It's Starting To Look Like a Store

I bought this picture while still living in Tennessee and during a time when I had begun to (semi) seriously contemplate opening up an outdoor gear consignment shop.

There have been some unexpected and trying times since I bought this picture.

I dusted and cleaned it off today while working down at the store and LC looked at me and said "We need to keep that".

It's a huge picture - maybe 3 feet by 2 feet and it IS really nice.

But we're going to try and sell it.

While cleaning off this picture I also cleaned off a number of other pictures that I have been hoarding (and leaning up against the wall in the bedroom) for a long time now.

Pictures of cowboys and wolves and horses and elk.  Nice pictures.  Pictures that I would want to buy if I walked into a store and saw them.

During the past few days we have begun (finally!) to find places for everything we currently have.  Which is a big task in a small space! 

  

There will be two long racks of outdoor clothing located along the wall as you walk in the front door, eight wall mounted 7-tier clothes brackets in what we're loosely calling "the picture room", and a big multi-level clothing rack (that I pulled apart and carted all the way from Tennessee) in the main section of the store.

LC built a new wall mounted rack for packs this morning, but we're gonna need another one.

Hmmmm......I haven't told him that yet.

I bought the funky wood tower (that up until now has been sitting in the middle of the room, constantly getting in the way and taking up space) at a recycle place called ReStore in Powell, and still have no idea what to do with it.

I haven't found them yet but somewhere still in boxes are a whole lot of bike locks and some of them will likely be stored on our weirdly-tower.

A climbing gear wall.

OAR is not accepting either ropes or climbing hardware on consignment (unless they are in unused condition still with tags).

I can show you a perfectly fine looking carabiner that I now use as a key chain because it fell 40 feet off a cliff.  Which is why we don't accept used ropes or hardware.  

We want to keep our customers safe and enjoying the outdoors, and you can't always tell just by looking, whether or not climbing gear has been handled carefully.

These pieces are mine.  I haven't climbed in a couple of years, don't plan on climbing anymore and know exactly how they have been treated.

In addition to the biners, figure 8s, ATC's, ascenders and webbing in this picture, there will also be a climbing helmet and two harnesses for sale.

OAR IS accepting additional climbing gear such as harnesses, helmets, climbing shoes, chalk bags etc.

All must be in very good to excellent condition.

   

Packs a hangin'

More to come as we keep putting stuff out!

One small section of outdoor home decor items we'll have for sale at OAR.

We have a door!

The door separates the two sections of what was once only a grimy car bay, and what is now gradually turning into half storage and half outdoor store.

We are hoping that our outdoor consignment store is embraced by the community and that we can quickly expand to an even larger space! 

Starting next Monday November 5, we will begin accepting consignment items Mon-Fri 9am - 12 noon until the store opens. 

Please call if you have questions about your stuff and whether it is what we are looking for.

Please call if those hours don't work for you.  We''ll accept consignments by appointment as well!

To the right of the page is a link providing info on how our consignment policies work.

In that same link is a copy of the OAR Intake Form, if you would like to speed up the process. 

 Simply dowload the form, fill out some of the info (contact information, item descriptions, sizes, colors etc.) and bring it with you when you come to OAR. 

We'll fill out the price information for each item together at the store.

REMINDER:  We Open For Business Thursday November 15.

Winter hours are Wednesday through Saturday 9am-6pm.

Watch for our ads in the next two editions of Pulse magazine!

Request For Information



These are all pictures taken at Eagle Beach in Alaska during the summer of 2010.

Eagle Beach is located about 30 miles outside the small capital city of Juneau and it is one of the most amazing and beautiful places I have ever seen.

We amazingly got within 10 feet of this eagle.  He watched us closely as we slowly approached but he did not seem to be alarmed that we were there.  Way cool.....

Over the past month or so we have built shelves, built walls, taken doors down and put other doors up, painted and sanded and stained.  We have scrounged wood and bought wood.  Scrounged shelves and bought shelves.  Scrounged nails and screws and...........well, you know the rest.

Cleaned and cleaned and cleaned some more.

The place is still bare bones right now.  No decorations.  No clothing.  No pictures.  No headlamps or back packs or swim fins.  No heat.

