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Dave Mull / Ollie the humps / Sean Watson Photo

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EA REZ TourWords and Art by Andy Dicker

Each year, Elemental Awareness embarks on a journey of goodwill through this great nation we call America! With a focus on encouraging the youth to get off their butts and get on a skateboard, the EA tribe hosts events at a number of different Indian Reservations. This past Rez tour (yes we spell it with a Z) we took voyage through the North Western frontier. The van logged many a mile over ‘Merica’s beautiful landscapes. The crew consisted of captain and EA co founder Todd Larson, the brothers Chrisopher (Brian and Dylan), the brothers Mull (Dave and Tom), Andy Dicker, Bright Krinsky and Coffee the dog. Our purpose is to visit communities that are off the radar and stoke their fire with skateboarding epicness.

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PORTLAND

ARTS & CRAFTS S’KLALLAM RESERVATION

TOM’S TOP FIVESKATE PHOTOSROLL FOR ROLL

SEATTLE COFFEE DOG’S REVIEW

MONTANA RESERVATION THE PARKS

#EAREZTOUR POEM FROM THE ROAD

FIN

Contents

Todd Larson

Lawrence Limtao

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Our JOurney thrOugh the western frOntier

Started from the EA house in LB on

October 1st, 2014.

Cruised on up to Portland to hang with

Tucker .

Spent a good amount of time near the Puget Sound. Seattle, Vashon

Island, and Port Gamble!

Cruised through Richmond, WA then stopped by Coeur d’Alene, ID

for an evening for some phenomenal hospitality.

Dylan Christopher

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Our JOurney thrOugh the western frOntier Made it out to Montana. Hit

up the Polson and St. Ignatius reservation. We also found the coveted Montana mountain

Gator. Stopped by

Yellowstone to experience its

majesty!

Enjoyed an evening in SLC.

Amazing food and great skating!

We rolled through Zion’s gorgeous

park before heading home on October 16th, 2014.

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PORTLAND We arrived in Portland late in the evening of October the second. Long time friend Tucker Leverton welcomed us into his home with ample space to rest our road weary bones. In place of immediate rest, we ate bratwurst and shot BB Guns into the early morning. The following day began with a journey to Stumptown roasters. Although the trip is based around sharing the gift of skateboard-ing with new communities, it is also our chance to taste exquisite coffee around the states. After sipping well, we made a pit stop at the Pendleton wool factory to pur-chase crafting materials. Such reasonable prices! Port-land was the calm before the storm. The group was able to unite with ease to prepare for the journey ahead.

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Arts & Crafts -On the road-

Words by Todd LarsonArt by Andy Dicker

1. Pack into the van with your best friends. 2. Allow inspiration to strike. 3. Whip out your tools. 4. Begin crafting. 5. Be patient, take your time. 6. Use it, or pass the gift along.

The Pendleton Wool Mill in Portland, OR has been an essential stop for us over the years. They sell scraps by the pound. These scraps have been the material of choice for many a project created

on the road.

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S’KLALLAM RESERVATION

Our first event took place in Port Gamble, WA for the S’Klallam Tribe. In the not too distant past, community leader Josh Wisniewski coordinated with the tribe and the Sheckler foundation to get a park built on the res-ervation. Just last year, we were skating drop spots in a parking lot as an introduction to skateboarding. We were blown away by the progress of the tribe. Not only did they have a great park, but also many of the kids had improved immensely. Kristin Ebeling from Skate Like A Girl was at the park encouraging the girls of the tribe to shred. S.L.A.G. is a non-profit whose mission is to promote confidence and leadership in females, through skateboarding. We hosted a best trick contest, a dizzy flip challenge, and a “give out product for no reason other than the fact that kids are skating” con-test. The locals were hyped, including the Rez dog de-lightfully named Batman. We gave away decks, wheels, clothing, and a mountain of The Mountain t-shirts.

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Kerry Rosenfeld came out to help us with the event. She helped

encourage so many of the kids to confront their fears.

It was rad to see so many girls skating! Kristin from Skate Like A

Girl is an inspiration to us all.

Thank you Josh and all of the S’Klallam tribe

for keeping up with the good shred!

Local ripper showing off his new Element

wheels!

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The S’Klallam tribe had prepared a smorgasbord of Salmon to smoke over a fire in their traditional fash-ion. As Brown, an elder, prepped the fire for the filets of freshly caught salmon, we got to experience “Pulling” (S’Klallam’s version of paddling) in a traditional canoe with the tribe. We brought them skateboard medicine, and they provided us with a glimpse into their culture. It was a humbling experience to say the least.

