{"id":2521,"date":"2007-07-13T22:01:02","date_gmt":"2007-07-14T05:01:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/skateandannoy.com\/features\/?p=2521"},"modified":"2026-10-02T19:25:53","modified_gmt":"2026-10-03T02:25:53","slug":"2007-washington-road-trip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/skateandannoy.com\/features\/2007-washington-road-trip\/","title":{"rendered":"Washington Road trip"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Western Washington Road Trip – Posted 7-13-07<\/strong>.
Photos by Kilwag, Mark Conahan<\/a>, Dan Hughes<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article was originally static HTML. Original comments can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Fade in theme music.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conahan:<\/strong> Welcome to “Conahan and Kilwag at the Skateparks.” I’m Conahan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kilwag:<\/strong> And I’m Kilwag. This weeks show we featuring some of the skateparks of Washington, with our cast and crew of regulars. You know Mark, Oregon is known for it’s world class skateparks, but some say Washington is coming on strong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conahan:<\/strong> I agree. That’s why we decided to investigate. Let me give you some background.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our skate buddy Shawn Fendick has the week around the Summer Solstice reserved for a skate trip for the rest of his life. (“Hey! I called it!” – Shawn). In 2005 we went to Klamath Falls<\/a> and the Rivers Inn pool. In 2006 it was Idaho<\/a> to skate the Kuna, Buhl, Hailey and Ketchum skateparks. This year we planned to travel to Montana in a motorhome but those plans fell apart. So we decided to visit the skateparks of our neighbor to the north, Washington state. A side note: This is the second year that we have missed the West Linn Park Slalom<\/a> event because we were out of town on a skate trip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Kilwag:<\/strong> Mmm…. Sounds fun Mark, but was it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conahan:<\/strong> Well, it was a lot of things, I laughed, I cried…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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DAY ONE<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Sean, Dan, Damien and Tim in one car and Team Math (Ryan and Kyle) in another left Thursday morning bound for Kent, Washington. They stopped at Battle Ground so the Corvallis guys could check out the amazing Grindline designed\/Dreamland built behemoth. A manufacturer sponsored tour rolled into the park on motorcycles as they were leaving. Wow! a busy weekend for Northwest Skateboarding events.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kilwag:<\/strong> I hear that team was Emerica. I also heard a rumor that they blew off riding at Klamath Falls because of the helmet restrictions. Maybe it was becasue of the kooks that supposedly run that park, but either way Emerica, way to take one for team and do it for the kids!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conahan: <\/strong>That’s horrible. Won’t someone please think of the children?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kilwag: <\/strong>I’m glad Shawn talked those Corvallis kooks out of stopping at Woodlawn. Nothing like going on a big road trip and not being able to skip the parks that are on your way out of town. I mean, who ever heard of a road trip to Portland?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conahan:<\/strong> Yeah, I mean why not stop at Aumsville, Salem, Donald and West Linn on your way to Portland? The out-of-towners spent the afternoon at the new Kent Skatepark which was crowded. Highlights of the session were a near collision with a BMX bike and the junior fly-out show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kilwag:<\/strong> Alleged highlights you mean? It’s hard to comment when we weren’t there. I’d like to point out that we are going to be presenting way-too-many pictures in our reviews, so we’ll highlight a few on each day but give you links to the whole nine yards. Which brings us to day two<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article was originally static HTML. Original comments can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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Western Washington Road Trip – Posted 7-13-07<\/strong>.
