Hello and welcome to Your Next Wild Weekend.
I'm your host Byron Goggin.
Today, I'm at one of my favorite stores,
Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World,
to pick up some supplies for my Next Wild Weekend.
On this edition of Your Next Wild Weekend,
we meet a bunch of guys who pray for blustery weather
and fall is their favorite time of year for blow carding.
We set them up in parking lots, football fields,
soccer fields, high school tracks,
college tracks, wherever there's flat ground, we go.
Also, Michigan is a hotbed for hockey,
but did you realize it's not the only skating sport
that's huge in these parts?
We take you to Midland, Michigan,
where the World Junior Speed Skating Championships
took center stage and showcased
some of the country's fastest athletes.
It's like basically an NASCAR driving.
It's just insane.
You don't even think about what you're doing.
You just do it, or if you don't do it in time,
you're not gonna make a pass.
And then, it's duck season.
But more than that, it's a time for reflection,
camaraderie, and family tradition.
Tom DeWickey takes us on a three generation duck hunt.
And then, we showcase some of God's paintings
and attribute to Charles.
And it's all coming up next on this edition
of Your Next Wild Weekend.
I'm Byron Goggin, and I'm a photojournalist.
For years, I've been traveling around
the beautiful state of Michigan
in search of exciting outdoor adventures
for you and your family to enjoy.
What you're about to see is a collection
of fantastic outdoor activities
that you can enjoy on Your Next Wild Weekend.
Welcome back to Your Next Wild Weekend.
I'm your host, Byron Goggin.
We're here at Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World
in the Archery Range, checking out
some great compound bows for your next hunt.
So in trying out the bows, it got me to thinking,
what's sharp, very fast, and can earn a person
a trip to the hospital if they're not careful.
Bet you thought I was gonna say archery.
You were wrong.
I was actually talking about speed skating.
Did you know that Michigan is a mecca for speed skating?
On this edition of Just Plain Wild,
we take you to Midland, Michigan,
where the world junior national championships
of speed skating attracted young Olympic hopefuls
from across the United States.
Welcome to the Dow US Junior Championships.
This is the Junior US Championship,
Short Track Championships, and it brings the best skaters
from the ages of 12 to 18 together,
and then to pick the top three young ladies and young men
to represent the United States and Romania
in January of 2006.
It's a US speed skating sponsored event.
The top three make the junior world team.
It also ranks the juniors in order.
So the top six that are here
end up being category one junior skaters.
I made it by two tenths of a second.
I skated a 131.8, and I needed a sub-132.
So I made it up there.
I hopped behind Joy Lindsay and Austin Youn,
two really good skaters from California,
and they started to go in, and I hopped on them
and got in their draft, and I made it.
So it's a really awesome feeling.
Tell me, what's it like when you're out there skating?
What's that feeling?
When you're really skating good, it's awesome.
It's just, you don't hear anybody in the crowd.
It's everything silent.
You just hear the skates going on the ice,
and you hear lots of breathing.
It's fast and fun and exciting.
It's thriller, for sure.
You don't wanna fall and get hurt out here.
It's blades, 17 inch blades, and pretty dangerous.
It's like basically NASCAR driving there.
Like, it's just insane.
It's, you don't even think about what you're doing.
You just do it, or if you don't do it in time,
you're not gonna make a pass.
If you don't do it, it's like super split second decisions,
and if you don't have those split second decisions,
you're just not gonna make it.
Is it a game?
It is a game.
The time trial is all work,
and you gotta really skate to make it in the top 16.
After that, it's strategy.
You have to skate hard, and you have to skate smart, also.
And you don't make it into a finals if you don't skate smart,
because you'll get disqualified.
Do you ever put a speed gun on these people
and see how fast they go?
Well, actually, in the short track,
you know, they're probably getting up around speeds
around 30 mile an hour,
and so that's quick when you're that close
to the proximity to the wall on a hockey rink.
See a couple people lose their footing out there.
Yeah.
How often does that happen,
and what's that like when that happens?
