| OCR Text |
Show Page 12 The Ogden Valley news Volume XXI Issue IV June 1, 2013 Forest Service Campground Status & Safety Tips: June 1 is National Trails Day! It’s time to gather up the kids and the camping gear and head to your favorite camping spot. Memorial Day weekend is the kick off for the summer to come, and traditionally is a very busy weekend at campgrounds and picnic areas on the national forests of Utah. Most campgrounds are now open throughout the state. Higher-elevation campgrounds, roads, and trails may still be snow covered or muddy, leaving these areas vulnerable to damage. Off-highway vehicle users are reminded to ride only where permitted. Remember to always be a responsible rider. Safety is always a concern. Rivers, streams and creeks are running very high and fast and are extremely dangerous. Please be careful and keep a watchful eye on children and pets while recreating in these areas. If you are planning to use livestock on National Forest lands, remember that you are permitted to use only certified weed free straw, hay, or pellets. When hiking, always carry extra water and food and take along a coat and something to make a fire with, just in case you get stuck on the mountain for the night and in case the weather turns bad. Always, let someone know where you are hiking and approximately what time you will return and don’t hike alone. As always, please be careful with fire and always check to find out if fire restrictions are currently in place; always clear flammable vegetation and debris five feet away from the fire ring; always have a full bucket of water close to the campfire; always have a shovel on hand and available; always have an adult present; never have a campfire when it is windy, hot, and dry; and always make sure your campfires are dead out before leaving the campsite. Most importantly, enjoy your national forests! For information on the Uinta-WasatchCache National Forest, call 801-236-3400 or 801-342-5100, or visit <www.fs.usda.gov/ uwcnf> Follow us on Twitter, hash tag #UintaWasatchCacheNF or visit our website for forest district updates and contact information. For local information, contact the Ogden Ranger District at 801-625-5306. Please note that all campgrounds are open with fees, except Monte Cristo. The Avon to Liberty road is also open; however, please TREAD LIGHTLY and avoid traveling on roads when muddy. Volunteer Opportunity - National Trails Day is June 1. There will be two volunteer projects that day. Contact Gary Gray at gcgray@fs.fed.us or call 801-796-4886 for project details and to sign up. Please plan to help eradicate dyer’s woad while out enjoying the trails! “Big” Forest Friends Out & About in Ogden Valley By David Carver The winter season is finally over. During last fall and winter, I thought our big forest friends would be gone—or at least pretty quiet. Well, that wasn’t the case. There have been more reported encounters and signs. As a matter of fact, those who want to be put on an emailing list of new events can e-mail Big foot Boy at <carverdavidL@aol.com> An incredible track line of prints was found by two fishermen in South Fork; they followed the tracks for two and a half hours before losing them in the rocks. The two fishermen have it all on video. Bigfoot tracks are easy to spot. They are very in line with each step. People walk more like a duck; whereas a Bigfoot walks in line with each step. The reason for this is that their heavy weight is not being shifted from side to side but is shifted up and down slightly as they move forward. This way of ambulating is much more efficient. The tracks of course will be barefoot. A researcher must be careful in that there are finger shoes that appear barefoot. The shoes have a logo that is visible under the ball or heel of the foot. A Bigfoot tracker would be looking for all sizes of tracks as the Bigfoot have young and juveniles with them. The tracks most people encounter are from younger Bigfoot, as the older, more mature adults have long since learned to stay away from the human population. Dermal ridges can be found on good track prints. That’s the “fingerprint” so to speak of the foot. These ridges can’t be faked. Another very interesting thing to note is that Bigfoot can move on all fours like a bear as well. A Bigfoot has long arms and has no problem running at high speeds on all fours. This position also allows them to move undetected and with ease through brush that is not very high. If a straight line is drawn from a person’s hip to the extended foot, both forward and back, a triangle is created with the point at the top. A man walks pretty much with his legs extending out in front and back. The height of the triangle determines how far the leg can extend and how much distance a man can cover with each step. Well, Bigfoot walks with a “Groucho Marx” bent at the knee type of walk. This lowers the height of the triangle and allows for a