A Mountain Of Gear

We have been VERY busy at OAR this past week.

Over the weekend we picked up a huge amount of primarily hunting gear.

When I dumped it all in a pile on the floor beside the counter we had a mountain of gear three feet high, and all I could think was "Awesome!!  Now where the heck am I going to put it all?"

It took three days, tons of cleaning and researching and labelling and fixture installing but.....we got it all done, and now we have some totally cool stuff to offer the local outdoor adventure community.

Holsters, saddle bags, duffel bags, back packs, hunting books, ammo pouches, rifle cases, more camo hunting jackets and vests. 

Lots more.

At the top of the post is a Bianchi, western rig belt and holster for single action 45 cal, 34 inch waist. A link to a site that has many good pictures of the same belt:

http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/7099328/FS_Bianchi_1890H_SASS_gunbelt

Mountainsmith Cross Country II internal frame multi-day pack for sale. This awesome pack is brand new, still with tags, and comes with detachable day pack.

Vintage military ski poles (we believe they're from the 60's).

We have a number of strong and sturdy canvas duffel bags in sizes ranging from small to large.

There are both Cabelas and Dunns brands, and they are all clean and in excellent condition.

One of my favorite people brought this beautiful jacket in for consignment a week or so ago.

A Tri Mountain Mens XL jacket. Large external side zippered pockets and one external zip chest pocket, lined, multiple ventilation points.

An awesome jacket for a big guy.

OK........these pictures have absolutely nothing to do with the store but we think they're awesome pictures anyway.

Last weekend our sweet old pup Jamie was sitting and looking out through the screen door at the front of the house.

When she started to growl I thought that she had seen a bunny or a cat (both of which we have in abundance in the area, and James would happily rip them to shreds if she had the chance).

Instead, when I looked outside I saw these guys grazing on our neighbor's front lawn.

The other picture is an old wagon we have at the edge of our driveway.

I love that thing.

A S&W ammo belt, 30 cal, 34 inch waist, and a Broadus Boot and Tack , Tracy Fruit Maker ammo belt, 45-70 cal, 34-36 inch waist.

Two pairs of Simms boots.

One has a felt sole.  The other has a leather sole that is screwed to the upper.

They are both in excellent shape and are very high quality.

Just a reminder that ex, retired and currently serving military and law enforcement receive 25% off all of their OAR purchases throughout the month of May.

Our very small way of saying thank you for your service.

A beautiful table for sale, made of reclaimed wood that was salvaged locally, antlers, rope and new Plexiglas.

It is a lovely piece that we have used at the store to display some of the natural decorative items we have in one dedicated space in the store, but we would love to find it a new home.

Thanks To Polestar

While we were at the Beast Feast last month, my husband bought two tickets to the upcoming Polestar dinner and auction.

It is an annual fundraising event held in Powell.

The event helps to raise money needed for Polestar to be able to continue to provide opportunities for disadvantaged youth in the community.  

It is a mentor driven and volunteer dependent organization that provides quality outdoor experiences for young people.

Without Polestar many of these young people would never know what it is to hunt, fish, camp, and enjoy other outdoor activities that many of us take so much for granted.

More information about Polestar:

http://www.polestar-outdoors.org/

OAR was invited to set up a table at the event and when we first walked in I was amazed at how beautiful they had decorated the hall.  This was going to be fun!

We didn't have a whole lot of time to take pictures but I snapped these in between telling folks about the store, talking about the outdoors, and eating a HUGE meal.

We met so many awesome people the other night, had a great time watching the auction, and are glad that we played a small part in this great event.

A Coleman Powerhouse Dual Fuel lantern for sale at OAR (used only once)  Info on specs for this great piece of gear:

http://www.coleman.com/product/premium-powerhousereg-dual-fueltrade-lantern/3000000946

Live And Learn

Late last week three high school boys walked in the front door of the store and excitedly began rummaging through the shelves and racks of gear and clothing, eager to see what we had in stock.

One boy immediately zeroed in on the helmet above.

I was only half paying attention to the boy as he walked around the store with the helmet, and as he showed it off to his friends and then tried in on.

Eventually he walked over to me and asked me if he could bring the helmet back for a refund if he bought it and it didn't fit.

Shaking my head I pointed at the sign on the wall that told him to be really sure about what he bought, because OAR did not provide refunds.

The boy walked over to a mirror to look at himself wearing the helmet.  He walked over to his friends.  He walked back over to the mirror.

Still only half paying attention to him, I smiled at his excitement about the helmet.

By the third time he had done the "look in the mirror - go show his friends" routine, I looked up to see the boy pulling on the chin guard.  The helmet moved up and down freely on his head.  