TOP LEFT 1: Smoked Salmon Stakes. Ph. Dylan TOP LEFT 2: Brown, putting his skills to work. Ph. BrianTOP RIGHT: A boy and his dog. Ph. BrianLEFT: Pulling in the bay. Ph. Dylan

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Since 1257 Don Joe has lead a legacy of finely crafted nectars. Harvested from the

peaks of the hills behind his apartment complex, the beans are hand selected by Joe’s

next door neighbor. Slow roasted in the communal bathroom, there is no other coffee

to compare in quality. Joe, it’s like, super good.

This is not real coffee, yet. Please, don’t sue us.

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Tom’s Top VWords by Tom MullArt by Alex Farrara

TOP 5 TRICKS: 1. Dave’s frontside noseslide down a five block. 2. Jordan the-local-legend’s kickflip b/s 50-50 on an abnormally large park handrail. 3. Dylan’s wallie axel stall boneless out. 4. Andy’s no comply tail stall back 180 out. 5. Every single one of Todd’s layback powerslides.

TOP 5 VIEWS: 1. Sunset over Port Gamble. 2. Cliffs of Zion. 3. Seattle city scape. 4. Gold fields, peak foliage, and snow-capped mountains surrounding Saint Ignatius skatepark. 5. Burn-pile smoke rising from a pine forest against a Montana mountain range.

TOP 5 KARAOKE SONGS 1. Bias but the traditional Forever In Blue Jeans by Neil Diamond, sung by Andy and I. 2. Anarchy in the UK by The Sex Pistols, sung by Bright. 3. Careless Whispers by George Michael, sung by Andy. 4. El Paso by Marty Robbins, sung by Dylan. 5. Anything sung by Todd.

TOP 5 MOMENTS 1. Eating fresh, smoked salmon with the S’Klallam tribe. 2. Skating through Zion and chucking our boards into bushes. 3. Gettin’ real jolly at Fire On the Mountain in Portland. 4. Yellowstone hot springs. 5. Watching Dylan lift Aiden onto a handrail while Andy put a board under his feet for a nosegrind.

TOP 5 PLACES TO URINATE 1. Beneath a bridge in Springdale, UT. 2. The “piss jug”. 3. Behind the van. 4. Behind a utility shack at the Polson skatepark. 5. In the hot spring.

TOP 5 PHRASES 1. “Cheers! Cheers! Cheers!” 2. “It’s been—It’s been—It’s—It’s—It’s been—” 3. “Dang” 4. “Siri, what’s my name?” 5. “Joeeeee Brownieeeee!”

TOP 5 WORST MOMENTS 1. Parting ways with Bryan in Seattle. 2. Getting yelled at by the ferry patrol. 3. Seeing Dave sideways-taco a skatepark rail. 4. Dylan ollieing headfirst into a tree branch. 5. Watching three different kids slam in the rain at Polson.

TOP 5 WAYS TO LAG 1. Skating flatground in parking lots 2. Youtube 3. Technical difficulties 4. Pee breaks 5. “Todd’s still sleeping”

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Tom’s Top V

ELEMENT YMCA SKATE CAMP

A creative wonderland of skateboarding, art and music surrounded by nature.

Learn about the basics of guitar and precussion with Sanch Bear’s mu-sic program. Camper Bastian Evans jamming with his band, The Helmets!

So many awesome activities! From launching into our private lake, de-signing your own skateboard or even practicing archery, camp rules! Shannon Ruef goin for bullseye.

With seven different skate-parks, there is plenty of obsta-cles to master your skate trickery. Simon Bannerot front blunts the bump to bar at Elementland.

Elemental Awareness provides a sur-vival program throughout each week. Campers are shown how to utilize their resources to survive in any environ-ment. Jack Winburn workin on a spoon.

“United we roll, with skate camp in our soul”www.skatecamp.org@elementskatecamp

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Skate Photos

Top Left - Andy BS Smith. Top Right- Jordan Flyin high!Bottom Left - St. Ignatius homie airwalks the double set. Bottom Right - The brother’s mull mastering their passions.

