Forks Washington on the Olympic Peninsula
Cojones NW... you gotta HAVE 'em to RIDE 'em!
We are Debbie & Randy Bennett of Team Forks Twilight tours of Forks.. we would like to get the word out on a new venture we are starting in response to a frequent query from "our" tourists : Now what is there to do ?
We can pretty much guarantee there's nothing else like this around.
We aren't officially open just yet, the grand opening is March 1st, 2012 and the hours will be : noon to dusk - Thursday thru Sunday at first.
The following "letter" covers the gist of it.
I was following my good friend's advice by traveling to the tiny "town" of Beaver.
Beaver is THE tinyest town ever... and it's just a wolfs leap from Forks, the famous home of all things "twilight" on the beautiful Olympic Peninsula of Washington state.
My destination has the thought provoking name of "Cojones NW" and the promise of "a thrill outside the ordinary"... "something waaay different" , according to my buddy.
After an absolutely GORGEOUS drive thru northwest Washington, I arrived at their facility on a hillside overlooking an equally gorgeous valley, with sweeping views of evergreens ascending the nearby mountains which enveloped us..
Here I learned the details of my adventure : Big Ball, me in it, zoom !
Well, I am up for almost ANYTHING that promises diversion from the workaday world, and the additional promise of outrageous excitement works for me.
sooo, while waiting my turn,
I watched as eagles rode the air currents overhead, ....also I had been told that several different herds of Roosevelt elk roamed this property & I could see evidence of that.
I also laughed myself silly at the antics of those taking their "spin" ahead of me, just watching the boarding procedure is hilarious, and then there's the varying degrees of terror on their faces as they are launched . The screams were mixed with laughter.
That those same faces registered glee ( not just relief ) at the landing pad made me excited to get to it myself. Soon enough, it was my turn to climb the 23 degree slope to the rooftop launch, and perform a running leap at the entrance of my strange "ride".
The sounds of laughter proved others enjoyed my performance.
I finally found myself securely inside a bubble, a large inner chamber itself suspended within a huge, ten foot, hundred and fifty pound sphere of clear plastic.
There are two tunnel entrances, which can be closed or open.
This gorgeous day I have chosen to ride in my shorts and selected the option of the addition of five gallons of warm water to my bubble, so I am not in a harness, I am FREE to slosh around..
I am about to be launched from Cojones NW's 16' high staging area .. the view is really intense from up here....oh my...oh crap....whooaaa.... WHEEE... here I GO ...gaining speed while rolling down the 40' ramp on the whackest, funnest waterslide ride I have ever had, (because with the addition of the h2o, you slosh around on the bottom as the ball rolls..) all the looong way down the specially designed 600' track.
Gravity is in complete control, and there are no brakes ... my squirming and screaming does seem to have some effect, however ...
No worries, even if ya go "dry"... the balls wash up nicely with just a hose.
All in all, a very good day, sure to be repeated. These guys are very reasonable.. they charge less than half the cost per ride as the New Zealand site does..
I will drag friends and family next times, so as not to be laughed at only by strangers....
This activity was invented by Dwayne van der Sluis and Andrew Akers in New Zealand in 1995 as something exciting for tourists to do once they became jaded with bungee jumping.
What they call Zorbing has large numbers of enthusiastic participants, not only in New Zealand but also in the US, Europe and elsewhere.
We here at Cojones NW are delighted to offer an American version of this outrageous, addictive, and also very affordable adventure.
Cojones NW
60 Magnolia Rd., Beaver, WA 98305
(360)374-2123
Attn: Twilighters, Fishermen, Quilters, Hikers, Explorers and Travelers...
~ We have an exciting announcement from The Forks Chamber of Commerce ~
“It pays to travel to FORKS!”
Click here for all the exciting details
A few months ago, I had the pleasure of escorting Judith, a German Travel Agent around Forks. With the help of a very kind translator (Christian at Hard Rain Cafe on the Upper Hoh Rd) I found out Judith was here to find out about Forks and the surrounding area for her company, and why their customers should visit this area. She was looking for specific lodging establishments and couldn't find them so I offered to drive her. There was a language barrier to say the least. She spoke very little English and I speak only two languages - English and Texan. After a lot of talking with our hands, pointing at things, speaking slowly and silence, we made it through the tour. She was a very warm person and when we parted she gave me one heck of a hug.
I emailed her after she left, using Google Translator and I heard back from her last week.