longer stride with each step. That’s why they can cover so much more ground with seemingly little effort. Imagine how strong the leg and thigh muscles would need to be to walk like this. Try keeping your feet in line and walking lower to the ground and see what this position is like. A Bigfoot sighting was reported this winter on the top of Skyline trail, where a witness followed one on his mountain motorcycle for about 15 minutes. The Bigfoot never let the witness get closer than 75 yards. The individual actually saw it twice, the second time the Bigfoot just stood in the trail, looked at the man, then sat down on its haunches and kept looking at the motorcycle rider until “that safe distance” became too close. The Bigfoot then stood up and walked away into the brush. This past year another tree structure was found. The structured sentinel was located on the high east bench on the top of the mountain, just south of Ogden Canyon. Wood from trees was broken six feet off the ground and taken from 400 yards away; where the wood was carried to build the structure. If there is a Boy Scout 14 feet tall that climbed up the mountain in the winter, took his shoes off, broke tree branches with his bare hands, carried the wood 400 yards, and built this structure as a prank, I’d like to meet him and sign him up for the circus. “In my opinion, a ‘squatch’ did this.” On the north side of the divide, a Bigfoot was reportedly seen walking halfway up the mountain in the snow heading west in the afternoon. If you pass the top of the divide and are going west, as soon as you can see the whole mountain, it was half-way up there. Hundreds of prints were found in the mud around Pineview reservoir as if a juvenile Bigfoot were playing. Not many little kids can run over burs, thistles, and stubble in three inches of mud. Other tracks were found in the snow, the south side of Coldwater Canyon, where the game trail is. Tracks were also found on the west side of trappers loop about three quarters of the way over, heading southwest; and additional tracks were located heading the same southwest direction high up in Strawberry Canyon, which is one canyon west of trapper’s loop. So much has been going on these past few months in regards to Bigfoot, so keep in touch, get added to my mailing, and get the latest on BigFoot in your area. HigH altitude KidS & YOutH SiZZliNg Summer adveNtureS High Altitude Kids offers adventure camps for the day, week, or summer. Tumbling Classes Available Field Trip Based advenTure program for children 7-12 years old Bonjour! Wendy Waldes of Nacel Open Door is looking for several families to host six French exchange students this summer for 3 weeks— between July 6 and July 27. There is also a need to host a French-student chaperone. Hosting an exchange student is a great way to build international friendships and learn about different cultures and countries. The students are 13 to 17 years old. They come with their own spending money and Valley Musician Day Views on National Television: Wins showdown with dueling rocker Logan Smith of Eden has been pursuing a Sweet Tooth the song “Gotta Go,” an anthem to professional music career since he was a child. Having played the piano since he was eight years old, he says that music is a part of his soul, and he wants to give back the inspiration his favorite rock stars gave him. Born in California, he moved to Ogden when he was six years old. He states that he had a happy childhood, and moved to Eden at the beginning of Jr. High. He first discovered his love of performing at the Snowcrest Jr. High talent show, singing “Highwayman” by Johnny Cash/Willie Nelson. He says his hands shook with freight as he stepped in front of that sea of faces in the Snowcrest gym, nearly all of them his friends and peers, but he pushed on. His hard work paid off as he amazed the entire school! That fateful day sparked the fire that, he says, has, to this day, raged forever in his heart. And then, everything changed. One day, one of Logan’s best friends bought him a new CD, and he says he instantly fell in love with the brilliance and excitement of glam rock, and his humble beginnings radically transformed. He became a fanatic of shock and awe and showmanship, and adopted the stage name “Sweet Tooth” after an old Marilyn Manson song. Sweet Tooth traveled a rocky road for a few years, as club promoters cancelled his concerts and dropped him from their bills. Sweet Tooth was moving way too fast, and Logan says he gave up on his dreams of achieving rock and roll stardom for a year. In that time, he collected his thoughts, discovered his true belief systems, and grew up even faster than he burned out with the original carnation of Sweet Tooth. His inspiration was reborn, and the fire began again, burning brighter and stronger than ever before. Back on the map and relentlessly motivated, he began writing songs. His talent and music production