Photos by Kilwag, Mark Conahan<\/a>, Dan Hughes<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article was originally static HTML. Original comments can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DAY TWO<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Kilwag:<\/strong> MC and Kilwag took off from Portland Friday morning. After a slow start and some some horrendous traffic mid-day around Tacoma, they finally met up with Shawn and Company at Crossroads, a recent Grindline creation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conahan:<\/strong> A slow start? I’ll say. I could have watched the first three Bones Brigade videos in the time it took you to get gas, an oil change, and finish up your appointment at the beauty salon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kilwag:<\/strong> Ah ha, ha. Let’s not go there Mark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Crossroads<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Crossroads<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Conahan:<\/strong> That’s what I kept saying! Anyway, the Crossroads skatepark in Bellevue really reminded me of Grindline’s Carnation skatepark but with better finishing. Crossroads is a single multi-pocket bowl with an over-vert pocket, triple-wide deathbox and combination of molded concrete and steel coping, There is a waterfall to a slightly-curved vert deep end wall. Native guides Dan Hughes, Tony Davies and Steve Betten met us at the park and you could say we had the place mostly to ourselves – except there were 10 of us! It sprinkled on and off but it would stop, the park would dry out and we could get a few more runs in. The park has a nice wide open feel with some well designed hips to pump or launch over. The deathbox was a challenge and there were good lines to the oververt. Grindline has perfected the molded coping technique. It was fun. I’ll give it a thumbs up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mark Conahan – Crossroads<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Dan Hughes – Crossrpads<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Kilwag:<\/strong> I agree Mark. It’s kind of like a mirror image of Carnation that has been stretched in some areas and compressed in others. I felt it was almost too open in that there was too much travel time between walls. I had a similar experience with Carnation when it opened but that was due in large part to my own inadequacies and being unable to find my lines. I enjoyed Crossroads, but it’s not one of my favorite parks. One interesting feature is it’s proximity to an assisted living retirement community, which means a higher than normal concentration of gaping senior citizens and the increased chance that you can get stuck behind a slow moving car with a turn signal that is stuck in the on postition when trying to exit the park. Don’t laugh, it happened to us. I give Crossroads a thumbs up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Wave to the camera if you look constipated Kilwag! – Photo: Dan Hughes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Mark Conahan – Photo Dan Hughes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Damien<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Edger by Tim from Indiana!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Ignore the automatic cropping on that third thumbnail please…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Conahan:<\/strong> Traffic was pretty heavy back to Kent. The park was built by the company that built Washington’s Sprinker and University Place skateparks. In spite of that, reports were favourable on Kent with a few reservations (four hips in the big bowl were too sharp, the design was conducive to collisions and there were plenty of dipshits using the park). Kent is an impressive place, The skatepark is large with a full-pipe, small right-hand kidney bowl with pool coping, a transitioned bank with curb top around the big bowl\/pipe area and some interesting gap features including a small bank with a deathbox over a gap. That pool was fun but small. The big bowl has a lot of dead spots. Steve Betten managed to get up high in the pipe so the speed lines are there. Maybe I was just starting from the wrong end. The pipe and transitions were smooth but the hips were indeed poorly constructed and plenty of twits were dangling their legs in the bowl or dropping in to do flyouts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kilwag:<\/strong> I don’t know what reports you were reading, but the one I read made it out to be a death trap<\/a>. I wasn’t expecting much considering the contractor’s reputation earned from past work, but I was pleasantly surprised. Yes, the edges of the hips go all the way down to the flat, but they are manageable, providing you know they are there. Walking up to the park, I thought that small bowl was going to be unrideable, but it turned out to be a lot of fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Kent bowl overview.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Kent bowl overview.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Conahan:<\/strong> Nice park and amenities including some skate-themed art (images and sculptures of skateboarders coarse-resolution pixel-style for some reason \u2039 but cool) shade trees and water and restroom facilities. There are also a couple of unsupervised rock-climbing simulations on site – one of which must be about 25 feet tall. I did run into some old skateboarding friends, Rob Skala and Mark Holt at Kent. I saw Rob at the Battle Ground opening but I haven’t seen Mark in 25 years he was riding an old non-concave Sims board that would probably bring a good price on EBay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Tim From Indiana<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Danimal – Photo: Dan Hughes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Kilwag:<\/strong> I believe that was a Sims Flagship, Mark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conahan:<\/strong> And I believe you are a dork, Kilwag. I’m going to give Kent a flat hand-wiggle. I’ll skate it if I’m up that way again but I wouldn’t think of it as a major destination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kilwag:<\/strong> Perhaps because I expected so little, I ended up really enjoying that park. I didn’t spend a lot of time in the big bowl, partially becasue I found it boring, and partially because I didn’t feel like dealing with the flyout brigade. However, I really enjoyed the banks and tranny in the street course. The split pyramid and the long quarter pipe and bank setup really made my day. I enjoyed the small bowl too. I give it a thumbs up for overall terrain. I dind’t know we were going to start splitting hairs with the hand wobbles there, Mark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ryan Hass<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Mark Conahan – Photo Dan Hughes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Mark Conahan – Photo Dan Hughes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Kent Local (Name?)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Kilwag – Photo: Dan Hughes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Danimal – Photo: Dan Hughes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Kilwag – Photo: Dan Hughes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Steve Betten – Photo: Dan Hughes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Kent local – Photo: Mark Conahan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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MC invert in front of digital invert man. – Photo: Hughes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Dan Hughes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Dan Hughes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Kent local Emil<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Kent local Emil<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Kent local Emil<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Steve Betten<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Kent Local<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Kent Local<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Tim from Indiana <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Cold War medicine show – Photo: Mark Conahan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Damien – Photo: Mark Conahan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Photo: Mark Conahan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Conahan: <\/strong>Since a road-trip means camping, I’ll share my thoughts on our campsites as well. Shawn had booked a K.O.A. in Kent which would be home for a couple of nights. $3 pancake breakfast with High Noon on the big screen TV, showers and a swimming pool. A nearby wildlife sanctuary provided a three-story observation platform where we could drink without disturbing our neighbors. It cost plenty \u2039 especially in view of the fact that our campsite just barely held our three cars and four tents. Thumbs down on the K.O.A.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kilwag:<\/strong> Couldn’t agree more. Nothing like camping in a parking lot. At least we cheated them on the head count. Thumbs down. This brings us to day three.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article was originally static HTML. Original comments can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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Western Washington Road Trip – Posted 7-13-07<\/strong>.
