I got some good rest last night and am pretty much over the skimboard marathon! I got up early and checked out Talant and Ashland, OR. The two towns are within minutes of each other. The parks are older but good still and I had fun rolling around this morning. It is great to get out and just check out new parks everyday. I must say that I am missing that amoeba at Wilson! I love that bowl even when I am sick of it!
So I got some picks of Talent but none from Ashland. My camera died just as I got in there but you can look it up on Northwestskater.com.
Talent had this weird bowl/spine thing happening and a pretty nice street course.
Pics:
The highlight of the day was the drive on Rt66 (not sure if it is THE 66). The landscape was amazing. You could literally see the division from the Northern California landscape and the Oregon landscape just outside of Ashland. I must say that Ashland is a really nice little town to walk around and spend money in. If I had a girlfriend with I am sure I would not have gotten out of there too quick!
So back to the drive, crazy winding mountain roads, red rock, big drop offs and the whole lot!! Just plain beautiful! I saw a sign for the Siskiyou Nat' Monument so I pulled off on this gravel road and drove up the mountain. After about a half hour, I got kind of curious - Where is the monument??? I kept going and eventually the gravel stopped and I was going up rutted dirt roads. There were mountain men and people building shelters along the way. I finally realized, I am in the monument dummy! This land, this area is the National Monument!! Ugh
It was a great experience though and I was very happy to be there. Once I got back to Rt 66 it was about another hour to my destination. I was trying to get to BLM area outside of Keno, OR. I was totally stoked when i found it. The campsites were on the side of a nice bluff. There is a rad lake there and all kinds of hiking trails and stuff. I got a great spot and hope that my tent is there when i head back tonight!! There were a few people camped already so who knows what will happen when I get back.
I had a PBJ by the lake and headed out to Klamath Falls, OR, just 20 miles away.
The directions from Skateoregon.com where a little mixed up but I did finally find the place. It is within this huge sports complex? Weird. When I got in the place, this dude gave the a schpeal about how the sports complex is trying to get the park bulldozed and they are there to keep it open. They monitor the park and get grants for kids, blah blah, give us a dollar. So I gave him a dollar and skated for over 3 hours!!
The park is amazing and very big! Dreamland did this one and it shows. Excellent craftsmanship and features for all level of rider. There are all kinds of snake runs, small quarter pipes little pump bumps and like 5 bowls in the park. Each bowl is unique and very different from anything I have skated.
There is a square walled bowl, a tiny peanut with no coping, a "johnson" or "penis" shaped bowl with a gnarly roll in, a cool cradle and big channel (reminder of the Turf). There is a huge snake run that dumps into another Mega bowl like at Lincoln City. And finally a crazy octopus bowl. It features a five pocket shallow end and a big mellow rounded deep end.
I rode this one the most and it was crazy weird. The deep end was really mellow and the shallow was not tight transition wise but the pocket themselves were probably 4-5 half radius turns so it was quick. Dreamland is into these tight pockets. I have seen them at Mt. Hood, Lincoln City and even at Lake Delton, WI.
I ran into this dude from SO Cal, Jimmy "The Fence". Cool guy, I skated with him a bit at Battlegroud, WA. He was on a skate trip also - riding a Harley form Washington Street to Seattle and back!! Cool trip! Like I said, if I do this again, I am gonna hit the Portland area again and then head north and do Astoria, St. Helens, Glenview, and then up to Washington - Seattle, Orcas island, etc.,
It was a good day though and I am now in my coffee shop mode, enjoying the rest of this afternoon. Tomorrow I head to second leg of the Motherland Stomp to the Motherland - California!! 1st stop, Weed, Ca and on to Sacramento!!
2 comments:
More radicalness! Great stuff Lou. We were at Wilson last night and I think Eric mentioned how weird it was to go skating and not see you at the park. Have fun and see you when get back.
Lou- Thanks for the reply! I usually check in with concrete, socal, and northwest.. anyway, you need to check out Aumsville.. where I learned and the epitome of flow. Of all the Oregon parks, I still like this one the best! Anyway it has been cool to check out all the good stuff you are experiencing. I remember the days of being out there alone for days, I was stoked for the days, but the nights.. anyway, hopefully the next time you are in Oregon, Mill City will have a park that you can come and stomp! Hope the rest of your trip is uneventful, on the money side, but memorable for what made you step outside of what you know..
I was once there in Chicago- outside my element. I helped a family out with a meal at Mcdonalds.. Interesting stuff. Anyway it is not always the things you see, but the people you meet that really matters-
Have fun-
Tim
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