That happens a lot, and it's scary when it happens.
Actually, in 04, that happened to me.
A guy was on the inside of me,
I went down, and I severed my tendon, and I broke my ankle
in 04.
People get cut, it breaks.
Two people actually just got broke,
just broke their ankles this weekend,
made her a good friend.
So you guys are really putting it out there?
Yeah.
I mean, there's no holding back,
and if you go down it, you're hurting?
No, yeah, you're pretty much done if you fall.
It happens so fast.
You don't even know this, like,
it's like taking a blindsided punch.
I mean, you just feel it afterwards,
but you don't feel it then,
and you're either so mad that you fell,
that you don't care, or, I mean,
it's the adrenaline that stops the pain,
so I mean, you don't even feel it,
but it hurts pretty bad afterwards sometimes.
Like, my back right now is aching right now from falling.
Michigan's usually like, the place for hockey.
You don't really think of it as a hot bed
for speed skating, or do you?
Well, actually, short track, we are going,
I would say we are gonna have five or six
Michigan skaters in the top 16
at the Olympic trials for the guys.
The people that you saw skating today,
they're gonna be up in Marquette in December,
trying to make the short track Olympic team,
and so you saw the best skaters, and yeah, it's exciting.
Midland is a huge speed skating town.
We've been involved in skating since 48.
Our club has been.
We're one of the oldest clubs in the United States,
and so bringing this event to Midland was super.
You're a hometown boy, you're from Midland,
and you're competing with people from all around the world
in your own hometown.
How does that make you feel?
It's awesome, I mean, when they come out here
and they announce your name, everyone cheers for you,
and it's just crazy.
This is nice because it's in the hometown,
which is like all the fans in the crowd cheering me on,
which is nice, but it's special
because this really makes Midland look good,
because we've usually had a bad reputation
because of our old rink,
and now we have such a huge, nice meteor.
It really brings up Midland, it's really nice.
Would you urge fans to come?
Those who say, you know, what am I gonna do on Saturday,
and why?
I've never heard a person say, oh man, this is boring.
Actually, when people come out and see this,
they say, we can't believe how fast and smooth
and exciting this sport is, so this is an awesome sport.
If they just spent three hours watching a meet,
they would be hooked.
For more information on speed skating
and upcoming events, log on to midlandspeedskatingclub.com.
Coming up next, you've never seen anything like this before.
It's called blowcarding, and it's coming soon
to a parking lot near you.
Also, you've heard this expression,
this is great if you're a duck.
Well, we head to the marsh and find out
what that really means.
And in our travels, we've seen many sunsets
that are just too beautiful not to share.
Stay tuned for our tribute to Charles.
The best handling independent rear suspended ATV
currently available.
ATV of the year.
One of the best big board quads of all time.
It's in a class by itself.
Even with all the accolades, the King Quad speaks for itself.
The King is here.
A train ride plus a fantasy snowmobile ride
equals a fantastic wild weekend.
It's time to add you to the mix.
We want you to win this trip.
Be a part of the next Wild Weekend film crew
as we take a trip to the Algoma Central Railway snow train.
We load the sleds onto the train, head 150 miles north,
and are dropped off to enjoy fantastic open snowmobile
trails that are out of this world.
Just go to the Wild Weekend website
and tell us why you deserve a Wild Weekend snowmobile
vacation.
Go to wildweekend.com for more tales.
Hello, and welcome back to your next Wild Weekend.
I'm your host, Byron Goggin.
Let me tell you what, I am so sick of hearing
that bad weather keeps you from doing stuff outside.
I found quite the opposite to be true.
I met a group of guys who do blow-carding.
And not only do they like bad weather,
they pray for it.
Well, blow-carding is a sailing sport that's actually
done on land with a three-wheeled go-kart.
It started, I think, basically on those dry lake beds
all within the desert.
And it's been around for a long time.
A blow-card is a product that comes out of New Zealand.
It's a three-wheeled cart with sail power,
folds up into a tiny little suitcase.
