I mean, I've heard of horse trailers... but buffalo trailers?! Only at the forest fair.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Girdwood Forest Fair
I went to check out the forest fair yesterday, with Judy and her little fam. It was the usual scene, very hippie/granola with the requisite amazing spinach bread... but my favorite part was this little gem:
I mean, I've heard of horse trailers... but buffalo trailers?! Only at the forest fair.
I mean, I've heard of horse trailers... but buffalo trailers?! Only at the forest fair.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
2011 Mayor's Marathon
Monday, May 30, 2011
2011 License Plate Game
It's time for the 2011 License Plate Game! The exciting game that challenges you to find license plates from all 50 states, in your quest for glory!
Rules:
Rules:
All of the License Plates you find must be in the state you live in. The last three licenses you find you must record the date, time and place. You must have fun. You play from Memorial day to Labor day.
If you want an Official Game Card email Boomer @ busy.boomer@gmail.com !!!
Monday, April 18, 2011
Friday, April 1, 2011
Thursday, March 31, 2011
The Oosik Classic
Two Saturday's ago Dad, Dan, and I did the 25km Oosik Classic ski race in Talkeetna. We got up early and drove to Talkeetna the morning of. I did some wax testing with my friend Jacob after we picked up our bibs. Soon the race started. Jacob and I positioned ourselves towards the front, which was apparently a good move because Dad and Dan said they got stuck behind a bunch of really slow people. Just like in any race everybody got excited at the start so we ended up sprinting the first kilometer just to get away from the "faders." After that we settled into our distance pace. At this point there were four guys in front of us by maybe five seconds. Jake Bassett(APU), Jacob Volz(APU), and I (APU), formed our own group. At about 4km, Jacob and I dropped Jake. Nothing really happened until about 15k-ish when we finally passed one of the guys in front of us that had been dropped by the other 4. We had been drafting behind him for a while, when he slowed down. The other three had really broken away now, maybe 1-2 minutes in front. So Jacob and I kept cruising (through a couple of aid stations too, we tried to practice getting water on the fly). We took 10-15 minute shifts leading. It was sort of windy, just enough that you would notice when you were drafting. We passed the 23km sign and kept going. This is the weird part. We had been going for a while after that sign when I noticed a group of people on this corner. I couldn't decide whether or not we were at the finish yet. It was almost my turn to be the leader anyway so I start to pass Jacob. We went around the corner and yep it was the end. Jacob didn't realize it was over until we went around the corner. So I sprinted the last 100m to get into 4th place. Jacob finished a second behind me in 5th. The three in front of us beat us by a pretty wide margin; 3-5 minutes I think. Jake ended up finishing about 5 minutes behind us. My time was: 1:27:26. Dad finished in 2:34:29, Dan 2:44:42.
Later that night the party started. They were advertising free root beer and regular beer so we were excited for the root beer. It turned out that the root beer was $1, while the beer was free?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
The party was kind of lame. The highlight was winning some klister, but other than that it wasn't that awesome. The food was good though. The following day we took our time driving back. This was also the first time taking the camper out this year. I think our friend Boomer had some modeling opportunities as well. I'll ask him to get busy with posting those.
Later that night the party started. They were advertising free root beer and regular beer so we were excited for the root beer. It turned out that the root beer was $1, while the beer was free?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
The party was kind of lame. The highlight was winning some klister, but other than that it wasn't that awesome. The food was good though. The following day we took our time driving back. This was also the first time taking the camper out this year. I think our friend Boomer had some modeling opportunities as well. I'll ask him to get busy with posting those.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Jo's continued some more
Thursday
The coaches decided that we could catch the 9am bus. So we slept in some. Breakfast was awesome. They had these French toast stick things that were delicious. Then we did a short ski. We walked around. I already forgot, but I think that I had lunch with Nanna, Dad, Kathleen, and Megan on Thursday.
Friday
Once again its 4:50 am (blah, even worse on the second day, more like BLAH!). I hopped on the first bus to the venue. Then I started my warm-up. After that, I got my timing chip and lined up in the starting gate (it was a interval start). I had my teammate Troy right behind me. Apparently Dad noticed me looking over my shoulder a few times. Troy said that he was right on my heels three different times, but that I kept losing him. I think it might have been a advantage for Troy to be able to pace off me (he started 15 seconds behind me). Troy was right behind me on the bottom of the last big hill, so I started to go as hard as I could. Apparently I picked up a lot of time too. I think Troy only beat me by about 20 seconds or so, but I managed to stay in front of him. I ended up with my best result… 34th! After watching some teammates go by, we headed back and hit the sauna. Then after the team meeting we had the Team Alaska talent show! That was fun. It had banjo playing, dancing, riddles, and even a little strength training.
