Here’s a couple pics I liked from the Concretins blog covering a recent trip to North Carolina. This private spot is called the Crawdad Hole. The top shot cracks me up. Somebody’s gal has a sense of humor. Good on ya. Check out Concretins ongoing road trip posts. – Thanks to Nik for the tip.

It looks like Buck Lasek has California Skateparks building him a big old bowl in on his property in Encinitas, California. You can check out some more pictures and video at the Vans web site. It looks… big, but I think this private bowl will have more character. Characters, if you count GVK. -Thanks to Mac for the tip. [Source: Concrete Disciples]

It’s been about a year since we checked in on the Missouri DIY bowl called Herman’s Hole. There’s a web site called Skatelouis that has a nice read on the history of the project, as well as info on 1st anniversary party being held May 10th. Herman’s Hole has a MySpace page, and the Showmepools blog has some constructions pics as well. Stick around after the jump to watch the video. – Thanks to Tim Jamison and Bob Mechtly for the tip.

Here’s my video wrap up of our mini tour of southern Oregon skateparks that I made with Rich and MC on the occasion of Matt Kline’s BBQ session fundraiser for his bowl in Grants Pass Oregon. With apologies to Steve Grover, because I wouldn’t have brought my video camera if he hadn’t called me up and told me to shoot some “Spring Break” footage. When I lost the photos from this trip I was only able to avoid completely losing my mental health by the calming realization that I at least had some fun video footage. My apologies to the park locals who cooperated for the still photos. Chances are Rich might have some of you if you were in Winston, Matt’s Bowl, Myrtle Creek or Harrisburg. Yes, I am accepting donations towards a steadicam…

I had four different angles I was going to approach this from, but I couldn’t decide: 1 – When some men reach a certain age, they start to think about all the things they wanted in their youth, things that they equated with success in one’s life. For some men, it may be owning a Cadillac, or sailboat, or a house in a particular neighborhood… 2 – I hopped my neighbors fence last night, and that poser was digging a hole for a bowl he is supposedly going to build. He’s such a kook that I decided to blow it out before its even close to being finished… 3 – I went over to Mark’s house to take a picture of his hole. While I was there, I decided to see what he was digging in his back yard… 4 – A lot of people talk about what they are going to do all the time. Some people decide get up off the couch and actually do it…. Congratulations to MC for taking the plunge for his own backyard DIY concrete bowl! Expect to see many comics about the availability of shovel operators being inversely proportional to the amount of…

This week’s Shot of the Week is from Rich Burton’s fully functioning memory card. It’s Addikt Skateboards rider Shane Bell, a half hour or so before he broke his leg at Matt’s Bowl benefit BBQ in Grants Pass, Or. This is a cropped version of Rich’s shot. Check out the full frame Shot of the Week.

This thing has been showing up all over in the last few days. Architectural Review covers a skate centered design for a house addition in Athens Greece. Concrete and wood ramps are integrated into the remodel atop a two-story structure with storage integrated into the ramps. [Photo: Theo Vranas]

I met a guy from Minnesota who looked about the right age, so I asked him he skated P.I.S.S. back in the day, and he had. P.I.S.S. for those that don’t know, was an indoor ramp in a building. To skate it you had to pay rent, hence, Private Indoor Skate Spot. A few of us got somewhat serious about setting up a situation like that in Portland. We got as far as checking out spaces, but it all came to naught. Slap Magazine has a feature that, uh, features someone who noses around here on occasion, it’s called DIY East Coast Indoor Parks. Doc Murdock is interviewed as one of the principals in four indoor private spots on the east coast. Pics and video from each spot. Check it out.

So the joke goes, (my joke, by the way) that zoning ordinances and building codes in Portland require that any mini ramp built on private property must have at least one extension that goes to within one foot of the ceiling, an over-vert section, or a three foot or smaller transition. Apparently those rules apply to Beaverton as well. My friend Marek built himself a miniramp in his garage with really tight transitions, and of course, pool coping. MC and I went to check it out the other night.

I found this on Dan Hughes’ Northwest Skater site. There’s a guy who had what looked to be a really nice miniramp in his garage. Not one to remain satisfied, he decided to tear it out and build some roundwall instead. I don’t know the owner, or where he lives, so don’t ask. Instead, just enjoy some pictures and videos, and think of what you can do for yourself. Thanks to Dan for letting me cop these.