Anchorage and the Ultimate Rebellion

After our Chilkoot Trail experience we were ready to head back to civilization, Anchorage. Besides visiting the city we also arrived in perfect time to play in Jamboree, Alaska's big summer tournament. Not really having a plan, we started emailing frisbee friends and the TD of the tournament to try and arrange a place to stay for the weekend and find a team to play with. A forwarded email from Beau and a few hours later we had a team to play with and a floor to sleep on with David Popiel once again proving how incredible the ultimate community is. David and I actually played against each other in college as well as club and is a player I have respected both for his skill and spirit on the field. It was awesome getting to know him and his wife, Jess.

We'll come back to the tournament later. Our first night in Anchorage we stayed in the Arctic Adventure Hostel, which was a great stay because it had a huge kitchen, wifi, and they provided a full breakfast in the morning for a good price. Thursday morning after a workout and breakfast, we went to the Alaska Native Heritage Center to learn about the indigenous people, the First Nation. The center was great and had walk-in replica houses that are built by the different tribes as well as song and dance performances and even an Alaska native sports exhibition.

After a hearty breakfast at Snow City Cafe we went to Kincaid Park to play disc golf and moose watching. I borrowed David's bike and while riding their along the Coastal Trail saw three moose! Unfortunately, the girls weren't with me so they are still searching for the ubiquitous and yet allusive beast. When David and Jess returned home from work they took us to a quiet beach on the Cook Inlet and we played Stick Rock while the sun attempted to set.

















At the Alaska Native Heritage Center, these bow head whale jawbones are used by the tribes in the most northern part of the state as land markers because it is so flat there.
















Cara, enjoying a Vanity Fair with David and Jess's cats, Stanley and Arthur.















Bull moose near Kincaid Park. Although I was only about 15 yards from this guy he was quite content to keep eating and didn't mind me snapping a few photos.
















We amazingly didn't loose a single disc in the dense summer brush.




















Cara "Air Jordan" Crouch finishing hole #18 in style.
















View of Anchorage from our private beach.















David and Jess playing Stick Rock. This was definitely a home run! We decided we should take our Stick Rock card photos.




















David "Slugger" Popiel, #44
Founder of Stick Rock and the most feared power hitter in the league.












Jess "Fleet Foot" Popiel #11
Jess is known for her speed and leads the league in stolen bases. Unfortunately, she's on the DL due to a sore foot from a half-marathon ran the previous week.




















Michael "Buntington" Natenberg #18
Never scared to lay down a devastating bunt with a two-strike count.






















Cara "Cannon Arm" Crouch, #5
Stealing second? Not with Cannon Arm behind the plate. Her savvy pitching signals and ability to crouch behind the plate for hours makes her the most feared catcher in the league.




















Ashley "the Kid" Black, #22
Known for her chocking up batting style, she can always be depended on for a base hit. Don't let the smile fool you, she will send that rock screaming back at you with an up the middle single.

















The Jamboree Party theme was tacky, and Cara and Ashley did an amazing job of finding these clothes on short notice. We partied like champions in these threads.














Alaskan Jamboree Champions of 2011!

After our 15-13 win the finals against the Alaskan, Hawaiian, and Californian combo team. After giving up an early break, we trailed the whole game by one or two before scoring the last 4 to clench the win.

Massive thanks to David and Jess for opening their apartment to us, Chris, John, Drew, and the rest of Ultimate Rebellion for accepting us on their team and being such awesome people and players. Winning the tournament was just icing on the cake of getting to meet and hang out with such a great ultimate community.

-T