On our way home from Joes, we stopped and stayed in Moab for a night. It’s a pretty cool town – it reminds me a lot of Sedona. Not somewhere I’d want to live, but nice to visit. While we were there, we made a trip out to Arches National Park and hiked around for a couple hours. One thing that I will say is that people who visit National Parks on the whole are a bunch of assholes. Not sure what their deal is but I kept a running total of how many people smiled back at me when I smiled at them first and I was able to keep the tally using only 2 hands. It made me realize how lucky we are to live in such a nice state like AZ. I guess I’ve just been spoiled by all the happy people. Hahaha! Anyway, it was a pretty cool place to visit but not sure I’d go back again…
First arch of the day…Same arch, different side…Look how small I am!Tommy distracted by my muscles…Pretty sure this is called the Great Arch? Not sure, but it is the biggest one in the park and is pretty darn cool…Another view…
Setting out on the 7 mile round about trail…We actually had to do some scurrying around!
More trail…Strike a pose…
So…this was the coolest part of the park. We were at a place called Devils Garden and out at the very end was the “Dark Angel.” We were the only ones out there and believe it or not it was super creepy – a very ominous vibe. Maybe it was the weather but whatever it was, I didn’t feel like sticking around too long.Making our way out to the Angel and taking in the view…
Coming up on her…How creepy is this picture!? Her back is to us and she’s staring down this demon coming out of the earth…So elegant..More arches…Other side…We got lost so I had to find the way back…Tommy didn’t think I could do it. He should know better than to DOUBT me!Then we loved each other againBack at the great arch after the loopA cool log…There’s a troll underneath!Making our way back to the beginningAll the jabronies…Until next time Arches!
Ever since we began climbing, whispers of an amazing boulder destination up in UT called Joe’s Valley have been heard everywhere we go. So many people we know have raved about it saying “You HAVE to get up there! It’s awesome!” So this year we finally got around to getting up there and boy, were they right! It’s a depressing drive to say the least, but the destination is absolutely amazing! SO MANY boulders and NO ONE around. That’s one of the beefs I have about going to Bishop now. I swear, it’s like going to an outdoor gym. So many people! But anyway, Joe’s had a wonderful variety of rocks and routes and easy approaches so we were able to sample a lot of lines in the short time we were there. We only stayed for four days and after a six month hiatus, we didn’t expect much. We actually did pretty well, I think, but are anxious to go back when we’re stronger. We’ve already planned next years trip, so hopefully we can put down some classics and enjoy another quiet getaway. =)
Picture of our campsite and me just waking up. HahaThis was Huntington state parkFinding some warm ups…Pretty country…Tommy balancing up one of our first rocks…Me tenuously trying a crimpy problem…Whew, kept the sloperThe approach to an awesome cluster of boulders…Trying a sketchy highball…
Time for a siesta!Up at the dairy farm. This place was gorgeousWalking down the hill after scouting out some stuff…The snowmobile making it’s way outWorking my way up Big Lebowski. Really fun problem
Super good crossThe view from New JoesThe infamous car from the guidebook. Pretty coolThe beautiful reservoirA river runs through itRight next to a rock we were on…Suuuuper fun V5.Our Joes crew. We met these guys on our second to last day and just formed a little gang. Awesome people. Far left is a Joes local with his dog, Trigger and the other two were German guys visiting the states. Climbing peeps are so super cool. =)
Here’s a little video compilation from the trip with a preview of the action from Arches and Monument Valley!
After going back and forth for a while, we finally decided to pull the trigger and get some chickens for egg laying! I had been talking to my girlfriend about them and she convinced us it was a great idea. So we went to Ace and bought four baby chicks. They were absolutely adorable! The gentleman who helped us buy them has become a good friend actually, and we asked that he give us chicks who would be good tempered, good egg layers and do well in the hot weather. He picked out four different breeds and we took them home.
Meet Bella, Fifi, Marina and Izzy. We let the boys pick their names and believe it or not, they did a pretty good job matching them personality wise!
For the next 2 months we watched them grow like weeds and they each developed little personalities. It was fun to take them out of their box and let them run around the garage. The only problem was that they pooped SO much and poor Tommy was getting sick of all the chicken bombs. Haha.
