Community | Outdoors Starts In Here

Party with us – We’re 65!

65-years-old and we’ve never looked better. Why not celebrate our 65th Anniversary rather than let it slide by while waiting in line for an AARP card? Let’s PAR-TAY!

Sept 18-20th, smack in the middle of our month-long Preseason Snow Sports Sale, Shepherd & Schaller Sporting Goods will give you the gifts. Register to win a free season pass to Granite Peak Ski Area (the midwest’s premier destination with another brand new high speed 6-pack chairlift to enjoy.) You could also win a free Night Pass to introduce a friend to skiing or snowboarding too. Other great prizes are on tap, along with special savings like these:

Buy 3 Get 1 Free Smartwool Socks
65% off select Winter Outerwear
Get Half Off your 2nd pair of Shoes
Get Half Off matching snow pants with every new Ski or Snowboard Jacket
Spin the Discount Wheel for up to 20% off any in stock winter clothing or footwear item

Unfortunately you can’t combine these great Anniversary Event deals with other discounts or offers.

Join us November 15th too, when we host a proper Apres Ski Party at the Grand Theater in Downtown Wausau following Warren Miller’s “No Turning Back”, which just happens to be the famous filmmakers homage to 65 years of mountain culture and adventure film making.

There’s that magic number 65 again.

Shep’s Team at the Wausau24

Last weekend, our shop staff hung out at Wausau24 at Nine Mile Recreation Area. While it’s known for the 24-hour race, there are 24 different classes to compete in, including 6 or 12 hour options with single, duo, or team combinations.

Our staff guys put together a 4 person men’s team and dominated the 24 hours before them. From 10am on Saturday until 10am on Sunday, they rode 20 consecutive eleven-mile loops.

Way to go, guys!

(A big thank you to Smartwool for co-sponsoring our team! This 24 hour ride was the true test for their gear – the guys stayed comfortable, dry & blister free; looked sharp, and didn’t stink!)

Summer Time = Family Time!

Summer is a great time to reconnect with your family. You can break from the homework nights, unplug from the chilly movie days & get out and PLAY!

Have you taken advantage of the local family-friendly events? Do you ever have family tennis night or go on family bike rides? How about setting up the sprinkler & taking turns running though?

This list offers ten great ideas to stay active with your family. Try even one of these per week and you’ll be on your way to enjoying summer more, building bonds within your family, and being healthy & active together.

(List taken from fitness.mercola.com)

10 Top Ways to Stay Active as a Family

Going to the gym is fine for adults, but when kids are involved you’ve got to get more creative… and more fun!

1. Go on a Scavenger Hunt

Make a list of challenges (find an orange leaf, get a neighbor’s signature, snap a photo of a playground, etc.), split your family into teams, set a time limit and then head off (on foot or on bike) to see who can complete the most items.

2. Have a Water Day

Tossing water balloons, splashing in a kiddie pool and running through a sprinkler in the backyard are fun ways to stay cool and active on a hot summer day.

3. Set ‘Mileage’ Goals for the Weekend

Decide as a family how many steps, or how many miles, you want to travel over the weekend, then have fun trying to reach the goal. You can use pedometers to measure steps taken while running errands, going on hikes, playing tag and more, and can challenge the family to increase your goal each weekend.

4. Wash the Car

Washing the car uses key core muscles and can be a fun, bonding experience, especially if you take time to cool off with the hose, too.

5. Family Olympics

Get together with a group of families and compete in events like hula-hoops, 50-yard dash, relay race, basketball shoot, and an obstacle course. You can even make it an annual event!

6. Family Fitness Classes

If you like a more structured routine, try a fitness class designed for families, like stroller workouts, mom/dad and baby workouts or family yoga.

7. Do Chores Together

Vacuuming, washing windows, weeding the garden, raking leaves and even doing laundry work your muscles and burn calories while teaching your kids the value of responsibility. Make chores fun by setting a time limit and turning up the music while you work together as a family.

8. Plan Seasonal Outdoor Activities

Swimming, biking, canoeing and hiking are great in the summer, while sledding, ice skating, building a snowman or skiing are fun – and great for your fitness goals – in the winter.

9. Play Together

Tag, hide-and-go-seek, hop scotch, doing cartwheels and dancing in the kitchen are so much fun you won’t even realize it’s exercise in disguise.

10. Try Out Family Sports

A backyard game of softball or volleyball, shooting hoops or taking a trip to a golf course give you quality time as a family while staying active.

Sidewalk Sale 2014

The weekend is almost upon us: when tents cover the parking lots, when racks line the sidewalks, and deals are all around. We’ve been doing sidewalk sales for nearly 65 years & we hope you’ll join us again this year to score some of the biggest deals of the year. Prices are never lower!

We’ll have a tent, a sidewalk, and a store FULL of deals. We’re talking up to 90% off summer & winter apparel, (absolute minimum of 50% off ski & snowboard outerwear!), 30-50% off new summer clothing & footwear, 40% off snowboard equipment and 50% off alpine ski equipment, killer deals on bikes, tubes, waterskis & wakeboards, camp supplies & accessories, and more.

Join us for Wausau’s Big Weekend! Just a couple of days away!

Play Outside on the 4th of July!

What does the 4th of July look like for you & your family? Maybe it’s a sunny day on the lake or a relaxing day in the cabin, fireworks, sunshine, or cookouts. With warm & sunny weather arriving by July (this year, much sooner!), and lake temps comfortable to play in, you’ll need some summer toys. Here’s the thing: July 4th is when the party happens, so you need to prepare BEFORE then! Stop in now and get your gear!

We’ll set you up with anything you need for behind the boat: tubes for the family, wake boards, water skis, wake surfs, or wake skates; completed with life vests, ropes & accessories.

Like water, but prefer to be your own motor? This might be the year to get those kayaks (singles or tandems). Not much beats a day of paddling on a peaceful lake (or for you adrenaline junkies – a river of rapids), and when’s a better time than the present?

If it sounds more fun to spend the weekend roaming the streets of Minocqua, we can help you there too. We have dresses, skirts, denim, tanks, tees, flip flops, purses, and more that will give you something to strut about. Want to bike around? Even better! We can help there too.

If you’re a camping family, look no farther. We can pack your bags with the gear you’ll need to have the best time possible. Need a tent, sleeping bag, hiking shoes & poles, cookware or bug repellant? We have it all, and more.

And, if you’re traveling with your kayaks, bikes, water sports equipment, or just extra luggage, be sure to stop in early to talk about fitting your car with a Yakima rack to carry your toys. We’ll order each part you need for your specific car year, make, and model. It doesn’t take long for it to arrive, but it does take a little forward thinking!

Celebrate the long weekend in whichever way you choose, but be sure you’re ready to make it memorable. Our knowledgable outdoor-loving team can answer any questions you have, give their expert opinion about gear or destinations, and be sure you’re set for the fun.