skills took a quantum leap, and he was back on track. While he was booking his first-ever official Sweet Tooth concerts in Ogden and Salt Lake, his mother Deone Smith forwarded him an email she received from an online talent agency. It was a casting call for the first season of the BRAVO Channel’s “The Kandi Factory.” (Visit http://kandionline.com/index. php/the-kandi-factory-premieres-april-9/ and see a picture of Logan at the top of the web page with Kandi Burruss!) After the Kandi Factory’s successful pilot episode, Grammy-award winning, platinum producer/songwriter Kandi Burruss (former member of Xscape) chose Sweet Tooth to participate in the program because, as she stated, she was inspired by his burning passion of music, his gentle spirit, and courage to find his own beliefs in the world. Up against Sweet Tooth was Harmik Thomasian, a 27-year-old Iranian rapper from Los Angeles. Harmik wanted to break through as a rapper, while Logan showed up to the Kandi Factory in full character and shocked the judges (including Kandi herself). Kandi wrote 801.745.2653 l www.hakutah.com Enrolling for preschool fall 2013 personal freedom and believing in yourself, and Harmik was given his song “Live Life Loud,” a colorful, prideful electro rap song. The rockstar/popstar bootcamp was in full swing as the judges tried their best to understand who Sweet Tooth really was, and put up with Harmik’s outrageous attitude and giant personality. From rocky recording sessions, to intimidating choreography lessons, Logan says he learned much more about himself and his own talent, and got to know his alter ego much better. After a few fruitless days, Logan didn’t seem to be making any progress, until the choreographer Victor Jackson gave him the pep talk that turned the tide. Victor told Logan to imagine himself on stage in front of an endless sea of fans, feel the excitement as if it were happening now, and go back in time in his emotions to his “angsty” teenage years, and feel that seething anger and passion to perform. It did the trick, and Logan transformed literally overnight. The next choreography lesson, Logan transformed into Sweet Tooth and went from a shy, awkwardly dancing nervous wreck to a true rocker! He met his background singers and dancers, as well as his guitarist, and took leadership of his new team in preparation for the bid day—the live showcase at The Opera in Atlanta. Harmik, on the other hand, got in a fight with Victor after being pushed too hard to perform better. The two of them nearly came to punches, before Kandi came to mediate. The two of them forgave each other and bonded once again, and his dancers came together to go head to head against Sweet Tooth and his rockers. Finally, on the night of the concert, Harmik was scheduled to perform first. He received a professional makeover, which involved shaving his beloved Freddie Mercury-style mustache. Sweet Tooth’s image stayed true to his style, but glorified it to whole new levels. Harmik rocked the audience, and released balloons at the end of his show, but the moment Sweet Tooth walked on stage, he screamed into the microphone “Lets bring the house down!” He instantly won over the crowd, and the entire audience cheered uncontrollably for him, and began to chant his name. Sweet Tooth’s signature smile shined bright that night, and he rocked harder than he ever did in his whole life. In the end, only one contestant was going to go home empty handed, while the other got the opportunity of a life time—a proper introduction into the music industry by Kandi Burruss. Sweet Tooth won! His single “Gotta Go” was released on iTunes and his professional music video was later filmed in Atlanta and uploaded to YouTube. Summing up the experience, Logan states, “Winning the Kandi Factory has definitely been the highlight of my career so far. It was one tough week, but well worth the effort. It has opened so many doors for Sweet Tooth, allowing us to succeed and climb even higher.” High Altitude Kids Summer Tumbling June 5th – August 14th Intermediate/Advanced Class: Wed, 9:00-10:00 AM Beginning/Intermediate Class: Wed, 10:00-11:00 AM Beginning Class: Wed, 11:00 AM-12:00 PM Only $72.00 for entire session Sign up today…space is limited! For more information call 801-745-2653 or visit hafutah@gmail.com or www. hakutah.com advenTure programs For The 4 - 6 old explorer summer programs for children 2-3 years old money for other expenses. The Nacel program also provides insurance. Host families are expected to provide, bed, food, and love—safe family environment. They come to be part of your family for three weeks, and perhaps a lifetime! Please share this opportunity to make a new friend. For more information, please contact Wendy at 801-616-3383 or at <wendywaldes@gmail.com> Design & Maintenance Sprinkler Systems, Lighting Waterfalls & Ponds Custom Patios & Fire Pits Demolition & Renovation Snow Plowing, Salt & Sanding |