This is them at about 2 months old – right before we moved them outside.
I knew we needed a good coop and I wanted Tommy to build one, but we were pressed for time and he had so much on his plate, I decided to just buy one instead. We found one online that was shipped down from Oregon, but when we opened up the package we were absolutely shocked at the poor quality. We decided to try and make it work and set it up out against the block wall with a few modifications.
My mom said it looked like a doll house. Hahaha!
However, we found out pretty quickly that it had not been completely waterproofed and after a couple days of rain, the chicks looked like drowned rats running around in the mud. Plus, it was SO small. I couldn’t believe they had promoted this thing being able to house SIX chickens! Baloney! They were growing at such a rapid rate and living in such close quarters I knew they were getting stressed. This can cause major problems with a flock. So, I basically forced Tommy to make a coop that I found on Craigslist instead of spending a ton more money and getting another piece of crap. It was an awesome design and he agreed it would be much better.
It was a 9×8 design and we moved it next to the shed.
Stained and wiredGetting ready for the roof
The Chicken Palace
The roostDelivery room doorInside the roostLots of room!Here they are in August
Here they are in SeptemberThe gang
Three of the girls are laying right now. The golden girl up front has not started yet. So far we’ve been getting about 15-20 eggs a week and they are delicious! They will not become adults until about a year old, so they still have some growing to do. I’m happy we made this decision. These girls have been a lot of fun and it’s been really cool to have our boys experience something like this.
*** As of November 9th, 2016, we’ve had quite the revelation happen. Izzy has now become Ozzy. We found out this morning he was a rooster! Crowing and squawking to his hearts content. Tommy wasn’t very thrilled but I’ve insisted that we keep him around unless he starts to get unmanageable. We are not going to make him chicken dinner, but rather if the time comes, we’ll sell him off to a good home looking for a good rooster. Hopefully that never happens, but I’m afraid that nature is much more powerful than nurture in situations like these, so we’ll just have to see what happens. Fingers crossed! =)
Heya everyone! I’m doing major catch up today since I obviously haven’t posted in almost a YEAR! What the heck, I can’t believe it’s almost December. Anyway, I’ll be catching everyone up in the next few days hopefully on what’s been happening this past year.
This climbing area is up in a place called Reddington Pass. It’s a gorgeous place and only about an hour from door to boulder. While this area IS beautiful, it only offers a couple good bouldering problems, limited warm ups, a squirrely approach (that is hard to manage with kids) and naked people that I would rather not see. This is a nudist area and unfortunately, they are in force when the weather warms up. Soooo, this means that we can only climb when the weather gets cold so we can avoid having to look at naked body parts. Thanks but no.
Anyway, we found an awesome boulder that we wanted to start projecting but the second time we worked it, I totally jacked my knee up and Tommy tweaked his finger. So disappointing! It put us out of climbing for about 6 months and while I was totally pissed about this hiatus, it actually ended up being a great thing. As climbers, we never want to take rests because they cause a loss of gains! Finger, skin and core strength are the things that are lost the quickest and sooo hard to regain. However, one thing that does stay with you is experience and we are lucky that’s the case.
So, with that, here is the boulder we worked back in March that put us out until October. It’s an amazing rock with some super sweet problems. I don’t know if we’ll make our way back to it anytime soon.
Tommy resting his poor fingers…
Trying different beta. This thing has micro edges and crimps.Thinking “how the hell am I getting up to the thing!?”
Tommy had a Friday off and since William was at home with me, we decided to take him to the range and start getting him comfortable with shooting firearms. Nothing is more effective than education. That’s how I was taught and I’m anxious to pass that knowledge onto my boys. One day when they are old enough, I would like Tommy to teach them to hunt as well. Will had a great time. He wasn’t a big fan of the AR15 or the pistol, but he really liked the 22 rifle. Last year for Christmas, Uncle Joe got both of them BB guns and they have gotten really good shooting cans in the back yard.
Starting him off with the 22 rifle…
Getting situatedReady…aim…Fire!Taking a turn with the pistol
