Documentation!
Photos are up, from the climbing trip:
Here are mine (clearly I climbed more than I shot),
here are Joe's,
here are Mike's, and
here are Josh's. The pic above is from Mike's set (thanks, Mike!).
What FUN!
Labels: rock climbing
Plenty of wahooing
As much as I'm really ready to be wearing sandals, I still appreciate the wondrous and white view on the photo above. WOW!
So, in the past month I've spent a week in Whitefish, Montana, as well as a very long weekend in Joshua Tree, California. What I brought back, in sum:
- A sore shoulder. Not bad, considering how colossal and noisy the fall was.
- I've improved my snowboarding skills, but still have a few things to work on. How exactly does one learn to "spread butter" in the flats?
- Sambuca is yummy. And a little more sophisticated than Jaegermeister.
- Having skiing skills to fall back on, once I'd gotten tired of falling, is a beautiful thing.
- I got a few more trad leads under my belt. Including a hard one that I had to back off of, then finish on second.
- Crack climbing is still the most fun.
- A note to self, to NOT plan two back-to-back active vacays.
- It's really hard to enjoy climbing in an indoor gym, after enjoying granite for several days.
- Bikram yoga is a pretty bizarre experience, but not for the reasons I'd predicted.
- It's superfun to travel with Annette and John, as well as with Joe, Andrea, and Kathleen.
- It's superfun to travel & climb again with Josh & Mike
- My macaroons are still the best.
- I won't again try a new way to rack gear, when preparing to lead a challenging route.
- I'm getting closer to buying the rest of my trad rack. Maybe with the tax return? Oy, cams are not cheap.
- I still hate Domino's pizza.
Labels: rock climbing, travel
good things
We're on the brink of a new year. Life is good:
- Snow. Two feet of it.
- Climbing 5.11s.
- Running outside in the winter.
- Mom's spare ribs recipe.
- Buckeye candies.
- Some new clothes that fit me.
- New fonts on my computer: Neutra and Warnock.
- I can make a text scrolly button now, in Actionscript.
- Plans for a road trip.
- Plans for a finished basement.
- The love of a good man.
- A roof over my head.
- Food on the table.
- A most excellent and healthy family.
- Fabulous friends.
- A job.
- A good book. Or four.
- New music to listen to.
I am thankful.
Labels: design, outside, rock climbing, running, travel, winter
brief roundup
I'm
shopping for a new car. In present order of preference: Toyota Prius, Nissan Versa, Volkswagen Rabbit... and the Toyota Rav4.
Does the last one seem out of place? I'm looking to trade in my 10-year-old 2-door Exploder for something different. The decision is proving difficult because "different" means some esoteric blend of the following factors: new(er), fuel efficiency, zip, a "euro" feel (I'd like to make less of a physical imprint as well as a ecological footprint), cargo capacity (is throwing a snowboard, climbing gear, or bike into, or onto, it going to be a big hassle?), affordability, and, of course, unFordness. Too many things broke off of, or never worked in the first place, with this Explorer. It has mostly served me well, but I'm not going back to Ford.
Presently I'm really digging the Prius, though driving it would be an adjustment. But regardless of the car I choose,
adjustments are called for, with regards to fuel efficiency.
What's left to test? Had an unsavory visit with one Honda dealership; didn't like the CR-V but may find another Honda peddler who can show us a Fit and an Element.
I've been
climbing like a fiend; at local crag I've led some tough sport routes (5.9-10b!) and am also enjoying progress on some 5.11's indoors and out. Frankly I'm stunned that I can ascend these at all ( did someone sneak a buff or two into my morning coffee?), I had such a long plateau. I've been climbing for eight years now! Ah well, maybe getting spooked on my 2004 mountaineering class pointed me in the right direction. At least this way I get to climb with my buddies.
I've also been training to
run one last 5k race, on Sept. 22. Hopefully my split will give me a new PR; it just has to beat 7:53 though I'm still shooting for 7:30, though next spring/summer I'm planning on a 10k or two, rather than some of the 5ks I did this summer.
It's getting to be time for me to do some
perennials divisions in the garden. Leslie gave us 2 white peonies that have already found homes; our overgrown hosta Francee and Frances Williams are begging take over another part of the yard & be given to friends. And I'm eager to get a hydrangea or fir into the front yard. Slowly but surely we are evicting most of the sod that came with the house. Also, a few weeks ago I planted some lettuce that may be of edible size soon. Stay tuned for photos.
Me and the hub will be off soon, on our first long trip since the honeymoon.
Italy, here we come.
Labels: rock climbing, running
geology lesson
I've just posted my City of Rocks photos
here.
The rock formations there were simply fascinating, but sadly we didn't find anything in the park that could explain the strange erosion patterns to us (was the erosion caused by water?) From Wikipedia today I learn that the rock formations in the area are granitic
batholiths. The strange pockets, as seen in the photo below on a route at Flaming Rock, are formed by a specific kind of erosion process called
exfoliation.
The edges of those pockets -thin, but still granite- were a lot more reassuring than our limestone jugs at Barn Bluff.
Labels: nature, rock climbing
Rocking the City
3 routes in Boulder Canyon, then Margaritas at Juanita's, then killer dessert: first overnight layover with Nate and Jackie
Vacationing for 4 days, surrounded by
stunning granite scenery: 1 domestic airline ticket (involving
connections)
Wheat Thin, Rye Crisp, First trad lead on Adolescent Homosapien (5.7), Bloody Fingers, Z-Crack, and First 5.8 trad lead on Skyline: About 20 arm and knee scrapes and a 9:30pm Saturday hot springs soak
Coconut Macaroons: 1 hour baking prior to trip
Watching "300" on huge flatscreen while chowing on Doritos and red wine: second overnight layover and a $99 hotel room
Long weekend trip to City of Rocks, Idaho with Josh and Mike: PricelessJosh's photos are
here. Mike's are
here.
Labels: outside, rock climbing
The weigela is already blooming
I've been busily not posting to this blog. What have I been doing?? Well...
I've been running: now I'm up to 4.5 miles on my weekly longer runs. I've signed up to run an
8k road race on June 3. That's a little longer than my ideal distance, but it'll be a fun long training run, if nothing else, and at least one coworker will also be running it. I am building up my training run miles, but I'd like to compete in a few more 5k races to see how close I can come to beating my high-school cross-country PR of a 7:31 mile. Then, finally, I will letter. At least, in my time anyway. We'll see. At this point if I beat my 8:23 split from the Get In Gear, I'll be pleased.
I've been rock climbing, mostly at the gym, but plan to do more outdoor climbs as well. Somewhat shockingly I'm regularly working 5.10b and c climbs (not flashing them, of course). What fun!
My interest in the garden is ramping up again, as the iris are about to bloom. It's time to get some seeds sowed.
Work's been busy and I've been inspired. This is good, though it's also inspiring me to work slightly longer hours. Ah well, at least it doesn't get dark til 7:30 these days (which is good because I've been commuting via bicycle).
I've encountered the joys of using an RSS reader to get all my news, etc. in one place. Check out "more of same" in the right column of this page, to see some of the more interesting stuff I've been reading.
Oh, and I can now do
Pincha Mayurasana. I've also managed to make my evening yoga an almost-daily habit. Live is good.
Labels: garden, rock climbing, running, yoga