Photos by Kilwag, Mark Conahan<\/a>, Dan Hughes<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article was originally static HTML. Original comments can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DAY THREE<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Conahan:<\/strong> If you are groggy and hung-over it can be hard to contemplate a skatepark triple feature and as we hit the road north, The group was ready to forego Carnation but since we were going right through it we stopped. We missed our turnoff and had to backtrack through North Bend and Snoqualamie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kilwag:<\/strong> Yes, home of the “Twin Peaks” pie. That’s good coffee, agent Conahan.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conahan:<\/strong> Sometimes my arms bend back.<\/em> Tony had been there for hours by the time Hughes met us there. We had been skating for an hour before Shawn realized we weren’t at Duvall. Carnation skatepark is an older Grindline creation. Both Kilwag and MC had been there before. Which is why we originally agreed to skip it. It’s a one-bowl style park like Crossroads \u2039 a little rougher around the edges. We had the place to ourselves again. Team Math had an errand in Seattle and stopped by the Marginal Way DIY so there were just 8 of us this time. Carnation has a combination of formed and steel coping, an oververt pocket and a banked wall section. The top end is shallower than Crossroads but the deep might be about the same, no waterfall though, the park slopes from one end to the other. I like Carnation but these days there are better parks to skate. Skate it if you’re there but don’t bother to make the long drive out of Seattle just for this. Thumbs up, but not way up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Danimal – Photo: Hughes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Tim<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Photo: Conahan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Tim, shortly after having his hand amputated in Carnation.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Mark Conahan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Dan Hughes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Shawn Fendick needs this picture to prove to his wife that he actually went with us to Carnation.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Dan Hughes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Kilwag – Photo: Hughes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Danimal<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Tim<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Kilwag , with Hughes lurking – Photo: Conahan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Kilwag:<\/strong> What is the deal with all these deserted skateparks? Carnation was mostly devoid of locals the last time I was there too. I had a lot better session this time than the last time I was there. Those of you who were there this time, please hold your comments about how lame my first session must have been. I enjoyed it, but I wouldn’t make a day of it. I can’t get a good line into that cradle, but some people obviously can (Link to shot of jesse and blader hater from previous visit). The shallow, which seemed unmanagable the last itme I was there, didn’t seem nearly as bad as I remebered. I’m not sure about the surface of this park. It was kind of rough. Some of that might be random dirt that has caked on and baked on by the sun, nothing a good pressure wash wouldn’t solve. I remember the old Pier Park used to suffer from that. I give this a mild thumbs up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conahan:<\/strong> Now Duvall was more like it. This new Grindline skatepark features some innovative features in the street section including skateable boulders worked into the contours of the park. But the real attraction is the spacious 4 foot to 9 foot left-kidney with pebbled coping and three-steps to go over in the shallow. This bowl is a great shape. I wish the steps had a little tranny at the bottom as a safety feature. If you get too close to the straight-sided bottom step, pow! The coping is gnarly loud but pebbles don’t come loose and fall into the bowl as in true exposed aggregate coping. They clear-coated the hell out of it so it has a shiny wet-look to it, and did I mention? It grinds loud. Steve Betten makes some noise in there. I’ll be back to this park. Speaking of making noise, Kyle was shaking the place slamming to the ground on repeated attempts to get over the steps frontside. The trip was starting to take it’s toll as Shawn’s neck muscles seized up. But that Duvall bowl was my favorite session of the trip. Thumbs up! So far up I have to open my mouth to hitchhike!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Danimal<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Kyle Hickman <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Killer coping? Butter baby! – Photo Ryan Hass<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Duvall local<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Steve Betten<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Kilwag<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Duvall Local<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Kilwag:<\/strong> What is it the kids say? This park was hella good. Granted, we mostly hung out in the bowl and the overall square footage is not very large, but that bowl is really, really nice. The street section looked to be fun if you knew what you were doing in that respect. I give this park a hearty thumbs up if only for the bowl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Tim<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Jeff – Duval locall <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Danimal<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Danimal<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Duvall bowl<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Kilwag – Photo:Hughes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Tim – Photo: Dan Hughes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Dan Hughes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Tim – Photo: Dan Hughes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Kilwag – Photo:Hughes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Jeff – Duval locall <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Tim<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Jeff – Duval locall <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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MC Butt shot. Sweet ass….