A little over three weeks from opening, Outdoor Adventures Revived (and the reality of this) is really starting to hit home.

All the doubts and hopes and excitement and anticipation is starting to kick in big time!

There's still a few more shelves to set up, but once that is done (and I start digging through boxes to itemize and lay out what merchandise we have on hand until consignment items start coming in) it will really feel like "We're Doin' This!!".

One day at a time.

REMINDERS:

1.  Begin accepting consignments Monday November 5

2.  OAR opens Thursday November 15

3.  Grand Opening Saturday November 17

RFI (Request For Information)

I have little technical expertise re: skis and boots (both downhill and cross country).

I have some skis at the store right now that I need more information about.

There will also be skis and boots coming into the store for consignment at some point and I need to know what I am looking at.

If someone reads this blog and is willing to spend an hour or so walking me through the technical aspects of boots and skis please call me at the OAR number:  (307) 250-0001

We've Got A Wall

Yesterday was a long manual-labor day.

But by the end of the day we had a wall separating the two halves of what was once a dirty and grimy and hard-working garage bay, but is now half a storage area and half a soon-to-be outdoor gear consignment store.

The past couple of days have been filled with cutting and screwing and painting and measuring  Of scavenging and moving and building with wood and plywood.

There were two ladders leaning up against a wall in the garage bay and both of them were rickety and dangerous looking.

As I watched LC balance precariously on wooden blocks placed on the seat of a wooden chair,  I saw the drill go flying.

It dropped ten feet and the crash when it hit the concrete floor was ominous.

His beloved battery operated hand drill flew into four separate pieces and was toast.

He lived a long and worthy life.  Rest in peace Makita Drill.

By late afternoon LC was sitting on a stool eating nachos smothered in some kind of nasty cheese and salsa concoction while I painted.

I got two quick coats on one side of the wall and started the wall on the other side of the doorway before totally losing interest for the day.  Stick a fork in me.  I was done.

Looking at these pictures I am reminded again that this store would not have happened without the support of my husband.

We didn't have a lot of money to dedicate to this idea, but LC believes in me and believes in the idea.  I couldn't have started this store without his support (OK.........and his construction skills), and for both of those things I am so grateful..

It looks like I owe the man a drill, but HEY!!  We have a wall!



We've Got A Counter

When we first took over half of the garage bay that we are converting into an outdoor gear consignment shop, there were two two-legged workbenches in the bay that were attached directly to the wall.

They were pure dirt and oil stained nastiness, but (since we are opening this store on a tight budget), what we lacked in money we hoped to make up for in creativity.

We asked the owner if we could use the benches and (after receiving the nod of approval) went to work on them.

The picture on the left is what they looked like after we added more legs to the tables so that they could be free-standing.

Tons of sanding, stain, clear coat, plywood, nails, screws and curse words later, and the picture on the right is what it looks like to this point.

It still needs work, but the rest of the work will be much more fun.  We'll add some character to it in the form of rope and horse shoes and whatever else we can dig up that will fit, but HEY!!  We have a counter!!

These pictures were taken of me kayaking last May at Buffalo Bill Reservoir here in Cody.

A kayak story from my adventure racing days.  This took place while I was doing a 24 hour race as a solo team:

Late at night, and in the middle of summer 2007 (and after having raced for about 14 hours to that point) I found myself gearing up for the second water leg of the race. 

I was kayaking and heading towards a small island on a lake in eastern Tennessee.

I had the checkpoint plotted on the south side of the island but I knew from talking with other teams that some had it plotted on the south and some had it plotted on the north side.

As I approached the island I saw headlamps dead center in the middle of the island.

I paddled around to the south side and as I was making my way around the shore looking for a place to stash my kayak ran into a fisherman in a power boat, fishing close to shore.

