The American Spectator

Kitty| 9.17.09 @ 8:55AM

Another adventure at Camp Happy Jack. Loved your account of supplies for your trip.

My son-in-law is quite the outdoorsman, so I was shocked when I discovered he never went out without Wolfgang Puck's self-heating lattes. He was devastated when the lattes were pulled from the market because several exploded. Back to instant.

Glad you made it back with tales to tell.

owyheewine| 9.17.09 @ 9:45AM

Wish you would make your tales of the Idaho backcountry more generic, maybe pretending it's in California or maybe Maine. We don't need any more bicoastals wandering around the state.

Faffnir| 9.17.09 @ 10:23AM

Alas, I am not much of an outdoorsman: if I want to rough it I go to the Ramada instead of the Ritz, and for stone primitive it's the Red Roof. But I do enjoy a good postcard from the wilderness. Very well done, sir!

Tim| 9.17.09 @ 10:46AM

"Mountain money"- that's new to me at least, heh.

Happy Jack Feder| 9.17.09 @ 12:13PM

Bill, you neglected to mention what you shouted upon diving into the nippy Alpine Lake. I assume it was nippy, at least, judging by your decibel level. My ears are still ringing. HJF

Everly Waverly| 9.17.09 @ 2:03PM

I was eagerly awaiting an appearance by Rancid Crabtree. A trip to a mountain lake and no fishing rods...

Lee Kleypas| 9.17.09 @ 5:24PM

Hi Bill, I went to jr and High schools in Idaho Falls so the Tetons were our mountains of choice. But about 6 years ago my son moved to Boise so I got acquainted with the Sawtooths. Very spectacular and somehow more accessible (smaller scale maybe--or just fewer tourists) than the Tetons. Highway 21 from Boise to Stanley is about the windyest, most fun road ever. Get yourself a Porsche and have at it. I get up that way quite a bit and we both know Idaho is just the most scenic and laid bak and coolest place in the world. Enjoy your post about the area immenslly. By the way; Google Earth has got some great photos of your camping trip area. So cool.

Lee, Houston (the flatest place on earth)

Blair| 9.17.09 @ 5:35PM

A great story of everyday amenities available to all in Idaho. You painted a vivid word picture of outdoor Idaho days past and, hopefully, future, for many of us. Yes, I also can testify that the road from Boise to Stanley in a Porsche is the road to Heaven! Thanks for an enjoyable diversion from crazy current events.

Blair in Boise.

linder| 9.17.09 @ 7:54PM

Loved reading about one of my favorite places on earth. I grew up in Boise, having a father that needed to get away from the city as much as possible, so we spent most every weekend camping and fishing throughout the great state of Idaho.

I must admit, when asked about Idaho from people who have never been, my first reaction is say that it is a barren desert, just to preserve, for a little while, the Idaho I grew up with and loved.

Richard Ranger| 9.18.09 @ 9:20AM

Bill --

As a former Westerner now exiled inside the rampart of the Beltway, I always enjoy your writing. HJF reminds me of a former neighbor in Alaska, the halls of whose home were hung with gear for different outdoor missions, and who would drill holes in items like toothbrushes (or handles of virtually anything destined for the trail) to save weight.

Thank you again,
Richard

JJ| 9.18.09 @ 3:11PM

"Exiled inside" the beltway -- brilliant.

Francesco Sinibaldi| 9.18.09 @ 4:32PM

New words in a new fantasy.

The green picture
of a tenderness
overtakes your
melody, actually,
like an infinite
meadow that
presents in a
singing the
sweet and sincere
relief.

Francesco Sinibaldi

johan| 9.19.09 @ 3:44PM

As a native Norwegian I could recognize much of the outdoors that you describe in your piece.
Sane advice on how to preserve warmth in cold country reminded me of a stern uncle who taught me as much.. A wonderful tale of this last unspoilt America! Thank You!

marylou| 9.19.09 @ 9:17PM

Scrumptious!! I had either forgotten, or taken for granted at the time, the wonders of northern Idaho, in which I was privileged to live for a time and rough it at times, too. There is nothing like it. Thank you.

