The Final Two Medals for the LOTR Conqueror Challenge and Spring Snow!

I'm sure you noticed that I didn't show the final two medals for the LOTR Conqueror Challenge. Partially that was because my brain wasn't awake at 3:30 am, but the other part was that I wanted to actually get enrolled into the Quest sequence before posting Mordor and Mt Doom. Still, since the servers were overwhelmed for the LOTR Challenge (not really a surprise - LOL), I'm posting the eye candy today and hopefully, I can actually get my enrollment handled today also. (As an aside, I was able to get registered this morning at 3:45 am.) 

The medal for the 4th stage takes us to the Black 
Gates of Mordor. You see the black gates framing 
the Eye of Sauron on the front, and a rounded 
"Palantir" on the reverse with shadow figures. 
It's a pretty cool medal. 

So, the fourth stage of the LOTR Challenger Quest brings Frodo, Sam and Gollum from the separation of the Fellowship to the Black Gates. The medal features the Black Gates on the front and a Palantir representation the back, and the primary focus is, of course, the Eye of Sauron. It's a bit frightening, and that's what it's meant to be - foreboding, evil, and dark. 

The final stage of the LOTR Conqueror Challenge 
takes us through Mordor to the slopes of Mount 
Doom. Here you see the lava pouring down the 
slopes of the volcano. The back side has an image 
of Shelob - not like we'll ever forget her! Do you 
see that round element above "Mordor" on the 
medal? The entire mountainside slides down, 
allowing you to place The Ring on that round 
element, thus consigning the Ring to the fire. 
You can see the thin gold band around it in the 
photo above. So kewl! 

The final medal is Mount Doom with lava pouring from it. The back side of the medal features Shelob. The fun thing about this medal is the destruction of the Ring. Remember when I told you about holding onto the Ring from the Shire Quest because it is needed in Mordor? Well, on this medal, the entire bottom half slips down to allow Frodo (or you, as the participant) to place the ring around a knob in the lava flows of Mount Doom. It's clever and so much fun. 

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Of course, I wanted to sign up for the five quests, but apparently everyone else did too. I didn't even try until after dinner last night, so more than 8 hours after the Challenge released, but their servers are unable to process orders. I figured this might be the problem since I had a feeling this Quest arc would be incredibly popular. But, I'm still working on the Great Wall, and have quite a few miles yet to walk on that, so I'm not in a super big rush to join the crowd. I'll try again in the morning (which was successful). Spring seems like an appropriate time to start walking to Mordor - LOL. 

We actually had some snow yesterday morning while I was at the gym, and we're supposed to get more snow today - oh joy. This is "spring" in the Frozen Northlands, we can never predict what will happen from one day to another. On Saturday we're supposed to get up to 50 F (30 C), but today we're solidly in the 30's (1.11 C) with a wicked wind which is pushing the air temperature down and allowing the rain/drizzle to turn into snow. I can hardly wait to drive to the gym in a half-hour - ick! Have an excellent day and I'll be back on Friday.