I don’t normally write about stuff that isn’t directly associated with the Pass Ranch or my family or my travels here, but today I found an absolutely fascinating documentary movie online filmed in North Korea.

I wanted to embed the film (in three parts here) mostly for convenient access for myself, but for anyone else that may be reading this post, I encourage them to also watch the film. You won’t be disappointed I promise. If the embedded player doesn’t appear on your screen, click through directly to the post here: http://www.passranch.com/blog/?p=67

Remember, the direct link to the documentary’s website is included at the top of each embedded video. And now, for the show!

Getting into North Korea was one of the hardest and weirdest processes VBS has ever dealt with. After we went back and forth with their representatives for months, they finally said they were going to allow 16 journalists into the country to cover the Arirang Mass Games in Pyongyang. Then, ten days before we were supposed to go, they said, “No, nobody can come.” Then they said, “OK, OK, you can come. But only as tourists.” We had no idea what that was supposed to mean. They already knew we were journalists, and over there if you get caught being a journalist when you’re supposed to be a tourist you go to jail. We don’t like jail. And we’re willing to bet we’d hate jail in North Korea. But we went for it. The first leg of the trip was a flight into northern China. At the airport, the North Korean consulate took our passports and all of our money, then brought us to a restaurant. We were sitting there with our tour group, and suddenly all the other diners left and these women came out and started singing North Korean nationalist songs. We were thinking, “Look, we were just on a plane for 20 hours. We’re jet-lagged. Can we just go to bed?” but this guy with our group who was from the LA Times told us, “Everyone in here besides us is secret police. If you don’t act excited then you’re not going to get your visa. So we got drunk and jumped up onstage and sang songs with the girls. The next day we got our visas. A lot of people we had gone with didn’t get theirs. That was our first hint at just what a freaky, freaky trip we were embarking on…
— VBS Founder Shane Smith

Part one of “Vice Guide to North Korea”

Part two of “Vice Guide to North Korea”

Part three of “Vice Guide to North Korea”

Just a quick note for readers interested in the annual Sandhills Marathon, the date has been set for the 2009 event. June 13th. Stay tuned as we learn more about the details!

***Update***
Please remember, for everyone interested in participating in this year’s event, please send your request to Scott Schwartz at the following address: schwartz262@yahoo.com

Scott will then be able to provide you with further instructions. Thank you all for your interest, and we hope to see you in the 2009 marathon!

Just got back from an epic two day road trip. (Two and a half day, technically…I had to pull over and rest just 200 miles from the end).

1700 miles, 5 states – including one that I can now cross off my “states to visit” list, leaving only 6 more US states to go, wildly varying terrain, and an endless supply of fun! Click on the map below to view the interactive map.

The trip began as a test run for what will be my biggest adventure so far, a road trip to the pacific northwest and Canadian rockies. I wanted to test my ability to camp in the car in order to save on hotel rooms, and my endurance for driving long distances at a time. So far it has been a success so my plans to embark on the big trip next month remain. The only concern I have right now is how the extended periods of time sitting in the car driving and the large quantities of fast food I tend to eat while on road trips will affect me. But it’s only going to be a couple weeks, so I’ll probably survive!

After driving up to Duluth, I finally reached the Minnesota arrowhead region late Saturday night and pulled over to make my camp. On Sunday, I drove through vast pine forests, mountain ranges, lakes areas, farmland as flat as a table to the horizon in every direction, and I even crossed the continental divide between waters that drain to the Atlantic Ocean and the Arctic Ocean. (I crossed this continental divide in South Dakota, BTW) I went to North Dakota for the first time ever, visited Fargo, Grand Forks, International Falls, and Ely – also for the first time for each. Ely reminds me of North Conway, NH in just about every way except for the lack of mountains in Ely. I had a great breakfast at a place called “The Chocolate Moose“. If ever you find yourself in Ely Minnesota, I recommend this place highly. Hopefully some day I’ll be able to return myself!

I did take a few pictures, mostly uninteresting and they don’t do the trip justice, but you can see them all by clicking here or on the picture above. I will do my best next time to take more time and take more pictures!

They always say “better late than never”, and so with no further ado, I present to you the June 14 Sandhills Marathon. As always, click here or on the thumbnail below for the full page of photos, and also as always, click on any thumbnail for the full size image. I welcome any comments or further spectator (or participant) news on the event.

Congratulations to all who participated!

When I first found out that my Uncle was sick, I was shocked for lack of better words.  At first, we did not know what was wrong, so I prayed.  I prayed, like everyone else, that it would be nothing or at least something very treatable. When I heard that he had cancer I was scared and felt uneasy not knowing much about it.

I did not, and still do not understand why he was picked to fight this uneven and long battle. There has been no answer to my questions.

