Frisbee Golf

When we were in Grand Junction, CO, we took the dogs to a large off-leash park in nearby Palisade.  The park has a Frisbee golf course, and there was a state tournament in progress, dozens of 4-person teams.  We'd seen a few of these courses in our travels but rarely saw people playing the game, had no idea it was such a big deal.  A state tournament?  Really?  Who knew?

The players were mostly 30-ish guys, each with 20+ discs stuffed into a rectangular duffel bag mounted on a miniature refer dolly.  We chatted up one of the foursomes and hung with them for awhile, got a little education.  One team member, tall guy, nailed a hole in one from about 500'.  Unbelievable!  He had us sign his Frisbee, as witnesses.  Holes in one are as rare as they are in regular golf; the guy was ecstatic.

The discs have various weights and are labeled like golf clubs: driver, midrange, putter, etc.  The player stands on the concrete tee-off pad, eyeballs the course and obstacles - there were lots of trees in the park - selects the appropriate disc, does whatever style of approach he/she has developed, and wings it down range hoping to miss all the trees and get within putting distance of the goal.

There are over 5K courses in the USA, and it's played in 31 other countries also.  There's even enough prize money in the larger tournaments to generate a few professionals.  I've used the term 'team' above but I think it's the individual's score that counts; I suspect the foursomes are put together in a random manner.

Frostbite Falls

Most readers of my vintage know that Frostbite Falls is the name of a fictitious town in northern Minnesota.  It was the hometown of TV cartoon characters Rocky and Bullwinkle.  That's them below; some of the other main characters are pictured also. 

Having grown up in northern MN myself and surviving (barely) its frigid winters, I find the name appropriate as well as humorous.  I left MN at the earliest opportunity but still take a wicked delight in namedropping FF with family and friends who still live there.

Dudley Do-Right

Recently, I stumbled onto the history of the name, found it intriguing.  The creator of the series, Jay Ward, lived in Berkeley, CA, but for some reason became a great fan of the Golden Gophers from the University of Minnesota.  His favorite Gopher was Bronko Nagurski, a star football player who hailed from International Falls, MN.  I-Falls was sometimes called 'The Icebox of the Nation' owing to its dubious honor of frequently having the lowest temps in the country.  That tickled Jay apparently, inspired him to come up with the FF name.

Snidely Whiplash

The cartoon series was at once both silly and delightfully clever.  Puns ran rampant.  I loved it.

Boris Badenov and Natasha Fatale

In 2000 a Rocky and Bullwinkle movie was released.  Despite having major star power (Rene Russo, Robert DeNiro, Randy Quaid, John Goodman, et al) viewers weren't impressed.  They preferred the cartoon characters.

Duct Tape

Ever heard the Duct Tape song?  No?  It's a must-listen.

Actually, there are several duct tape songs.  I've only listened to a few but this one stands head and shoulders above the others: the Duct Tape Madrigal in C Major.

Here you go:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmaBPAldQEE

If this little ditty doesn't make you smile, better call the undertaker, "He's dead, Jim."