Macks Inn Grandma| 9.20.09 @ 9:12AM

Bill, glad you are back, missed your stories. I too like owyheewine, would like to keep our state a little more laid back.

Richard Baker| 9.20.09 @ 1:03PM

Reading about the minimal gear taken due to weight reminds me of my Infantry days when what was a nice thing to have, when added to all the other nice things, could become a burden when fatigued. You wouldn't believe how heavy water can become when you have to carry it. Minimalism IS the only way when you have to hump the ruck.

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poptropica| 4.7.10 @ 11:08PM

It seems that everyone on the Poptropica island, the virtual world for kids, now wants to find some Poptropica cheats. The virtual world, which is causing quite a buzz in the community of online gaming, is a safe area for kids to play and interact with each other – however their personal information is never shared. Cheats for Poptropica are obviously hard to find, and so there is a lot of demand right now!
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The Poptropica island has been in the news lately after it was revealed that they would be beginning a special ‘reality tv’ project – inside the virtual world. Contestants in a variety of online games will be selected from the players of the virtual game, and be taken by helicopter to a special zone where they can compete for prizes, as well as to become the King or Queen of the island.

The virtual online games will be available to all users of the game from today, although they have been used by ‘Members’ of the community for the last three weeks. Memebership of Poptropica costs a small amount per month, but allows users to take advantage of a range of offers and special deals which are not usually available. Paying doesn’t allow access to any Poptropica cheats though!

Back in the day, I had three choices for playing electronic games: our brand-spankin’ new Atari 2600, my hand-held Mattel Football game, or the arcade at the mall. The kids these days just don’t know how good they have it: XBox, Playstation, Wii, PSP, DS, PC, online, download, kid-focused MMORPGs. The possibilities are nearly limitless. So when my daughter came home saying she really, really, really wanted to play an online game called Poptropica, I had to check it out for myself.

Poptropica is a free Flash-based game designed for kids ages 6 to 15. Created by the Family Education Network, Poptropica is a world that consists of many islands, each with their own set of problems and mysteries to solve. For example, on the Super Power island, you have to help recapture six criminals that have acquired super powers from a falling meteorite. As you travel across each island you must complete a number of tasks and challenges, each building upon the other.

While you are free to roam around the 2-D environment, some parts of each island are locked until you can accomplish certain goals. Thus, you can expect to make multiple trips into the game to “complete an island” and earn the coveted gold medallion. Fortunately, the game comes with a save feature. You will need to create a username and password to store your game. I recommend you write your info down on paper as well as there is not a password recovery feature.

The challenges on each island are very much age appropriate. Some are very simple and in the vein of classic adventure games since time immemorial, “I’ll tell you a secret, if you bring me the magic pig”. As you complete a task, you acquire achievements in the form of playing cards. Some cards can be enabled, such as the Jet Pack card, which lets you fly like a certain famous Mandalorian. For younger kids, be prepared to offer a little assistance as other tasks are a bit more complex, such as the secret decoder ring on Spy Island. And if your kid is stumped and you have run out of ideas yourself, you can always find walk-throughs on the internet.

As with many free online games, there are some advertisements in the game. The majority of them are embedded within appropriate locations. For example, I saw an ad for a new kid’s movie near a movie theater in the game. Some ads only appear for certain age groups, so don’t be surprised if your experience is different from someone else’s. It is important to note that the ads in no way affect how you obtain a gold medallion on an island.

There are currently eight islands in Poptropica: Early Poptropica, Shark Tooth Island, Time Tangled Island, Carrot Island, Super Power Island, Spy Island, Nabooti Island, Big Nate Island. The login page lists a 9th island set to arrive in 2009, Astro-Knights. There are bunch of previews and screenshots for the new island on the Poptropica blog.

All-in-all, this is a great site where geeklets can be introduced to online gaming. There are limited chat opportunities (no free chat at all). The games and challenges are simple yet extensive enough to keep them engaged and striving to help all of the citizens of Poptropica be rid of their island woes.

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