Friday, December 7, 2007
Monday, April 9, 2007
Friday - Back home
Well, a long trip home. Was really worried about missing the 2nd leg from Charlotte to Newark which only had a 45 minute window to catch, particularly as we were stuck on the plane in Vegas waiting for a mechanic to fix a chair. Yeah, fix a chair. Silly but supposedly it was in the log and they couldn't legally leave. Snort.
Got out the door in Charlotte at 7:25 which coincidentally was the planned departure time of my second flight. Luckily though, after I ran all the way to the next concourse, I found out my next flight was also delayed for some unknown delay reason at Newark. They never did give an explanation other than that Air Traffic Control in Newark pushed it back. Alot of traffic I guess. Spent the time, making sure Ann Marie could still pick me up, Tom having to go to DC for an interview and Loretta having a bad back.
Did finally get back and chatted with AM as she dropped me off and headed to some now delayed evening plans. Oops! My bad.
Overall, a really great trip. At some point, I'll post some pictures with commentary.
Thanks for reading! I suggest taking a similar trip if 'opportunity' provides!
Got out the door in Charlotte at 7:25 which coincidentally was the planned departure time of my second flight. Luckily though, after I ran all the way to the next concourse, I found out my next flight was also delayed for some unknown delay reason at Newark. They never did give an explanation other than that Air Traffic Control in Newark pushed it back. Alot of traffic I guess. Spent the time, making sure Ann Marie could still pick me up, Tom having to go to DC for an interview and Loretta having a bad back.
Did finally get back and chatted with AM as she dropped me off and headed to some now delayed evening plans. Oops! My bad.
Overall, a really great trip. At some point, I'll post some pictures with commentary.
Thanks for reading! I suggest taking a similar trip if 'opportunity' provides!
Thursday - Back to Vegas
Got up early, drove my friends daughter to school as Noreen had to get to work early, and then headed on to Phoenix and then Vegas.
The drive to Phoenix was uneventful and I got there a little early and checked out a Borders before meeting up with Danielle for lunch. Mmm, Thai. Had a good time chatting with Danielle - she was excited about her new position at work.
Headed off to Vegas and wished I had looked at the map better in order to find a cleaner way to get out of the city - hit a bunch of traffic and lights. Finally got on the highway (2-3 lanes) and its nice 75mph limit. Made good time and though I'd get there in 5 hours instead of the expected 6, but then went to bumper to bumper traffic as I neared the Hoover Dam. The dam is quite cool, but for some reason I expected the approach to be fairly flat rather than deep in a canyon. Went from 75mph limit down to 15. They are building a new bypass which will include what looks to be a really cool span over the canyon about a quarter downsteam and a quarter mile higher - is supposed to be finished in '08.
Got to Vegas and decided to walk the strip. It was interesting to see how some casino's were quite smoky but some of the newer ones smelled fresh - the benefits of modern air circulation systems I bet!
The drive to Phoenix was uneventful and I got there a little early and checked out a Borders before meeting up with Danielle for lunch. Mmm, Thai. Had a good time chatting with Danielle - she was excited about her new position at work.
Headed off to Vegas and wished I had looked at the map better in order to find a cleaner way to get out of the city - hit a bunch of traffic and lights. Finally got on the highway (2-3 lanes) and its nice 75mph limit. Made good time and though I'd get there in 5 hours instead of the expected 6, but then went to bumper to bumper traffic as I neared the Hoover Dam. The dam is quite cool, but for some reason I expected the approach to be fairly flat rather than deep in a canyon. Went from 75mph limit down to 15. They are building a new bypass which will include what looks to be a really cool span over the canyon about a quarter downsteam and a quarter mile higher - is supposed to be finished in '08.
Got to Vegas and decided to walk the strip. It was interesting to see how some casino's were quite smoky but some of the newer ones smelled fresh - the benefits of modern air circulation systems I bet!
Wednesday - Back to Tucson
I finished my drive to Tucson and headed back to St Xavier mission - with my camera this time - inorder to take some pictures. A cool place.
I then headed over to the Pima Air Museum and checked out all the various old planes. Quite cool. I wasn't able to get close to the SR-71 blackbird though as they were finishing building a new hangar for it and some other planes.