Too freely.

OK.  He had my attention.  

I watched him closely, as I realized that this kid really REALLY wanted this helmet to fit him.  

I shook my head at the boys.  

"Uhhh.......no.  That's not gonna work.  That helmet is too big for you".

The boy walked over to a basket filled with wool hats, grabbed one out of the basket and asked me how much it cost.   

I watched him as he put the wool hat on his head and then put the helmet back on.  Grabbing at the chin guard again, he moved the helmet up and down.  It didn't move quite as freely.

He looked at me and said "That feels better".

I looked at him and said "Yeah that might work........until August when it'll be REALLY hot.  That helmet is too big for you."

He took off the helmet, reached for his wallet and headed towards the counter.

I looked at him and said "It's too big.  SHOW YOUR PARENTS THIS HELMET TONIGHT.  If they're OK with it, I'm OK with it.  If they're not OK with it, bring it back and I'll give you your money back, OK?"

He smiled at me and said OK.  

I reiterated "Show it to your parents tonight OK?"

"OK"

The next day his mother walked into the store to get a refund for the helmet.

I thought about that incident a good deal for a couple of days.

It raised issues that I hadn't considered when I first opened an outdoor gear consignment shop here in Cody.

About minors.  About minors purchasing safety-related gear.

I sold the bike helmet to a minor and told him to show it to his parents.  I told him that if the helmet was a no-go, I'd refund his money.

What I SHOULD have just said was "No, I'm not going to sell this helmet to you.  If you want it, bring your parents into the store.  They can decide."

And that is exactly what I will be doing from this point forward.

At OAR we want our youngest local adventurers to be safe when they head outdoors, and OAR's policy moving forward will be to insist on adult decision making when it comes to all outdoor safety gear.

We have a lot of hunting gear at OAR, and the selection is increasing every day. Camo pants, long and short sleeve t's, jackets, vests, neck warmers, fleece hats and baseball caps. Orange jackets and orange vests. A great tree stand and climbing straps. A compound bow and bow case. Boots. A variety of camping gear. Cabellas packs. A couple of old external frame packs suitable for carrying game out of the mountains. If you have hunting gear that you no longer use and want to consign it, consider bringing it into OAR. We get a LOT of guys looking to pick up hunting gear!

Cutest Little Cowboy

Mom gave me permission to post this picture.

The cutest little cowboy we've ever seen!

We had a blast at the Beast Feast the other day!

There were tons of outdoor related businesses and booths set up, and it was awesome to see what other local folks had to offer. 

It was also GREAT to meet with and chat with hundreds of residents who came out to support the event.

Thank you so much to the Cody Bible Church for putting on such a great event, and thanks for inviting OAR to be a part of it!

We had some x-country skis and boots come into the store today.

Yes.......the season is on the wane, but there is still a lot of cross country skiing to be done before the snow all melts out in the Northfork!

The boots (in excellent condition) - Salomon SR301 and Salomon SN Air

The skis (brand new) - Salomon Jarvinen Control 3 Base 318R

Drop by OAR soon to check them out, and remember that we have 30% off almost all our winter gear throughout the month of March.

We have skis, a great snowboard, winter jackets, snowboard boots, ski boots, hats, gloves, scarfs, goggles, poles, helmets, and more.

All Kinds Of Gear

I guess I've been living under a rock somewhere but I had never seen a candle lantern before one walked in the door about a week ago.

It comes complete with brass candle lantern, replacement candles, instruction booklet and mesh carry case.

A link to some information about this very cool thing:

http://www.shopping.com/Rei-REI-Original-Candle-Lantern-Brass/info

Just a reminder that our March Madness Winter Gear Sale begins tomorrow.  All winter jackets, skis, ski boots, fleece vests, hats, gloves, ear and neck warmers etc. are 30% off our already low OAR-prices.

Included in our sale are these two great pairs of snowboard boots.  The larger pair are Burton Rangers and the other pair are youth Vision boots.

This very compact and lightweight MSR Pocket Rocket Stove is also for sale. 

More information here:

http://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/41374?productId=685075&subrnd=0&qs=3016887_pmd_google_pla

OK.........we admit that the Arctic Comet snow boots are not what we would call high fallutin' top name outdoor gear.  But I bought two pairs of them really cheap a while back, because I know that there are people out there who just want warm feet and don't have a whole lot of money to spend to get them.

These boots are in great shape and have liners, and if you just want to spend a little bit of money, we may have an option for you!

Two pairs of climbing gloves. 