Presented with the fact that my uncle may not be getting better, I was asked if I wanted to see him in the hospital.  First, I decided that I wanted to see him, but then I changed my mind.  I wanted only to remember him in my best memories.  I did not want to see him lying helpless and weak in a strange cold place.  I did not want my last memory of my favorite Uncle to be of him in a hospital.  I wanted to remember the best times.

Sara sits on her uncle Jim’s lap – 1997.

This is how I remember my Uncle Jim:
He was always very patient and kind whenever teaching me something.  He never got disappointed that I messed up the raking pattern and never could seem to get it right.  Every summer my hat would fly off my head during a cattle drive and he would laugh at me, wait ‘til I got back up on my horse, and then I would say, “It is bad luck if my hat does not fall off at least once during the summer” He always agreed!

I think that most of all, I will miss the drives out to where we were going to be moving cattle.  We did not talk much.  It was quiet and peaceful.  The only time we spoke during these rides was when he wanted to point out a deer or the burrowing owls.  Oh yeah, and to make fun of me for freaking out if the was a bug in the cab of the truck!

I will miss seeing him walk over to my grandparent’s house in his silly “Flintstones” t-shirt and shorts.  It was just too funny, and it seemed to be the same shirt every day summer after summer.  It was just something you could count on and I like that.  He would sit on the floor in front of the sofa and give us a hard time for watching “mindless television”…but then he would leave to go back home to watch “The Girls Next Door”!! 

I loved his voice…I thought it was the greatest thing in the world…When he would ask me if I was ready to go move cattle in the morning.  He would pull on my toe and ask “Ready to go move some cattle in the morning?” I would reply with a head nod or a smile and he would reply with the time wanted me to be ready at the barn.

For some reason I was very shy around my uncle.  I think I was afraid to say something silly in front of him.

I wish he was here to teach me more about horses.  He was always very good with them.

Finally I want to thank him for a few things.
Thank you for adjusting my saddle when I got it wrong
Thank you for letting me ride Scooter and obsess about him (Scooter is my favorite horse in the world)
Thank you for watching my brother cousins and I put on endless Circus shows when we were little
Thank you for letting me work and live on the ranch….my most favorite place in the world
Thank you for everything Uncle Jim, I will never forget you or the things you did for me

I am sad that you will not be able to walk me down the aisle when I get married because you were my first choice.

Goodbye Uncle Jim…Goodbye …I love you

Faithful readers of the PassRanch.com blog will recall last year I wrote about the first annual Sandhills Marathon, and I am proud to announce that the organizers, Andy Pollock and Scott Schwartz are back again to run the event for a second year! We are excited to have such a unique event run right in our home town and I would like to invite all those interested in participating, volunteering or even just to watch and cheer on the runners to come to Brownlee Saturday morning, June 14th. For a better description of the course, I’ve included an excerpt from the registration form (you can download the entire registration form after the jump):
Read the rest of this entry »

On June 9th, about 30 people ran in the inaugural Brownlee Marathon. The halfway point of the marathon is right at the Pass Ranch front door. Click here or on the image to see the pictures taken at mile 13. The guy with the shotgun is getting ready to signal the start of the half-marathon.

But wait! There’s more! Here are some pictures taken at mile 17, just after the runners have come over the first hill (and it’s a big one!) on the course. Click on the photo for more.

You can read more about the event from the Lincoln Journal-Star (click on the headline for the full article) but keep reading, there are a bunch more photos at the finish line coming up.

Sandhills Marathon offers unique route

By BRENT C. WAGNER / Lincoln Journal Star
Friday, Jun 08, 2007 – 09:55:50 pm CDT
Jason Taylor wanted to stay close to home to run his next marathon.

But where he calls home is a place most people consider the middle of nowhere — a ranch near Thedford in the Sandhills. Lincoln and Denver and their marathons are each five hours away.

During the recent livestock branding season, Taylor heard about a nearby marathon. Nearby, as in the marathon route runs directly through the middle of the ranch where he works.

“I told my wife, ‘It doesn’t get much closer than that,’” said Taylor, who coaches the distance runners at an area high school.

The first Sandhills Marathon will be run Saturday on a picturesque stretch of Brownlee Road between Valentine and Thedford.

Finally, we get to see the finish line (note the big “V” in the road). Click here or on the photo to see the finishers, spectators, and the silver spurs at the end!

Congratulations to all who ran in the 2007 Brownlee marathon! You are all heroes!

BY DIRK CHATELAIN
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER


BURWELL, Neb. – The whistle blows again. Adam Marten’s head drops. For a moment, he stares at the gym floor.

The 38-year-old coach has worn a scowl with his purple shirt most of the evening. He has watched his Sandhills Panthers play ragged basketball in the most important game of the season. Marten had seen it coming, too, just as he had sensed the fouls leading to this moment.

An official approaches the scorer’s table: One-four, block. That’s five. Marten’s 5-foot-7 freshman point guard walks to the bench. Read the rest of this entry »