Candy, candy and more candy. While dreaming of snow, looking at gear, and dreaming some more about new sleds the boys scattered in search of their own candy. Chocolate, gum, hard candy, lolly-pops you name it they found it. As the sugar high kicked in they simply found more candy to increase their excitement. It costs nothing to dream at the expo except perhaps a little patience.
Polaris side by side for kids!
Using up some of their energy was a task the National Guard was prepared for. A giant air filled boxing ring with over sized gloves provided the opportunity. The gloves, to large for Zeke to pickup, kept him guarding only the floor. Isaac launched an all out attack landing both gloves on Zeke’s face.
[one_half]
Zeke vs Isaac
[/one_half]
[one_half_last]
Zeke takes two in the face
[/one_half_last]
Ken from NordAlaska Arctic Survival Equipment opened his shop for the show after closing in the 80’s. Storing the gear in a conex box all this time Ken decided to take his remaining equipment on the road. We filled two garbage bags to the top with Christmas presents for the kids. Nothing says we love you like 30 year old survival equipment.
Nordalaska open for the weekend
Following the show we headed out to Chugiak on a Craigslist expedition. This year is Isaac’s turn for a sled restoration project. We found “Greg” waiting for us in the yard when we reached the end of the directions. Two sleds sat in the tall grass facing the woods. As we reached them we discovered there were three sleds, actually 2.5 sleds. The third sled included a track, suspension/slider set and a giant box of parts. Apparently, the sled while parked had fell victim to a poorly placed tree. To the horror of its owner holding the chainsaw, the tree had fell on top of the seat and easily bent the chassis into a pretzel. What remained was stripped and placed in a box.
Boys and their Skandics
Greg had made some improvements to the Skandics including building adapters to increase the ski stance. While welding on the white sled, it caught fire burning out the air breather and wiring harness.With plenty of spare parts from the .5 sled, this is an excellent fall project for Isaac who has now claimed the prize for himself.
We soon negotiated the price. The late 80’s Skandics are former military 377r’s with around 3,000 miles each. A full $200 for the black spray painted Skandic and $150 for the white sled including the .5 parts sled in a box.
Isaac claims his sled
What makes these worth anything? First, each motor turns over easily (but did not start). The black one is nearly complete, there are almost enough parts to start the white one. All three tracks are in OK to excellent shape. These things are tanks and covered with dents and scrapes. With 139” tracks, extra wide ski skins and a who cares what happens to it attitude these are perfect starter sleds for Alaskan boys.
About Mike Baker