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The Brothers Christopher roll for rollBrian’s Roll of film

Dylan’s Roll of film

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SEATTLE & VASHON ISLAND

We rode the Ferry into Seattle later that evening. Uncle Pete hooked it up with hospitality and allowed us to pitch tents in his backyard. Luckily for us, there was a hill bomb just beside his fence. We bombed that bad jackson like nobodies business. Unfortunately, Dylan tried to Ollie into the hillbomb and bashed his head into a tree branch. No hard feelings, him and the tree are still homies. At the bottom of the hill there was a sketchy seven rail against a fence. Dave 50’d it, first go. That boy good.

Ph- Dylan Christopher

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We rode another ferry into Vashon Island. We met up with Teppei who owns and operates a leather goods business (Truman) which is the epitome of the Ameri-can dream. He invited us to check out his workshop as well as throw an impromptu event for the locals of the island’s indoor park. When we arrived at the park, the kids were amped. All they wanted to do was show off their moves to impress us; we were quite impressed indeed. They skated the rollers and jump ramps like grapes launching off a hot wheels track. We hooked ‘em up fat.

Ph- Dylan Christopher

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COFFEE’S PAWESOME REVIEW Our faithful companion critiques a few coffee spots visited on the trip.

Art by Andy Dicker

STUMPTOWNPortland, OR

Bark bark bark bark. Awwww rawrrr raaaah. Bar rawk, rawr ra ra rawuk. BARK! Rar ra raa rark.

Baaa haa hark!

STORYVILLESeattle, WA

Oww raaw rawwr rawk. Bark bark bark bark. Woarw... Raaaaww-wwrraaaaa raaarrrk. Barrarr, ra

rarrrarck. Bark bark!

PUBLIKSalt Lake City, UT

Barrrr rawrr raw! Rah rahhrrr rark. Bark bark bark. Baaark. Bark warwwww rark. Wowrr rowrrk. Bark rarr rark. Ohhww-

wrrrrr. Bark, BARK!!!

Four PawsPawesome!

Five Paws!!!It must be pawpular.

Three paws and half a bone.

Ehhh, das O.K.

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www.TheWorble.com

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MONTANAThe big sky is seemingly unparalleled in expansive beauty. The Polson rez event was a bit of a wash. It boasts an amazing park, but the rain was relentless. Regard-less of the blustery climate, there was quite a turn out. So as to not ruin the current equipment of our guests we had to get creative with our contests. We threw sets of wheels in the surrounding field to engage their stamina as well as swiftness. We had them spin in circles then kickflip on the only patch of dry land to challenge their balance. The kids were victorious and received their bounty with frowns turned upside down.

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That evening, local ripper Mike, invited us to his home. It looked like a graveyard for recently deceased satel-lites. Dude had a bowl which was casted from a sat-ellite, covered by a make shift satellite roof next to his scrapped satellite. He showed us his pig, which coffee was beyond stoked to play with. Mike’s dog was a pit bull that played with a bowling ball as a toy. The bowl was his pride and joy. It was beautifully crafted with meticulously set tile work. Second to the bowl were his alligators. Mike has a permit to keep them both in his home. One was chillin in the tub while the other was downstairs in its lair. He allowed us to hold both of them. Never in my life had I thought I would be holding a live alligator in Montana, dreams do come true!

Dylan with the gator!Ph- @yawnsnarlos

Local ripper Jordan nails a kf bs 50 in the rain!

Ph- @davermontmull

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The following day we made our way down to the St. Ig-natius to host our final event of the trip. The sun blessed us with warm weather and dry obstacles. The skating was next level, by far the best of the trip. A whole mess of stylish maneuvers were buttered all about the park. Lo-cal ripper Jordan tossed his body from great heights to win product. Like Jack Skellington whimsically wafting in the air, Jordan nailed a superman fingerflip off a 9 ft. barrier to drop. In two days we gave away more than sixty boards, one hundred sets of wheels, and way too many t-shirts. Every kid at the park was beaming with joy. A sincere thank you goes out to the Nerby Family. The family has worked hard to uphold skateboarding within the reservation. Their hospitality coupled with their continued support for skating is inspiring.

Ph- Dylan Christopher

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Top Left- Dizzy flip challengeTop right- Local ripper 5-0

Left- Todd finds the worst boards, to gift a new one.

