Let the Beta-Testing Begin!

We're getting down to the wire. A welcome packet was sent out to the beta-testers today and the programmers are wrapping up final details for the new website.

Uncharted owes all of you beta-testers out there a huge "thank you" for your participation.

Our team of beta-testers includes our staff and over 75 of our friends and family from 3 countries (U.S., U.K. and Denmark) and 11 states. And its an incredible team of vast talent. Travel agents, people who have lived overseas, humanitarian workers, school teachers, photographers, designers, military, college students, programmers, journalists, parents, and more.

Welcome to the Uncharted team beta-testers!

Spud Days Struggle

Sadly, this is my first update since June. Summer has been hectic and the team is now in a flurry of work as we prepare to launch the new site. We're so close to launch day that we'll announce a beta-tester opportunity soon. Furthermore, we don't expect the beta-testing to take very long to complete.

In the meantime, here's a look at what a few team member's experienced at Spud Days, an annual event held in the great community of Shelley, Idaho:

Seeking out the uncharted isn't always the easiest hobby, especially when Mother Nature works against you. "Rain and lightning seemed to target me over the weekend...a dark cloud poured rain over us the whole weekend and followed us wherever we went," our fearless leader Alan observed. Despite the unrelenting storms, potato enthusiasts at Spud Days remained undeterred and pressed on with the festivities. Determined to neither appear as wimps nor fail in gaining new content and contacts, Alan, Andrew, Brian and Michelle all followed the locals' lead in toughing it out as well. And tough it out they did. They got drenched, probably just one degree shy of "waterlogged". Now consider what to do about the precious electronic equipment. And if that all wasn't enough, they refrained from donning coats for fear a coat would cover up the Uncharted name and URL on their t-shirts! Drenched, cold, and miles away from home, the team showed their commitment--or craziness. Ok, commitment and craziness.

Crazy as that may sound, Brian and Michelle witnessed something even more off the wall. "There was a cordial performance by the new Miss Russett, who performed a veritable rite of passage just before the start of the tug of war competitions over a large pit of runny mashed potatoes. Thanks to a torrential downpour just before the tug of war games began, the mashed potatoes looked more like runny potato mud. Undaunted, Miss Russett added a pat of butter, salted the pit of potatoes and then, in a gesture full of warmth and goodwill, stooped down and ate a spoonful of potato mud to mark the beginning of the event."

The image below shows Andrew capturing video as the rain looms overhead.

Photo: (C) 2008 Alan Murray/Uncharted

To add to the adventure, when Alan and Andrew arrived at their hotel, there was no shampoo. They inquired with the front desk and were informed that there was shampoo in the vending machine, which proved to be false. To make a long story short, they ended up scouring town for a morsel of shampoo, with no shortage of drama along the way.

Adding alarm to an already strange day, Pink Bunnies became an unavoidable conversation topic before they returned home. Pink Bunnies will be explained at a later date for those not in the know. Lets just say Uncharted's fate ironically hinges on them.

Despite all the challenges, Spud Days was a big success, both for the community and for Uncharted. Several people expressed interest in getting involved with the beta-testing, another great Uncharted story is complete and the team was able to expand contacts in the community and local media, all while learning about this great community and event.

To top it all off, Big Jud's restaurant in Archer treated Andrew well with a monstrous one-pound hamburger the diameter of a dinner plate, a one-pound basket of fries, plenty of soda, and 2 scoops of ice cream. In recognition for downing the massive burger, Big Jud's awarded him a photo spot on their wall of fame. More amazing yet, Andrew was still hungry after the meal.

Ahhh, the life we live as we explore the uncharted. Strange, unpredictable and far from boring. The adventure goes on.