January 2, 2017
Happy New Year everyone! And welcome to the digital version of Bink Ink – the family newsletter that goes on and on and on….
At least by digitally posting this almost annual look at what we've been up to the past year, we're probably saving a few dozen trees.
The dominant activity during 2016 that kept Terry, Charlie and I hopping was the growth of our little business - Bink Ink LLC. Of course, with growth comes growing pains and the Binkele family experienced plenty of those during the course of the year! Yet, most months were filled with very positive experiences.
In January, Terry and I attended an industry program called BryceCon – a gathering of mostly Utah gaming geeks who converge upon Bryce Canyon National Park for their annual gamefest. This was our second visit to Bryce since we set out to visit all 59 of our country’s major National Parks. The first visit was during the early summer. The Hoodoo’s have a completely different look and feel when dusted by snowfall! The Con was ok…the Park – spectacular!
In January, Terry and I attended an industry program called BryceCon – a gathering of mostly Utah gaming geeks who converge upon Bryce Canyon National Park for their annual gamefest. This was our second visit to Bryce since we set out to visit all 59 of our country’s major National Parks. The first visit was during the early summer. The Hoodoo’s have a completely different look and feel when dusted by snowfall! The Con was ok…the Park – spectacular!
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| Hoodoo's with Frosting |
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| Trekkers in Love |
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| Thor's Hammer |
Knowing that we would most likely sell out of our first printing of Trekking, we began planning for the second round of games. Charlie made a few minor tweaks to the game. The major change was the company we chose to print the 2nd edition. We went with a Canadian company called Panda. They specialize in board game manufacturing. The quality of the components is superb and the price was half of what we paid for the first edition!
My contribution to the 2nd edition was a re-write of our Park Guide Book, the educational component that we include in every game. I purchased a software package called InDesign and begun muddling through a myriad of tutorials so I could get the hang of this new program.
You may be wondering why our very talented kid didn’t do the Guide Book re-write? He was instrumental in helping me with the graphic elements and created the layout of the document. However, he and his good friend Dave were busy creating Bink Ink’s next new game – PUPS! A trick-taking card game for dog lovers!
Speaking of pups, Terry and I took Aimee and Bella to Montezuma's Castle National Monument where the two of them became Official Bark Rangers!
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| Terry with her Bark Rangers |
We entered 2016 having visited 52 of the 59 parks on our Bucket List. Bryce was a re-visit and in April, we revisited Zion National Park in Utah – Terry’s favorite! What prompted our Zion visit was an email from our Australian trekking friends – Andrew and Debbie – asking us to meet them in Zion.
We first met Andrew and Debbie in Bettles, AK during our 2015 visit to the two parks above the Arctic Circle – Gates and Kobuk Valley. They had just completed their 57th and 58th park visit and had only Denali to complete their quest.
Andrew is a professional photographer and along their journey, he had photo documented the beauty of our parks. He went on to publish a fabulous coffee table book called The National Parks of the United States – a photographic Journey by Andrew Thomas. He and Debbie were back in the States doing book signings and asked us to meet them in Zion!
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| The Watchman at Sunset |
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| Zion's Virgin River |
On the spur of the moment, we hopped an American Airlines standby flight to Miami, FL to take in Park #’s 53, 54 and 55. I’m not fond of flying standby…however, Terry pulled off another successful trip for us! (Who needs planning when you’ve got a clever and resourceful wife!)
First up, a voyage to Dry Tortugas National Park (#53) , which lies about 70 miles west of Key West, FL. Very unique park. Main feature, a brick fort built between 1847 and 1875 to protect shipping lanes in the Caribbean from pirates.
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| Remains of Ft Jefferson Dock |
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| Fort Jefferson |
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| Intricate brickwork inside the Fort |
Once back on the mainland, we paid a visit to Biscayne National Park (#54), located just south of Miami. Ninety-five percent of Biscayne is an underwater wilderness. The land portion of this park is found primarily on several Keys.
We discovered that a “Key” isn’t an island. It’s a mass of dead coral, sea creatures and debris that formed a landmass and became exposed when the level of the oceans receded. To appreciate this park, you’ll need to get out on the waters.
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| Ornamental Lighthouse on Boca Chita Key |
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| Boca Chita Key |
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| Pirate guarding the Lighthouse |
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| View from the Anhinga Trail into the 'Glades |
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| Crocodiles Rock |
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| Baby Manatee |
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| Terry rescuing Turtle from becoming Roadkill |
Upon returning from our park visits, it was back to business! First up – Charlie signed us up for a 10x20 booth at Phoenix ComicCon where we sold and displayed both Trekking and the prototype of Pups – the card game.
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| Phoenix ComicCon |
In Tucumcari, the weather was threatening, so we covered up all our gear. Not a drop of rain fell. When we jumped in our sleeping bags in Claremore, the stars were twinkling in the sky. The temperature was in the low 90’s and humidity to match. At 2 AM, I felt a drop of moisture bounce off my forehead only to awaken to a downpour! Charlie and I scampered out of our bags to cover up the games and our gear! Of course as soon as we got everything under cover…it stopped raining!