Today we had a couple of visitors from Germany, a man and his daughter taking in the Twilight sites. I asked him to translate her email and he did. It was very emotional for me to hear him go on about how friendly everybody was that she encountered. That even though she was alone, she wasn't lonely or bored. And how beautiful everything was. Judith hopes to return some day with her family for vacation and I hope I get to see her when she does.
Below is the email I received...
Ich wünsche euch ein gesundes und erfolgreiches neues Jahr.Ich denke jeden Tag einmal an meinen Urlaub. Es war eine wundervolle Zeit.Es zu beschreiben ist fast unmöglich.Eines ist ganz sicher,ich komme wieder.Wie soll man etwas erklären,das sich mir jeden Tag neu und einzigartig gezeigt hat.Ich versuche gerade zu beschreiben was ich gesehen habe. Ich wurde oft gefragt ob es mir nicht langweilig geworden ist,so alleine.Nein,kein einzigesmal.Jeden Tag war ich aufs neue gefesselt von der Natur.Der Wald bot immer wieder neue Eindrücke und das Meer stand ihm in nichts nach.Der Nebel veränderte immer wieder das Bild und so erschienen immer neue Bilder, die mich beeindruckten,auch die Sonnenuntergänge sind mir unvergessen.Es ist eben mehr als nur Twilight.Man sollte mit offenen Augen alles betrachten.Einen guten Eindruck hinterließen auch die Leute aus Forks bei mir,egal ob es beim einkaufen oder sonst einer Gelegenheit war,trotz meiner Sprachunkenntnis waren alle sehr nett zu mir.Danke Schön für die Herzlichkeit.Auch meine Vermieterin war ein richtiger Schatz und für die Hilfe von der Dame vom Müller Tree Inn bei meiner Ankunft,kann ich nur danke sagen. Ich hoffe ihr alle habt ein erfolgreiches neues Jahr,das wünsche ich euch und freue mich wenn ich eines Tages wieder einmal Urlaub machen kann.
Judith
So a regular sanican was delivered first and when the folks at West Waste and Recycling delivered the second one it had a custom paint job, I call it the "Twilight Twoilet."
Now visitors can have their pick Regular or Twilight!
Most Twilight visitors to Forks usually post some kind of “My Trip to Forks” video on You Tube. Many are fun to watch and usually get viewed by friends and family.
But, I discovered a gem of a video posted by two Twilighters from Texas that will make you want to visit if you haven’t and if you live here it will make you glad you do.
Lexy Schultz and Monique Messman of Austin, Texas are avid Twilight fans. Lexy is the founder of the Austin Twilighters which is a meet-up group for local Twilight fans and Monique runs a Twilight blog dedicated to all things Twilight.
The two visited Forks at the end of April, to celebrate Monique’s birthday. Lexy said, “We booked the whole thing online right down to the rental car! Early AM flight from Austin to Dallas, then a direct flight to Seattle, and then four hours of driving to Forks. It was totally worth it! The drive there was beautiful and the scenery was Breathtaking.”
As you will see in their video they did all the regular Twilight things. They also spent two evenings at LaPush catching the sunset, which appears in their video in time lapse, the two also took a trip to the Hoh Rain Forest, which they describe as the most beautiful sites they have ever seen. As far as coming back? They are planning a trip for next year.
To view Lexy and Monique’s video go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lObb-zsu4I
The next chapter of The Twilight Saga, Breaking Dawn, is already the cause of many a heart rate rising. Take a look at the latest Twilight pics of Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner to get even more excited. This latest movie in the 'Twilight' saga is expected to be in theaters in mid-November.
Just like the Joni Mitchell song "Big Yellow Taxi" a vacant lot on Main Street in Forks was recently paved, striped and turned in to a parking lot. Forks has never had a surplus of parking spots and with all the Twilight fans in town it has become impossible to find a parking spot. This much needed addition will hopefully make it easier for fans and residents of Forks to take care of business! The new parking lot has a self pay station and uses the honor system.
Media Frenzy- In the last few weeks Forks and surrounding communities have been inundated by media:
KING 5 News Seattle, North Seattle Herald Outlook Newspaper, USA Today Newspaper and Stern Magazine from Germany.
Stern Magazine is the largest magazine in Germany and their story will focus just on the town of Forks. USA Today will be having their article appear a week before the release of the next movie, Twilight Saga: Eclipse. King 5 was here to do a follow-up report based on the “Twilight in Forks” video where some of us residents and visitors were interviewed about the town. So, smile! You may be on camera.
© 2012 Forks Chamber of Commerce, Inc.