Submitted by NASCAR Ranting and Raving Blog
Today’s Busch Race:
Is it me, or are there others that find having Denny Hamlin in that #20 Busch car today a bit stupid? I mean he is running in the Chase after all, and he is sick as a dog with the flu. The 2.5 hours he spent in the car today will do nothing to get him better for tomorrow. They should have put Kurt Busch in the car, he was there anyway.
If Denny is more sick tomorrow, or has a bad day, we’ll all know why.
The only reason why I can see him in that car today is because JGR is trying to get Rockwell to be a bigger sponsor for next year, maybe even a Cup sponsor. That is the only thing that makes sense to me.
My Last 4 Days in The Bush:
I had the great chance to take approximately 20 Eighth Grade students into the wilderness for 4 days on a Leadership Development course at Haliburton Forest and Wildlife Reserve (approx. 70,000 acres and approx. 60 lakes). No cell phone signal, no internet (thus no blogging), etc.
On the first day, after we got there, we did a bunch of team building games and challenges and then went to visit the captive wolf pack on site. What an experience for these kids to hear and see the wolves.
The next day we did rock climbing and worked in teams of 2 and 3 on a high wire course in the tree tops about 30 - 40 feet above the ground. The kids really pushed themselves beyond their ‘comfort zones’ and developed a better trust of each other, as they were depended on themselves to stop each other from falling in each activity.
On the third day we canoed for half the day and then mountain biked back to base camp - tiring to say the least. I did have a mountain bike injury - good thing for helmets - and after a short trip to the ‘infield care centre’ they were good to go, with an ice pack anyway.
I firmly believe wearing helmets while cycling saves lives and prevents injuries. If any one wants to debate me on this bring it on, I’ve got first hand experience in this area that I can use to refute the most harsh skeptic - my son is alive and well today because of his bike helmet! Let’s dance you Nay-Sayers.
The last day consisted of survival skills where the students were divided into 3 groups and had to make a shelter and fire from what they found in the woods and from what remained of the wreckage of their ‘crashed’ airplane.
A short 4 hour drive later we were home.
Photo Credits: Denny Hamlin - Photo/Carolyn Kaster, all others - Me!
Camp photos:
1. Me on the High Rope Course in the tree tops.
2. Canoeing on Clear Lake. Ignore the date stamp, my battery fell out and I didn’t fix the date.
3. Some of my students working together to keep another student safe while rock climbing.
4. A student rock climbing.
5. Me repelling down the rock face while being held up by 3 of my students (Note my free ‘track swag’ Dollar General Shirt from Bristol).
