Reflections Along the Way

So I haven’t been good about updating my blog recently with all the holiday hubbub, but I thought I would throw out a quick holiday sum-up as my last blog post of 2009…

We started out our holiday with a doctor’s appointment for the J-bean on Monday, December 21st.  All was well, so we hopped in our loaded down car and drove down to Sandrock, Alabama for a couple days of climbing before celebrating the holidays with family. 

The Main Area at Sandrock, Alabama

Sandrock turned out to be really fun - by no means a must-do destination, but definitely fabulous for a side trip excursion!  Since the low temps were hovering around the freezing mark with a fair amount of wind, I decided to cut myself some pregnancy slack and spring for a cheap motel rather than a campsite.  I think this was a good decision, especially considering how cold it was in the morning even by the time we got to the crag, and also how good my nice hot shower felt that night.   

At the top of Thin's Evil Twin, 5.11c

DAY 1 ~ Main Area and The Islands

My Dog Has Fleas – 5.8+ – Not a good choice to start the day out in the shade…the rock was ridiculously cold, and my hands were completely numb.
Six Toes – 5.10a – Much warmer in the sun!  Thin, sequency crux led to steep jugs.�
Thin in the Middle – 5.10d – Awkward, thin moves in the middle with a weird, balancy roof section at the shutts
Thin’s Evil Twin – 5.11c - 30 feet of really techy slab climbing – crux around the second bolt, then backed off to 10+ towards the top.  I was psyched to get this one clean for my 25 week 5.11
Thin’s Daddy – 5.12b - a harder variation of the previous climb.  Only 30 feet, and I had to hang twice, but I definitely did all the moves, so Jbean can say he climbed 5.12 in utero!
Kennel Club – 5.8 - this route was back over in the main area, and was really fun – pretty tall, and a nice, casual way to end our day. 

Enjoying an Alabama sunset from the top of a pillar - great view of Weiss Lake!

Steve laying back his way up on Popular Science, 5.9+

DAY 2 ~ Sun Wall

Popular Science (aka Golden Flake) – 5.9+ – a little pumpier than I had anticipated for a warm-up.  I could tell its been a long time since I’ve done any crack climbing, but once I got started I didn’t have too much trouble with it.
Ale 81 – 5.10c - Really hard, steep move right off the block.  From there the climbing was much more straightforward but slightly overhanging and really sustained. I missed a hand hold around the corner about halfway up and had to hang.  Felt hard for 10c.
Misty – 5.10d – Definitely the best route out of all of the ones we did.  Crimpy crux moving thru the conglomerate at the 2nd bolt, then big moves to jugs the rest of the way up – this one would have been really fun to lead…
First Black in Space (aka Windows) – 5.8 – Really fun climb, got really overhanging for a 5.8 towards the top
Super Grover – 5.11b/c – Steve had to haul me thru the crux (which to me felt way harder than 11c…) but the rest of the route went down pretty smoothly.

Working my way up Ale 81, 5.10c

Next it was on to Atlanta, where we spent the next 4 days with Steve’s parents, both brothers, and my sister-in-law (who is also pregnant, due 3.5 weeks after me!)  We ate some great food, got some cool presents, and saw Avatar in 3D!  We also got to see (or not see, rather) a really cool exhibit in downtown Atlanta called “Dialog in the Dark.”  Basically we went thru different rooms with a guide who was visually impaired, in complete darkness, exploring different everyday scenarios with our other 4 senses. 

Megan and I comparing bellies!

We headed north on Sunday morning after breakfast, drove most of the day, and ate dinner at my Grandma and Pop Pop’s house with my parents, aunt, uncle, and cousin.  I spent the next couple of days relaxing at my parent’s house and trying to learn how to knit (any knitters in Raleigh that can help me finish off the cute little hat I made for the bean?).  Steve helped my mom move all of her networking and computer stuff for her business into her new studio, which is almost finished! 

Modeling our 3D glasses before Avatar

Even though we had a great time and thankfully got to see both families, we were glad to head home yesterday morning.  Neither Steve nor I have to work the rest of the week, so we plan on relaxing, working on the baby’s room, and celebrating the New Year in addition to my official entry into the 3rd trimester!  Stay tuned for a 2009 highlight reel coming soon!