<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Tim<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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MC – Photo: Hughes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Kilwag – Photo:Hughes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Kyle Hickman – Photo: Conahan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Kilwag – Photo: Conahan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Duvall street area<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Duvall street area<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Conahan:<\/strong> We hated to leave but planned to camp in Arlington and Grindline’s Arlington Skatepark was supposed to be our DAY TWO highlight. Arlington has a eighteen-foot diameter capsule-ended pipe and vert bowls on either side with a big coping-topped banked wall in one and a long tapered loveseat in the other. There are some good air lines at Arlington. A street area full of big ledges and rails was also seeing some use. I’m sure the crew that was skating when we arrived was bummed to see our ten-skater group show up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kilwag:<\/strong> You bet Mark. Nothing like having an intimate session barged by 10 dudes from out of town, mostly wearing pads. I detected a bit of a buzz kill in the air when we arrived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Damien over Danimal’s cowardly head. Arlington.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The capsule beckons…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Steve Betten braves Lazer Mountain in Arlington<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Conahan:<\/strong> Fortunately for the locals, a couple of our guys were still feeling the previous evening’s excesses. Not everyone skated at once. We were all a little burnt by that point. Arlington is a gnarly park, smooth and fast. We skated ’til dark. Definitely worth the trip. Thumbs up!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Arlington – Photo: Hughes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Conahan – Photo: Hughes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Hughes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Arlington<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Ryan Hass<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Dan Hughes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Mark Conahan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Arlington visitor and menace to small dogs. Plus, some girl luvs him.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Ryan Hass<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Ralleigh – Arlington local<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Conahan – Photo: Hughes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Ralleigh – Arlington local<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Steve Betten – Arlington<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Arlington local<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Conahan – Photo: Hughes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Damien<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Kilwag:<\/strong> I’ll have to give a thumbs up to Gnarlington as well. For vert skaters, the left half of the big bowl is essentially a concrete halfpipe. It’s funny, that park looks larger in pictures than it does when you are driving up to it. When you get in it you realise how large it is. Steve Betten was getting some insane over vert action in that capsule. I swear I saw him half-fall from near 11:00, extending his legs until his board caught up with the transition on the way down again. And Hughes was launching some lofty frontsides as usual. I was pretty burned out by the time I got there and had a hard time getting stoked. The park was fun but it seemed to be a little too wide open for me. It seems like you might get bored after a few months of this being your home town park. Still, I give it a thumbs up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conahan:<\/strong> Okay, we agree on the rating but how can you imagine getting bored there? Imagine how your skating would improve with a park like that in your town?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kilwag:<\/strong> I’m trying to imagine my skating improving. Trying harder… Nope, I’ve mastered everything I need to know about skating. Speaking of visitors, the crew that was there when we arrived was a hoot and a holler. It was like we were crashing someone’s acid trip. They were all on a different wavelength when we arrived. By the time we left, everyone seemed like longtime session firends. Maybe it was Shawn shotgunning beer in the parking lot with them and listening to the sad tale of the demise of a Chihuahua in a tragic snowboarding accident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conahan:<\/strong> Shawn took his stiff neck and Tim to look into the camping situation. The state park turned out to be booked up but they found a really nice campground further down the road, and they got to see a guy jump his garage on a motorcycle on their way back to the park. The campsite was lovely and spacious, in the trees by a lake, came with firewood and was full of late-night partiers so noise wasn’t an issue, Tim and Kyle even made some new friends. Thumbs up for the DAY THREE campsite. After this commercial break, we’ll return with day four.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Western Washington Road Trip – Posted 7-13-07<\/strong>.
