In what can only be described as a perfect day for a parade, it would appear that the big Weatherman in the sky gave the residents of The Great Northwest Community Improvement Association (GNWCIA) a pass, just long enough to hold a spectacular parade.
You might recall last year, the annual 4th of July Parade had to be canceled at the last minute due to approaching thunderstorms. This year, we simply could not have asked for a better breeze to keep everyone cool and sunny skies to remind us that it is in fact, July!
This year, my wife and I joined several neighbors to ride our scooters in the parade. As The T-Post Posse, we earned suntans and sore butts putting along the parade route that started at Zachry Middle School, along Timber Path and up to the Lodge of the Great Northwest on Timberwilde.
This year, the Grand Marshall was none other than Miss Olivia Theriot. You may recall that not only is she a well known retired veteran of the Air Force, Miss Olivia is also the very first homeowner in Silver Creek. Robert Rodkey is seen telling Miss Olivia about some of the finer points of his Corvette, the lead car in the parade she rode in as Grand Marshall, driven by Chairman of the Board of Directors, Richard Garcia.
We had numerous participants including this incredible float saluting military members, and thanking them for their service!
There was a float with players and coaches from the NW Vikings youth football team...
Both Boy and Girl Scouts,
members of the GNW Sounds musical group,
and even the GNW Garden Club.
In addition to these organizations, the parade included several sharp looking older vehicles like Ole Betsy, a 1970 Chevy Truck driven by the Garza family and a few hitchhikers along the route...
and Chairman Garcia's '69 Mustang driven by Director Ida Rodkey and husband Robert.
The parade included numerous bike riders, walkers, people with baby strollers, and other vehicles including the several of the GNW Staff, like Fred Murphy, Director of Maintenance on his pristine condition motorcycle.
Recreation Director Stephanie Larrabie was in the parade,
while DRACO, Jose Morlette drove ahead to take pictures of the spectacle.
Chief of Security, Roger Burton showed off the new Patrol truck.
Speaking of security, we had officers from Precinct 2 Constables office out as well as friends from SAPD making sure the parade which lasted about 45 minutes from start to finish could safely make it down the 1 1/2 mile stretch of Timber Path and across Tezel Road to Timberwilde.
As a group, our little Scooter Patrol were really surprised at the number of people who lined the street along Timber Path. We were certainly pleased with the number of parade participants, but having never been in the parade before, we simply didn't realize that along the way, so many wonderful residents would be out in lawn chairs, under the shade of umbrellas and canopy. It was really nice to toot our horns and greet the crowds along the way.
I only wish that I could have taken pictures along the way - but being on a scooter is not conducive to busting out the camera every few seconds. But my son did get a few shots (featured in this report) from his position at the end of the parade. Either way, it was really nice to see so many people waving and cheering for us. We will definitely do it again next year - I hope you join us for the fun.
Yes, yes, we know; it isn't like this event takes place in some place like Minnesota or the North Pole, but for those of us used to 100+ degree summers and very mild winters, the water at 52 degrees with an official outside wind chill factor of a balmy 42 was as close to polar conditions as we can take, and for dozens of brave residents of the Great Northwest Community Improvement Association, it was a nippy good way to mark the new year.
Each year, the young and the young at heart meet at the community pool at the Lodge of the Great Northwest to carry on the annual tradition which nets the participants a great T-Shirt and plenty of cookies and treats after the event. I must confess, my wife and I opted to cheer them on rather than dawn Speedo's and freeze any vital areas.
There was a large media presence with crews from KENS-5, News 4 WOAI, FOX 29 and the Express-News. Our Recreation Director, Stephanie was interviewed to provide background on the event and several of the participants gave the media their reasons for participating.
As the hour approached 12 Noon, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Lee Besing, provided the swimmers with the current outside temperature, the wind chill factor and the pool temp, suggesting that if anyone was having second thoughts, nobody would think the worse of them. No one backed out!
So as to accommodate the large crowd, Chairman Besing directed the younger swimmers to take the first leap and the group of kids lined the far end of the pool waiting for the excitement to begin.
