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.

Gorillas And Other Hunting Gear

A couple of days ago someone came into the store toting some awesome hunting gear.

I already had the Gorilla replacement tree stand cushion (above).

The Gorilla tree stand below is brand new - as in never-been-used brand new.

I forgot to ask the history behind these tree stand climbing straps, but they are in brand new condition.

We couldn't find much information online about this Browning Coyote cx9a compound bow.

It's an older bow and when we couldn't figure out how much it was worth, we took it to one of the local archery stores for more information.

We got a price on its resale value.

While we were at it, we also got a quote on how much it would cost to get a string rewound, because this bow needs it done. 

It's a cheap fix.

A great and solid older bow, that comes with quiver and arrows.

We LOVE this Coleman Powerhouse Duel Fuel Lantern.

It has been used only once, comes with a hard plastic carry case, and is in excellent condition.

Link to information on this great piece of gear:

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

Great stuff keeps walking in the door, and we are grateful every day for the support we have received from the community. 

Let your next adventure begin at OAR!

REMINDER

OAR is closing at 1pm tomorrow (Saturday March 16).

We hope to run into many people at the Beast Feast tomorrow afternoon!

The Power Of Duct Tape

When I was adventure racing, one of the items that was always on the list of mandatory gear we were required to carry with us at all times, was duct tape.

Early on in my adventure racing career I resented having to carry six feet of duct with me.  It wasn't heavy to carry but it was only one of many pieces of mandatory gear they nailed us with, and the totality of all that stuff was a heavy pack.  Sometimes our packs were only fairly heavy, but for other races (depending on the length of the race, how many transition areas we had out on the course, the time of year we were racing) some of our packs were crazy heavy. 

I resented carrying it until the first time I needed it, and then I was sold.  There's an expression in adventure racing related to duct tape.  Pardon my French (and we spoke a lot of French out in the field) "If you can't duck it, f*ck it".  Meaning of course, that if you couldn't fix it with duct tape, it couldn't be fixed.  I saw a whole lot of McGyver-ing over the many years that I raced.  And I did some of my own.  Just a couple of examples:

1. 12 hour race in North Carolina - my team was up in the mountains outside of Asheville after dark.  I had a headlamp mounted on my bike helmet, but had foolishly not put new batteries into my handlebar mounted bike lights before heading out.  Yes........the batteries died only a couple of hours before the end of the race, I didn't have replacements and ended up duct taping my tiny back up headlamp to the handlebars, so we could book out of the mountains and complete the race.

2.  6 day race in West Virginia - leading up to the race we had been told that we could either use our own paddles or the race-provided paddles, but if we brought our own we would have to carry them with us for an unspecified amount of time during the race.  Stupidly we elected to use the race-provided paddles.  They were single blade, very heavy, we were the ONLY team who was not using kayak paddles and within the first couple of hours of the race we were already at the back of the pack.  We had to paddle in one direction to pick up a checkpoint.  We then had to paddle back the way we had come, pass by the race start and head further down first lake and then river.  As we passed by the race start we saw more canoe paddles laying in the sand.  My team-mate suggested that we duct tape canoe paddles together to make make-shift kayak paddles.  As I held paddles and as he taped the ends together, I doubted that they would hold for the duration of this first paddle section.  They did.  They lasted all 15 hours.

3.  Same race in West Virginia - during the first freezing cold bike leg, my rain pants got caught up in the chain ring and they got badly ripped.  Funny - when you're in the middle of a race it never even occurs to you to get upset that a $80 pair of rain pants are now trashed.  All you're thinking about at that point is that they're ripped and it's freezing cold and you need to keep all of your layers of clothing functioning.  I wore the same layer upon layer of clothing for almost six days straight, and my duct taped rain pants held together for the entire race.

4.  24 hour race in North Georgia - the sole of my trail shoe got caught on a rock and tore away from the rest of my shoe.  I looked down at my beloved Salomon shoes sadly knowing that they were gonna be trashed at the end of the race.  In the meantime I reached into my pack, grabbed the duct tape and wrapped layer after layer of the stuff around my entire foot so that the shoe would hold together for as long as I needed it.

I've seen duct tape used to cover blisters, used as a compression bandage, used to slow down leaks in canoes and rafts and bicycle tubes, to repair a ripped rain jacket, to repair a ripped pack, to repair a cracked water bottle and a leaking water bladder.  The uses are endless and that sticky stuff is priceless anytime you are away from civilization.  I would never head out into the woods or up into the mountains or out on the water without duct tape.