Photos by Kilwag, Mark Conahan<\/a>, Dan Hughes<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article was originally static HTML. Original comments can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DAY FOUR<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Kilwag:<\/strong> It had rained overnight. I was worried we would wake to soggy surroundings but it wasn’t bad. We managed to drag our sorry asses out of bed in time to catch breakfast and drive to catch the 11:30 Ferry from Edmunds, WA. Dan, Tony and Nick met us at the ferry. While waiting for the ferry we held up issues of the Seattle weekly paper “The Stranger.” The current issue featured massive full page headlines reading “Don’t be a Stupid Faggot.” They were, believe it or not, in celebration of the Gay Pride parade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conahan:<\/strong> The weather was threatening, some guys from Portland who planned to meet us on Sunday decided to bag it. A short ferry ride and some rainy travel got us to Dreamland Skateparks Port Townsend skatepark. Highlights of the park are a three-pocket bowl with pool coping and some great hip lines, a bigger more convoluted bowl with extension and one crazy tight corner and some really interesting and challenging looking street features. We managed to get a short session in before it started to rain. The smaller bowl we skated was perfect and there was a lot more to do. I’ll be back. Thumbs up!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Kilwag:<\/strong> I wasn’t feeling it in Port Townsend. The clover bowl seemed fun but it had so much more of a “skatepark” vibe than the Duvall bowl. I took one run in the other bowl and left dumbfounded. It rode more like an Airspeed creation than a Dreamland park. I liked the look of the street course, but just as I was begining to make an effor to warm up the rain started. Hughes had an interesting tale to tell about this park. I guess Port Townsend was having some difficulties with the process, or major clusterfuck is what it sounded like. The city commissioner in charge basically threw his hands up in the air ( Like he just didn’t care? – MC <\/em>) and gave up. Someone (Dan?) mentioned that Dreamland was in nearby Port Angeles and would probably do a bang up job. The end result (according to rumor) is that Dreamland had a blank slate and a bottom dollar amout to do wahtever they wanted, no plans needed. It’s strange because if you compare it to Port Angeles, I think you’d be inclined to guess that Port Townsend was built at a much earlier phase of Dreamland’s history as opposed to concurrently with Port Angeles. I give Port Townsend a wishy washy thumbs up, which is ballsy considering I barely rode it. Maybe it’s because that’s the only park I’ve ever had a hard time giving away stickers at. I actually had a gal refuse them. I mean, who doesn’t like stickers? She doesn’t, apparently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conahan:<\/strong> Jeez, talk about throwing your hands up. With the rain, it was looking risky for Dreamland’s Port Angeles skatepark but we decided to give it a try. It rained most of the way there but it was worth the long drive just to see it. It looks amazing. There are three bowl areas of varying depths and endless possibilities. It was wet though. We looked around and took some photos. Half the party decided to get lunch and then check back. Dan, Tony, Nick and MC got out the squeegees and went to work on the biggest bowl. I swear, another two minutes and we would have had it dry but it started to rain again. Dang. Kilwag and MC decided to get an early start back. I’ll definitely be back. Thumbs up without even getting to skate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Kilwag:<\/strong> While part of the crew was performing synchronized squeegee dancing (seriously, have you ever traveled with a crew that carries that many squeegees?) the rest was stuffing their faces. Port Angeles looked like it would have been my favorite park. Three large bowls connected to each other by spines. Lots of wavy lines and curved coping. A shallow channel near the deep bowl, when is the lst time you saw a channel? That park looked amazing. Dreamland built it, so you know what the finish is like. Walking around on the deck in the rain, some of those spots were treacherous like ice on concrete. In fact, I heard a complain about the surface in Port Townsend being too smooth because it took too long for the rain to dry. I think it was in jest though. As much as you can give a park a review without riding it, I give it an enthusiastic thumbs up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Conahan:<\/strong> So there are several good skateparks in northern Washington state these days. Stuff is still pretty spread out though and traffic sucks! We missed a few (Milton, Mukilteo, Ballard, Bainbridge) this trip and I would have liked to have checked out Marginal Way. We could concievably have hit 10 or 11 skateparks. It was a good trip with seven visited and six skated. (Eight visited seven skated for Team Corvallis). Thumbs up for terrain, thumbs down for traffic and rain. I think we need to take another trip up to the P.T.\/P.A. parks picking up the parks we missed on the way. It would be tempting to get back over to Duvall though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kilwag:<\/strong> It’s clear that there are a lot of good parks in Washington and the outlying Seattle area. the problem is that they are in the outlying Seattle area and traffic is a bitch. You can almost always count on getting bogged down in traffic molasses every time you try to head up to Seattle, no matter what day of the week or what time it is. Seriously, what is wrong with Tacoma? The massive suspension bridge over the bay is really nice though. They are building a second one right next to it. I hear it will be turned into a toll bridge though. But I digress, Washington has some very nice rides, but I’d still say Oregon has them beat. We have amazing parks and it’s not such a pain in the ass to get to them. Also, there were no Bobcat<\/a> sightings, which was disappointing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let’s recap our ratings then.