Our Thanksgiving holiday was a whirlwind of fun, filled with some traditions, a few new tricks, as well as some unexpected surprises!  I guess I’ll start at the beginning.  On Wednesday, me and the Bean had a prenatal appointment in the morning.  I peed in a cup, got my vitals taken, my belly measured, and then we got to listen to J-bean’s heartbeat on the Doppler.  For those of you that don’t know, the doppler is a nifty little piece of machinery that probes around the belly to detect the fetal heartbeat – once the doctor finds the right spot, he leaves it there for long enough to record the beats per minute.  Well, evidently J-bean wanted no part in having his heartrate measured, so he decided to kick the doppler probe, which I of course felt, and caused the doppler to blip and the doctor to have to start over his count.  It is starting to look like we’ve got a feisty one on our hands…he must get that from his dad   After the check-up, we drove down to Winston-Salem to stay with my parents for a few days.  We spent the afternoon at Babies R’ Us, where we picked out a crib that my parents were gracious enough to purchase for us!  Best of all, it didn’t cost any extra to have it shipped right to our door in Raleigh!  We decided to mix it up a bit on Thursday, so rather than eating a big lunch, we went to the movies and then had a big Thanksgiving dinner.  We saw The Blind Side , which was fantastic, and especially fun since it was based on a true story.  For dinner we had all the usuals, and everything was yummy with the exception of the pie fiasco, which I don’t have the time to go into here, but you can read about on my mom’s blog.  We had quite a laugh…

BUGS!!!

On Friday my mom and I drove down to Gastonia, home of our favorite fabric store.  We were on a mission to find fabric to make the bedding/other decor for the nursery, since I was completely uninspired by anything I had seen at any of the stores or online.  Surprisingly, it took us no time at all to find the PERFECT mix of fabrics!  I can hardly wait to see what it looks like after we’ve made everything and it can be put together, along with the rainforest animals my friend Kim is going to paint on the walls over the holidays!

So what were the guys doing while we were hunting for fabric?  Hunting for CARS of course!  We’ve known for a while now that my old Eclipse has been in desperate need of replacement for a couple of years now, and that there is NO way we could get a car seat to work in the back of it, so the clock was ticking.  Our plan was for me to inherit the Element since my commute to work is less than 4 miles, and since its the perfect baby-mobile – then we would get Steve something fuel-efficient that he could use to commute to work and on his monthly trips to Charlotte, which would balance out the mileage on both cars pretty nicely.  Steve’s intent was just to scope things out and take a few test drives on Friday, but he ended up finding a deal that was too spectacular to pass up, so he waited for us to get back, and then we went down to the dealership so I could check it out.  We are now the proud owners of a 2007 Toyota Camry Hybrid!!!

Our new vehicle!

We originally had plans to climb the rest of the weekend wherever it was the warmest, but with adding an unexpected car to the mix, we felt like it would best to just to day trip it and then head back to Raleigh that night, so we ended up at Pilot again.  The morning was FRIGID, but once the sun got up nice and high the wind stopped and it turned into a beautiful day!  We had a very relaxing, casual day – we did 2 new routes we’d never done before, followed by 2 old stand-bys that we always like, and ended on 2 old routes we hadn’t done in years. 

22 weeks and proud of it!

Duracell – 5.8 – probably would have been more enjoyable had I been able to feel my fingers…
Oscar Mayer – 5.10 - really fun layback moves at the bottom led to juggy face climbing up top
Body Surfin’ – 5.7+
Hawaii-Five-0 – 5.11a – I’d only gotten this clean a couple of times before b/c it is so pumpy and sustained, so my hopes were not too high for this one, but I ended up feeling really good on it!  I actually made it past the crux and got 20 feet or so from the top before I had to stop and hang for a bit.
8-Ball – 5.8 – this used to be Steve’s nemesis b/c of the overhanging start, and it was fun to see him storm up it this time like a champ
9-Ball – 5.9 – amazingly steep for a 5.9, I surprised myself by flying right up it without any trouble – clean for the first time!

Burly start to Hawaii Five-0 (5.11a)

Steve on the moves after the start

It was getting really crowded by mid-afternoon, so we decided to call it an early day and hike out.  We made it back to Raleigh and had a celebratory dinner at Five Guys Burgers and Fries, a new and yummy addition to the restaurants on the post-climbing circuit.

Steve finishing the roof with style!

