Taking some swings at the ol' ball park

Written by
Alissa
World Champion LumberJill
​Founder & Owner of the Axe Women Loggers of Maine

​Our 2020 season had started in March... and ended in March…or so we had thought. Nearly all our scheduled shows, events and competitions had all been postponed and rescheduled for 2021. Nearly all....
We had a show that had originally been scheduled for July in Iowa. We always try to work closely with all our event organizers at each venue we go to. As was the case here. 
We all realized that July was not possible (with closures, quarantines and spikes in COVID 19 cases) ... so we discussed rescheduling this show until later in the summer and, of course, it would all depend on the ability to keep our team and fans safe during these crazy times… 

Originally the show was going to be at The Sawmill Museum in Clinton, Iowa. They have a large yard and outdoor seating area. But with social distancing guidelines and safety in mind they soon decided that they needed a larger area to spread out. 
Clinton, Iowa also has a minor league baseball team: The Clinton LumberKings! 
AxeWomen... Lumberjills... LumberKings... sounds like a good match!! 
With minor league baseball being canceled for the season, the stadium was looking to bring in other events... like concerts... so, why not an AxeWomen show???
The museum and the stadium got together and worked out some details... asked us if our team would be comfortable and feel safe with this... and we all got to planning!!
Having an event inside a baseball stadium meant that we could safely be down on the field and that our fans could safely spread out throughout the seating areas. There would be plenty of room for everyone! 
While the museum and the stadium worked out their final details,  Mike and I were figuring out the safest way possible to get our team and equipment to Iowa and back during a pandemic... Definitely something we've never had to think about before 2020!
Everything that we've ever planned for the team's travel arrangements had to be rethought... I was not going to ask any of the ladies to get on a flight! We didn't want to stop part way and spend the night in a hotel... and we weren't feeling comfortable with eating inside of restaurants.
So, how do we drive 30 hours to do a show and back??
It took some planning... and lots of understanding and flexibility!
We decided that we would drive straight from Maine to Iowa (26 hours normally... 30 hours hauling a trailer) without stopping in a hotel. By switching drivers this wouldn't be too bad...
We didn't want to eat inside restaurants... so we packed coolers and totes with enough food to last us the entire trip. 
We also did tons of research on a place to stay once we reached Iowa. We weren't thrilled with the idea of staying in a random hotel once we arrived. So, we found a rental cabin in a county park that was big enough for all of us and had a kitchen so we could cook all our own meals. The cabin was furnished, but without sheets and towels... which we liked the idea of bringing our own stuff! 
This trip was not something we took lightly. We needed to keep our team safe... our fans safe... and be safe, responsible, and considerate to each state and town we passed through.
We looked up, read, and called about different state's guidelines and rules regarding COVID  19 and travel restrictions. 
We stocked up on sanitizers and disinfectants.
And we made sure that we would not be breaking any laws or putting anyone in danger. 
NorthEast STIHL supplied us with some fun STIHL masks... we could be safe and stylish!!
Our trip started last Thursday morning at 2am!
Mike, Peter PlottHound, and I piled into the AxeWomen truck, hooked onto the trailer, and hit the road. We picked up McKayla and Andrea along the way. We only stopped for fuel and to stretch our legs occasionally... 6 times between Maine and Iowa! We made sure we had snacks, coffee drinks and water! We took turns driving and keeping each other awake and alert! Which wasn't too difficult since we hadn't seen each other for months and had tons of catching up, gossiping, and laughing to catch up on!
We arrived in Clinton, Iowa on Friday. We brought the trailer to the LumberKing's stadium and unhooked it.
We spent Friday afternoon cutting trees... so we would have chopping and sawing logs for the show. Not the original plan... but, sometimes things happen, and we need to improvise... 
Finally, Friday night we checked into our cabin! Cooked dinner, enjoyed hot showers and fell asleep! 
Saturday was the big day! We set up the entire show that morning... chopping stands, sawing stands, axe throwing target, log rolling pool... as the pool was filling with it's 7000 gallons of water we prepared all of our chopping and sawing logs, gassed up the chainsaws and practiced a few events.
The crowd started filing in around 5 that night. We were happily surprised to see that everyone was wearing a mask! Picnic tables were spaced at least 6 feet apart where the fans would be sitting. This was a safe venue!!
The show was fun!! We even threw in a few extra events that we don't always get a chance to do... like peavey log rolling races around an obstacle course... and some fun relay races that combined several events... "dizzy bat axe throwing" even made a surprise comeback!! (We rarely have the space to safely do it! But when we can, it's definitely a crowd favorite!!)
After the show we chatted with a few fans and got to talk with some friends who were able to attend (all from a safe distance, of course! )
Then it was time to tear down and load up! We pumped the 7000 gallons of water back out of the log rolling pool, using it to water the grass in the outfield! We loaded up all the chopping and sawing stands, axes, crosscut saws, chainsaws and axe throwing target. By 1 a.m. Sunday morning we were heading back to our cabin to catch a few hours of sleep! 
8 hours later we were on the road again, heading back to Maine! Just like on the way out... minimal stops for fuel... no close contact with anyone... masks on every time we were out of the truck... and sanitize, sanitize, sanitize each time we got back in the truck!!!
We safely made our way east, dropping off Andrea and McKayla at their front doors. By 6pm Monday evening Mike, Pete and I were unhooking the trailer and unloading the truck! 
4 1/2 days... 2900 miles... 16 hours of sleep... lots of masks, coffee, and snacks... 1 super fun and successful AxeWomen show!! All done safely!!
Now that we are back home in Maine, our state's travel guidelines require us to quarantine for 14 days. Which we are more than happy to do! We have saws to sharpen, new axe throwing targets to paint, and our gardens definitely need some attention!!