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City of Rocks – Provo Wall
We arrive at City of Rocks National Reserve in time for some shady afternoon climbing on Provo Wall, near our campsite. We climb Easy Corner, which pushes me into several awkward (but fun) moves despite the name. We descend on the anchors of Tennish Anyone?, a nice slab climb, then toprope that. Our first impression…
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Visiting Fish in Nampa, Idaho
The Fish in question are Ann’s parents, who have just moved along with the Mission Aviation Fellowship headquarters. Our first impression of Nampa is that half the roads are closed! Most likely this is a sign of healthy growth, but in the interim it means that getting from one point to another requires either half…
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Movie: The World’s Fastest Indian (2005)
This is a great example of a true story crafted into a hero mythology. The characters and acting are good, and you’d never guess how suspenseful it is from a description. Honest, white-knuckled chair gripping. What fun. Referred by Clare
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Tumbleweed Stampede in Sublette, Idaho
The evening finds us in the broad hills of southeast Idaho, where a setting sun shines through the rain falling from a long cloud in the giant sky. Taking the Sublette exit off I-84, we drive east toward a pocket of Sawtooth National Forest to camp. Ahead of us on the narrow, recently paved road…
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Crystal Wall after work
Doug & Liz, not knowing any better, agree to accompany me up the Poudre Canyon to Crystal Wall for some climbing. I don’t tell them until they show up at my house that I need a ride, and I’m not sure if we’ll even have time to climb, but the starry-eyed newlyweds take it in…
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Movie: The Snow Walker (2003)
Films like this make me realize how overdramatized most of the movies I watch are. The story down here isn’t stripped to the very bone like Bubble, but it is told unpretentiously. It’s a worthwhile tale, and the Alaskan setting is intriguing. Referred by Nehring
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Horseshoe Mountain
Dad, ever the explorer, chooses a forest road he’s never been up for his birthday weekend excursion. Four Mile Creek Road in Pike National Forest takes us into the Mosquito Range west of Fairplay, Colorado. We’re initially put off by swaths of private property and mining detritus, but end up having a beautiful hike up…
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Movie: Deep Blue (2005)
This ocean life documentary doesn’t go into great depth in any particular place or creature, but contains jaw-dropping footage from ocean locations all over the world. It does an especially good job of conveying a removal from the human realm, where the camera is an omniscient eye showing us sights that most human beings never…
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Movie: A History of Violence (2005)
David Cronenberg has interesting ideas, so I was willing to give this film some leeway, but after half an hour of swallowing one cliché after another, I gave up. Maybe I’m spoiled, but I’d rather listen to Cronenberg talk about his message than sit through such a bland set-up. Referred by Fresh Air
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Take me to the river
The idea is simple: we stay cool on a hot evening by bobbing around in the Poudre River for a while. The plan is complicated: Ann drives with our newly acquired tubes to the free solar-powered air pump on the bike trail, while I ride my bike to the take out at the Shields St…