We set them up in parking lots, football fields, soccer fields,
high school tracks, college tracks,
wherever there's flat ground, we go.
They call it land yachting sometimes.
If you get on the internet, you can type in land yachting,
land sailing.
Anybody can do it.
That's a real neat thing about it.
But the fact that it's portable, you
can throw it in the trunk of your car, set it up anywhere,
really makes it a great product.
With the invention of these blow-carts,
it made it more feasible to get into smaller parking lots
and stuff, because these are more maneuverable, smaller,
easier to rig, easier to store, transport.
It comes apart and folds down to basically the size
of this floor pan here.
The front wheel assembly comes off, handlebars come off.
This folds down.
These come out and folds them into a bag
the size of a large suitcase.
That's it?
That's it.
It's kind of James Bond-ish, as you say.
Very James Bond-ish.
Is it like sailing or not really?
Oh, absolutely.
We own an ice boat also, and it's just a problem.
The ice boat is finding ice.
Minor problem is finding parking lots for these,
but you get more use out of this than you do out of the ice boat.
Now, do you have to know anything about sailing?
Actually, this is the fastest way to learn how to sail,
because everything you do, whether it's
turning the wheel one direction or the other,
or trimming the sail in or easing the sail,
has an immediate response.
You feel it.
You feel the cart move forward.
You feel the cart accelerate or decelerate with every movement.
So it's the fastest way to learn how to sail.
On a sailboat, you might trim in the sail or turn the tiller,
and you won't feel a response, so you don't know
if you're doing the right thing.
We've had people who've never sailed a day in their life
get on a blow cart, and within five minutes,
they're doing laps around a parking lot, having a blast.
I'm watching people standing, looking,
and the looks on their faces.
Spectators.
I mean, I'm sure you get them.
What are their thoughts?
Well, what's terrific about the blow cart
is it's a spectator sport.
People see them.
They stop.
They pull over, pull into the parking lots around the perimeter,
and just sit and watch for hours.
It's one of those things that you can't help but smile,
either doing it or watching it.
It's a great sport.
Do you think it was kind of odd when you went walking by
or driving by to see these sails whizzing through the parking lot?
I heard from the grapevine that these folks were
going to be out here today, and I just
wanted to take the firsthand look at it.
What's your initial thought when you see this?
It's a lot of fun.
I mean, if aren't any accidents, I
know it's kind of breezy today, but I
think these guys have under control,
and if they just remain safe, it's very exhilarating.
I'm sure it is.
You can barely take your eyes off of them.
Yeah.
Well, he used to say, wherever there are two or more sailboats
on the water, you have a race.
Well, now it's wherever you have two or more blow carts
on the land, there's a race.
The jury's still out on how fast we can actually
get these things going.
We have had them well over 50 miles an hour.
Are there brakes on these things?
Some of the carts have been rigged with brakes.
In fact, I'll show you one of those.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, back up.
There's no brakes?
Most carts don't come standard with brakes.
But wait, whoa, whoa, no brakes.
To stop the blow cart, all you do
is you point it into the wind, push the sail here,
and it backs you right up.
But wait a second, I'm seeing guys upside down.
Wouldn't it help to have brakes?
Not when you're upside down.
You know, I didn't believe them when they told me
that this thing wasn't dangerous.
I have no idea what I'm doing with blow carting.
I just went over, and I'm absolutely fine.
Help, Jane, get me out of this crazy thing.
Flipping is common with these on really breezy, gusty days.
But they're relatively safe.
When you're in your blow cart, you're actually seat belted in.
And if the cart does happen to flip,
you're tripoded off of the ground by the mast and the axles.
So you're suspended above the ground.
You never even touch the ground.
So really, it's no big deal.
It's no big deal.
There are countless things to do,
and people sit home and watch football instead of doing.
And they're starting to realize that that
isn't the way to live, and that there are other things to do.
And this is something that is in its infancy,
and you can get in inexpensively.
And like I said, great fans, great people, a lot of fun.
This can be an extreme sport when pushed to the limits.
But it's a great family sport.
