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Mountain Bowl Blues.
3/12/01
Words: Bobcat Images: Lane
H except one by Sir
I
used to love her
and so did my friends but i didn't mind
drove 40 miles to see her as much as i could
then she was found and buried.
Dedicated others helped her come back to life
grief turned to joy followed by enjoyment
she was found again and brutally chopped up for good
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I first heard about her in 94 and myself and Scott
Eatons spent a day in my Mercury Bobcat driving in
the Monroe / Sultan area looking for an abandoned
campground where she resided, but to no avail. In
96 we found her and on that hot summer day i fell
in love. Getting a grind was a hassle if you weren't
warmed up, but the fact you could stop skating and
listen to the outdoors and the calm rush of the Skynomish
River next to you was all the reason you came to see
her. She was the Mountain Bowl and she was a haven
for campers in the fifties and sixties who wanted
to cool off but didn't want to fear the cold merciless
raging river. Now she was a haven for us and we cared
for her by cleaning her up.
I can't say enough, that us who were lucky enough
to ride already know. Big bees and monster bugs would
fly out of the nearby brush and harass you if you
stood in the shallow end too long. She was 6ft deep
and kinda tight and to top things off slugs would
invade the area at dusk so you had to tiptoe to avoid
getting slug goo on your kicks. It gets hot, real
hot so we brought loads of fluids. Sometimes the ants
would get in them and it was a bitch fishing them
out. Five and Smiley could grind over the stairs while
we could hardly carve in that section. Hell, even
dropping in was kinda freaky but it was fun.
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Ben Butler 96 |
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Park rangers started showing up
and kicking people out. They were more worried about
the vandalism in the abandoned building next door
more then anything. Saturdays and Sundays started
seeing more and more crowds, then it happened. The
mountain bowl was buried halfway with dirt and was
no more.
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| The next spring I heard from Q that Five, himself
and some Skynomish locals were gunna dig the pool out
and camp there until the job was done. Some say it took
3 days, some said 5 but whatever the time she was empty
and clean and beckoning us back. There we were again,
small sessions again just like the old days. The big
bees and bugs welcomed us back with their kin by bothering
us even more, and the slugs ... well the slugs.. i still
fear for world conquest by them to this day. There wasn't
much more to say, other then sometimes it's just not
the pool you're riding but the total experience gained
by a trip there. If you've driven up to Stevens Pass
in the summertime you know what i mean, the 2 lane road
in a windy valley with green everywhere and the scent
of pollen and the clean air.. it's too much for words. |
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By late summer the crowds came back and some didn't
go by the unwritten poolriders vow by parking right
outside the entrance instead of up the street. The rangers
came back more angry then ever. Some I heard got tickets,
usually for drinking beer or backtalking the servants
of justice, but whoever the vandals were i hope you
rot in hell. She was brutally chopped up and jackhammered
and the surrounding buildings got leveled. I celebrate
her life and not her demise and the times we had up
there in the boonies just laughing, drinking and skating
with not a care in the world. I miss dipping my puppies
in the river after a session, i miss the quietness and
serenity, but most of all i mess her. |
Skateboarders are the most resourceful people
in the world. They will stop at nothing to get what they
want, and go to great lengths to bring back what rightfully
should be theirs. Live and Learn.
RIP
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