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Off Road Racing at Bark River Thursday, August 23, 2007 When you live in a rural part of the country, sometimes you catch yourself pulling in. Actually, that might be true wherever you live. It is not necessarily bad, but we tend to think that the world is happening out there and doesn't have much to do with us. I'm not talking about the war in the Middle East or starving third world countries or the deforestation of the rainforests...no, I'm talking about cool stuff like movies and video games. We watch them..we play them, but rarely is our tucked away region ever in them. The Lions Club of Bark River Michigan has been bringing off road racing to the U.P. for over 30 years. I can only imagine what it must've been like back then...probably reminiscent of NASCAR beginnings. Now some of these drivers are world famous. At the Bark River track, you can walk through the pits and say hi to Johnny Greaves or Carl Renezeder. The Bark River track finally got its claim to video game fame in the XBOX 360 title DiRT by Codemasters. The game is sold out in our area...it can't be found anywhere. Ingrid and I drove to Grand Rapids and I managed to get my hands on one. I borrowed my step-brother's 360 and I unlocked the Pro-4 series on the Bark River track in under two hours. That probably isn't all that great, but I had fun doing it. In a few days I'll post my actual in game footage racing in Johnny Greaves' Toyota TRD Forest County Potawatomi Tundra on the Bark River track! Labels: bark river, dirt, johnny greaves, off road, racing, upper peninsula posted by Nathan @ 10:49 PM 0 Comments Links to this post Hot Air Balloon Rides in Escanaba Sunday, August 19, 2007 This is an experience Ingrid nor I have had yet. A company out of Ohio, Goldfish Hot Air Balloon, was invited by OSF hospital along with other major Delta County players. A friend of ours, April Durow, was lucky enough to partake in an untethered ride one afternoon for one of their test flights. She let us post the video here in the notes section. Click here to watch the video. You'll get a bird's eye view of the Chip-In Casino, some deer running through a field, a glimpse of Escanaba...a deer blind. Yeah, for as exciting as views from an air balloon might be, I cut the 16 minute video down to three and a half. April was telling us that the basket actually brushed some trees when they were coming in for a landing. I don't know...I might take the chance if I ever get the opportunity, but they were pretty high. I'm not sure how high, but high enough to care about it. The only thing between you and peril is a little basket, albeit a very secure basket, but still a basket. posted by Nathan @ 10:41 AM 0 Comments Links to this post Fair Week in the U.P. Saturday, August 18, 2007 The U.P. State Fair was held this week in Escanaba. Last year, Ingrid and I went twice. Once was for the sights and the food and the (un)usual fair experience. The second time was strictly for the chicken teriyaki with tempura. It was actually only I that went to the fair, paid the admission fee, went straight to the vendor, bought the two meals and went home to have dinner with Ingrid. So this year that was the first place we went. This year was a little bit different. The company Ingrid works for, Woerpel Images, had a booth in the exhibition building for the magazine that they publish, the Upper Peninsula Magazine. We had thousands of copies to hand out. At times we didn't let people pass by the booth without a magazine. It was free, has beautiful photos and cool stories...why wouldn't they want one? We missed the Miracle of Life event this year again. When we were there Thursday, the cow had been mooing (either from pain or frustration from all the people watching her give birth) so much that she was hoarse. I thought it was funny that the cow was hoarse...Ingrid didn't share my sense of humor. Then on Friday when we went back to the Miracle of Life tent, there was a scraggly little calf in her pen. For me the fair is definitely about the food. This is my all time favorite: There's this booth that's by the exhibition building..been there for years. They serve Italian sausages in some kind of deep fried bun..the taste is amazing! posted by Nathan @ 11:08 PM 0 Comments Links to this post |
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