Working my way up to Man Overboard (5.11-)

This just in – rock climbing is more fun than staying home raking leaves…even if it is at Pilot Mountain.  For those of you that are not in the know, Pilot gets somewhat of a bad rap sometimes…okay a LOT of times.  The rock quality can be questionable in places, the routes are short, and the base of the cliff is generally overrun by swarms of red-helmeted boy scouts and other groups of people on their first “extreme rock climbing adventure.”  Not to stereotype or anything, but these newbies generally have entirely too much testosterone pumping through their veins, and they love to proudly grunt and flail their way up a 5.6, then look down to make sure any girls within earshot are adequately impressed.  Or they might be gym climbers who assume that the one 5.10 jug haul they can climb in their local gym means they should have no problem with technical moves requiring precision, balance, and the ability to find your own holds without the aid of colored tape.  Not to mention the hikers, who will heckle you with ridiculous questions from both the top and bottom of the cliff - “Is that your rope, or did you just find it here?,” “That takes lots of arm strength doesn’t it?”, or my personal favorite, “If you let go right now, would you die?” 

Steve on Devil in the White House (5.10d)

Confessions of snobbery aside however, Pilot does have some very good points in its favor worth considering.  It is a fantastic place to take your inexperienced friends to get them hooked on climbing!  Most of the routes can be accessed from the trail at the top, so if you can’t finish a route, its usually pretty easy to retrieve your gear.  And if you can climb 5.10’s and higher, it has a decent collection of nice sport routes that the gumby crowds often steer clear of.  It is also south-facing, which means so long as its not cloudy or windy, a sunny day in the dead of winter can be quite pleasant.  I know several climbers who wouldn’t be caught dead at Pilot, but I think that’s just silly.  You just have to take it for what it is, and not expect it to be something its not.  Don’t go there hoping for long, aesthetic routes on bullet hard quartzite – if you want that, go to Moore’s.  Don’t go there hoping for remote solitude in a wilderness setting – head to the Linville Gorge.     But if you are looking to have a casual Saturday of fun on the rock with your friends, and still be able to get back to responsibilities the rest of the weekend, Pilot is your place!

Steve pulling thru the overhangs

All that being said, Steve and I headed up to Pilot this past Saturday for the first time since early last spring.  It was the perfect temperature for climbing – cold enough in the morning to ward off the aforementioned obnoxious types, but warmed up fast enough to make for a beautiful day of climbing!  We knew our friend Huck and his friend Dax would be meeting us there, but we ended up seeing 3 other groups of people that we knew, so it made for a fun social scene as well! 

Here’s the routes we did…
Vegomatic – (5.8)
Chicken Bone – (5.7) There is a discrepancy between Jeff Dillon’s new guide and the old Kelley guide, so we’re not sure which route this one is, but its the one in the middle if there are any old school folks out there that know?
Mutiny on the Bounty – (5.10a) kind of an “approach pitch” to get to the ledge where the next route starts
Man Overboard – (5.11-) Woo hoo – my 21 weeks preggo clean 11 went down pretty easily, and I was able to find a clipping hold at the shutts that I had never seen before, making me psyched to come back and lead this route post-preg!
The Herculean Test – (5.11a)
Devil in the White House – (5.10d)

Trying to reach past the belly on The Herculean Test (5.11a)

Observations:  While I did get my clean 11 at 21 weeks, I think those days are numbered…Today was the first day of climbing where I actually noticed my body shape hindering my ability to climb, which is annoying, but needs to be accepted as a fact of life, b/c it is only going to get worse from here on out.  In particular, I noticed that whenever I tried to rock onto a high foot, my belly felt in the way, and I couldn’t bend over far enough to really crank up.  Not painful, just very uncomfortable.  I also have noticed that while my endurance seemed fine on the first few climbs, by the time I got to the last two climbs I would get winded pretty easily, and was unable to do either of those climbs without resting midway through, even though pre-preggo I was able to lead both of them without any trouble.  So although as a whole on the day, I still felt fairly strong and confident, I feel like its probably about time to start toning down on the harder stuff.  But instead of looking at it in a negative way, however, I’m choosing to see every step back from my prior activity levels as one step towards the end goal on April 2nd! 

Christine, Jean, and Mary get ready to hike out, while Finn takes the easy way out

Just over 4 months ago, I saw two pink lines on a pregnancy test.  An hour later, I didn’t believe it so I tested again.  Then also the next day, and then even a week later, just to make sure.  Now, several months later, I’m feeling my litte jellybean kick even as I type this out, and my ever-expanding belly is leaving no doubt to the entire world that my body is producing something amazing on the inside! 

So I am officially 20 weeks pregnant, which marks the halfway point (b/c everyone knows you deliver at EXACTLY 40 weeks, right?)  This stage seemed like a good time to take a break and reflect on all the changes that have been going on lately. 