We've got a climbing helmet, a couple of pairs of climbing gloves, some webbing, a few harnesses and a few pairs of climbing shoes for sale at OAR

One of the groups that we would like to be able to serve better at OAR are the children and youth of the community.

They outgrow their sports gear in the blink of an eye.

Which means kids are always needing new stuff and parents are always paying for new stuff.

It gets EXPENSIVE!

We have these youth Fox Racing Pants in the store right now and they are in great shape.

We also have a children's bike trailer, a couple of pairs of little (very little) roller blades, a couple of youth ski/snowboard helmets and a couple of pairs of youth skis, bike helmets and a random variety of winter clothing (jackets, vests, boots, gloves, hats, scarfs etc.).

All youth winter gear is also 30% off through the month of March.

If you have young-people gear and clothing that YOUR kids have outgrown, consider consigning it with OAR and giving them new life for another youngster in our community!

A cool postcard that a lady we know in Montana sent to us over the holidays.

She is an avid fisherman and hunter, and caught this on the Bitterroot River.

Great picture!

Lots Of News

A great Sierra Designs sleeping bag that was brought into the store a couple of days ago.  Good to 20 degrees, this bag also includes a stuff sack and canvas carry bag.  All three items are sold together and carry the Sierra Designs logo.

LOTS OF NEWS TO SHARE!

1.  SALE SALE SALE

We're having a March Madness Winter Gear Sale!

Take an additional 30% off OAR's already low prices all through the month of March

Winter Jackets (Excludes Hunting Jackets)

Fleece Vests

Skis / Ski boots / Snowboards

Snowboard Boots

Snowboard Helmets

Scarfs / Gloves / Winter hats / Ear Warmers / Neck Warmers

ALL ON SALE BEGINNING WEDNESDAY MARCH 6

2.  WE'RE ON FACEBOOK!

Sort of.

I think I'm the only person in the entire country who wasn't on Facebook.

Well.......we built a OAR FB page yesterday (see that - I'm already using the abbreviation just like a Facebooking pro!)

It's a work in progress but it's also another way for folks to stay in touch with us and follow what's going on at OAR.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Outdoor-Adventures-Revived-OAR/295312997264285?fref=ts

3.  CHANGES TO STORE HOURS

March 16

If you click on the picture above you'll see the flier we have posted on the store bulletin board about the upcoming Beast Feast.

OAR will be closing early on Saturday March 16, so that we can attend.  

We'll have a table set up there so come find us! 

Other outdoor/hunting/fishing/camping organizations and businesses will also have tables set up, and the Cody Bible Church is serving a great meal.

OAR store hours on the 16th will be 9am-1pm.  After that we'll be at the BF.

OAR Spring Hours

We are extending our operating hours.

Beginning Tuesday April 2 the store will be open:

Tuesday - Saturday (9am-5pm)

Bike Endos And Upcoming Sales

This is me and my sweet girl Jamie.

This picture was taken in the mountains of North Georgia a few years ago, after a long day in the woods.

We camped overnight with a group of adventure racers and then while I spent the entire next day trekking and mountain biking throughout the area (while doing some navigation training with a team-mate), my husband and dog kept a huge camp fire burning.

It was mid-December, very cold and very damp, and the fire was a hit with both stay-behind family members and freezing cold racers once they came back out of the woods.

I taco'd the front wheel of my mountain bike during that training, when I hit a log that was completely buried in fallen leaves.

I saw the end of the log too late and unsuccessfully tried to maneuver around it at the last second.

I hit the log hard, and my bike came to a screeching halt on the rock and leaf covered downhill section of rutted out trail.

I did a slow endo over my handlebars, went airborne and landed softly in another bed of fallen leaves on the back side of the log.

After picking myself up and standing my bike up again, I looked down at it and my first thought was that I had a flat tire.  It took me a second to realize that my entire front wheel was now in the shape of a taco.

It was close to the end of the day and I told my team-mate to go on and pick up the last checkpoint we were headed for, and I'd meet him back at the campsite.

Good times. 

OAR has been open for three months already.

It's been an interesting, exciting, and sometimes even frustrating time, but we are loving the great outdoor gear and clothing that has come through the door, and are really enjoying meeting great outdoor people!

Our operating hours will remain the same through the month of March (Wed-Sat 9am-5pm).

The week of April 1 we will extend our operating days and OAR will be open

Tuesday-Saturday 9am-5pm.

Check back with this blog later in the week for information on upcoming sales!

Thunder and Lightning

Sometime during my first year of adventure racing, me and two other women signed up for a 12 hour race at a state park west of of Nashville, Tennessee.