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| Setting up camp in Tucumcari |
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| Charlie's Tucumcari "Hotel" |
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| Claymore, OK Campsite |
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| View of the Will Rogers Racetrack from our campsite! |
The next morning, we were off to the KOA in Casey, IL. The weather was still sticky hot, yet this was by far the best campsite of the three! We ventured into the town of Casey to get a bite to eat and discovered this tiny city is host to a collection of the “World’s Largest Things!”
We saw the World’s Largest Rocking Chair, World’s Largest Mailbox, Chimes, Pencil, Wooden Nickel and the World’s Largest Golf Tee! Strange what you find when traveling about!
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| KOA Campsite in Casey,IL |
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| World's Largest Chime |
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| World's Largest Rocking Chair! |
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| World's Largest Mailbox |
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| Charlie can really get some drawing done with this pencil! |
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| The silliness in Casey Continues as John tees it up! |
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| Trekking Booth at Origins Game Fair |
July
July began with an interesting twist. A local freelance writer interviewed Charlie regarding our game and published the story in a local newspaper. Someone from the local NPR radio station (KJZZ) saw the story and asked if we’d like to do a show with them featuring our game. So, Charlie and I headed for the studio and told our story to NPR and its listeners!
Mid-month, Charlie launched his PUPS Kickstarter Campaign at the same time Terry and I ventured to Sacramento to hook up with our good friends – John and Mary Kirkwood. The Kirkwood’s were Premier Park Pledgers of Lassen Volcanic National Park for the first edition of the game…and they’d never visited the park. Therefore, it was necessary for us to make the trek back to Lassen with them!
By the time Terry and I reached Sacramento, Charlie’s PUPS Kickstarter campaign was over 300% funded. PUPS would go on to attract over 580 backers from all over the world! Kickstarter campaign #2- a total success!
By the time Terry and I reached Sacramento, Charlie’s PUPS Kickstarter campaign was over 300% funded. PUPS would go on to attract over 580 backers from all over the world! Kickstarter campaign #2- a total success!
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| Happy Campers at Lassen |
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| Lassen Peak |
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| Trekking to Devil's Kitchen |
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| Lassen Peak reflection on Manzanita Lake |
On the road again! On Aug 1st, Charlie and I loaded up our brand new Ford Transit with 130 games and our gear and headed off to Indianapolis, IN for the country’s largest gaming event – GENCON! This time, however, I insisted we sleep in hotel rooms rather than at KOA’s. Charlie wholeheartedly agreed!
First stop – back to Tucumcari, NM! Strange little town with marginal restaurant choices. K-Bobs was the best we could find and their Chicken Fried Steak was gut wrenching! Next stop – Springfield, MO. Final Destination – the Hampster Inn in Indianapolis! Terry flew out to join us for the 4-day event, where we successfully sold all our games.
Bryon Dills
We first met Bryon Dills at the Origins Game Fair in 2014. Bryon lives in Topeka, KS and instantly became our very first Trekking advocate…even before we had the game published! He personally backed Trekking with 3 Park Pledges. When PUPS came on line, he was one of the first to Adopt a PUP.
When we met him at Origins, Bryon was working with two other characters to set up a game store in Topeka. Bryon wanted our game! But at the time, we hadn’t even Kickstarted the project. We did have a couple of prototype games made up and Bryon was able to coax us out of one. He is the only person on the planet (other than Charlie) to have a copy of the original prototype!
The reason I bring Bryon up is he finally did get a game store opened in Topeka (Grog’s Games) and caught wind that Charlie and I would be attending GenCon. He asked us if we’d be able to swing by Topeka on our return trip so he could introduce us to his customers. How could we refuse? This guy loves us and he’s been our biggest supporter! So, Charlie and I made a slight itinerary change and paid a visit to Topeka! The following day, we did another marathon drive from Topeka to Phoenix!
More Park Visits
August 25th marked the 100th Anniversary of the National Park Service. With that being said, Terry made arrangements for us to visit parks #56 and #57. Once again, with last-minute reservations made for lodging at the two parks, we ventured off to the airport with standby tickets to Minneapolis – St Paul International Airport. I’m not sure how she does it, but we were able to board the plane and head off for Isle Royale and Voyageurs National Parks!
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| Trail's end at Scoville Point - Isle Royale NP |
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| Edison Fishery - Isle Royale NP |
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| Rock Harbor Lighthouse - Isle Royale NP |
Isle Royale is an island in Lake Superior that’s situated closer to Canada than to the state of Michigan, which is where they say it’s affiliated! To get to Isle Royale, you must take a boat or seaplane. We opted for the 3-hour boat ride on the Isle Royale Queen IV, which departs from Copper Harbor, MI.
