The Results

Thank you all for your patience while the points were tallied, the photos were scrutinized, and the pledge dollars were counted.

On November 19th, there was an award ceremony/slide show in Atlanta for all Non-Rev Challenge participants.  Unfortunately, none of us Bozoners could attend.  But our new Best Friend/Mortal Enemy JoAnn Johnson acted as our eyes and ears at this event.  You might remember JoAnn from our October Blog post "Encountering the Enemy".  Joann took a few photos of the event and sent them to us.

So how did it all turn out?

The Bozoners finished in 21st place (out of 44 teams).  The winning team, with a WHOPPING 2,664 POINTS, was the Rain City Non-Revvers from Seattle.  Us Bozoners are utterly AMAZED at this feat!  We know how much we traveled and scrambled to score just under 800 points.  But 2,664 points?  We bow down to your greatness, Rain City Non-Revvers!

But the Bozoners did not walk away unrecognized!  We won special recognition for "Best Team Photo" (see September Blog post "The Props"--it was the photo of the five of us at the wind turbines with our cowboy hats, fur coats, and American flag).  We also won special recognition for "Best Blog."

The entire Non-Rev Challenge event raised over $20,000 for the United Way.  For a viewing of the complete slide-show from the Awards Ceremony, please visit www.nonrevchallenge.com and click on the tab that says "2010 Awards Ceremony."

Thanks again to all of you who helped us out along the way--either by helping us out with exact photo  locations, transportation needs, United Way pledges, or by providing a place to crash when we arrived in your town.

We'll keep you posted about next year's competition.  Until then, we remain your adventurous friends--

The Big Sky Bozoners

And finally....MULLET!

Many of you know that the completion of Task #5--With someone who has a mullet (point value: 5) has been eluding us since Day 1.  At first, we weren't certain if the task was for someone who has a mullet FISH or a mullet HAIRSTYLE.   We opted for the mullet hairstyle, and have been searching for this since this Challenge began in September.  When we traveled to our various tasks, the farewell to each other has ALWAYS been:  "Did you remember your Tee Shirt?  Your camera?  LOOK FOR THE MULLET!"

Well, we found it!

Our Bozeman co-worker, Kim, captured Krissey with this unsuspecting mullet-wearer as he was checking in on the Delta kiosk.  When he was spotted, Krissey quickly threw on her Tee-Shirt and weaseled in behind him while Kim took this photo with her camera phone.  Afterwards, we celebrated as if we had won the lottery!

So what happens now?

All of our photos have been submitted to the Non-Rev Challenge judges for consideration.  We have no idea when we will find out the results.  We DO know they are planning some sort of luncheon in Atlanta sometime in November for all the teams.  We don't know if this is when the winner(s) will be revealed or if we will know the results before that.

WE WILL KEEP YOU POSTED, SO KEEP CHECKING THE BLOG!

A big THANK YOU to all of you who have followed us.  Your support, encouragement, and emails have been so wonderful.  We consider you all part of our team, so any win of ours belongs TO ALL of you.  Unless it's those confirmed business class seats...then the win belongs solely to us.  But I digress....

This experience has been an absolute blast, and we thoroughly enjoyed sharing it with all of you!

Sincerely,
Caitlin, Krissey, Megan, Candy, and Peggy
Big Sky Bozoners

Candy--Taking it to the next level!

How do we even begin to describe the adventurous spirit of our teammate, Candy?  While Caitlin and Krissey toiled away in Denver and Salt Lake City, Candy took the final weekend of the Challenge SERIOUSLY!  Where did she go?  Why, she went to Hong Kong (for a day) and then to Tokyo (for a day).  Incredible!

First stop, Hong Kong.  Candy was able to secure a Business Class seat on her flight from Detroit to Hong Kong, which is the 777 aircraft with the lay-flat seats.  She said it was out of this world!  Upon arrival into Hong Kong, she quickly completed Task #63--At the Jumbo Kingdom in Aberdeen Harbor (point value:  25, photo credit to Donnie from Scotland).  This is a giant, floating restaurant (can seat up to 2300 people) in Aberdeen Harbor, and is a well-known tourist attraction.