Below- St. Ignatius locals, thank you!Ph- Dylan Christopher

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THE PARKSArt and photos by Andy Dicker & Tom Mull

Yellowstone greeted us with a medley of sensation. We camped under the luminous stars strangled by the brisk air, awoke to a purple sky, and warmed our beings with a bit of Joe and the Boiling River. Just past the north en-trance of the park is said flowing dankness. Basically, two rivers merge into one; a frigid flow crashes into boil-ing hot spring run off. Like rotten baby farts, the stench was intoxicating. One step into the river is a smoldering shock to your body. Then next is like Mr. Freeze’s dog taking a piddle on your leg. The “Chill Zone” was by no means chill, it was freezing and boiling all at the same time. Never before have I basked in a pool of water with a constant flow of two starkly contrasting temperatures encapsulating my body. We all hooted and hollered with enjoyment of the unique sensation of the boiling river on the gorgeous early morning. Next Page Top Left - Andy Sits well atop The boiling river, Top Right - Dylan bomb’s the road in Zion Bottom Left - Dave trys to hitch a ride, Bottom Right - Todd lay back slids in Trustin’s face.

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Zion beckoned us, and we answered her siren call. We camped at some weird hippy camp zone they had claimed to own. We thought the beginnings of a scary movie were going to claim us, but it turns out the scary looking glowing lights were lawn ornaments. The fol-lowing morning skated a ditch at the base of the epic rock monoliths of Zion. Trustin, a local scooterer, mullet and all, kept us company during the session. Two little girls peered upon us like the old men from the Mup-pet Show. Ridiculing my haircut, laughing at our miss-es, and having a hell of a time. By the end, they were stoked on our antics, even donated a mountain dew to my thirst for soda. Thanks baby girls!

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#EAREZTOUR@elemental_awareness

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RekindlingA poem from the roadBy Dave Mull

Speedily by Natural PhenomenaEn Route to Ones we'll Reclaim as Our Friends

Rekindling Fire Doused Long AgoOur Country, it was Greedy to No EndTo Give back while Taking in their Old Ways

Those that Never Should have Been Forgotten

We are Joyous Now as they Embrace UsNow We will Forever Look out for Them

Ph. Dylan Christopher

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Elemental Awareness was set up to educate and inspire kids about the world. We accomplish this goal by connecting kids to Nature through skateboarding. We have seen that a hands on approach to environ-mental education through wilderness survival skills not only teaches kids about the natural world, but gives them great confidence and self esteem knowing that they can take care of themselves if need be. The skills we teach in our programs are common to all of our ances-tors. No matter where you are from in the world, your predecessors lived off the land using the resources available to them. EA was born in North America and we are proud of that. We look to the peoples most recently living off the land that we call home for inspiration and knowledge of the natural resources. Since we have been given so much knowledge from Native peoples and so much has been taken from them, we decided to give back our unique gifts…the gift of skate-boarding. That’s what this tour is all about. Appreciation of each oth-ers culture and an exchange of knowledge. We are proud to contin-ue this tradition each year and eager to make new friends wherever the road may take us. Thank you to everyone who has welcomed us into their homes and treated us like family. You are the ones who keep us going and you are the ones who keep the tradition alive.

Fin By: Todd Larson, EA president

art- Greg Diaz

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“where the JOe flOws, the brOs will gO” - Dylan ChristOpher

“Cheers, Cheers, Cheers!” - tOm mull

“wOw, this DuDe Just threw analligatOr at me!” - bright KrinsKy

“Cheers tO CarrOl fOr Killing it harDest On KaraOKe! Cheers, Cheers, Cheers!” -brian ChristOpher

“we began Our JOurney as frienDs, anD enDeD it as brOthers....Oh i mean, barK!”

- COffee t. DOg

“Oh, DiD i fOrget tO mentiOn that there were 7 Of us…anD a DOg?” - tODD larsOn

“thanK yOu sKate liKe a girl Crew fOr yOur invaluable awesOmeness!” - Dave mull

“any ChanCe we are heaDing baCK tO pOrtlanD On the way hOme?!?!”- anDy DiCKer

Quotes from the bros

Thank you to everyone who helped us along this journey. To all of the skaters, keep on shred-ding. To all of the families who housed us, we are gratefull and love you. Thank you Tucker, Josh and the S’Klallam tribe, Sean and Keri, Kristin Ebeling, Uncle Pete and Aunt Kathy, Teppei and fam, Dani and the Idahomies, Les and the Polson tribe, Mike and the gators, Nate and Emily The Nerby family and Skate Ignatius, Tommy Hodaka and his lovely wife, and of course America.

Portraits - Andy Dicker

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Connecting kids to Nature through skateboarding... From kickflip to campfire!