Saturday, January 31, 2009 

I've come to learn that The Camel is a fairly worldly and well educated fella.  Still, you can imagine my surprise when I overheard him reciting Walt Whitman...

In a baritone as distinguished and dignified as Johnny Cash, I kept hearing The Camel practicing the same line, over and over..."O Captain, My Captain...O Captain, My Captain...O CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN!"

Finally, I had to interupt.  "Camel" I asked, "What the heck are you doing?"

Without breaking cadance he replies, "I am getting ready for The Captain.  He is coming to Camelback, and I want to be ready."

I kept hounding him, but he wouldn't give anything else up.  Like a tween-ager caught in a fib, he was coy and kept all the real info to himself.  Finally, I had to sneak into the backroom and pull up skicamelback.com on the trusty slacker-berry.  Now I know why he is getting ready for The Captain...snoop skicamelback.com and check it out for yourself.

Man, on top of the buttery conditions we've been savoring around here, there seems to have been lights, cameras and action everywhere lately.

Perhaps you caught a glimpse of us when our good friend and former Philadelphia Eagle, Vai Sikahema was up and did a great feature with a great purpose...for more, google it up..."Camelback Wednesday's Child"

Also, this past week we had a film crew shooting some footage for a movie they're producing called, "It's All Been Arranged."  This indie flix is set for a mid-summer release and will make rounds through the festival circuit...speculation is that it may be the next, "Slum Dog Millionaire."

On the double-hush-hush-down-low...Camelback was part of another significant celebrity sighting...but The Camel and I aren't givin' up the goods...hey, we like our privacy, too (after this blog hit, the papparazzi has been relentless). Let's just say that when we were making our list of all-time great dynamic duo's this one slip our minds.  It's too bad because they are a genuine classic;  search out the clues and you may uncover the mystery.  Or, do the simple thing and check some of the grocery-store mags..I hear US Weekly may have gotten their geography right.

Deep down, The Camel was pulling for an all PA Super Bowl.  Unfortunately, the other Bird got the best of the Birds.

So, go Steelers...keep it in the Commonwealth.

Taking the spread,

Ricky (and The Camel)

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

I've said it before and I've got to say it again..."NEVER DOUBT THE CAMEL."

I might have been a little hard on him the other day when he was drawing comparisons between the legacy of Dr. King and the recent cold snap.  Here The Camel was talking about the wonders of perseverance and wouldn't you know we unexpectedly get whacked with 5 inches of Mother Nature's light and fluffy on Sunday morning.  Arguably, Sunday was about one of the purest days in recent memory.  (To all you gram-o-philes; purest is correct when pontificating on snow conditions).

Again, in full disclosure, The Camel and I are contractually bound to shoot our daily plug of the kool-aid, but conditions out here at Camelback have been primo.

Again, we are looking forward to another killer weekend (I know, I know it's only Tuesday, but The Camel has been frothing so I thought I would throw him an early bone; plus, he's been up since around 5 this morning checkin' out all the news from D.C.)

So, with out further delay....

This weekend, Dr. Cheeko will bring some island-time to the Thirsty Camel, and we've got the Mid-Atlantic Snowboard Series coming to town on Saturday and Sunday.  Naturally, all the fine print and nitty-gritty can be found back on the big dot-com board (that's skicamelback.com for those of you not up to speed on your Stuart Scott ESPN lingo).

Speaking of ESPN, yes ESPN...be sure to check out the X-Games on Sunday the 25th.  Kevin Bramble (and as he likes to say, rhymes with gamble) will be competing in the mono skier cross.  Yes, again, you heard that right...mono skier cross; wrap your brain around that next time you think of perseverance. 

In any event, Kevin and his crew from ESPN were out here about a week ago capturing some footage of a prototype mono ski that Kevin builds and will be running in Aspen.  So, when you see that nifty "behind-the-scenes-athlete profile" that has made ESPN famous, know that those epic turns that Kevin is laying down were carved right here on the Pocono Raceway.  Bring it.

In the words of our new President, "let's get up and dust ourselves off."

Ricky (and The Camel)

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Before I took this gig, I had know idea how thoughtful the camel is; I suppose I just carelessly lumped them in with other beasts of burden.  But, having spent the better part of the season with The Camel I now have a completely different perspective.

So, on behalf of The Camel, I would like to remind everyone to take some extra precautions out there today.  Obviously, with 100% of the Mountain available and the temperatures we've had conditions are going to be pretty pure.  Still, it is cold today and frostbite warnings are posted.  Dress appropriately and keep an eye on little 'uns.

You are fully aware of the dog-on-ice expression, right?  Well, the same logic applies to a Camel on the dance floor.  The Maybabies are in town today, so don't say I didn't warn you if you see the big fella front and center...he goes nuts over their cover of "Pressure."

The Camel is also a bit of a historian.  While waiting for the car to warm up this morning he looks at me and says, "Kid, I think this weather is a great tribute to Dr. King."

"What?" I said.

"Don't you get it?" he says, "Alot of Dr. King's message was all about perseverance."

"Camel" I said, "Don't you think that's a stretch, comparing Dr. King's legacy to the weather?"

To that, The Camel replies, "Listen, I'm no cable-news pundit, but I think Dr. King would have been bummed if people let the weather prevent them from enjoying a common experience together."

Well folks, we are just hitting our stride this season.  We've got some great events coming up over the next few weeks.  Snoop the site and you'll see what we are talking about.

DREAM BIG,

Ricky (and The Camel)