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Movie: Time To Leave (2006)
Death approaches. Now and then a story reminds me that no other premise is needed, this is the engine of drama itself. When a story dispenses with the usual embellishments, though, it exposes itself to the pitfalls of cliché and sentimentality. This film avoids these traps with simplicity as well – with a believable character…
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Movie: How To Kill Your Neighbor’s Dog (2000)
A good enough amusement for a quiet evening, this story of a playwright confronting adulthood in LA doesn’t make quite as much fun of LA as I hoped for, but has it’s clever parts and some funny moments.
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Half day on the Nautilus
Camping near the road on the Saturday night of a giant Vedauwoo kegger somewhere further in is a noisy, dusty affair. We make a note to hunt down more remote camping next time. Nevertheless, we awake to another gorgeous morning. Today is my day to lead something wide. We park at The Nautilus and wander…
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Valiant attempts on Poland Hill
We wake up in Vedauwoo, the reward for punching through Friday night fatigue, packing the car, and meeting Kate and Mark in Wyoming. It’s well worth it. The tent never felt better, and the day greets us like a herald of summer sun and warmth. Eagerness for the day’s potential creeps in as water is…
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Afternoon showers make good fishing
I don’t know if these guys have heard the weather forecast of snowstorms on the way, but they seem unusually willing to let me watch them at their business of catching lots of fish. The whole pond is full of fishers, 3 herons, the pelican, ducks, and geese. I stop and watch for quite a…
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Barfy’s Favorite on Greyrock
It’s highly questionable whether we should be rock climbing today after we drive halfway to the crag with the hatch of our Subaru open, but these things happen to everyone, right? We also forget to drop our garbage off, so it will cook in the car all day. Hmm. The hike in to Greyrock goes…
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Palace Fun
We make it up to The Palace about the same time the rain clouds do. The river is 2 or 3 inches higher than our last crossing, and we hope a sudden downpour doesn’t raise the water level much more. We start on Churhill Rejects 5.9+, which is now my favorite starter route here, reminiscent…
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Lover’s Leap Multipitch
The cold, overcast morning does not encourage us to pursue our plans to do a local multipitch climb of Lover’s Leap. We go out for a leisurely breakfast, check out the now-closed crags at North Turkey Creek, realize we’ve lost our phones, and return to Dad’s where we don’t find them. We still don’t feel…
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Live Music: CSO and Christopher O’Riley
The introductory piece tonight is Tibetan Swing by Chinese composer Bright Sheng, a piece inspired by a rhythmic, whirling mountain folk dance. It’s a good mix of foreign and familiar sounds, and a nice tribute to a culture whose survival is threatened. Next Christopher O’Riley takes the stage to play Ravel’s Piano Concerto for the…
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Bear Creek Trail Hike
We join my dad to do some car shuttling on this sunny afternoon to help us explore some more of the many trails near Dad’s house in Indian Hills. To make sure we get some uphill hiking, we park one car at the Pence Park Trailhead, and take the other down Bear Creek to the…