…has been Glenhaven. It has been amazing how empty Pier has been. Too many times in the last week I have been in on my own private session, praying that I don’t get seriously hurt in the 11.5″ abyss. I can only imagine the wrath of the local kids as they heckle my bloody carcass. Trying to talk them into hauling said carcass out of there wouldn’t be too fun either.

I can’t skate Pier every day, especially not by myself. It simply hurts too much. I am no Mark Conahan. I wish I was, but I am not. I need to take a couple of days off between sessions at Pier, and Glenhaven has become a perfect filler. The mini bowl is great for somebody like me (old, fat and not very skilled) as it reminds me of my Masonite mini-ramp youth. The hip in the center is pure butter. The pool is gnarl, but less gnarl than Donald. There are always great sessions full of kids who are tearing that thing to little pieces. It’s great to see kids half my age able to appreciate (and destroy) pools. I thought that tranny was dead, right?

Dave Viera came out of the woodwork the other day and showed the pool who’s who. He has been out with ankle issues. He was one less person at the Pier session on this day.

Check out construction pics from the Vancouver Washington skatepark. I was origianlly just going to link to Dan Hughes‘ shots but then I figured it was worth the trek since I only live 12 miles from the spot. This park has been in the works so long without progress, it was starting to seem like Bigfoot – Have you heard about the mythical skatepark that Vancouver is building? No, it really exists! I think those Washington locals were trying to keep it a secret. (Curse you, Thor!) The skatepark is part of the Pacific Community Park Extreme Sports Complex. The larger park is not set to open until 2008 (!!) but I got the word from a Parks and Rec representative (Thanks Jilayne!) that they are investigating the possibility of opening the skatepark in July or August of this year. The skatepark looks like it could be done sooner. Perhaps they need the trespassing citation fines to fund the rest of the park. The plans look kind of generic, but the tour I received made it obvious that there were lines everywhere. I think it will be a very fun park, and yes, the street area hasn’t been started yet. Who is building it? Grindline. I’ve got more information from Parks and Rec that I’ll put in a follow up post. In the meantime, you can dig around the Vancouver Parks and Recreation site or check out these construction photos.

Tom Miller over the capsule doorway at Irrigon skatepark photo by Steve Gump.

Steve Gump has posted a photo set from a session last weekend at Irrigon with Tom Miller, Dan Hughes and Tom Kilroy. Looks like the crowd has thinned out somewhat.

The Tony Hawk Foundation just announced it’s Spring 2007 Grant Awards. Find out if your town is one of the 23 listed that will be dipping into the pool of $200,000. The foundation has given out over $1.7-million since it was established in 2002. In 2005 they had an operating budget of 6% and actually spent 80% of their revenue on program services, which should earn them a high rating according to organizations that rate charities. The other 14% of their budget went to fundraising events like the Stand Up For Skateparks benefit. (Hey Andy MacDonald, keep your eyes up!) Find out if your town is on the list after the jump.

Skated with some dudes this morning and as we were all leaving, I mentioned how cool it was to have a little session before work and they said, “during work!” Good spot for your coffee break.

Wormhoudt has broken ground on a new monster park in San Jose California. Our man on the street, but not necessarily the street course, Larry Pescatore sent us a few shots of the construction. The renders are courtesy of Wormhoudt, or would be if I had asked. If you like the trend of adding distinctive landmark features to an individual park, you’ll be happy to learn there are at least two in this 45,000 square foot park located at Lake Cunningham. Find out what $4,761,800 buys in San Jose after the jump.

Check out the new park piece here in the Columbia River Gorge, the little skatepark that could now has a very odd new part to skate/sit, at first I was like “Yuck” but then you skate it and your all “Wow”- its like freedom in a cup (coffee commercial reference for the slow folks).

Anyone else have a unique, skate feature to share?

Steve Gump has posted photos from Opening Day at Glenhaven. He has some great shots including this killer pic of Ben Wixon Lien to tail.

Those who were expecting one of the big two to get the contract will be surprised to learn that Gabriel Park will be built by Airspeed. Portland’s parks department made the announcement yesterday. Here’s the unofficial word

…the selection process is set up to judge the specific proposals that are
submitted, and while they take into consideration past experience and performance, the majority of the decision is made upon how well the proposal addresses requests and items in this specific RFP. Unfortunately, not all of the great skatepark builders in the world who excel in the field excel in the realm of putting a proposal document together. Many simply just did not give specific consideration to Gabriel Park’s unique topography, opportunities or needs. Airspeed did.

Toledo has been a surprise hit. That’s Waldport Oregon and Pescadero, Mexico in the shots above, both taken from the Airspeed web site. It’s important to remember that the selection committees are changing for each park in the system. Here’s to variety!

Our friend Rich Burton shot some opening day photos for Skaters for Portland Skateparks. Above: Mark Conahan and Molly Quan hanging out by the Peanut.