As parents and friends waited at the near end of the pool armed with towels and blankets, the Polar Bear Swim officially begin.
There is nothing like chilly water to make you swim fast and these kids zoomed across the pool like it was a swim meet in an alligator farm.
Next up were the brave adults who would not allow all the glory to go to the younger folk. With perhaps a slightly larger splash, it was adult swim and there would be no chickens in this group either.
Though perhaps not as fast as the kids group, these folks demonstrated the Olympic quality skills (okay, not really) to get from one end of the pool to the other without losing body heat or swimming trunks. 
As the swimmers all huddled for warmth and a dry towel, GNW's first resident, Ms. Olivia Theroit, decided that she would not miss an opportunity to get in the New Year's Day spirit. Instead of impressing the crowd with a full length of the pool swim, Miss Olivia instead opted to feel the cool waters from some steps along the side.
When all the swimmers had completed their invigorating swim to get the new year off on a positive start, it was off to the warmth of the lodge to enjoy refreshments and collect on the T-Shirts passed out by volunteers.
Perhaps next year, if we can get up to a reasonable temperature of about 82 or so, I might make the big leap into the pool. But don't hold your breath...
In what can only be described as a perfect day for a parade, it would appear that the big Weatherman in the sky gave the residents of The Great Northwest Community Improvement Association (GNWCIA) a pass, just long enough to hold a spectacular parade.
You might recall last year, the annual 4th of July Parade had to be canceled at the last minute due to approaching thunderstorms. This year, we simply could not have asked for a better breeze to keep everyone cool and sunny skies to remind us that it is in fact, July!
This year, my wife and I joined several neighbors to ride our scooters in the parade. As The T-Post Posse, we earned suntans and sore butts putting along the parade route that started at Zachry Middle School, along Timber Path and up to the Lodge of the Great Northwest on Timberwilde.
This year, the Grand Marshall was none other than Miss Olivia Theriot. You may recall that not only is she a well known retired veteran of the Air Force, Miss Olivia is also the very first homeowner in Silver Creek. Robert Rodkey is seen telling Miss Olivia about some of the finer points of his Corvette, the lead car in the parade she rode in as Grand Marshall, driven by Chairman of the Board of Directors, Richard Garcia.
We had numerous participants including this incredible float saluting military members, and thanking them for their service!
There was a float with players and coaches from the NW Vikings youth football team...
Both Boy and Girl Scouts,
members of the GNW Sounds musical group,
and even the GNW Garden Club.
In addition to these organizations, the parade included several sharp looking older vehicles like Ole Betsy, a 1970 Chevy Truck driven by the Garza family and a few hitchhikers along the route...
and Chairman Garcia's '69 Mustang driven by Director Ida Rodkey and husband Robert.
The parade included numerous bike riders, walkers, people with baby strollers, and other vehicles including the several of the GNW Staff, like Fred Murphy, Director of Maintenance on his pristine condition motorcycle.
Recreation Director Stephanie Larrabie was in the parade,
while DRACO, Jose Morlette drove ahead to take pictures of the spectacle.
Chief of Security, Roger Burton showed off the new Patrol truck.
Speaking of security, we had officers from Precinct 2 Constables office out as well as friends from SAPD making sure the parade which lasted about 45 minutes from start to finish could safely make it down the 1 1/2 mile stretch of Timber Path and across Tezel Road to Timberwilde.
As a group, our little Scooter Patrol were really surprised at the number of people who lined the street along Timber Path. We were certainly pleased with the number of parade participants, but having never been in the parade before, we simply didn't realize that along the way, so many wonderful residents would be out in lawn chairs, under the shade of umbrellas and canopy. It was really nice to toot our horns and greet the crowds along the way.
I only wish that I could have taken pictures along the way - but being on a scooter is not conducive to busting out the camera every few seconds. But my son did get a few shots (featured in this report) from his position at the end of the parade. Either way, it was really nice to see so many people waving and cheering for us. We will definitely do it again next year - I hope you join us for the fun.
