Trip from Kelowna BC to
Coeur d'Alene Idaho

July 16, 2009

(pictures enlarge with a click)


Crossing the Border from
Canada to the U.S.

We got up early and had the bus packed by 7:30, then room checks, a fast hosted breakfast, and we were on the road shortly after 8 am for the 7 hour trip to Portland ...  and then over to Idaho.

The game in Coeur d'Alene was scheduled for 5pm as the field had no lights.  We'd just learned it'd been changed from 7pm, at 9:30 last night.   The bus and van got separated and the van arrived in Spokane, our meeting place, at 3:00, but learned the bus had gone the long way and was at least two hours out...  it turned out to be almost three hours late.    One player, Joe Pratt, was at the hotel, having driven up from his home to join the team.    He and Don and Ann Dennis headed for the ball field in Coeur d'Alene, trying to figure out how to handle this FIRST-to-happen-ever situation.   The entire team and all the coaches were on the bus, wandering in the wilderness.   We suggested Joe play all positions - he suggested one of us at least dh for him.  

We're not much of a team, but maybe we can dance and sing.

The Mighty Goldpanners have Arrived!


drop the 's'  !  We are one!

 

The bus arrived and very hot and tired people disembarked. 
They had been on the road from 8:15 am to 6:00 pm!

 

 



 



 

They had no choice -

Get out the laundry and

put it on!!!!    The uniforms were to

have been washed upon arrival as

there were no laundries open last

night after the late game.



(All pictures enlarge with a click)

 

A close game!   A good opposing team!  We lost 5-4.

The game was called after 7.5 innings, for darkness.

 

 
 
Spokane RiverHawks
RiverHawks welcome traveling team from Alaska
 

Posted: July 1, 2009 11:38 AM MDT

 

Spokane RiverHawks

SPOKANE, Wash - In 1959, Alaska officially joined the Union as the 49th state. That same year, the Alaska Goldpanners took the field as the state's newest summer collegiate baseball team. As a way to celebrate the 50th anniversary of both their team and their state, the Goldpanners are sending a special traveling team - the Midnight Sun Goldpanners - on the road this summer for a historic barnstorming trip that will include an exhibition game with the Spokane RiverHawks.

"This is a great opportunity for us," said Irv Zakheim, owner of the RiverHawks. "We're a relatively new team, and they're about as seasoned as you can get. We aspire to the same things that they've been doing for 50 years - helping these college players hone their skills to the point that they can play in the major leagues."

The game will be on July 16 at 5pm. Instead of playing at either Avista Stadium or Patterson Field, the RiverHawks will welcome the Goldpanners across the state line to play at Ted Page Field at Coeur d'Alene High School.

"Coeur d'Alene is such a strong baseball community, but they don't have the opportunity to see much upper-level baseball in their hometown," Zakheim said. "We thought this exhibition game was a great opportunity for us to show fans in Coeur d'Alene that the RiverHawks don't just represent Spokane, we represent this entire area."

The venue also provides the RiverHawks with another way to help promote and support youth baseball throughout the Inland Northwest because all of the money raised through ticket sales and concessions will go toward the CHS baseball program. And considering the history that the Goldpanners are bringing to town with them, attendance is expected to be high.

That history, and the barnstorming tour to celebrate it, is also the focus of a documentary, Touching the Game, (www.touchingthegame.com), part of which is scheduled to be filmed at the exhibition game against the RiverHawks. The documentary will highlight the tour, the people who created the celebrated team, and the notable former Goldpanners including Tom Seaver, Barry Bonds, Dave Winfield, Harold Reynolds, Alvin Davis, Phil Stephenson, Joe Magrane, Dave Kingman, Rick Monday and Mike Boddicker.

Another former Goldpanner is the man who will lead the RiverHawks on the field against his former team during the exhibition game.

"It will be weird to be playing against them," said RiverHawks' coach Barry Matthews. "But this game isn't about winning and losing, it's about having fun, and helping this team to celebrate an amazing accomplishment. I'm glad that we have the opportunity to be a part of that."

The Panners' historic barnstorming trip will continue through Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Colorado, and Nebraska before culminating with the team's participation in the ceremonial opening game of the 75th Annual National Baseball Congress Tournament in Wichita, KS.

For more information about the Goldpanners or their historic barnstorming tour, visit, www.goldpanners.com.

Tickets for the exhibition game can be purchased at the gate before the game. For more information about the game or the RiverHawks, please call (509) 244-HAWK or visit www.spokaneriverhawks.com.

 

by Aaron Torres

COEUR D’ALENE, ID- A full day’s travel proved to be the Midnight Sun Goldpanners biggest opposition Thursday night. After spending over nine hours on the bus traveling, the Goldpanners fell behind and never were able to recover in a darkness shortened, 5-4 loss to the Spokane Riverhawks.

The Goldpanners jumped out to an early lead, without one hit. Both Mykal Stokes and Phil Parrish reached courtesy of walks, and were driven when a hard grounder down the first base line got past Spokane’s Jake Williams.

Unfortunately, the offense struggled from there, and the Goldpanners never regained the lead. Two runs scored in the second off starter Jason Van Skike, and three more later scored off reliever Cam Christian.

Midnight Sun put together one final rally in the top of the 8th inning. Eric Lane and Stokes each led off the inning with singles. After Parrish flew out, newest Goldpanner Joe Pratt hit a double in the gap, scoring two.

But when Josh Kalalau flew out at to complete the 8th, it not only completed the inning but also the game. The game was called to darkness after the eighth due to darkness, in a game at Ted Page Field that doesn’t have lights.

With the loss, the Goldpanners fall to 8-3 on the young season. They will return to action Friday night, when they take on the Belgrade Bandits in Belgrade, MT. Following, the team will have two travel days, before playing the Derby A’s in Derby, KS on Monday.

Stick with www.goldpanners.com for continuing coverage.

 

2009 BARNSTORMING TRIP
MIDNIGHT SUN GOLDPANNERS
 Ann Dennis's  Recap of the Trip
01 Team Closeups, Management and Crew Pics
02_Longview WA - gathering and win game 12-1
03_Kamloops: (Seattle Studs) loss 2-1
04_Kamloops: (Kamloops Sun Devils) win 8-1
05_Scenery Cache Creek to Kamloops
06 Kamloops Misc player pics
07 Kamloops: (Red Deer) win 17-3
08 Kamloops: (Kelowna Jays) win 13-3
09 Kamloops: (Seattle Studs) win 2-1
10 Kamloops: (Everett WA) win Championship 5-3
11 Kelowna, BC: Game 1 - win 4-3
12  Kelowna:  Game 2 - win 4-3
13 Kelowna: Game 3 - loss 1-0
14 Kelowna Breakfasts - Leaving for Idaho
15 Coeur d'Alene Idaho: loss 5-4
16 Belgrade Montana: win 10-2
19 Dodge City KS:  loss  6-5
20 Clarinda IA:  win  2-1 and  win 10-7
21 Chillicothe MO: win 9-5 and loss 5-4
22 Junction City KS: loss 6-1     loss 1-0
23 Hays, KS   loss 6-5
24  Liberal_KS: loss
25  El_Dorado_KS:  loss 6-1
26  Derby KS:  loss 7-2
27  Wichita - NBC  L 6-5  
28  Jim Dietz, Midnight Sun Goldpanners Coach
29  Aaron Torres, Goldpanners Media
30  Randy Barber,  Assistant Coach and Bus Driver
31  Anthony Keel, Eye Candy Cinema
32  The Bus  - Pictures of the Team Rolling Down the Road

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Driving to Alaska to start the season