SEARCHING FOR MYTHS, MONSTERS, AND MEAT
(Oregon - Summer 2004) words - Mark Takahashi : photos - Takahashi, Greenwood, Culp, Harrell page 1 : page 2 : page 3
Heading back up the coast, the adventure crew ate the mandatory clam chowder for lunch, sighted the "world's smallest harbor" near Newport, sighted the "world's shortest river" near Lincoln City, and skated one of the world's best skateparks (LC1 + LC2). The LC1 section is a great design, although the concrete is a little rough. The flow from the shallow section, into the intermediate section, and into the deep bowl is superb. In contrast, the concrete finish at LC2 is butter smooth and flawless - thanks, Dreamland! Local ripper Justin joined in the LC2 session - did he land the frontside tailslide on the vert extension? It doesn't matter, Justin gets the gnar vote just for trying that one. The boys succumbed to the craving for meat and grilled some choice cuts of filet mignon over the campfire for dinner. Burgers and franks for this crew? No fucking way, steak or die! The Brothers Culp joined the minivan crew at the campsite and hooked the crew up with tasty smores (a fine accompaniment to filet mignon and beer). The evening ended with a couple of rounds of the "Left Right Center" dice game, during which Mark made everyone his bitches. 
Tuesday (July 13) - Tuesday began with another session at Lincoln City. Everyone got upside down in the cradle. Everybody loves cradles. Mark slammed in the cradle. Now, getting upside down in a cradle is very invigorating to say the least. Even more invigorating is traveling from an upside down position in a cradle onto the cold, hard, uninviting concrete below. Invigorating to say the least. Phillip Culp tried to land a big frontside air in the deep end, but couldn't seal the deal. He gets the "100 Attempts" award. Prior to campsite checkout, some of the folks took advantage of what would be the only shower of the week, thank God. The minivan traveled south for a scenic drive down the coast, with the Brothers Culp following close behind. Oregon is beautiful in the summer, no doubt.
Rumors have been flying about a new Airspeed park going up in Florence, so the traveling skatesmen decided to pay Geth, Stephanie, and the Airspeed crew a visit in their hometown. Although a little premature for a full report, let's just say that this park is going to be off the hook. Maybe Jeff will insert a nice picture here to show the progress of the park. If not, get over it. A little further down the coast is a little gem in Reedsport. Reedsport was sessioned for awhile; highlights included Jeff's backside disaster transfer off the side of the tunnel and Seff's destruction of all the pool coping. Skater Claus emerged from his sled and gave a young girl a pink Black Label deck - he's a very nice man. 
The adventure team parted ways with the Brothers Culp and hit the road to get a jump start on their journey to Skateboarder Heaven aka Klamath Falls. A sign on the road said "Wildlife Viewing Area" and the crew couldn't pass up the opportunity! Wild elk sighting! Rad! Where's the rifle? As dusk fell upon the crew, they lucked into an epic campsite near Tyee. The regular campsite was full, but Skater Claus sweet talked the camp host into letting the crew barge the neighboring "group reservation" site. Four skaters alone in a campsite with a cooler full of red meat, beer, and other essential items. Nice score. Mark loaded up a skateboard with some firewood logs and rode the logboard down the hill into the campsite. That would be Mark's best move of the trip, by far. The boys settled in to an evening of beers and more killer carne asada tacos courtesy of Seff the Deaf Chef.
Wednesday (July 14) - Roger prepared an awesome breakfast of bacon, egg, and cheese burritos, garnished with Tapatio hot sauce, and fresh coffee prepared in the French press. No fucking around during breakfast time. The crew took a refreshing morning dip in the warm Umpquah river near the campgrounds. If not for the ultimate destination of Klamath Falls, this might have been the end of the road trip. The river was a perfect temperature, had a mild current, and was crystal clear. The crew discovered a river rock with a submerged swim-through hole, and the challenge was on! Fortunately, everyone made it through the hole unscathed. This was also the scene of a bona fide Seffsquatch sighting in the bushes near the river. Resourceful Roger clicked on his video camera and tried to capture the rare event on film, but only caught a glimpse of the elusive creature known as Seffsquatch. The sighting left the crew amped to skate, and they packed up and left for the arid region of the state.
Along the way, the adventure crew decided to stretch their legs at the small park in Roseburg. It was hot. It was dry. It was fun watching the pond geese fighting in the parking lot. Roseburg is actually a fun little park that has a nice bowl with blastable hips and some obstacles for the street oriented skater. A kid named Lance was ripping the bowl apart, landing rodeo fly outs, variels, and all sorts of hip transfers. Lance made Mark's frontside scratch grinds look like a big green booger.
