B10 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, June 25, 2003

-SKEENA ANGLER - ROB BROWN

Taimen 11

can had seen a few hatches in her nascent career as a fly fisher. She had never seen anything quite like this one. The river was covered in rings as far as she could see. The fish rose rhythmically, quickly, leaving widening rings in their wake.

Despite the stately and efficient exertions of the fish, the air was filled with flies. Joan reached out and closed her right hand around a specimen like an anemone closing its tentacles around an exotic fish,

She opened her fist just wide enough to ex- amine her captive. It was a luminous, ephem- eral creature; its body a radiant green, its wings transparent gray; ils turbinate eyes dark, distinct dots. Eating them must be like inhaling salty water droplets in a coastal fog. She wondered how such a delicate creature could satisfy any appetite?

She gingerly closed her fingers and nudged Billy. She lifted her, hand to his face. She opened her fingers again. He examined her of- fering.

“Mayfly dun, * he said. “~ m not sure of the species, but he’s a big bruiser.”

Joan looked puzzled.

“For a mayfly, it’s large,” he continued. “The fish take them in head and tail rises — slowly and confidently because the duns have to ride a ways on the river to dry their wings.”

Joan shook her hand. The dun continued its as- cent. In the gathering darkness the river was turning from green to gold. .

“Hey ya ponna stand there all night?” Joan jumped.

She and Billy turned to see Tom York walking toward them. Tugsiin Sugar, the inscrutable Mongolian driver-who had not said a word on the lung drive from Ulaanbaatar, was in the background, leaning against the Russian van.

The tourist trio had no idea how much English Tugsiin understood, but he knew enough to pull over promptly when, at their first sight of the Chuluut River, Joan said she wanted to get out and stretch.

This was true but her overriding motivation was to get away from the leering York and his interminable blathering about selling franchises in Ulaanbaatar, and how Mengolia should be grateful for American largesse, and how won- derful it was that cell phones were dangling from the hips of so many Mongolians after the fall of the Soviet Union.

Though he didn’t say so, Joan could tell that Billy was happy for a respite too. He eagerly spring out of the truck, Making Tugsiin and York promise to return after taking the luggage ta camp.

“You'll like our camp,” said York with un- characteristic brevity. In the distance Joan saw white, domed structures glowing in the twilight. They reminded her of the tanks next to the re- finery her family lived next to when she was in grade school.

“Yurts,” said York,

“Gers,” growled Tugsiin, obviously offended.

“Yeah, OK; Gers, yurts, same difference. Kind of primitive — no hot tubs, and the bathroom fa- cilities are ex-suite, They'll do in a pinch.”

Tugsiin parked the car. He grabbed Joan’s tra- vel bag and scurried around the van to open her door. She followed him into the nearest ger. He opened the doorway.

They ducked under the doorframe, Joan was amazed. She looked up al the conical roof sup- ported by darkly stained hardwood slats pointing to a hole at the top of the ger, put there to ac- commoadate the chimney of a small stove set in the centre of the hardwood floor she and Tugsiin stood upon.

“Ung,” said Tugsiin, making a dome shape with his hands. He opened his hands turning the dome into a crown that he placed upon his head. That part of the mime finished, he pointed to the apex of the ger “toono.”

“Ung. Toono,” she said mimicking his ges- tures, whereupon the Mongolian smiled and took her arm. He led her to a wall and held her hand to it. It was made of thick, dense felt.

“Khana,” he said simply. “Khana,” she said returning his boyish stnile.

She turned around and counted the walls,

“It’s a pentagon,” she observed, holding up five fingers, pointing at the wall, and saying “Khana” again to dispel Tugsiin’s bewildered look.

Jonn had always foved tenting. She had tented with Amos and her Dad ‘often and not just in the summer. This ger was a compact cathedral among tents.

To he continuedus

_TERRACE STANDARD

e Wake rider

STEVE CRITCHLEY comes in for a landing while wakeboard:. ing at Lakelse Lake recently. He'll be putling on a good show at an upcoming wakeboard demonstration July 13 in front of the Kinsmen KinKampo at Lakelse Lake. The demonstration is part of the kick-off for the 2003 Terrace Standard Adventure Challenge. The first race of the five-event adventure sport ser-

ies is the Ruins Board Shop open water swim, The event chal- lenges adults to complete a 1,200 metre course, juniors (ages 13-16) compete in a 600 metre course and youth (12 and under) are challenged to 250 metre swim. A beach party, vol- leyball and the wakeboard demonstration follow the race. SARAH A. ZIMMERMAN PHOTO.

Stock car racing

Keeping cool in the fast lane

By SARAH A.

ZIMMERMAN AFTER A SEASON off from ra- cing, local stock car driver Darcy McKeown had his work cut out for him when he took on the cream of the crop in northwestern racing as the third stop of the WESCAR OK Tire Challenge series hit the Terrace Speedway.

