Rappelling Off a Wedged Pebble

This was one of our blitz weekend trips to Utah. The Haaland & Wood families brought their kids, Emma and Garett. Bob also brought his dog, Jupiter, which quickly stole my headlamp off the tailgate and it didn't stop there. Let's just say the the weekend was great .. otherwise! We did the North Fork of No Man's Canyon on Saturday while Chris hiked with the kids. The high point was the 130 foot rap off a wedged pebble. It was backed by a small hex. This was one of my first undocumented descents a number of years ago. Sunday we did the Lost Springs Fork (LSF) of the South Fork of Robber's Roost Canyon while the girls took the kids down the north variation. We met near the junction. The LSF is a nice bang for the buck with 4 short rappels and nice downclimbing. The kids had a lot of fun chimneying down the northern variation. Pics here!

Snow in mid-May

A late spring snow is not that unusual but it is getting a bit late. It has been a long winter. The first picture shows Daffodils in Mia's garden. I took that picture yesterday. It was a nice mid 60 degree day. The Daffodils are peaking about 3-1/2 weeks later than usual. Click the image for the full effect. This second image shows the same view 24 hours later. The Daffodils are buried and flattened and most of the snow has already melted.

Julia's 6th Birthday

Julia scored BIG on the dresses from her grandparents, aunt and us. I don't know why she's so much into dresses but it is what it is. Her friends gave her many fun gifts also. Take a look at that expression! We were lucky with the weather. It was not too cold and not snowing. Good enough for whacking the pinata outside. More pics here.

Spring Break 2008 Trip Mapped

Here's the spring break trip route through New Mexico and Texas. The main destinations are labeled. See the browseable route here or for quicker gratification, just see the static screenshot below.

Heading home from 2008 Spring Break

We took the slow route from Tajique to Sante Fe - the Turquoise Trail. Beautiful country! We had to walk around old town Sante Fe. Julia bought a bracelet from an Indian woman. Lunch at the La Fonda hotel. Sante Fe is always a joy. We headed North along the Rio Grande and camped at the Wild Rivers Scenic Area. This is a BLM area. Our camp was spectacularly perched along the cliffs lining the Rio Grande. Another day here would have been nice but .. another time. Our last day we headed towards Fort Garland and hopefully, cheaper oil. I couldn't bear to spend more than $4 a gallon for oil that we've been seeing in New Mexico. We rolled into the Fort at 624 miles to the tank and $3.99/gallon. The San Luis Valley is always a beautiful drive. Pictures from the trip are HERE!

Military Checkpoint in New Mexico, Amerika!

I couldn't believe it! Between Las Cruces and Alamogordo, we approached what appeared to be a border crossing. Not in America! I was pissed! We were at least 60 miles from the Mexican border - not that it should matter. We waited for the car in front of clear and then it was our turn. The soldier asked if we were U.S. citizens. I said my wife was German and he waived us through. I was too stunned to complain. What has Bush and our administration wrought? I'm damn glad that citizens have the right to bear arms because I'm worried where our government is going. That night, we had a nice camp at Oliver Lee Memorial State Park, south of Alamogordo. There's a very nice visitor center and a trail which wanders through the lush vegetation by the creek. What I really want to do is a car shuttle and walk the trail down Dog Canyon National Recreational Trail. Julia wouldn't have much fun hiking up a steep 6 miles but the downhill .. that'd be fun. We headed north through some beautiful country, Cloudcroft, Rudioso, Carrizozo, Mountainair and then weaved through the Spanish Land Grants near and north of Manzano. We finally found a camp in a closed Cibola National Forest campground west of Tajique. On the way we explored Gran Quivira, one of the Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monuments. This was a real treat from the historical end. It was also fun to run around the ruins after a day in the truck. Here is Julia in a massive unfinished church. We were relieved, at the end of the day, to find the campground. The sun was down and it was getting cold. Everything is closed at this time of year. The gate was open on this one. We stayed at a nice site without snow and roasted marshmellows.

Last Chance Canyon and on to Texas

The camp and trailhead to Last Chance canyon was high for these parts - near 7000 ft. There were icicles hanging off the Junipers and Pinyons as we set up camp. It cleared in the night when the wind came. The wind was constant after that but it did warm up nicely. Especially down in the canyon. Tendonitis forced me into belay duty. Climbing was good though. We'll be back. After a couple days at Last Chance canyon, we moved on to the North Entrance of Guadalupe Mountain National Park. There were three other campers. The next morning, the others left leaving us. Imagine being alone in a National Park! Well there was one ranger .. Beautiful place. I'd like to do some backpacking here in the future. After a hike, we drove through El Paso Gap to Dell City. As can be seen from this picture of the local school, it is a remote & dry region. We ended up at Hueco Tanks State Park (official site, climbing site), a mecca for bouldering. Even w/ my arm, I had to get on the rock a bit. FUN! This place is like a candy store. Here's a shot of Mia. Julia liked the bouldering too. We stayed at the park campground for a beautifully warm night w/ nice views across the valley. We drove by the private climber's camp on our way out. If you're really into the spray & beta scene it might be worth staying there but it's basically a dirt pile. After bouldering, we headed into El Paso for the cultural experience. Quite a difference to look across the Rio Grande into Mexico. We had reached the apex of our journey South. From here, it was North for us.