Saturday
Today was the Relay day. I was put on the Mixed team with teammate David and a kid from Midwest’s team. We finished 12 out of 20, I think? I had a tough race. First, walking up the huge staircase to the start, I fell and slammed my knee. Then, the conditions were weird. The tracks were slow because the snow had drifted into them, but the outside of the tracks were icy and nonkickable. So, flats and downhills were outside of the tracks and uphills were in them. It was windy and I was skiing up this hill and the wind blew my pole so that I stabbed my boot, which was embarrassing. Two teams had passed me when I tagged off. After the relays we did team photos. After that, we went to the hotel and went to the Closing Ceremonies banquet and dance. I stayed at the dance till 11:30 and then went upstairs and slept, and I was REALLY tired. It was a fun way to finish our stay at the hotel.
Sunday
We had a leisurely breakfast, and then left for the Mall of America. The train ride took about 30 minutes. Then we stayed at the mall for SIX hours. I think we went to almost every shop. We agreed that three would have been enough. Apparently guys aren’t in to shopping (I know right?). The mall is also very expensive. So us being guys, we mostly just tried as many different food places as we could. It was fun. The train took us back to the airport and we got in line so we could hurry up and wait. Then we took a boring flight back to Anchorage.
Jo’s was a great experience for me and I am really glad that I could go. Thank you to my parents, coaches, and family for helping me get there. Thanks also to all the volunteers and people who helped organize Jo’s. I am looking forward to working hard this summer, so that I will be ready to race next year and try to make the team again!
The coaches decided that we could catch the 9am bus. So we slept in some. Breakfast was awesome. They had these French toast stick things that were delicious. Then we did a short ski. We walked around. I already forgot, but I think that I had lunch with Nanna, Dad, Kathleen, and Megan on Thursday.
Friday
Once again its 4:50 am (blah, even worse on the second day, more like BLAH!). I hopped on the first bus to the venue. Then I started my warm-up. After that, I got my timing chip and lined up in the starting gate (it was a interval start). I had my teammate Troy right behind me. Apparently Dad noticed me looking over my shoulder a few times. Troy said that he was right on my heels three different times, but that I kept losing him. I think it might have been a advantage for Troy to be able to pace off me (he started 15 seconds behind me). Troy was right behind me on the bottom of the last big hill, so I started to go as hard as I could. Apparently I picked up a lot of time too. I think Troy only beat me by about 20 seconds or so, but I managed to stay in front of him. I ended up with my best result… 34th! After watching some teammates go by, we headed back and hit the sauna. Then after the team meeting we had the Team Alaska talent show! That was fun. It had banjo playing, dancing, riddles, and even a little strength training.
Saturday
Today was the Relay day. I was put on the Mixed team with teammate David and a kid from Midwest’s team. We finished 12 out of 20, I think? I had a tough race. First, walking up the huge staircase to the start, I fell and slammed my knee. Then, the conditions were weird. The tracks were slow because the snow had drifted into them, but the outside of the tracks were icy and nonkickable. So, flats and downhills were outside of the tracks and uphills were in them. It was windy and I was skiing up this hill and the wind blew my pole so that I stabbed my boot, which was embarrassing. Two teams had passed me when I tagged off. After the relays we did team photos. After that, we went to the hotel and went to the Closing Ceremonies banquet and dance. I stayed at the dance till 11:30 and then went upstairs and slept, and I was REALLY tired. It was a fun way to finish our stay at the hotel.
Sunday
We had a leisurely breakfast, and then left for the Mall of America. The train ride took about 30 minutes. Then we stayed at the mall for SIX hours. I think we went to almost every shop. We agreed that three would have been enough. Apparently guys aren’t in to shopping (I know right?). The mall is also very expensive. So us being guys, we mostly just tried as many different food places as we could. It was fun. The train took us back to the airport and we got in line so we could hurry up and wait. Then we took a boring flight back to Anchorage.
Jo’s was a great experience for me and I am really glad that I could go. Thank you to my parents, coaches, and family for helping me get there. Thanks also to all the volunteers and people who helped organize Jo’s. I am looking forward to working hard this summer, so that I will be ready to race next year and try to make the team again!
Monday, March 21, 2011
JO's continued...
Tuesday
I got up around 7, ate breakfast, and then caught a bus to the venue. Tuesday's workout was easy, with some harder pace at the end. We had been ordered to have "butt time," so not much exploring was in store. We mostly just watched tv. I studied a little bit. Then we had our team meeting, and went to bed.