Me at 20 weeks and 1 day

Now that I actually have a clearly defined baby “bump,” I have a newfound confidence in my body.  Rather than hiding behind flowy, ambigously shaped clothing, fearing that the uninformed observer might assume that I’ve indulged in a little too much Halloween candy, I’ve begun sporting my pre-preggo tops with pride.  Of course I’ve had to invest in a few long tank tops to layer underneath my old shirts to keep my belly from hanging out, but am still savoring the last few weeks that they will still fit.  Almost all of my pre-preggo pants still fit (although a few need to be held together with a rubberband rather than a button).  I’ve purchased one pair of maternity pants which are still way too big to wear, along with a few maternity tops, which I’ve worn enthusiastically a few times, but trying to hold out as long as I can, b/c realistically, I know I’ll get sick of these clothing items long before April rolls around. 

I go back and forth between enjoying being treated like a delicate flower, and disgusted at being treated like I am disabled or handicapped in some way.  While it feels good to have people constantly inquire about how I’m feeling and offer to carry things for me, it is annoying when people assume that I should be laying around in bed all day doing sudoku.  My friend and coworker Heather (who is currently about a week behind me with her second child) warned me to enjoy the coddling while I could, b/c once the baby came, no one would be paying any attention to me anymore.    So I’m trying to take in all of the unsolicited advice with a grain of salt and a smile on my face, understanding that the majority of the people are commenting b/c they care about me, and are only trying to be helpful – and often times the advice is actually useful! 

Trying out my super cool CAMP full-body harness at 19 weeks!

I’m still climbing (toproping only of course) and have managed to complete at least one 5.11 clean per week of pregnancy.  It will be interesting to see how much longer I can keep that up.  I’m still running, although I now mix in a few walk breaks and I’ve gotten a good deal slower.  The funny thing about that is that since I don’t keep track of my pace or mileage or anything like that, the only time I notice that I’m slow is when Steve and I jog together.  If I only ran alone, I would be blissfully unaware of my subtly slowing pace!  I’m also still biking (only on the greenway, no more mountain biking) and feeling pretty good, although hills take a lot out of me and just this week I have had to humble myself enough to get off my bike and walk a couple of times.  But all in all – I’m feeling fantastic!  Aside from the many new and weird things going on in my body (most of which are not appropriate to discuss in this blog…)  I feel as good as new! 

IT'S A BOY!!!!

As far as the jellybean goes (or J.Bean, as Steve and I have nicknamed him), we found out that he is indeed a boy a couple of weeks ago!  He was not shy at all, and had no qualms about raising his legs high in the air the entire time the nice lady was trying to measure his abdomen, femur, head, etc.  I guess he wanted to make sure we saw it.   We were amazed at how clear of a picture we were able to see on the ultrasound machine, and how much he was moving around (especially considering that at that point, I hadn’t felt any kicks for sure yet).  The funniest part was when the sonographer actually caught a picture of him sticking his tongue out!  This is especially cute, since Steve is well-known for sticking his tongue out when he is really focused, either mentally or physically.  We call it “the concentrating face.”  JBean is evidently concentrating very hard on growing these days, b/c according to one of my many pregnancy books, he is about the size of a cantaloupe!   

JBean's concentrating face

Steve's concentrating face in action!

We’ve made our first round of visits to Babies R Us to get our registry started (an overwhelming process to say the least…), and my mom was kind enough to paint the nursery for us while Steve was in Vegas (just the background – my friend Kim is going to paint rainforest animals all over the walls over Christmas break!) 

We have done some name research and come up with a name that we both really like, but we will most likely keep it a secret   So that leaves us with a to-do list of replacing my car, finishing the registry, moving a bunch of furniture around in the soon-to-be nursery and guest bedroom, taking birthing classes, and about a million other things – not to mention all the things I’m sure will come up last minute! So thats the latest update for now!  Time sure is going by fast and I’m sure it will only get faster as the holidays approach.  Our little guy will be here before we know it! 

After we said sticking your tongue out is rude....