He yelled at me and asked me if I was looking for an orange and white flag.
"Yeah!!  Have you seen it??"
"Nope"
Slightly cranky because he had raised my hopes up that it was close, I thanked him anyway.  Best not to tick off the locals................
I paddled around to the north side of the island looking for a spot to ditch my boat so that I could make my way onto the island on foot.
After leaving the boat I climbed up the embankment and onto the island, zigged and zagged and bushwhacked my way through dense underbrush making my way to the center of the island, and did indeed find the checkpoint without incident.
And that is when I realized how much I had wandered and that most likely I was not going to be able to straight-shot my way directly back to my kayak so that I could continue on with the rest of the race.
I made my way back to the north side, looked down and............no boat.
I was fairly certain that it was located further down to my right and made my way along the side of the island, fighting soft dirt along the way that wanted to crumble underneath my feet.
Eventually the ground gave way under me for real and I started to slide uncontrollably, certain that I was going to take an uncontrolled fall down into the lake.
Thankfully a tree broke my fall (the second time that day that had happened and becoming a running theme with me as a racer).

Grateful for not falling six feet down into the water, and after catching my breath for a moment, I dropped down into the lake and swam the rest of the way to my boat................

Awesome Day!

Turning half of a garage bay into something that looks welcoming and acceptable as an outdoor gear consignment store is a BIG job.

My husband and I have been sanding and painting and staining and clear coating stuff non-stop for a few weeks now.

The other day I spent the better part of a day cleaning grease and dust and dirt off......well........every surface.

The restroom was totally nasty.  The floor was covered with automotive grease and sawdust.  The white front door was a black front door.

Guess what?  Underneath the dirt was a grey floor.

Tomorrow someone is coming to the store to give me my sale tax license.

Once the wall separating the two halves of the garage bay are up, and once the counter is finished, things will start to go fast , We're still waiting for wall mounted clothes racks to arrive so that I can start laying this place out.  Can't wait!!............

OAR's website address:  http://outdooradventuresrevived.weebly.com/index.html

OAR has plenty of merchandise on hand right now (still stored away in plastic tubs,but that should change soon!) until consignment items start rolling in.

What kinds of gear have we got so far?  Cabela's packs of all sizes.  Other internal and external frame packs of all sizes from day to multi-day packs.  Climbing gear (carabiners, ATCs, figure 8's, climbing helmets, ascenders, harnesses).  Headlamps.  Tops and bottoms for yoga.  Bike shirts.  Bike shorts.  PFD's.  Indoor aerobic clothing (suitable for group exercise classes, spin classes, treadmill running, elliptical workouts etc.).  Swim goggles.  Name brand winter jackets.  Name brand gloves and rain jackets and boots.  Ice skates.  Bike helmets. Water bottles and water jugs.  Base layers. Hiking pants.  Fleece tops (100-300 weight).  Winter hats and baseball caps. Camo hunting jackets and pants.

Some outdoorsy decorative stuff.  Great outdoor pictures. 

Lots more!

So start digging through your closet and garage (and the floorboard of your car!) 'cause we'll be accepting gear for consignment starting November 5.

Late in May 2011 I went for a bike ride on BLM land in back of the house.

My husband and I had only been in Cody for a couple of months and although I had ridden on BLM land before, I wanted to explore outside my comfort zone and looked forward to venturing up into the hills that I could see a few miles in the distance.

It started out as a very cool and sunny day and I had planned on being out for only a couple of hours.

Seven hours later (including missing a trail on the way home and constantly running into the irrigation canal, a scary stare-down with a bull, an exhilarating stare-down with a herd of horses, two flat tires, eating a banana I had dropped in the dirt after remembering the five second rule, and a cactus spine in the butt while crawling with my bike underneath a fence) I made it home.

Awesome day!

Dates To Remember

A trip to the mountains and a friend visiting from out of state (who was chomping at the bit to hunt in Wyoming) temporarily slowed down store preparations over the past week, but I did get some cleaning done.

These pictures are what the place looked like before I finally reached for the dust mop and the broom and the Comet.  

Next time I post you'll be able to see the floor!

DATES TO REMEMBER

1.  OAR is accepting consignment items beginning Monday November 5 (9am-12noon M-F until opening day).  Please call if those days and times don't work for you, and we'll find a time that fits your schedule.

2.  The store opens for business (Yeah!) 9am, Thursday November 15

3.  Our Grand Opening is Saturday November 17

Check out the links on the right hand side of the page for information on the store opening, consignment policies, rental info, and contact information!

Our website should be up and running in the next few days and when it is we'll post it on the blog.

