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The U.S. National Toboggan Championships are held at the Camden Snow Bowl the first weekend of each February. 2010 was the 20th year running this race. About 400 teams compete for fastest time in 2-Person, 3-Person and 4-Person divisions. The Jack Williams Toboggan Chute is over 400 feet (125 Meters) long and the typical time to race down the chute is usually under 9 seconds. At the bottom, toboggans shoot out onto Hosmer Pond and can travel nearly a quarter mile (or about 375 meters) when ice conditions are favorable.
The weekend of racing includes a pancake breakfast, a chili and chowder tasting, a spaghetti supper, fireworks and many other activities in the local area. Teams also win awards for the fastest female team, the oldest team and best costumed. Anyone can race if they sign up a team far enough in advance, pay their entry fees and are able to carry their toboggans up the hill to the top of the chute. The event benefits the Camden Snow Bowl, which is the local ski area.
The United States is one of the most diverse countries on earth, jam packed full of amazing sights from St. Patrick's cathedral in New York to Mount Hollywood California.The Northeast region is where it all started. Thirteen British colonies fought the American Revolution from here and won their independence in the first successful colonial rebellion in history. Take a look at these rolling hills carpeted with foliage along the Hudson river here, north of New York City.The American south is known for its polite people and slow pace of life. Probably they move slowly because it's so hot. Southerners tend not to trust people from "up north" because they talk too fast. Here's a cemetery in Georgia where you can find graves of soldiers from the Civil War.The West Coast is sort of like another country that exists to make the east coast jealous. California is full of nothing but grizzly old miners digging for gold, a few gangster rappers, and then actors. That is to say, the West Coast functions as the imagination of the US, like a weird little brother who teases everybody then gets famous for making freaky art.The central part of the country is flat farmland all the way over to the Rocky Mountains. Up in the northwest corner you can find creative people in places like Portland and Seattle, along with awesome snowboarding and good beer. Text by Steve Smith.