World Champion Squirrel Cook Off

[Quillback]

I parked in the back lot, thought about waiting for a shuttle bus but saw there was a trail to walk to the venue.  

I'd like to see them move this to a bigger location, they've outgrown the nature center.  It was fun, but I don't know that I'll go to another one, at least at that location.

 

[BilletHead]

37 minutes ago, bfishn said:

I "got there" about noon, spent 15 minutes trying to find parking, had given up when my contorted path back to the highway led me by a lot a car was pulling out of. By then I had lost track of where I was in relation to the event, Google showed me over a mile away. Still lots of people everywhere, so I joined a crowd standing near a corner and in a few minutes a shuttle came by and picked us up. 35 minutes later it dropped us at the site, none too soon as I was about to pee my pants. Started with the nature center (bathroom) which was pretty cool. Then outside to the tents, where the food had all been cooked and submitted for judging. Got in on a bit of the fish fry, but no squirrel for me either.

Spent the next ~45 minutes browsing and looking for you guys to no avail. By then the line for leaving shuttles had shortened some, so I stood there another 15 minutes to get on a shuttle that took another 35 minutes to pass where I'd parked. REALLY glad that I dropped a waypoint at the truck when I parked... they drove around parts of Springdale I'd never seen.

It certainly was a beautiful day, and I enjoyed it despite the poor logistics. Definitely will pre-check the parking situation before returning though. Sorry I missed you guys, I had a little gift for the Billetheads in my pocket, but it can wait for another time.

My biggest surprise was not seeing anyone I knew there. I know/have known a lot of folks around here that I expected to bump into, or at least a few. I couldn't help but ponder how much this area has changed and grown in ~40 years on the drive home.

                  We most definitely need to plan better to meet. Quillback has my phone number as I do his. I will PM you my cell @bfishn. Need not be near each other at an event like this and miss meeting each other. Like Jeff said it was crowded and could use more room for moving around. We actually could of been within mere feet of each other with someone between us. 

[ollie]

Sounds like a good time although I wouldn't have expected it to be that crowded. Kind of glad I didn't go now. I wouldn't have liked having to huff it a country mile just to get there!  lol Sounds like it was more of a people watching adventure than anything else. Of course, free food brings out the masses.

[bfishn]

There's a few new YouTube vids of the event. Looks like Norfork Tackle Co got there early. Their video is what I expected to see. By 1PM it didn't look like that at all. I'm old enough to know better... Old Dog, meet New Trick.

 

[FishnDave]

So, which chef squirrel won?  I didn't find a list of the squirrel competitors, but did find some "action" photos.

 

[BilletHead]

4 hours ago, FishnDave said:

So, which chef squirrel won?  I didn't find a list of the squirrel competitors, but did find some "action" photos.

 

If you would of said squirrelly that would of covered all bases.

[Quillback]

The weekly paper had a write-up, the winners:

The Razorback Muffler team of Chris Eiler and Ethan Gazaway - squirrel pizza and fried ravioli.  They won $1,000, knives, fishing rods, and three rifles.  Unfortunately, the article doesn't mention make and caliber of the rifles.

I tell ya, Team Marty and Pat could win this thing.  I'd be happy to help out.  

 

[luckycraft]

Lots of instant pots!