The middle of the day was really hot (~91) but as the evening came near, it cooled down a lot and the air had a really cool desert smell, which my friend said was from a particular bush she had in her yard. A nice relaxed day.
I then headed over to the Pima Air Museum and checked out all the various old planes. Quite cool. I wasn't able to get close to the SR-71 blackbird though as they were finishing building a new hangar for it and some other planes.
The middle of the day was really hot (~91) but as the evening came near, it cooled down a lot and the air had a really cool desert smell, which my friend said was from a particular bush she had in her yard. A nice relaxed day.
Tuesday - Hueco Tanks
Went to the 'North Mountain' area of Hueco Tanks on Tuesday. If felt a little surreal, mostly though because I was only wearing one contact lens as in the middle of the night my left eye started hurting alot, I couldn't rinse it out, and finally put in some cream I had from when I got pink eye a year and a half ago.
North is cool in that you can self-guide and the rock is interesting, and mostly easier to get to the climbing area, but it wasn't as nice as the East area, and there was alot for modern graffiti. Yuck. They've done studies and found that within 2 years, any writing gets covered with a mineral deposit and its impossible to remove without damaging the rock. An interesting thing about the protected rock art is that there is a 50 year moving bar for protection. Anything 50 years old is protected and you can't climb near. This means in 50 more years, the modern spray paint will be protected. There wasn't a ton of graffiti and nothing as colorful as you might think, but still annoying.
A nice day but I was tired from climbing the previous day. Problems I worked on included 'No One Here Gets Out Alive' (v2) which was quite cool and 'Lobster Claw' (v5) which I made progress on but didn't get before the folks I was climbing with wanted to move on.
Though I could have stayed a third day or part of one, I decided to start back to Tucson so that I would have time to hang out with Noreen in Tucson and have time to have lunch with Danielle in Phoenix on Th.
North is cool in that you can self-guide and the rock is interesting, and mostly easier to get to the climbing area, but it wasn't as nice as the East area, and there was alot for modern graffiti. Yuck. They've done studies and found that within 2 years, any writing gets covered with a mineral deposit and its impossible to remove without damaging the rock. An interesting thing about the protected rock art is that there is a 50 year moving bar for protection. Anything 50 years old is protected and you can't climb near. This means in 50 more years, the modern spray paint will be protected. There wasn't a ton of graffiti and nothing as colorful as you might think, but still annoying.
A nice day but I was tired from climbing the previous day. Problems I worked on included 'No One Here Gets Out Alive' (v2) which was quite cool and 'Lobster Claw' (v5) which I made progress on but didn't get before the folks I was climbing with wanted to move on.
Though I could have stayed a third day or part of one, I decided to start back to Tucson so that I would have time to hang out with Noreen in Tucson and have time to have lunch with Danielle in Phoenix on Th.
Thursday, April 5, 2007
Monday - Hueco Tanks
Got up early as always (say 7ish) put my eyeballs in, had a peanut butter sandwhich or two for energy (damn, I really do talk about food alot - huh). There was a bit of confusion about starting the volunteer guided tour (apparently they are unnecessarily strict about starting times - and if one tour is canceled - then they cancel the rest too because it wouldn't be fair if some people go on one if they told someone else it was canceled?? Weird!
Head into the East area and it was really really cool. About 35mil years ago magma swelled up into the above limestone but never broke the surface. The limestone has eroded over the last 35mil years, exposing the underlying rock, which has cooled, seperated and been eroded into some cool ass boulders!! Very cool, just to hike about. I had been worried about the forecast temps of ~85, but we bouldered in the shade the whole day including pretty deep areas where it was rather cool.
Didn't do a ton of problems, but had a good time. Hardest problem I did was a classic called Dragonfly (v5).
As we walked out, Yuri, the guide pointed out various pictographs including several masks, something the area is quite well known for. Quite interesting.
Head into the East area and it was really really cool. About 35mil years ago magma swelled up into the above limestone but never broke the surface. The limestone has eroded over the last 35mil years, exposing the underlying rock, which has cooled, seperated and been eroded into some cool ass boulders!! Very cool, just to hike about. I had been worried about the forecast temps of ~85, but we bouldered in the shade the whole day including pretty deep areas where it was rather cool.
Didn't do a ton of problems, but had a good time. Hardest problem I did was a classic called Dragonfly (v5).