   

With temperatures rebounding back into the sixties again, it is hard to believe that there is still so much snow up in the mountains.

These pictures were taken only a few days ago while heading up Chief Joseph Scenic Highway and while standing at the overlook at Dead Indian Pass.

Too beautiful!

   

The Beast

About six years ago I was in the middle of an adventure race (as one half of a two-person team) and was racing with a male team-mate in West Virginia.

We had been on the go for two straight days and were in the middle of our third night.

We were grinding out a long steep climb on our bikes up a paved mountain road.

It was the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere, very windy and cold, and freezing rain was coming in sideways at us.

As we were close to the top of the mountain a kitten came running out of the woods along the side of the road and unexpectedly followed us the entire rest of the climb.

We crested the top of this isolated place in the dark and began looking for a side road where we knew a check point was placed.

The small kitten was still with us.

We found the side road without problem and my team mate went down the road a couple hundred yards to collect the point while I watched him.

With my head lamp mounted to my bike helmet I also watched as this little kitten eagerly followed my team-mate down the road.

And then I watched as the kitten got underfoot while my team-mate dismounted from his bike, punched the point, remounted and returned to where I was waiting.

By the time they both got back to my spot I looked at my team-mate and said "We can't leave him up here.  He's gotta come with us."

There were no houses up there.  It was freezing.  It was freezing rain.  This little thing would never make it up there by himself in that weather.

My team-mate did not say a word.  He just looked at me.

I had raced a few races with this guy and over the years had come to recognize that look as one that wordlessly said "Are you outta your mind???"

We had places to go and days to race and we were standing in very awful weather in the middle of the night on some mountain top in West Virginia.

Thankfully he did not expend energy arguing with me.

So the next question was how were we going to get this sweet thing safely off the mountain? 

Both our packs were too full.

He wouldn't fit inside our jacket pockets.

Finally I stuffed this kitten inside my jacket hoping the chest and hip straps of my pack would keep him in one place.

So there we were.

Riding mountain bikes down the back side of a mountain, on winding switch-back filled gravel roads, in the middle of the night, in freezing rain, with me carrying a kitten inside my jacket.

I could feel him squirming inside my jacket but the straps did indeed keep him in one place.

I eventually handed him over to race volunteers at the next manned check point hoping that someone - a racer, a volunteer, one of the race staff - would adopt this beautiful little thing.
He was adopted by the entire race staff for the duration of the race.  
Nick-named The Beast, race officials posted updates not only about the race but also the status of the race's new mascot online.

And then after the race he was indeed adopted by a racer from Florida.

Hopefully he is still living a long happy life in the sun.............

Busy, Busy, Busy

The past couple of weeks have been incredibly busy.

After finally making the decision to really go ahead with the store, I contacted the Wyoming Business Council, ran the idea by them and met with one of their people to share the business plan I had put together.

After that I communicated with yet another WBC rep based out of Laramie, and then worked with an intern from that organization who is helping me to put a website together.

A real website!  Moving on up to the big leagues!

They have been a terrific resource as I moved forward with this plan, and I was gratified to not only receive constructive feedback from them but to also hear that my idea had merit.

Beyond building a business plan there was also the need to put nuts and bolts together - policies, procedures, business practices, the forms needed for day to day operations, fliers, a marketing plan (with little money in the budget for this, I planned on doing as much "guerrilla marketing" as possible), and daily, weekly and monthly spreadsheets.

I met with an accountant who gave me helpful information, and that is when I learned that starting a small business with no employees (except for my husband who I'm hoping I can keep conning into volunteering for me) is a simple and relatively painless process in Wyoming.  Good deal!

And then of course back to the store. 

Both LC and I have been working in mess and dust and paint and stain for the past couple of weeks and every day both of us have driven home filthy but feeling good about how things are going..

It's coming together, and when I look back on pictures as we progress, I realize just how MUCH things are coming together.

A few pictures from early last week..................

 

 

 

 One final picture of my sweet dog Jamie.
Through the past couple of weeks she has sat on the front porch outside the front of the store,

 patiently watching her people and offering puppy support.

She has traveled from Tennessee to Alaska to Wyoming to Tennessee to Wyoming with us.  The greatest dog two gypsies could ever hope for!