You take it out in the proper conditions
with the proper sail plan.
Everybody's having fun.
If I get that, you can do it.
Well, coming up next, getting outdoors and hunting with loved
ones can stir feelings deep within one's soul.
Tom DeWickey takes us on a three-generation duck hunt
and explains duck hunting in a way that few will ever know.
Stick with us.
We'll be right back.
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Hello and welcome back to your next Wild Weekend.
I'm your host Byron Goggin.
We're at Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World and I think they have just about everything here,
including duck boats, which coincidentally I'm in the market for.
I want to take my son duck hunting here pretty soon.
You know, for most sportsmen, duck hunting is a time to get the family together, take
them out to the field and create bonds and experiences that last a lifetime.
Our own Tom DeWickey has spent his lifetime hunting, researching and protecting waterfowl
in Michigan.
Tom explains the significance of duck hunting and the bonds that it builds for those families
who experience it.
Now we've all heard the stories of waterfowl darkening the sky during their fall migration.
Most days are probably gone forever, mostly due to loss of crucial habitat.
But each fall, vast numbers of waterfowl still migrate south just as they have done for millions
of years.
My father caught the waterfowling bug as a young man and he passed it on to me when
I was still a child.
Still today, as the days become shorter and the nights cooler, something stirs deep inside
me and I find myself along with thousands of sportsmen across the country gazing to
the north in anticipation of first fall flights.
For most waterfowl hunters, this is when a soda ritual begins.
Waterfowl hunting can be an arduous sport, so keeping the equipment which could be as
simple as a few decoys, waders and a shotgun to the most elaborate duck boats and blinds
in good working order is top priority.
This is also a great time to get children involved.
I've always enjoyed this time of year and all this preparation helps to build up the
anticipation for the upcoming hunt.
It's also a time when friends and family gather to share stories of past hunts to speculate
on what the upcoming season may bring forth.
I know as a young boy I was mesmerized by these stories.
They were told to us by the old timers.
No matter how many times I heard those stories, I never tired of them.
Many of those men have passed on to a place where waterfowl is still dark in the sky.
I feel fortunate to share the responsibility with others to carry out in the memories of
these men.
The stories, the traditions that are so important to the sport of waterfowling.
One of the truly unique aspects of waterfowling is the use of decoys to lure birds into range
for effective shooting.
In the early years prior to the development of plastics and composites, wooden cork was
a material that was most readily available and the obvious choice for early artisans.
History shows that decoys were used by the indigenous peoples for hundreds, maybe thousands
of years prior to the late 1800s when the popularity of the sport and market hunting
for waterfowl spawned a new industry of decoy carving.
Even today some hunters still carve their own wooden blocks, but for convenience sakes
most of us have opted for the use of plastic replicas.
When we come back, I'll take you along with my family on an early season dot-con in the
St. Clairflats Wildlife Area.
Yeah, so you want to go dot-con, this is fun, this is what we do for fun, come on.
If you didn't get enough of the story you were interested in today, check out the Wild
Weekend TV dot-con website.
There are links to every story that we cover on this program.
So if you're dying for more information, you can find it on Wild Weekend TV dot-con.
There are additional links to sites like travel dot-michigan dot-org that will tell you what
is going on around the state of Michigan.
You can also find out great toys that will make your Wild Weekend more memorable.
No more before you go at Wild Weekend TV dot-con.
A train ride plus a fantasy snowmobile ride equals a fantastic Wild Weekend.
It's time to add you to the mix.
We want you to win this trip, be a part of the next Wild Weekend film crew as we take
a trip to the Algoma Central Railway Snow Train.
We load the sleds onto the train at 150 miles north and are dropped off to enjoy fantastic
open snowmobile trails that are out of this world.
Just go to the Wild Weekend website and tell us why you deserve a Wild Weekend snowmobile
vacation.
Go to the Wild Weekend dot-com for more tales.
We're just getting out here.
The idea here is to set up with the wind to your back.
We have a good situation here because the ducks are coming in and they'll be looking
right into the sun, which helps hide us.