This park is a true wilderness. There is no vehicular traffic and no cell service. Because we made reservations at the last minute, we were unable to get a room in the Main Lodge. However, the Housekeeping Cottage we were assigned was very pleasant.
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| Kayaking along the coast of Isle Royale is a popular activity |
To idle away the time, we wandered around the Lodge complex and Terry noticed a lady working on her iPad. Terry asked her if she was connected to the internet. She said that if you ask the front desk, they might give you the access code. Once Terry logged on, she discovered a text message from Barb Drummond. Barb is the lady who watches CharlieDog, our Old English Sheepdog, when we travel.
Sad News
Her text message said she’d tried to call us many times to no avail. She wanted to let us know that C-Dawg had died in her arms the night before. Talk about taking the wind out of our sails! What had been up to this point a marvelous journey, suddenly became very sullen. Old age and cancer finally caught up with C-Dawg. He was 14 years old and a very faithful companion for both Terry and me. RIP C-Dawg.
#57 - Voyageurs National Park
#57 - Voyageurs National Park
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| Terry riding high on the Walleye of Voyageurs NP! |
What cheered us up from the news of C-Dawg’s passing was checking into a wonderful cottage near Voyageurs National Park. Terry had found a cozy cabin on Kabetogama Lake online. (Try saying "Kabetogama" three times quickly and you'll understand why we shortened it to Kab Lake.)
Voyageurs is mainly a water-based park, including 26 interior lakes, 900 islands, 655 mile of shoreline and a large population of bald eagles! To experience this park requires a boat ride into its interior! Terry and I took the Kettle Falls Dam Tour, which got us out on the water to witness the essence of this park.
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| Sunset on Kab Lake |
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| Cozy cabin at The Pines of Kabetogama Resort |
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| Just being silly! |
CharlieDog was quite the character. He will be remembered for being a CoolDog in the pool, a Camping Dog when he joined us on our National Park treks, a LazyDog much of the time, a RabbitChasing dog on our walks, and a Big Brother to Aimee and Bella.
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| CoolDog |
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| CampDog at Sequoia National Park |
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| SwimDog |
I reached the age where Medicare kicks in! Definitely cheaper than the COBRA plan I was on following my departure from the working world! Now, with the political climate being as unpredictable as its been, I wonder how much longer Medicare will last!
October
Our feisty granddaughter – Jaylynn – was officially adopted by Tosha and Greg on October 6th at the Courthouse in El Centro, CA. She immediately asked her mom and dad if she could come home with Gramma Terry and Pappa John! Greg eagerly agreed - with one condition. We couldn’t bring her back to Temecula until she turned 18! Sorry Greg, we love Jaylynn dearly, however, we will be bringing her back home long before she turns 18!
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| Tosha, Jaylynn and "Pappa John" |
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| Smiling in the rain |
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| Sassy ladies! |
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| Jaylynn and her new bike! |
On Halloween Day, our good friends John and Mary Kirkwood, Greg and Karen Gill and Rilus Graham and his friend Kathy, joined us in Sedona for 3 days of great food, lots of Halloween fun, way too much vino and some fine golf! The golf format was to pit the AZ Team of the Binkele’s and Rilus and Kathy against the CA Team consisting of the Kirkwood's and the Gill's in a Ryder Cup style event.
After two days of golf, the teams were tied at 4 points each. On the final day of play, dark clouds began to form just prior to the start. By the end of the first hole, a steady rain began to fall and with that, the desire to continue the tournament quickly faded. All players agreed that a Hot Toddy by the fireplace beat getting soaked on the course. Hence, the CAAZ Cup will need to be decided some time next spring!
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| Really? |
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| Dirk Diggler and his Date |
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| Sedona Golf Resort |
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| Sedona Golf Buddies |
After months of anxious waiting, the second edition of Trekking finally showed up! Thank goodness as we were down to the last 36 of the original 3534 games and the selling season was upon us!
The new version of Trekking turned out excellent...and the Park Guide Book has received rave reviews!
December
After being held up at customs in Long Beach and then held hostage by the company charged with delivering the 3000 copies of PUPS, Charlie was finally able to take possession of the inventory for his second successful Kickstarter project.
As soon as the games were unloaded, the wheels of production kicked into high gear as Terry and Charlie began the process of shipping over 700 copies of the games to the project’s 586 Backers.
All during the month, we set up our wares with both PUPS and Trekking at several local art shows and had a banner month! When the dust had settled on December 31st, we’d sold over 500 copies of Trekking and shipped out over 1100 sets of PUPS in the month of December!
Whew! Nice to have a bit of a break before we dive into 2017!
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| Only two more Park Pins needed to complete our Trek to all 59! |
Well, folks…that’s all I have for this edition of
Bink Ink. We hope you all had a pleasant Holiday Season and wish you well in
the New Year. Keep in touch.
Makes me want to hide away in your bags for 2018! You two really know how to adventure! Here's to a very happy, healthy, and adventure-filled 2017!
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