Little feet

I’m now in what most consider the “feel good” stage of my pregnancy. At almost 18 weeks, I am no longer exhausted like I was in my first trimester, but I’m not huge and cumbersome yet (just big enough to feel like a small whale at times…) So this seemed like the perfect opportunity to take a vacation! Steve’s company sent him to Vegas all last week for a Microsoft SharePoint conference at the Mandalay Bay. The conference ended Thursday afternoon, so I used some frequent flyers to meet him out there Thursday night. We spent the first night on the company tab, which was, ironically, one of the most expensive yet worst night’s sleep I’ve ever had at a hotel. Our next door neighbors were evidently going out all in the Vegas lifestyle, and decided to have a giant party in their room. Their music was so loud it felt like there was a speaker right beside my bed, and the vibrations from the bass was making items in our room shake (this is NOT an exaggeration…). Everyone at the party had to yell very loudly to talk to each other to get over the music volume. We called to complain and according to Steve’s spy tactics at our peephole, theywere told that there were NUMEROUS complaints, and if it happened again, they would have to leave the hotel.

Starting up Texas Tea (5.10d)

But after a questionable start to our vacation in the land of excess, the next day dawned bright and cloudless, and all that was negative was lost in a sea of red rock in the Mojave Desert. Our first day was spent in the Black Corridor. We were the first ones there, but as the day progressed, the corridor got REALLY crowded – we started to wonder if anyone in Vegas had real jobs, but upon talking to everyone, they were all from out of town too – everywhere from Alberta and Quebec to Colorado and California. Even though there were so many people that at times it felt like gym climbing, there were so many good routes there that we never had to wait in line for anything.

Steve on Black Gold (5.10b)

Day 1 Routes ~
The CEL – 5.9
Bonair – 5.9
Vega Bonds – 5.10a – fantastic route – well deserving of the 5 stars the guidebook gave it!
Crude Boys – 5.10d - Steve’s first 10d onsight, woohoo! Reachy, technical crux down low led to fun, casual climbing up top.
Black Corridor Route 4 Left – 5.11a - Steve wasn’t up for leading this one, so we set up a top rope from the top of the 10d. My goal so far has been to get at least one 5.11 clean every week of my pregnancy, outside or in the gym if I couldn’t get out that week. (As my balance gets worse and I start to get huge, I’ll knock it down to 5.10, then 5.9, etc.) This day was my first at 17 weeks, so it was nice to check the 11 off of my list early on (and as it turns out it was the only 11 I got clean all weekend )
Fool’s Gold – 5.10b
Texas Tea (direct start)- 5.10d - Steve was mentally done for the day so we set up a toprope on this and the following route from Fool’s Gold. We both opted for the direct start which was (a painfully crimpy!) 10d until the first bolt, then the rest of it backed off to 10a.?
Black Gold – 5.10b - The start on this one was pretty tricky, and we could both tell it was the end of the day on this one. Fortunately our day ended better than the French climbers beside us, who destroyed their video camera by dropping it from 30 feet up…Steve wryly commented to me under his breath – “thats why we have a neck strap…”

Hiking out from the Black Corridor

Evidently the jellybean is working up an appetite at the crag these days along with me, b/c I downed an entire 1/2 pound cheeseburger, french fries, and made room to split a pizookie with Steve, all without blinking an eye. No leftovers tonight, thank you very much!

Fiesta Rancho!

Our plan on Day 2 was to get up at the crack of dawn and climb on a south-facing wall in the sun, hoping that the early morning and the heat would keep all the crowds away. Our plan worked out perfectly – there were two girls that were leaving right as we were arriving, and another couple that showed up right as we were leaving. The high was only in the 80’s but the sun was unbelievably intense! We brought 3 extra liters of water combined with what we usually bring, and we almost drank it all, even though we finished early. The routes here were all steep and pumpy, so they all felt very sustained for the grade. Fortunately we were able to find a nice shady spot to stow our packs, and hang out in between routes to rest and eat lunch.

Hiking in to The Gallery on Day 2

Day 2 Routes ~
Sport Climbing is Neither – 5.8
Bucks Muscle World – 5.9
Gelatin Pooch – 5.10a - fitting name for me and the jellybean
Pump First, Pay Later – 5.10b – REALLY sustained and pumpy, I fought really hard to get this route clean
Running Amuck – 5.10c – tricky crux sequence!
Unknown – 5.11a – Steve was done for the day, but I wanted to try this one, so we set up a TR from the 10c. It was a really fun route, but I did have to hang a few times to rest.

Our car is way off in the distance at the Second Pullout.