The next spot on the way to Klamath falls was Grants Pass. The crew grabbed some meat-laden sandwiches and feasted in a shadowy park by the Rogue river. The skatepark is pretty good: fun pump bumps, a punk wall, a shallow end section, and a vert bowl complex. Good flow at this park, too. Mark took advantage of the great design and immediately flowed into a top-to-bottom slam in the shallow end, taking him out for the remainder of the session. Jeff nosepicked the deep bowl, and Roger impressed the kids with his bloody swollen purple knee. In an ultimate showing of punk rock behavior, Roger scribbled his name in blood. Rad. No trace of Seffsquatch in Grants Pass, probably due to the dry climate and high temperature. Skater Claus made his rounds and gave a kid named Tyler a Black Label deck. By the way, Tyler is a ripper.
On the way out of Grants Pass, the minivan cruised by the house that Jeff's grandpa used to own. Jeff got the group all teary eyed with his childhood stories of summers in Grants Pass - it was beautiful, man! After checking out grandpa's house, the crew went in search of the Medford skatepark. The park is huge and it contains lots of tranny elements, a pillar with about 6 feet of vert, and a giant bowl. Unfortunately, the bowl is rough, lumpy, and designed with poorly placed waterfalls. It's still better than most of the crap bowls in SoCal! The minivan dwellers challenged a local kid to stick some tricks, and paid him a little cash for his efforts. Skater Claus hooked the kid up with some new Destructo trucks as a reward for grinding some pool coping. Teach the kids the joy of pool coping and get them grinding at an early age!
The crew finally made it to Klamath Falls, headed straight to the skatepark, hooked up with Mark from Bend, and skated until it got close to dusk. The adventure team and Mark from Bend located the Topsy campground, cooked up some teriyaki steaks, and had a feast that included fresh salad and corn. Skate, eat, drink beer, sleep, eat, skate, drink beer, eat, skate, drink beer, sleep, repeat. America: what a country! 
Thursday (July 15) - Something (it could have been Seffsquatch) bit Mark in the eye overnight, leaving Mark with a bad case of swelleye. Yo Adrian, cut me Mick! Coffee, sweet rolls, and SpiderBerry Pop Tarts for breakfast got the crew in the mood for the Klamath Falls pool coping. This park is great because it can accommodate several simultaneous sessions in the different sections: the gummi bear bowl, the square bowl, the penis bowl, the catcher's mitt run, and the mini area. A fun session was had in the penis bowl, Jeff got to work on some backside Smith grinds on the sidewall, and most of the crew got some oververt coping. That bowl is a fun ride, but climbing out of it is a complete pain in the ass. If you skate it, don't fall. The adventure team hooked up with Joaquin from Mammoth after the morning session, and the group headed about 30 miles out of town for a breather in the Jackson Kimball Recreation Site. This site is located at the headwaters of the Wood river, and the water is crystal clear, fresh, and extremely cold. After hearing several shouts of "it's fucking cold" and "my balls are frozen," Mark decided to stay dry and feed the local mosquitoes. The afternoon back at the park was highlighted by the session in the big catcher's mitt. The Klamath Kids were ripping and the Ride On Skate Shop was well represented here.
The four man crew parted ways with Mark from Bend and Mammoth Joaquin, then headed out in search of a campsite. As dusk approached, they stumbled across a primitive site tucked away next to a dirt road in the forest. The price was right, so the hungry and weary decided to park it for the night. Hungry bats devouring flying bugs provided entertainment for the evening. No shit, this was an epic show that could have been a feature on the Animal Channel. Seff and Roger invented a great bat watching system: using a flashlight as a spotlight, Seff tracked an unsuspecting flying insect while Roger sat poised with the camera. Eventually, a bat would flutter down to scoop up the bug, coming within a foot of the camera at times. Bats are cool.
Friday (July 16) - The Batmen got a very early start, and left camp at about 7:00 AM. An early morning session at the Ashland skatepark got the blood rolling a bit. The park is a little rough at spots and the coping is sticky in places . . . just ask Jeff, who got served up in the mini bowl and slammed onto his bad wrist. Not too much action to speak of in Ashland other than the hot local skater chick sporting the standard issue skater chick uniform: belly shirt, pierced body parts, chain wallet, and hip huggers. Three cheers for Oregon skate chicks! No Seffsquatch sighting here, probably due to the early hour. Right around the corner from Ashland is the Talent skatepark. Talent is one of the older southern Oregon parks, and it shows its age. The OG kidney bowl is poorly designed and has cancer in the bottom. The rest of the park is a fun ride, with plenty of flow lines. Jeff and Mark rolled around a bit so that they could say "we skated Talent," but Roger decided to rest his deformed knee/leg/foot combo. Surprisingly, there was no Seffsquatch sighting here, probably due to the lack of meat and smoke. page 1 : page 2 : page 3 |
