico Velo Trail- works is partnering with City of Chico Parks Division to host a National Trails Day event in Upper Bidwell Park on Saturday, June 4. National Trails Day is a national trails event. In its 24th consecutive year, the American Hiking Soci- ety designated this day to focus on celebrating trails and trail stewardship. Lo- cally, NTD volunteers will complete trail restoration work on Monkey Face, construct split rail fence, clear vegetation on Yahi Trail, and complete litter pick up. The city of Chico the Parks Division, which man- ages Bidwell Park, along with many other city parks and street tree manage- ment, has been hit hard with funding and staff re- ductions in the past decade. Staffing went from 24.5 em- ployees in 2007-2008 to 12 staff in 2015-2016, accord- ing to Bidwell Park 2015 an- nual report. Even though the Parks Division has been faced with cutbacks, the number of visitors to Bidwell Park has continued to increase. With delicate and thin soils in Upper Park along with a trail system with many un- sustainable trails, the need for maintenance and nat- ural resource education is high. To address the chal- lenge of financial and staff- ing shortages, the Park Di- vision is cooperating with volunteer groups to help share some of the mainte- nance load. Chico Velo's Trailworks program is focused on help- ing the Parks Division with the maintenance of park trails, raising community funds for trails projects and supporting educational ef- forts. The workday will run 8 a.m. to noon starting at the Monkey Face parking area. Lunch and snacks will be provided to volunteers. To sign up for volunteer- ing at National Trails Day, go to the Chico Parks Vol- unteer Calendar or https:// www.raceplanner.com/reg- ister/index/National-Trails- Day. Wear closed-toed shoes, long pants, long-sleeve shirt and bring gloves, if possible. If you have any questions about the workday please contact Trailworks@chi- covelo.org. CHICO CelebrateNationalTrails Day at Bidwell Park The last Sacramento River Discovery Center Bird Walk of the spring season is scheduled for 8 a.m. Saturday, June 4. As usual, there will not be organized walks in July and August. Of course you can walk the Red Bluff Recreation Area trails and observe the birds at any time. The fall season Bird Walks will begin in Sep- tember. In the past few weeks, we center staff members have hosted several ele- mentary and home school groups and have rou- tinely taken kindergarten through 6th grade stu- dents on bird walks. Dur- ing these sessions a num- ber of interesting avian behaviors were observed, including an Osprey catch- ing and eating a fish, a Scrub Jay devouring a mouse, Black Phoebe par- ents feeding their young, and young Tree Swallows on the boat ramp barrier pipe. So grab your binoculars, a bottle of water and your bird book, and join for this final walk of the spring — who knows what will be seen. Final bird walk of season Saturday PHOTOCOURTESYOFBENHUGHES Scrub Jay. Mary Hunt DISCOVERY CENTER REDDING "Are You Ready for Retirement" will be the subject of a free sem- inar hosted by the Social Security Administration at 5:30 p.m. Monday, July 11,in the Community Room of the Redding Library on Parkview Avenue. Two SSA employees will present a brief overview of Retirement, Survivor and Medicare benefits and then answer general ques- tions about each program. "Everyone is invited, and we'll answer as many questions as we can during the two-hour program," said Jennifer Cooper, dis- trict manager of the Red- ding Social Security Office. Cooper encourages ev- eryone to create a mySo- cialSecurity account by go- ing to the agency's website at www.ssa.gov. "They should bring that information with them on July 11 because it will show them approximately how much they will receive at age 62 and beyond," Coo- per said. "There are advantages to taking the benefits at the earliest possible age, and there are ad- vantages to waiting. No two situations are ever the same." A representative from the Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program will attend the seminar. That agency pro- vides free and objective in- formation and counseling about Medicare. Volunteer counselors also help a per- son in understanding their rights and health care op- tions. For more information regarding this SSA event, call 1-866-964-1236. SOCIAL SECURITY Wo rk sh op : Ar e yo u re ad y fo r re ti re me nt ? The following work- shops for the Friends of the Chico State Herbar- ium will be offered in June. June9,ButteCounty Butterflies and their Host Plant Affinities, by Don Miller This workshop will cover an introduction to the biology of butterflies, the major families of but- terflies in Butte County and a representative sur- vey of some local butterfly species and their habitats. Miller is a Biology profes- sor and the director and curator of the Chico State Entomology Collection. The workshop will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in 129 Holt Hall, CSU, Chico. Registration is $100. Optional field trip on Friday June 10 to ob- serve and identify butter- flies in selected habitats in Butte County. Register in advance. June25,Introduction totheWillowsof California(Salicaceae), byJohnBair This workshop will fo- cus on the leaf, stem, and other vegetative growth characteristics while em- phasizing the regional distributions of the dif- ferent species of willows. Bair's interests include the effect of streamflow regulation on the Salica- ceae. The workshop will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in 129 Holt Hall, CSU, Chico. Registration is $100. Register in advance. For more information about these and other upcoming workshops, visit www.friendsoft- hechicostateherbarium. com/eventsviewcalen- dar/. For more information about registration, call 898-5356 or write to epur- vis@csuchico.edu. CHICO STATE Herbarium announces events planned for June NEVERGIVEUP UNTIL THEY BUCKLE UP. 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