Indie Wears Salomon Hiking Boots

Far away from any major civilization in Southeast Alaska, lies the small town of Skaguay. Skagway was a famous port town during the 1898 Klondike Gold Rush, which supposedly is quite well known (though I had never heard about it). Hundreds of thousands of men came up to this remote place to find the supposed gold that lay hidden 500 miles north in the deserted Yukon Territory. Only a few found wealth, the rest died on the treacherous trail, or came back empty handed.

That was then, this is now. Today, Skaguay is a bustling tourist town. Visited daily by cruise ships sailing around the better ports in Alaska, toting old fogies around who have saved all their lives on order to take this trip. Coming to Alaska is said to be the adventure of a lifetime. About 500,000 people come each season, and it is quite the unique place. Which brings me to my purpose.

One day, I was off work, hanging out, minding my own business when my friend Bethany tells me that apparently Harrison Ford was visiting the town. With him was longtime girlfriend Calista Flockheart and her son. I was a little intrigued. I'd heard about famous people coming to Skaguay to visit, for example Kevin Bacon, but I never thought I would be here when some random celeb showed up. Bethany however, wanted to search for Mr. Ford, and I agreed just out of curiosity to see if we could actually find him. All we knew was that he had flown his own plane into town, and was out and about. We found out that he had ridden the White Pass and Yukon Route train, but had since gone on his merry way. We hoped maybe he would pop into some of the shops, and since downtown Skaggs isn't that large (one street about 1

0 blocks long), it seemed we'd be able to find him easily. So we went up one side of the street, then down the other with no luck. Bethany had the idea that maybe he had stopped in the Skagway Brewing Company for a drink (or to try their famous Spruce Tip Ale), so we went in that direction. We arrived at the Brew Co. and got a drink, and looked around the room, but saw nothing. After about an hour of searching for the elusive man, we gave up and headed home. 

After arriving home, my other friend Donald said he wanted to buy some rock climbing gear, and so I decided to go with him. By now I'm pretty sure every person who lived in Skaguay had heard he was in town, and a few people had gotten pictures of him, but I doubted I would run into him. So Donnie and I went over to The Mountain Shop which sells more rugged camping and outdoor gear, including rock climbing harnesses and shoes. After looking at their selection, I was wandering around the store, when who should walk in, but Mr. Indiana Jones himself!! I couldn't believe it! It took me a second to realize it was him, he was sporting a beard and sunglasses as well as one of those hats with the big brim around it, one would wear in the sun or for water activities (see below):

Once I had gotten over the shock of seeing Harrison Ford in this little town, I immediately sent a message to Bethany to get her butt over to The Mountain Shop ASAP! Donnie and I continued to watch him covertly, and overheard he was in the store looking for socks. The ones he had on were giving him blisters or something. So we watched as he went into the dressing room at the store and started trying them on. The sales guy asked him what kind of boots he wore and Indie said they were Salomon. I was kinda surprised because I never thought Salomon's were all that good of a brand. But to each his own I guess. Bethany arrived and joined us. At one point, I was standing in line to purchase something and Mr. Indiana Jones himself was right in front of me making his purchase of socks. I really wanted his credit card receipt but couldn't get it of course. I never got the courage to talk to him, partially because I didn't want to annoy him, but I wish I had said something. After he left, everyone was just like "Um did Harrison Ford really just come in here?".

The next day, I had to work and we heard that Harrison was still in town, but that it was his last day. I didn't expect to see him again, but just as I was driving out of town with a tour group, who should I see walking on the sidewalk was Mr. Ford (with Calista) yet again! I really wanted to say something to my group, but by the time I realized it was him we had already gone past and it was too late. And then that was that. He flew out that evening to who knows where. And that my friends is my brush with a major celeb. 

Hodge Podge of Thoughts...

When I found out that I would have to stay in Utah for 5 weeks, after I returned from Alaska I didn't know what I was going to do to pass the time. I thought, should I get a job? I considered it for awhile, but just didn't because I was a little burned out from working 70 hours a week for 5 months. So then my mom suggested I get a bike! I wasn't sure of the idea at first, but the more I looked into it, the more I wanted one. So I figured out how much I could spend, and headed over to my local bike shop. I was really set on getting a Specialized. My Dad recently got a Specialized road bike, and my brother-in-law has a Specialized mountain bike. I guess everyone and their mother also wanted a Specialized, because the bike shop didn't have any, nor did Specialized have any in their warehouse (of the models I was interested in). So the bike shop guy steered me toward Trek. Now I still wish a little that I would've been able to get a Specialized, but the Trek 7.2 FX WSD I got is awesome!! It's a hybrid, so the tires aren't as narrow as a road bike (does better on gravel) but not as wide as a mountain bike. It was delivered on Tuesday and all I did was take it out for a short 2 mile spin. On Wednesday though I went out longer (a little over 14 miles), and I discovered the bike path down Hobble Creek Canyon! Today I'm going to lengthen my ride to at least 15 miles (if my butt can go that far, it's a little sore), and eventually I want to get up to 20 miles. I still have about 2.5 weeks until I leave so that'll be plenty of time. When my parents get here, we want to do a ride along the Provo River bike trail, which sounds really fun!!

Onto other matters, the widely talked about GOP VP Nom Sarah Palin!! I hate talking about her because everyone talks about her, but I have to get a few thoughts out in the open. First and foremost, the incident at the Flyers game a few nights ago. Now I will admit, as much as I dislike the woman I did feel a little bad for her when over half the audience was booing her as she walked out to drop the first puck. But then I thought, well honestly she deserves it. Why does she think she deserves, or has the experience to be the Vice President of the United States? Just because John McCain picked her, doesn't mean she is a good choice. In fact, like I said before in one of my previous blog entry, what rock did her find her under? I mean you pick one of the smallest populated states in the country, grab the governor and say "hey! wanna be my VP running mate?". To be frank, it's extremely selfish on her part. She has to realize that she doesn't have the experience to be the VP and she thinks it's OK to bring the country down even further than where it is now? And then she goes around slamming Obama for random things to ruin his credibility when in fact she has no credibility herself. I have as much foreign policy experience as she does. In fact I might have more! j/k The fact that she didn't have a passport until 2006, I'd already had mine for three years! Why don't I run for VP?

Now I know that there are some people who just love her and hate the fact that the "liberal" media keeps poking fun at her. And some claim that if it were any other woman, they wouldn't be trying to "crucify" her all the time. I'm sure Hillary got her fair share, and now the media has moved on. And really, if she can't handle the media then she shouldn't be in the spotlight. Even the Europeans get that she's a horrible choice, calling her a "half baked Alaskan disaster". It's not just Palin I'm afraid of. It's McCain also. There was one line that caught my attention during the last Presidential Debate. It was when Obama said the if we vote McCain in office we'll get the same policies that have been plaguing us for the last eight years. Now I for one, want change. Let's put aside the fact that some of us just can't "bring ourselves to vote Democrat" and finally be responsible for our country. 

Being in Utah, the most conservative state in the world, I have heard many strange things coming from people about why they dislike Obama. One is that he spends more on his campaign than McCain does. Seriously? Um, well if McCain had the money he would spend it too. Why should it matter if Obama spends a lot of money on his campaign. I will admit I see less pro-McCain ads, but is this really a legitimate reason to dislike Obama? Give me a break!! I know practically no one reads my blog, which is probably good since I seem to babble a lot and smash the Republicans (and the majority of my family is conservative). But I was sent this article which is a good read for political affiliation. The link should post somewhere in this entry...

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/make_believe_maverick_the_real_john_mccain/page/1