We want to leave a little pocket here so when the ducks typically land into the wind, and
that's what we're waiting for here.
We're going to set up.
We've got a couple of little groups and I'm hoping the ducks land right here in the pocket.
The idea is to funnel the ducks into a position to the land where we want them to in ideal
conditions.
This area, just like many of the others, is based around a refuge system.
There's a refuge just planted and flooded to help aid migratory water fall to keep them
healthy for the fall migration.
What they do is they set up several zones around there for hunting.
We've hunted this area several times through the years and it can be very good at times.
Today's not the most ideal duck hunting day, but it's good to be out here.
As you can see, this is a pretty rough area here.
A lot of mud, a lot of muck, really rough going.
It's tough on the dogs, tough on the people, tough on the equipment, but we're having
a good time.
This is fun.
Yeah, so you want to go duck hunting?
This is fun.
This is what we do for fun.
It's not easy going out here, I tell you, she's got young legs.
This is a sport for the young here, walking through this stuff.
The duck hunting appeals to me because it's not a solitary sport like deer hunting.
It's more of a, I would call it teams sport, you know, where a bunch of buddies or family
get together.
It's more of a camaraderie of it, you know.
You get to see all the things together and you get to see the things to talk about later
on.
You get to see the good shots, the bad shots and all the fun things that happen along the
way.
It's very enjoyable because of that aspect.
Hunting with my grandpa and my dad is fun because you get to spend time with your family
and get to shoot some ducks and have fun.
The birds are starting to fly now and the kids are having fun.
It's a little slow earlier but louded up, wind picked up and we've got some birds moving
around now so everybody's having a good time.
I was really excited so I just looked and I looked at all three of them and I just shot
and I got one.
So is it as much fun as you thought it would be?
It's a lot more fun because I thought we were just going to be sitting here all day
watching all the ducks go by and having him tell me not to shoot when I should have shot.
But it's a lot more fun than I thought it would be.
You have a little duck dinner tonight?
Yeah, we should.
I mean my dad can clean it in the garage and then we can eat it.
Any time we spend in the field together is a special time.
We're so busy working with families that the time we do get to come out and share time
in a duck marsh is a very special thing.
These times are the most special times in my life.
I'll never forget them.
These are memories that stick with me.
So I would keep coming back.
It's a very special thing and to be doing it now with my son and I have three generations
out here doing it, it's just an incredible thing for me.
It's something that I've dreamt of my whole life and finally doing it.
Doing a bad day in a duck marsh is better than a day at work.
Not everybody would consider slapping around in a mud and a muck to be fun.
But to a duck hunter, this is paradise and sharing it with your family makes it even
that much better.
I'm Tom DeWikie for your next Wild Weekend.
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The king is here.
Welcome to your next Wild Weekend.
I'm your host Byron Goggin.
We're here at Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World in front of the water wheel and it's hard
to believe that something this peaceful and serene is actually inside a building.
Speaking of peaceful and serene, many years ago Charles Corralt used to have a television
show called Sunday Mornings.
It was a political news type show but what I remember most from that is what came at
the end of the shows.
They were simple nature pieces.
There was no narration, no music, just nature.
Those pieces had a big impact on me and I knew that someday I wanted to make pieces just
like that.
This would inspire me to go on to be a television producer and videographer.
So now that I'm in the position, every weekend on your next Wild Weekend we're going to
have a tribute to Charles.
Wow.
Well, thanks for joining us on this edition of your next Wild Weekend from the Bass Pro
Shops Outdoor World.
Let me tell you what, if you can't get it here, you're not going to find it anywhere.
And I have everything that I need for our next Wild Weekend.
So no matter whether you fish, or whether you like the kayak, or whether you just like
to go fast outdoors, we'll always have it for you here on this show.
Keep in mind that all of the stories on this show are available to you and your family.
Every week we bring you new and exciting adventures that you and your family can easily take part
in.
Don't be scared, you can do it.
Until next time, I'll see you on the path less traveled in search of your next Wild Weekend.