As we walked out, Yuri, the guide pointed out various pictographs including several masks, something the area is quite well known for. Quite interesting.
Sunday - onto Hueco Tanks
Warning: This post talks about food - quite a bit!
Sunday morning, we walked to breakfast (I really like walking to breakfast!) to a nearby park with an attached cafe. Very nice atmosphere! Great temps - a great morning. Had an egg white omelette with guacamole. Good, but not quite as good as the day before. The fruit salad we all shared was really good though!
Walked back to the house, hung out a bit more, and then I headed off - but with a stop first. Decided to go to Mass at a nearby church - St Odilia. Not familiar with her - will need to look it up. Palm sunday services were nice and the lighting in the church - mismatched hanging lights near the front was cool.
Started the 310 miles drive to El Paso - felt a bit longer than some of the other drives I've done. Drove into New Mexico (first time there) and then into Texas where I got in touch with Brian, a cousin of Ann Marie's who she arranged for me to meet up with. Brian's wife wasn't able to join us, but I had a good time chatting with him about all sort of things at a restaurant called 'The State Line' the name of which comes from the fact that the parking lot is in Texas and the restaurant in New Mexico. The vegetarian's among you will cringe, but yes I had the meat special - 5 types. The sausage was weird, the ribs okay but the brisket was excellent! And the bread was very good as well.
Sated (a little too full actually), I headed off to Hueco Tanks.
I'm really glad I decided to pull over to read that map as I got onto Montana Ave - as I was pulling out a cop and then a second decided to pull over two separate vehicles. Whee. Drove in the dark up to Hueco and wound up having to turn around a couple times to read street signs - its dark out there in the hinterlands! Actually, the directdions turned out to be very straight forward.
Made it into camp, opened the door to 'the barn' and found some climbers there - including one I've met before - Chris from the climbing store in New Paltz. Didn't know him well, but he and the others made me feel quite welcome, and soon enough I found myself invited on a 'volunteer tour' into the East Area of Hueco Tanks. The restriction system there is a bit of a pain in the pass. You can only get into the E/W/S areas on a guided tour - either commerical ($20) or led by a volunteer guide (regular entrance fee of $4 but a pain to get into).
Played quite a bit of foozball, did pretty bad and headed off to bed.
Sunday morning, we walked to breakfast (I really like walking to breakfast!) to a nearby park with an attached cafe. Very nice atmosphere! Great temps - a great morning. Had an egg white omelette with guacamole. Good, but not quite as good as the day before. The fruit salad we all shared was really good though!
Walked back to the house, hung out a bit more, and then I headed off - but with a stop first. Decided to go to Mass at a nearby church - St Odilia. Not familiar with her - will need to look it up. Palm sunday services were nice and the lighting in the church - mismatched hanging lights near the front was cool.
Started the 310 miles drive to El Paso - felt a bit longer than some of the other drives I've done. Drove into New Mexico (first time there) and then into Texas where I got in touch with Brian, a cousin of Ann Marie's who she arranged for me to meet up with. Brian's wife wasn't able to join us, but I had a good time chatting with him about all sort of things at a restaurant called 'The State Line' the name of which comes from the fact that the parking lot is in Texas and the restaurant in New Mexico. The vegetarian's among you will cringe, but yes I had the meat special - 5 types. The sausage was weird, the ribs okay but the brisket was excellent! And the bread was very good as well.
Sated (a little too full actually), I headed off to Hueco Tanks.
I'm really glad I decided to pull over to read that map as I got onto Montana Ave - as I was pulling out a cop and then a second decided to pull over two separate vehicles. Whee. Drove in the dark up to Hueco and wound up having to turn around a couple times to read street signs - its dark out there in the hinterlands! Actually, the directdions turned out to be very straight forward.
Made it into camp, opened the door to 'the barn' and found some climbers there - including one I've met before - Chris from the climbing store in New Paltz. Didn't know him well, but he and the others made me feel quite welcome, and soon enough I found myself invited on a 'volunteer tour' into the East Area of Hueco Tanks. The restriction system there is a bit of a pain in the pass. You can only get into the E/W/S areas on a guided tour - either commerical ($20) or led by a volunteer guide (regular entrance fee of $4 but a pain to get into).
Played quite a bit of foozball, did pretty bad and headed off to bed.
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