It was in the spring, the race started early in the morning and it started in cool but very sunny conditions.

Throughout the morning the sky began to get increasingly cloudy and by early afternoon it looked downright ominous.

We heard it first mid-afternoon and it did not take any of us by surprise - a very loud thunder boomer.

The sky had turned black.

We were not in the middle of the North Carolina or West Virginian mountains as we had been in other races but we were too far from civilization when the hard rain started.

The thunder began and then so did the lightning.

We were on mountain bikes at the time, on a trail surrounded by woods on both sides, and there was no shelter from the storm anywhere.

We did the only prudent thing we could do, which was to ditch our bikes, ditch our packs, move away from each other and make ourselves the smallest targets we could possibly make ourselves.

Squatting in a field with violent thunder and lightning all around us, was the scariest race experience I had had to that point.

As we were in the middle of it I looked across the small open field in one direction and then in another direction and saw the faces of my team-mates and knew that they were also feeling the same dread that I was feeling.

Thankfully the violent storm was short lived and thankfully we came through it none the worse for wear.

Once it had passed we retrieved all of our gear, nervously laughed off the experience, and continued on with our race................

Great pieces of gear that we have had in the store for a while, and stuff that we would LOVE to find a new home for!

Oxygen Element 580 snowboard (size 152) - without bindings, has a few scratches but no major dings, and graphics on both sides are still in great shape.  There's still a ton more snowboarding left to do before the end of the season!

This super cute girls Rossignol snowboard/ski helmet is filled with all kinds of flowers, hearts and serious pinkness.  It is in brand new condition.

Burton Ranger snowboard boots that are in very good shape and a pair of Vision youth snowboard boots that are in excellent (barely used) shape.

Sleeping bags in brand new (never used) condition, tent and camp chair both in great condition.  We've also got a couple of camp stoves.

We've got winter hats, gloves, ear warmers, neck warmers and scarves - fleece sweaters - winter jackets with labels that include Columbia, Mountain Hard Ware, LL Bean, Cabelas, Winchester, Patagonia and more - climbing gear including shoes, harnesses, gloves.

To name only a few items in the increasing stock of used outdoor gear and clothing that OAR is happily beginning to accumulate.

What would we LOVE to see more of at this time of year?

Day packs (we sold a Salomon pack and a Go-lite pack within days of putting them out on the floor) and they can be used for just about EVERY outdoor activity.

Hiking boots.  Trekking poles.  Local topo maps.  Gaiters.  Wind resistant jackets.  Wool and Smart Wool socks.  Compasses.  Head lamps.  Fishing rods and reels.

Soon we would love to see mountain bikes and road bikes (please no BSO's - bicycle shaped objects!). 

Attachments To Gear

We put this awesome picture up on the wall behind the counter at the store a couple of days ago.

I bought it (frame, mat and picture) for 50 cents at a yard sale in Tennessee at least 10 years ago and at the time thought that it was a print (maybe even an over sized photo copy).

I worked for a Parks and Recreation Department at that time and was supervising a community center one day when an artist came into the building.

The guy was working on a mural and while we were talking he commented on my picture.

I told him what I knew about it (which wasn't much), he walked over to it, looked at it closely and told me that it was an original pencil drawing.

It's huge and awesome and slightly anatomically incorrect.  I love it.

We've had a lot of really great consignment gear come into the store over the past week, including a set 
of Red Ball waders and three sets of Hodgman chest waders (including one neoprene set).  It doesn't feel like it right now but fishing season is just around the corner!

We have a very large size pair of desert combat boots for sale.

This MSR back country stove is an AWESOME piece of gear that was brought in by a Northwest College student.  A link to more info on this thing:  http://cascadedesigns.com/msr/stoves/rapid-cooking/pocketrocket/product

We've had these camo insulated bib overalls for a long time and finally got around to getting the broken buckles replaced on them.  They're good-to-go now, in great shape and out on the floor waiting for a new owner.

I snapped this picture about a year ago while mountain biking on a combination of gravel roads and technical single track in middle Tennessee.  Gary Fisher bike, Shimano spd's and VERY worn out Cannondale mtn bike shoes.  Did I ever tell you that I get very attached to my gear and hate to part with anything.  I had two other pairs of Cannondales at the house - one girly blue pair (that I never wore because they were girly blue) and another brand new black pair exactly like these (only they were totally black, and had no holes in them, and had no broken laces tied in knots).  When these shoes were finally more hole than shoe I had to toss 'em.  But I loved those shoes.

Stop by OAR soon and check out the great gear that we have.  The "Island of Misfit Gear" is increasing every day!