On top is a picture of another modern snake run. This one in Apache Junction, AZ comes from CarveStarved, a nice site that “wants to be a chronicle of the lives of everyday women who skateboard, to promote the growth of skateboarding among adult women, and to provide a place to meet other women to skate with.” So there you have it. If you are one of those women who wants to contribute or just enjoy it, check it out. Although I have to giggle (like a schoolgirl!) when I read that. I hardly think of my crew as “grown men,” although technically that’s what we are, regardless of how age-inappropriate our behavior can be when we congregate.

On the bottom row we have some brand new shots of the snake run being constructed at Gabriel Park, Portland, as shot by Rich at EPM. And low and behold, there’s one of them full grown women I’ve been reading about in the concrete crew.

So I’ve managed to find two items with snake runs and women, thus er… killing two birds with one post. Some days it all comes together.

OK, so the St Lucie, Florida skatepark is actually the Fort Pierce skatepark. And who needs construction photos when it’s already finished? More pictures from Team Pain. Congratulations to Tito, who is on his honeymoon. That’s Adam Calderwood from team Pain’s concrete crew in the top photo.

I made an unexpected last minute trip to Hood River on Sunday afternoon. When I go there I recognized a few people from the Portland/Vancouver area, and as I was leaving about half the locals from Pier Park showed up. Hood River is turning into a really nice little park. They keep adding onto it and have plans for more. The new small bowl setup is fun and can be linked to the rest of the park via a couple transfer spots. I hear more street features are in the works for Hood River. (While in Hood River, visit IPS for all your skateboarding needs…)

These are pics of a semi new skatepark in Harbor City, Florida called The Park of Melbourne:

12,000 sq. ft. indoor skateboard park. Features a 9 foot vert wall. Indoor bowl with mini taco and half cradle, with wall ride. Large street course with moveable elements. Full audio system with large projectors playing skate videos and cameras throughout which can be logged into to pull clips of your sessions.

That’s a new high tech twist on skateparks, cameras that record the session and then you can log in and see the pics or video. I’m not sure how well it would work as far as framing and the quality of the shots. Not-so-good is my guess, but if you’ve ever witnessed (or taken part in) a spectacular slam or collision and wish you’d had a camera on it, this system might grant that wish. Well, it would if it was working. I got the pictures late last year. Five months later and the web site seems to still be mostly under construction with the exception of a some overview shots. (Sorry no direct link)

UPDATE: I like that mural, as goofy as it looks. However, I think that the influence of surf-style on popular skateboarding has largely disappeared, aside from a brief resurgence after the Dogtown doccumentary. Anyone?

Here’s a few more pics I misplaced when posting the St. Lucie skatepark construction progress photos. As usual, they are courtesy of Tito at Team Pain. That snake pit/zone looks fun.

Update: Turns out this is close to St. Lucie County but is actually located in Fort Pierce, so it’s the Fort Pierce skatepark.

The 30th anniversary Independent Trucks tour is coming to a skatepark, DVD, and Thrasher magazine near you. A great big list of the pros on the tour, but they are doing it in shifts, so it’s anyone’s guess who will be at what stops. Not true. The Indy tour site has the tentative roster for each stop. Let’s see… Lincoln City, Oregon on Sunday, June 29 from 2:00-5:00 pm, featuring Darren Navarrette, Jeff Grosso, Chet Childress, Slash, Peter Hewitt, Emmanuel Guzman, Steve Alba, Danny Way, Alex Horn, Sam Hitz, Tony Trujillo, Alex Olson, Grant Taylor, Tosh Townend, Spanky, Randy Colvin, Tommy Guerrero, John Cardiel, and Max Schaaf. How are those guys going to fit in one truck? Here’s a curious one, co-sponsored by RedBullSkateboarding.com.

This week’s Shot of the Week is from Damienhialation, and it’s called the challenge.

Dan told the kids that whoever grinded off his dollar could have it. He’s a giver.

Yeah great, but did they get the beer too? I mean, by kids I assume he means freshly turned 21 year olds. Check out the Shot of the Week

Local skater Rick Lai has been working toward a Happy Valley skatepark for a while. Here’s the latest development by way of the North Clackamas Parks & Recreation District:

In March, North Clackamas Parks and Recreation District purchased 33 acres of property off SE 162nd Avenue in Happy Valley. This land was purchased to provide active recreation for community residents of all ages. Some of the uses already suggested include athletic fields, trails, play areas, skate park, dog park and community center. NCPRD will work with the community to complete a concept plan to determine future improvements to this site. Interested citizens are encouraged to participate in the process by attending the planning meetings or by submitting comments via mail, e-mail or telephone. Submitted comments will be presented during the public meetings.

Thursday, May 1, 2008
6-8 p.m.
Oregon Trail Elementary
13895 SE 152nd Dr.
Happy Valley, OR 97015

Your input and ideas will help shape the park site for future use and enjoyment. We hope you will attend.
Questions, suggestions or comments may be sent to Michelle Healy by e-mailing (michellehea@co.clackamas.or.us) or by calling the parks hotline at 503-353-4367.

Today is the day I retread all of yesterday’s posts. This is Concrete Surf at a place called Villa Spica in Japan. 1000 Yen will get you a full day of skating. As of Today that was about $9.56. There aren’t many photos on the official web site. I got these from Black Flys Japan, where you can find more. Looks like there’s a sort of combi bowl in the raised platform and left handed kidney at ground level, and of course the crazy amorphous snake run oozing off the platform. It has “Wooden Toy” embedded a few times in the coping. Anyone know what that’s about, besides the whole Useless Wooden Toys reference? There are three more (blah) pics on Volcom Japan, but it’s worth checking out becasue one of the shots shows the scale and is from a different angle than all the overviews. I have to say, from halfway across the globe, and without ever riding it, I’m a fan. Wacky snake run and all. I like the fact that the lip is raised and spills over onto the flat. I think it needs a bank around the whole perimeter though. japanese readers, send in some pics! Translators, what the heck is Villa Spica anyway? Danimal?

[Source: Skate Daily]

UPDATE: We originally erroneously reported this as the St. Lucie skatepark. While it is close to St. Lucie County, it’s actually located in Fort Pierce, making it the Fort Pierce skatepark.

Tito from Team Pain sent in some construction pics of the Fort Pierce skatepark several weeks ago, so it’s likely much different looking by now. Sorry for the delay. I believe this park first came to our attention during the discussion on modern snake runs, which is a good excuse to link to this crazy new snake run/bomb shelter bunker that just opened in Japan. (From Skate Daily) More St. Lucie pics after the jump.