01/02/2018
It was never about selling stuff.
It was a re-occurring statement that came up at our meetings from time to time as a reminder. 'We improve the experiences our customers have in the outdoors.' That was our purpose; informed and fueled by a strong desire to see people get out and enjoy the outdoors as much as we did and do. It was never about the toys. It was about the people.
Whether it was classes to instruct, runs to motivate, training meetings to learn, or simply goofing off on a bike ride with some of our staff, it was a tremendous blessing to be even a small or insignificant part of the lives of some of the best people I've had the pleasure of knowing. In another 4 years it won't be the stuff we sold that is remembered, but the joy we had connecting with others through our shared love of the outdoors.
You have all showed up over the last 30 days to tell us how much you will miss us. Some of you sent Christmas cards wishing us the best for the future. Still others actually showed up and volunteered their time to help us out as we were overrun by traffic during the first part of the liquidation. To all of you, thank you. You have helped make something extremely unpleasant a little more bright.
I took the new page heading picture on a lake in Northern Minnesota a couple of years ago while paddling. While a lot of sunsets are filled with deep oranges and reds, pretty but foretelling the darkness to come, this one I liked because it was bright with promise, and that is what the future is for us all. We close this chapter, this day, but tomorrow holds the promise of making something new.
Before heading into that future though, I wanted to share with everyone the faces and smiles of the people that made the last 4 years such an amazing time. Some are from our store page and some are from my personal photo albums. Whether you were staff, customers, friends, or all of the above...you added to our lives in a profound way. Thank you. See you on a trail or lake very soon.