There is no need to carry an entire roll of the stuff (and most people don't need to carry around 100 feet of it anyway).  While I was racing it was second nature to wrap tape in one spot around trekking poles, to wrap it around the base of a water bottle (yes........the bottle will still fit down in a bike cage), to wrap it around a small piece of cardboard or a stick.  

So there you go.  The Power of Duct Tape.  Don't leave home without it.

One of the things we have really enjoyed about opening OAR is the people that we have met along the way and one of those people is a really nice guy who drops by the store about once a week just to chat.  This man is one of my favorite store visitors and the other day he brought this gun case into the store.  It is an older 4-handgun hard-shell carry case, and comes with one slide-out shelf and one static shelf.  Stop by OAR soon to check it out, and don't forget that we have a March Madness Winter Gear Sale going on now - most winter gear is 30% off!

Looks What's New

I was planning on writing an entry today on the Power of Duct Tape.

When I head out into the woods or into the mountains, I never leave home without duct tape, but you'll have to wait to find out why until next post 'cause I need to share some of the great stuff that came into the store recently.

I am including links to each of these pieces for more information.

To enlarge the images just click on any of the pictures.

All these pieces are of the highest quality and are in excellent condition.

Above is a picture of a pair of Dalbello ski boots.  These are an extraordinary pair of boots and a link to specs can be found here:

http://www.blue-tomato.com/en/Ski-Boots/Dalbello-IL-Moro-T-11-12/product.bto;jsessionid=0a1e042a1f49519e9ed260ed41ba8a788b0f574972ca.node2?product=300467243

We also have a pair of Therm-IC Battery Boot Heaters:

http://www.seisports.com/?,browse,25,198,121,044525

Oakley snowboard jacket and pants.

The pants have only been worn once, and the jacket has never been worn (still has its original tags).

I've been buying and using gear for many years but have never owned anything of the quality of these two pieces.

The jacket:  http://www.powdermag.com/buyers-guide-2011/2011-oakley-corked-simon-dumont-jacket/

These are not the exact pants, but they are very close:

http://www.oakley.com/women/products/gb-insulated-pants/521394W-82R

A beautiful North Face down jacket:

http://www.altrec.com/the-north-face/womens-nuptse-2-down-jacket/

This Head back protector and lined jacket (contains internal Velcro tabs to hold the spine protector in place) are being sold as one unit.

A link to the specs on the back protector:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Head-TH1-Unit-Back-Protector-Snowboarding-Skiing-Medium-/120972688609

OAR is currently open Wednesday through Saturday until April (when we begin our spring hours).  Drop by the store soon, if you are interested in checking out this great gear.

A Note To Those Who Live Out Of The Area

OAR would be pleased to ship any of our great gear to your address, anywhere in the United States. 

Please contact the store directly for more information.

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)

Collectibles

At OAR we have one room dedicated to rustic and outdoorsy decor stuff.

Things like outdoor pictures, metal candle holders, wooden signs, decorative plates, that sort of thing.

Somehow (and without really trying) we've managed to pick up a few things over the past few months that (it turns out) are classified as "collectible".

Collectible?  Who knew?  We didn't until a really fun guy came into the store yesterday and started playing around with the fishing reel below.

After he had played around with it for fifteen minutes, he spent another fifteen minutes surfing on my computer researching the thing.

Turns out this puppy is "collectible".

We still didn't think too much about it until a couple of "horse plates" came into the store.

After more research on the 'net it turns out that THEY'RE collectible as well.

A little more research and today we learned that OAR is the temporary home for quite a few interesting non-outdoor-gear stuff.

Above:  A "Perfectly Paisley Aunt Angel Holding A Bird" # 76208

Below:  Shakespeare Level Wind Spin Wonder Reel #1810

LA Huffman Westernware Chuck Wagon 7 3/4  Inch Salad/Dessert Plates.  Two of 'em.

These aren't classified as collectible but they ARE beautiful.

Large marble and granite plaque candle holders.  They've never been used, still include the screws, have the company name sticker and original price on the back.

They're pretty pricey new, but we've discounted them at OAR.

These are just a few of the decorative things we have in one dedicated space at the store.

I'd rather be messing around with head lamps and day packs, but for those who like rustic home decor, OAR has some cool and interesting stuff.