Wednesday
Blah! It's 4:50a.m. and I'm up getting dressed and ready for breakfast. I stumbled down to breakfast, and was alerted that breakfast was really at 5:30, not the pre-planned 5. So after trying not to fall back asleep for half an hour, we ate breakfast. We arrived at the venue in the dark; the trail lights were still on. I did my warm up at about 7, and then I picked up my race skis and walked to the start. We all lined up, and then BAM; we started. The race was a Classic Mass Start, so it was really crowded. People kept falling in front of me, and I knocked two guys over with my skis. After about a kilometer, things thinned out. The kick wax was not gripping, so it was hard. I finished in 45th. When your age group goes first you have two disadvantages. 1. You are really sleepy. 2. No one really knows how good the wax is during a race. After our race the word went out: You need zeroes. Zeroes are these skis that don't need kick wax; they have a rubbery substance that provides kick. Team Alaska did well on their zeroes; the J1 boys winner was on them. After the race, we watched some more tv and went to dinner and the team meeting.
I got up around 7, ate breakfast, and then caught a bus to the venue. Tuesday's workout was easy, with some harder pace at the end. We had been ordered to have "butt time," so not much exploring was in store. We mostly just watched tv. I studied a little bit. Then we had our team meeting, and went to bed.
Wednesday
Blah! It's 4:50a.m. and I'm up getting dressed and ready for breakfast. I stumbled down to breakfast, and was alerted that breakfast was really at 5:30, not the pre-planned 5. So after trying not to fall back asleep for half an hour, we ate breakfast. We arrived at the venue in the dark; the trail lights were still on. I did my warm up at about 7, and then I picked up my race skis and walked to the start. We all lined up, and then BAM; we started. The race was a Classic Mass Start, so it was really crowded. People kept falling in front of me, and I knocked two guys over with my skis. After about a kilometer, things thinned out. The kick wax was not gripping, so it was hard. I finished in 45th. When your age group goes first you have two disadvantages. 1. You are really sleepy. 2. No one really knows how good the wax is during a race. After our race the word went out: You need zeroes. Zeroes are these skis that don't need kick wax; they have a rubbery substance that provides kick. Team Alaska did well on their zeroes; the J1 boys winner was on them. After the race, we watched some more tv and went to dinner and the team meeting.
Monday, March 14, 2011
JO's
I'm BACK!!! I'm back and happy to say that Junior Olympics was a blast! To keep this simple I'm going to tell this story in chronological order.
Wednesday.
We drove to the airport around 7pm. Everything went smoothly until we found out that the plane was over it's allowed weight by 400lbs. So, either we throw one 400 pound dude off, or we throw two 200 pounds dudes off, or we burn off 400 pounds of fuel. I think that the extra ski bags had something to do with this. Roughly 250 pairs of skis weigh alot. We waited about 30 minutes for the fuel to burn away. Then we took off (which took forever, we must have used alot of runway). Also during take-off we skidded sideways as we left the ground (added excitement!) The flight was 6 hours long and extremely boring. It was also bumpy so total sleep equaled =30minutes= Not enough!
Thursday
We landed, rode the train, walked half a mile to our hotel(which was high class). We then crashed for five hours. Then we had lunch, went for a 30 minute run, explored, ate dinner, and crashed again. (I didn't know this but Minneapolis' buildings are almost all connected by skyway, hence, we could go for miles without actually going outside).
Friday
We got up at 8am, had breakfast(tasty), and rode the school bus to the venue. We skied for an hour and a half, and checked out all the race courses. I was told it was going to be flat. LIES! It was hilly and hard. The climbs were long and hard. The downhills were really weird. They were long and straight, unlike Anchorage hills which are long and twisty. The downhills reminded me of a ski jump without the jump.
Saturday
We skied again Saturday practicing some more technical stuff, like where to start skating and where to tuck,etc. That evening I went to church which was nice.
Sunday
We skied yet again for a very short time however, 40 minutes. Then we explored some more and got ready for opening ceremonies.
Random Alaskans walking in
More random people
Photos from Bert Boyer
Opening ceremonies were cool. They had all kinds of speeches, from many different people (one from a member of the NFL Hall of Fame)! Then the drum band performed. The dancers danced. And the Games begun.
Monday
The first JO race was fast and furious. It started at noonish. I was towards the back of the start order. My race was over in a little more than 2 minutes.
Me looking super tired.