The very next morning, Candy flew to Tokyo.  She arrived on a rainy day, which might be discouraging to some.  But not Candy!  Oh, and did we mention she happened to time her arrival to correspond with a big city-wide celebration of all the provinces?  The city was filled with dancers and celebrants, all dressed in traditional costume.  Not only was Candy able to complete Task #67--At the Fuji TV Building (point value:  25), but she was able to do it with the all the flair and creativity that only she can!  Only Candy could have arranged her Fuji picture with parade participants!

Candy was also able to capture a THIRD Task--With someone in traditional Geisha costume (point value: 5), making this weekend trip for her a 55 point trip!  Candy, you will never cease to amaze us!

We will end this blog post for the evening with just a few photos from Candy's trip.  As you can see, she completely immersed herself in Japanese culture, and said she had an incredible time.

Tomorrow's post is our last "points" post, and boy...is it a doozy!  Stay tuned...it is definitely the icing on our Non-Rev Challenge cake.

Almost finished.....

Caitlin, Krissey and Peggy drove to Bridger Bowl to complete Task #16--Having a Snowball Fight (point value:  9).  Bridger Bowl is Bozeman's fantastic in-town ski area, and is located about 20 miles from the Bozeman Airport.  After a short, beautiful drive we were deep in snow.

This final photo is for our new friend, JoAnn (see yesterday's post).  JoAnn was determined to find some snow to complete this task, but declined our invitation to accompany us home to Bozeman.  I don't know if she found her snow, but JoAnn....this is for YOU!

Encountering the competition!

Caitlin and Krissey hopped on a flight to Denver to complete their next task.  When they arrived in Denver, they researched public transportation options to get them to their task.  Feeling outraged at the quoted price by the bus company ($18 per person!  Highway robbery!), Krissey said she would try to call a cousin of hers who lives nearby to see if she was available to assist us.  While Krissey was on the phone, she noticed a woman walking by wearing A NON-REV CHALLENGE TEE SHIRT!  She got Caitlin's attention, pointed at the woman, and Caitlin was off after the woman.  As Caitlin walked toward her, an important decision popped into her head:  "Do I push her down the stairs and thus temporarily thwart our competition?  Or do I graciously introduce myself?"  Opting for the latter, Caitlin approached the woman.

"Excuse me", she said, tapping on the woman's shoulder

When she turned around, Caitlin unzipped her jacket to reveal her matching Non-Rev Challenge tee shirt.  A HUGE smile appeared on the face of the woman, who then gave Caitlin a big hug.  She introduced herself as JoAnn Johnson from Atlanta.

Her team name is "The Cleared List", and she was about as nice as can be.  She was in Denver to complete the same task the Bozoners were, but had already rented a car.  Krissey and Caitlin offered her $10 if she would take them and bring them back to the airport.  She readily agreed.  Boy, were Caitlin and Krissey glad they didn't push her down the stairs!

The three Challengers loaded up into JoAnn's rental car, and headed to downtown Denver to the Buckhorn Exchange (Task #46, point value: 14) for lunch.  The Buckhorn Exchange is on the national registry of historic locations (opened in 1893), and has liquor license Number One in the State of Colorado.   Its menu is chock full of unique fare such as rattlesnake, elk, bison, fried alligator tail, duck, and quail.  The entire building is decorated floor to ceiling with animal heads and antique guns.  After ordering, a stroll around the restaurant to look at everything was in order.

At last, lunch was served.  Caitlin opted for a bison pot roast sandwich and Krissey opted for a big ol' burger.  Delicious!

It was back to the airport for Caitlin and Krissey to catch a flight to Salt Lake City.  JoAnn was toying with heading home to Atlanta or trying to find some snow near the Denver airport to complete another task (stay tuned for us Bozoners in the snow, coming your way soon.....).  Caitlin and Krissey invited JoAnn to come home to Bozeman with them because Bozeman has plenty of snow to share, but she seemed determined to find something nearby or head back home to Atlanta.  Farewell, JoAnn!

It was off to Salt Lake City for Caitlin and Krissey where they completed Task #51--dipping your toes in the Great Salt Lake (point value:  14)

A HUGE Thank-You to our friend, Jerry, who is a mechanic for Delta in Salt Lake City.  Jerry, his wife Becky, and their new baby Payton, picked Caitlin and Krissey up at the airport, whisked them off to the Great Salt Lake, and whisked them back to the airport in time to make their flight home that evening.  Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

All this, all in a day's work!  Tomorrow:  snow ball fight!