We hiked out in the early afternoon and grabbed showers at our casino(***sidenote – despite everyone warning us not to stay at a cheap place off strip, the Fiesta Rancho turned out to be a FABULOUS hotel – it was clean, simple, MUCH quieter than the Mandalay, and was cheaper for the whole weekend than one night at the strip hotels). Since we had a couple of hours to kill before dinner, we cruised the strip and gawked at all of the “over the toppedness” that is Vegas, pointing out all the famous places we’d seen on TV and in the movies. We took a picture by the classic “Fabulous Las Vegas” sign, and who did we see getting into his truck talking on his cell phone in the parking lot – Elvis!!! We drove all the way through the Strip to the old section of downtown Vegas, where we ate dinner at Uncle Angelo’s in the Jerry Nugget Casino. Uncle Angelo’s was GOOD!!! It appeared that the entire staff were all Italian and related to Uncle Angelo himself somehow. Steve and I each got strombolis, and mine was by far the best stromboli I’ve ever put in my mouth!!! We got back to the Fiesta Rancho in time to play the 7:00 session of Bingo – which seemed to have much higher stakes than the bingo I used to play with my Maw Maw every year at the Carolina Beach Bingo Parlor! We were able to figure out what was going on without making any dumb mistakes, but we evidently weren’t too lucky, b/c we didn’t even come close to winning squat. (Although I will admit that I felt my heart rate sped up a bit when playing the “grande” round – jackpot was $14,400…)

Steve working up Running Amuck (5.10c)

Shaking out trying to get rid of the pump on Unknown (5.11a)

Steve checking out a cool cave on the hike back to the car from The Gallery.

Since I was still on east coast time, I woke Steve up before 5 on Day 3, and we arrived in the canyon just as the sun was coming up over the city in the distance. We climbed at the Mass Production Wall in the Calico Tank area. Most of the approach to the cliff was along a popular hiking trail, so throughout the day, we saw lots of hikers (and waved at the ones with cameras taking pictures of the crazy climbers!), but only one couple hiked up through the gully up to near where we were (a really nice older British couple that lived in Vegas). What a difference the shade made! It was several degrees cooler, and the wind had really picked up. We found ourselves going out onto the slabs to soak up the sun in between climbs to warm up, which was quite the contrast from the day before!

Hiking in to the Mass Production Wall just after sunrise on Day 3

Day 3 Routes ~
Parts is Parts – 5.8
Battery Power – 5.9
Trigger Happy – 5.10a – really fun! This route was really intimidating from the ground, but ended up being a lot easier than it looked. Really fun moves kind of “hugging” your way up the black patina through the crux.
Foreman Ferris – 5.11b - It was easy to set up a toprope on this route off the 10a. Steve didn’t want to do this one, but I’m really glad that I gave it a whirl. The first section, although technically not that difficult, was pretty hard to read, and I wasn’t able to make it through without a hang or two. However, I surprised myself at getting through the crux and the rest of the route cleanly. Really sharp, credit card size crimpers and sidepulls, with precarious balancy laybacks up through the patina – then it was a lot less sustained the rest of the way.
Hit and Run – 5.9

Steve preparing for the crux on Trigger Happy (5.10a)

The rest of the routes on the wall had some significant runout sections, and Steve didn’t feel comfortable leading them, so we called it a day and worked our way down the gully back to the hiking trail. Since we had plenty of time and the weather was nice, we stashed our packs behind a cat’s claw bush and continued on the hiking trail away from our car to the Calico Tank, which is a giant natural reservoir (empty this time of year) on top of which you get a spectacular view of the Mojave Desert, with all of downtown Vegas off in the distance – definitely worth the extra mileage to see! It was a beautiful and casual hike back out to our car, but despite all of our squinting, we never did see any of the wild burros that the area is known for.

On our last night we used our 2 for 1 coupon at the Fiesta Rancho Buffet and DEFINITELY got our money’s worth out of it! I told Steve before we went to bed that night that I felt like all we did all weekend was climb, eat, then sleep. Who needs the bright lights of Vegas when your needs are that simple I guess…

Precarious laybacks thru the crux of Foreman Ferris (5.11b)

Our (unfortunately separate) flights back were both uneventful, but it has taken several days to feel like we are caught up. All in all, FANTASTIC weekend! Vegas a truly a unique place, somewhere everyone should see at least once. We both decided that it is not our style at all – great place to VISIT, horrible place to LIVE! We also decided that its a shame that there are such fabulous recreational options right outside of the city that most people aren’t aware even exists, let alone try to tap into. Oh well, I guess thats more open space for the rest of us!

Viewpoint of Red Rock Canyon as well as Downtown Vegas from the Calico Tank Trail