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Battleground<\/strong> is a thumbs up by all accounts. But it’s so close to Portland that it should almost be considered with the Oregon parks. Also, we both think that the Emerica team should be forced to wear Taiwanese knock off’s of 1986 Airwalk shoes for skipping Klamath falls. Thumbs down for Emerica.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Conahan:<\/strong> Crossroads gets two thumbs up for it’s simple layout and good lines. Just the right size for a session with a few friends and there is something there for everybody. It reminded us both of Carnation but refined and improved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kent pleasantly surprised Kilwag with clever street obstacles and banks, both of us found the big vert section disappointing but enjoyed the kidney bowl. Conahan concedes that it is worth visiting if you are in the area.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Kilwag:<\/strong> We both gave mild thumbs up for Carnation. We enjoyed our session but wouldn’t list it amongst our favorite parks. If you are on your way to Duvall yuo might as well stop there, because it will likely be empty. We also both gave enthusiastic thumbs up for Duvall, largely based on the bowl alone. It’s fast, smooth and fun. The unique coping is loud and gnarly looking, but amazingly, the exposed aggregate coping is not a grind stopper. Arlington received two thumbs up as well. Conahan like it’s depth and smoothness, at least that’s what I’m assuming becasue he didn’t go into much detail except to call me out for being lazy at that park.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Conahan:<\/strong> We had high hopes for Sunday and the Olympic peninsula Dreamland twins but weather was against us. Duvall was a tough act for Port Townsend to follow and we only got the preview. A thumbs up from both of us based on a small sampling of what the park has to offer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Port Angeles looks really good. An enthusiastic thumbs up from both of us and we didn’t even get to skate! After seeing this Dreamland beauty, I wouldn’t be surprised if Washington gets a few more Dreamland parks real soon (another Grindline designed and Dreamland built park is currently under construction in Bellingham<\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n

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Kilwag:<\/strong> This concludes the special coverage of our road trip to some of the wonderful skateparks of the great state of Washington. For Conahan and Kilwag At The Skateparks, I’m Kilwag, and save a spot on the coping for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conahan:<\/strong> And stay the fuck out of my way, kids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

( Fade in credits: Guests of Conahan and Kilwag at the Skteparks find their own damn accommodations. Logisitcs and travel arrangements made by Shawn Fendick. Additional photos provided by Dan Hughes at NorthwestSkater.com and math wizard Ryan Hass. Tour guide services provided by Dan Hughes and Tony Davies. Motorcycle escorts and barking coping alarm clock by Steve Betten. Indegestion provided by the overpriced Mongolian Bar-B-Que. Guy riding a Merde board provided by Nick AKA Swervo.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article was originally static HTML. Original comments can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Western Washington Road Trip – Posted 7-13-07. Photos by Kilwag, Mark Conahan, Dan Hughes This article was originally static HTML. Original comments can be found here. (Fade in theme music.) Conahan: Welcome to “Conahan and Kilwag at the Skateparks.” I’m Conahan. Kilwag: And I’m Kilwag. This weeks show we featuring some of the skateparks of Washington, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5182,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2521","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/skateandannoy.com\/features\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2007\/07\/Postcard-WA-2007.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/skateandannoy.com\/features\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2521","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/skateandannoy.com\/features\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/skateandannoy.com\/features\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skateandannoy.com\/features\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skateandannoy.com\/features\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2521"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/skateandannoy.com\/features\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2521\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5373,"href":"https:\/\/skateandannoy.com\/features\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2521\/revisions\/5373"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skateandannoy.com\/features\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5182"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/skateandannoy.com\/features\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2521"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skateandannoy.com\/features\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2521"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skateandannoy.com\/features\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2521"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}