Tasks not worth anything, but SHOULD be--Part 2

As the Bozoners scatter for their last weekend of travel and point collection, here are some additional tasks we completed that earned us absolutely NOTHING but were super fun to do all the same.  We'll be back in a few days to describe our recent adventures.  In the meantime, enjoy!

1.  With a Hollywood celebrity (thanks for being such a good sport, Michael Keaton!)

2.  With your whole team plus your photographer for the day (Thanks, Gus!)

3.  Getting screened by TSA

4.  With the Hollywood sign in the background

5.  Target shooting on your own property (perfectly legal, by the way....)

6.  Pondering nature in a botanical garden

7.  Nose-to-Nose with a llama

8.  At a National Park WITH a park ranger

9.  Sawing wood for the winter

10.  Working the land on a tractor

11.  "Victory Arms" at the Rocky statue

Megan's Great Adventure!

Our teammate, Megan, decided to really bust out this past weekend and went to....Dubai!  She departed Bozeman at 11:45am on Wednesday morning, and arrived in Dubai Thursday evening at 9pm (a 14 hour flight).  She went with her friend, Danielle, who is a Delta agent in Norfolk, Virginia (Caitlin met Danielle while in Norfolk--see previous post).  They had a room booked at the Holiday Inn Express, and Megan was expecting it to be "just your basic Holiday Inn Express" but in Dubai, nothing is "just your basic" anything!  Megan said the hotel was very beautiful and luxurious, and their room was very comfortable.  All this for $93 dollars per night!  This included a breakfast of fresh fruit and olives.  Delicious!
 

Megan and Danielle ventured out into Dubai early Friday morning.  Megan was able to complete Task #66--With the tallest building in the world in the background (point value:  25)

Here is a little information about this building.  It's called the Burj Khalifa.  It is 160 stories tall and measures 2,700 feet.  As a comparison, the Empire State Building is 102 stories and is LESS THAN HALF the height (1,250 feet tall).

With her main task complete, Megan and Danielle spent the day sightseeing.  They went to see the Burj Al Arab.  This is a hotel that measures over 1,000 feet tall (again, think Empire State Building) but only has a little over 200 hotel suites.  The smallest hotel suite is 1800 square feet and the largest one is 8400 square feet.

The Burj Al Arab is built on its own artificial island that is 1,000 feet off the coast.  It is connected to the mainland by a bridge and a guard booth.  Unless you are a guest of the hotel, you are not allowed to cross.  There are large cement blockades that rise up out of the ground to block any vehicles from crossing.  Once it has been determined that you are allowed to be there, the blockades sink into the ground and you can pass.

Megan and Danielle also spent some time at the Mall of the Emirates.  This is a GIANT mall that definitely has something for everyone!  It has a multiplex cinema, an indoor ski park, a 500-seat community theater for live performances, 2 hotels (with a combined 900 rooms available), an amusement park, 520 stores (The Gap, Brooks Brothers, Borders Books, Versace, Tiffany, and Gucci as well as "traditional" clothing stores), and over 80 cafes/restaurants.  Here are a few photos of the Mall, the indoor ski hill (which Megan described as "a bunny slope but with actual ski lifts"), and the toboggan park.

After a day of sightseeing, it was time to head to the airport to fly home.  Yes, you read that correctly--Megan and Danielle spend 24 hours on the ground in Dubai!  Their flight departed Friday evening at 10:30pm and Megan arrived home to Bozeman at 12:45pm on Saturday.  Just in time to go to work Sunday morning!

Megan's general comments about Dubai:  SHE LOVED IT!  She said she would return "in a heartbeat" but would definitely stay longer.  She said she felt very safe, the city is very clean, all signs are in both Arabic and English, and the people she interacted with all spoke English and were very helpful.  Prices are very reasonable and it is an easy city to navigate (excellent train system).

Here are some of Megan's additional photos.  Since many of our Blog readers may opt never to travel to Dubai, we thought we'd bring a little bit of Dubai to you--Enjoy!