June 28, 2025 at 10:37 a.m.
Slip Sliding Away
Unbelievable... but we did it! Hats Off to the Crew! I was going to introduce you to the big people volunteers this article, but weather intervened and WOW what a day it was. The day started off with some weather happening... overcast, some light rain reports. We’ve performed in the rain before, but not downpours. I thought it would back off to a light drizzle until it got closer to shutting down the street, when the rain came down even harder.
Resort race winner...
12 year old Mack Blue from Conifer, CO walked away with the big W this week representing Thunder Lake Lodge. Photos submitted.
Turtle race champion
This week’s Grand Winner was 18 year old Madelyn Jurek from Andover, MN.
Slow Poke champion
This week’s Grand Slowpoke Winner was 10 year old Gracie Leuty of Columbia, IL.
Now, you would think maybe that our volunteers would start calling to ask if they should come to town or not! No no. No calls... what a bunch of troopers. Everyone shows up, even in the downpour. And, we had our visitors lined up to buy their tickets. Unbelievable. I mean, what do you do? Are people really going to hula hoop and dance in the street like they usually do? How about the turtle races. Our first thought is that the stickers won’t stay on their shells. How would we tell whose turtle wins the races? What a mess! But, because of the Champions they are, after consulting with each other, we decided...the Show must go on...of course.
For many people, the turtle races would have been high on their agenda of spending their week at the lake. We could not disappoint! We have a responsibility to these families. But, we decided to ditch the hoops and dancing and go right into the races.
Then, the question becomes, will the stickers stay on their shells? Seeking counsel, people said,how about duct tape? How about markers? How about asking folks to keep track of their turtle... all not so good answers. And, as we decided to just go with it and see what happens...Surprise surprise the stickers stuck.... for the most part! That was a gift. Our kids doubled down and, soaking wet, kept delivering fresh turtles and collecting those that had run... they were like energized bunnies. And how Sadie could keep the races going all straight is beyond me. And Gary, our announcer, was especially chipper, keeping the tempo up, assisted by Dawn, the music maker.
So, tickets got sold, people bought souvenirs, played games, ate cotton candy and ran their turtles! Maybe even a better memory than if things had gone off without a hitch! Let’s just say a BIG THANK YOU TO ALL OUR VOLUNTEERS. I think this was a beyond the call of duty event!
And then there is next week, July 2...Last year we had over 600 turtle racers. Right now the weather calls for partly cloudy and 77. Should be a perfect day for going to the races.....
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