I finished 39th. The top 30 move on. Therefore, I'm done for the day. I left with fellow J2 boys David and Troy on the bus we nicknamed "The Bus of Shame," because it was the early bus for the people who did not move on. When we got back we went in the sauna after getting permission from our coaches. We had been in it before,but that was at 175. We got in and after 10 minutes (which is not that long at 175), we gave up. We then found out that the people before us had dumped a ton of water on the rocks and the sauna was at 220(Trivia: What temperature does water boil at in Fahrenheit?). David, Troy,and I agreed that it was to warm and that we would not sauna above 180. It was pretty funny, when we found out why we couldn't stand it. We thought we were being wimpy. After the sauna adventure, we ate dinner, and took a bus ride back to the venue to cheer on our team. We stood in a really cool spot where we could see they start and finish for about an hour when this guy with an officials bib walks us and says "Hey dudes, you can't stand there." We pointed out that we had been there for an hour already, but the guy insisted we move. We were pretty bummed about moving. After watching the rest of the heat, we went to the hotel to catch some zzz's
The rest of the week will be posted later. Sorry for all the typos.
Boo out
Wednesday.
We drove to the airport around 7pm. Everything went smoothly until we found out that the plane was over it's allowed weight by 400lbs. So, either we throw one 400 pound dude off, or we throw two 200 pounds dudes off, or we burn off 400 pounds of fuel. I think that the extra ski bags had something to do with this. Roughly 250 pairs of skis weigh alot. We waited about 30 minutes for the fuel to burn away. Then we took off (which took forever, we must have used alot of runway). Also during take-off we skidded sideways as we left the ground (added excitement!) The flight was 6 hours long and extremely boring. It was also bumpy so total sleep equaled =30minutes= Not enough!
Thursday
We landed, rode the train, walked half a mile to our hotel(which was high class). We then crashed for five hours. Then we had lunch, went for a 30 minute run, explored, ate dinner, and crashed again. (I didn't know this but Minneapolis' buildings are almost all connected by skyway, hence, we could go for miles without actually going outside).
Friday
We got up at 8am, had breakfast(tasty), and rode the school bus to the venue. We skied for an hour and a half, and checked out all the race courses. I was told it was going to be flat. LIES! It was hilly and hard. The climbs were long and hard. The downhills were really weird. They were long and straight, unlike Anchorage hills which are long and twisty. The downhills reminded me of a ski jump without the jump.
Saturday
We skied again Saturday practicing some more technical stuff, like where to start skating and where to tuck,etc. That evening I went to church which was nice.
Sunday
We skied yet again for a very short time however, 40 minutes. Then we explored some more and got ready for opening ceremonies.
Random Alaskans walking in
More random people
Photos from Bert Boyer
Opening ceremonies were cool. They had all kinds of speeches, from many different people (one from a member of the NFL Hall of Fame)! Then the drum band performed. The dancers danced. And the Games begun.
Monday
The first JO race was fast and furious. It started at noonish. I was towards the back of the start order. My race was over in a little more than 2 minutes.
Me looking super tired.
I finished 39th. The top 30 move on. Therefore, I'm done for the day. I left with fellow J2 boys David and Troy on the bus we nicknamed "The Bus of Shame," because it was the early bus for the people who did not move on. When we got back we went in the sauna after getting permission from our coaches. We had been in it before,but that was at 175. We got in and after 10 minutes (which is not that long at 175), we gave up. We then found out that the people before us had dumped a ton of water on the rocks and the sauna was at 220(Trivia: What temperature does water boil at in Fahrenheit?). David, Troy,and I agreed that it was to warm and that we would not sauna above 180. It was pretty funny, when we found out why we couldn't stand it. We thought we were being wimpy. After the sauna adventure, we ate dinner, and took a bus ride back to the venue to cheer on our team. We stood in a really cool spot where we could see they start and finish for about an hour when this guy with an officials bib walks us and says "Hey dudes, you can't stand there." We pointed out that we had been there for an hour already, but the guy insisted we move. We were pretty bummed about moving. After watching the rest of the heat, we went to the hotel to catch some zzz's
The rest of the week will be posted later. Sorry for all the typos.
Boo out
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Wine in Minnesota
Aunt Kathleen, Robin and I visited Northern Vineyards Winery in Stillwater, MN. Believe it or not, there are lots of wineries in Minnesota. The University of Minnesota has developed some grape varieties that can tolerate the cold winters. I wonder if they will grow in Alaska?
JO 2011 Mass Start Classic Race
J2 Boys 5K race....Getting in the zone:
And they're off..
And up the big hill to the finish....
Here's Megan in the J1 Girls 10K race with hot pink shades and pony tail still bouncing. For more Megan pictures you'll have to go to Kathleen's blog.