McKeown, 27, started racing more than 10 years ago but has been involved sporadically over the last three years.

His June 14 return to the track resulted in a last. place-finish in the 16 car 100-lap main event, but he says it’s great to be back in the driver's seat.

“As far as basically getting a car going and showing up on the track without a whole lot of prac- tise sessions I couldn’t ask for anything better,” he says, adding he was a little shaky in the event.

“The sport has a lot to do with being absolutely calm and collec- ted and being able to concentrate and settle the car down going into the corners and you have to do it repeatedly.”

ME

DARCY McKeown is happy to be back in the driver's seat ‘alter more than a year away from stock car racing. He was one of four locals who competed in the June 14 high speed WESCAR OK Tire challenge series race at the Terrace speedway. JESSIE GIES PHOTO

The draw to stock car racing for McKeown is a combination of excitement and the ability to keep ccol under pressure, —

“There’s just something really

dash.

lun Black won the A heat driving car number 14. ‘Kevin McComber. from Prince

race’s Dave Reinhardt ran into some trouble in the B trophy dash when his car was squeezed inta

fellow racer Debby Reinhardl. He placed Il of 16 in-the main event,

Terrace driver Phil Hustad also took part in the 100-lap race but

exciling about taking a race car as fast you can into a-corner with. a whole bunch of race cars around you and you're only about: six inches apart,” he says, |

“It’s an adrenaline rush but at the same time you have to be ab: |

“There’s just something really exciting about car taking a race car as fast you can into a corner with a whole bunch of race cars around you and you're only about six inches apart.”

had. to make an emergency pit stop when the left back end of his caught fire. The fire was quickly put out and he went on to place 15th,

Prince George’ racers. claimed the top ‘two spots in the main

solutely calm.” Three other local drivers took

event witly car.number 78's Smo- key Prest taking the checkered

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part in both the WESCAR trophy

dashes, heats and the 100- ae

main event. Gary McCarthy, driving car number 92,

Yves Thibodeau, a rookie driving car number 82, won the D trophy

took the checkered: flag in the C: trophy dash and:

George, “number 22, won the A trophy dash, Prince, George based racer Le-

nard:, Willenchenko™ driving car.

number. 17 claimed’ top spot ‘in bath. the B trophy dash and the B heats :

Car umber 35 driven by Ter-

the the wall by Williams: Lake's

car number 52, Reinhardt’s right

tront end was damaged... = “Half a dozen or-so Terrace’ ra- cers and pit crew banded ‘together

and helped him. with repairs and - got it out for the 100-lap main”

event,” says Reinhardt’s wife and

fag followed up by Bob Williams in’car, number 5, ; ‘The: next. WESCAR series ; stop

is-in. Williams Lake June 28. —

McKeown ‘and other locals are hoping ‘to’ put the pedal to the metal again looking to improve on their ‘standings.

Select teams battle for provincial berths

By SARAH A, ZIMMERMAN ANOTHER select soccer team from Terrace

has won zone playdowns earning a spot al the

provincial championships. The under 15 boys team dominated . the

zones in Prince George June 14-15 and their

coach Bill Warcup is mighty impressed. : “They played brilliantly,”

scored against us." The Terrace squid beat Quesnel 2-0 in -its

first game of the round robin courtesy of two.

goals from Bryan Hull; Next.tip was arch-rival

Prince George in what Warcup described as a. very physical game. Corey Hales’ scored -the’ ‘first goal off a hender and John Warcup picked

Says: Warcup.. “We won three gaines and only had one Boal

up the insurance marker with the game ending ina 2-0 score, That last game of the tourna- ment saw ‘Terrace beat Williams Lake 2-1 on one more goal scored by Bryan Hull and an- other from Jared Stephensen,

“They're: a Boot bunch of hardworking ath- ~ tetes that’ enjoy: playing. soccer,’

*Warcup siys, “They all come. to play and play hard.” © Warcup. added the players’ families provi-

“ded a lot.of stipport-at the out of town event.

* Prince’ George leams were tough competi-

tion for the: remaining select teams taking part _in gone playdown action. ~

~The under 12 boys team lost out’ to the: - Prince George ~' the same fate that befell he. combined under 17-18: team 1 from Terrace.

The under 15 girls team also played i in zone finals in Kitimat but did not make it through,

Other select teams took part in zone play- downs June 6-7 in hopes of advancing to pro-

vincial finals.

The under 16 girls squad managed two wins

“but a 2-0 loss to- Prince George in their final ‘game <of. the weekend resulted is Prince - George clinching: ‘the’ zone ‘tlle with a three-

win record, The Under: 13 girls te teams finished the play- downs witha 1-1-1 record and Prince George

advances to the provincials, The Under. 12, boys. team faced ‘Kitimat | in its first-game losing: bya score of 5-2 but the

~ team rallied Lo win against Prince Rupert 4-0.

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