And they're off..
And up the big hill to the finish....
Here's Megan in the J1 Girls 10K race with hot pink shades and pony tail still bouncing. For more Megan pictures you'll have to go to Kathleen's blog.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
JO Sprint 2011
Day 1 at Theo Wirth Park, Minneapolis:
The Boo Train chugging up the last hill..
Megan...pony tail up!
The Boo Train chugging up the last hill..
Megan...pony tail up!
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
At the Airport very soon
Yea! Alaska Team! Leaving Wed. night/Thursday morning for Junior Olympics in Minnesota. I am in MN and await your arrival; looking forward to opening ceremonies. May it be a great week. It has been cold and windy! The weather is to warm up, however, and that may be an issue for skiing easily over the trails. Good luck, Alaska Team, and to my grandchildren, Megan from Fairbanks and Michael from Anchorage, who are a part of this team and JO's. P. W.
Geometry and Packing
I am now officially half way through Geometry for the year, averaging 97 btw...
Also, I am starting to think about the logistics of packing a carry-on, checked bag, and ski bag with tons (4) pairs of skis. So far my Main Bag has a bag of trail mix and Cliff Bars in it, so I haven't really started on packing that one yet... I'm going to bring a pair of ski boots on the plane so if my luggage is missing I'll have a pair. I have to bring enough clothes for 11 days, 4 of them will be race days. Laundry services are unknown so I am going to pack enough for the whole time, while remaining as light as possible. It's really nice when your traveling I've noticed, to have as few things as possible. Ski bags are awkward to carry, so the other bags need to be easier to carry. So all the stuff I don't really need is either going with Dad (who doesn't have a ski bag) or left at home. When you have a ton of stuff it also is hard to keep track of and you are always worried about leaving something behind.
Does anyone have any tips on how to pack light? Are there any things that you recommend NOT bringing? Must-have stuff?
Boo out.
Also, I am starting to think about the logistics of packing a carry-on, checked bag, and ski bag with tons (4) pairs of skis. So far my Main Bag has a bag of trail mix and Cliff Bars in it, so I haven't really started on packing that one yet... I'm going to bring a pair of ski boots on the plane so if my luggage is missing I'll have a pair. I have to bring enough clothes for 11 days, 4 of them will be race days. Laundry services are unknown so I am going to pack enough for the whole time, while remaining as light as possible. It's really nice when your traveling I've noticed, to have as few things as possible. Ski bags are awkward to carry, so the other bags need to be easier to carry. So all the stuff I don't really need is either going with Dad (who doesn't have a ski bag) or left at home. When you have a ton of stuff it also is hard to keep track of and you are always worried about leaving something behind.
Does anyone have any tips on how to pack light? Are there any things that you recommend NOT bringing? Must-have stuff?
Boo out.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Snow Sculptures
Fur Rondy is in full swing - so today I braved the weather to check out this year's snow sculptures... pictures of some of the better ones are following:
As always, these are definitely worth seeing in person. Also great to watch in person is the Running of the Reindeer, I'm hoping to catch that next weekend... stay tuned!
Sunday, February 27, 2011
My First Post
I figured that I should try this whole bloggin' thing... We recently (tonite) had a family dinner (wine was served) and I was convinced to do this. The dinner was a send-off party because I am leaving for Minneapolis on Wednesday to compete in the Junior Olympics for Cross Country Skiing. I'm excited to do this blog thing, and hopefully friends and family will get involved and post/comment. Apparently this blog can have multiple authors...(you guys need to get on this!). I'm not sure what this blog will talk about, but you can bet it will be fun. And potentially really really really random.
When I was about 8, I started a newspaper called the Home News. It was fun and educational and lasted about 3 years before it got old. Hopefully this blog will continue that (it's also WAY easier, which I like).
I want to know how to upload photos so I am posting some random ones....
Huh, that wasn't to bad... Sorry guys but you'll probably see lots of photos 'cause that was really easy...
Dunno what else to talk about, hopefully friends and family will start commenting and such and won't have to think about what to post.. Alright, I'm excited to see stuff roll in...
Boo out!
When I was about 8, I started a newspaper called the Home News. It was fun and educational and lasted about 3 years before it got old. Hopefully this blog will continue that (it's also WAY easier, which I like).
I want to know how to upload photos so I am posting some random ones....
Huh, that wasn't to bad... Sorry guys but you'll probably see lots of photos 'cause that was really easy...
Dunno what else to talk about, hopefully friends and family will start commenting and such and won't have to think about what to post.. Alright, I'm excited to see stuff roll in...
Boo out!
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