Another Decade Done

30 years, 8 days, 3 hours, and 24 minutes later I am still having a fabulous time. I have been blessed with many unique experiences in life and turning 30 was one to remember. With a little planning on Lesley's part and the restrictions placed on me and information given to me on a need to know basis, anticipation grew for weeks if not months. I was counting down the days until we flew to Colorado and the fun that awaited, but to my surprise it began in Mississippi. After work on Aug 22nd Lesley, her mom, and Tucker took me out for what can only be described as the best steak I've ever had, next to my dad's of course. We went to Tikos in Jackson and had a wonderful evening at their house where we stayed the night because our flight was at about 6:00 a.m which equals getting up at 4:00. The alarm sounded right on cue and I was surprisingly wide awake. I wasn't sure what I was going to be involved with today but I did know that it was in Colorado with my family. We boarded our plane and landed in Denver a few short hours later to all the excitement of the Democratic National Convention which was taking place this weekend. I did manage to pin on my Obama 08 pin for the ride into Denver. My parents picked us up, which was exciting, and we headed back to their place in Aurora. Upon arrival my little brother, his girlfriend Elizabeth, and my Grandma were waiting. One thing I had been looking forward to was the new New Belgium Fat Tire beer in a can. I can't get Fat Tire in Mississippi so it was a treat to have lunch and a cold "can" of Fat Tire waiting for me. We sat down to lunch and Chris passed a note to me which read "Happy Birthday! Wow, 30 that's amazing. Seems like just yesterday we were going to the Brighton skate park for your Birthday. We've got something very special planned for you this weekend. But we're keeping it a surprise. We're going somewhere special. But, I lost the directions! You'll have to help us find our way. As I was climbing in the mountains a strong wind blew the coordinates we need all over the place, But I was able to hold on to one. This is your first clue. "We know you've been waiting for this for some time now. It rhymes with flat wire but it doesn't come in a bottle." go to 39% 36' 37.25" N 105% 8' 51.36" W - Chris" I received the clue and instantly was whipped into a frazzle of excitement. I need a map and compass I exclaim. No sooner had I made the exclamation than did Lesley pull out my GPS that she brought from home. Perfect! I ran up and down the back yard trying to get the satellites to line up and give me my position. Got IT! I don't remember what everyone else was doing but I was ready to go "The Party's Here" exclaimed the sign given to me. My dad, and Chris got the car ready and we headed out to find out where this "Flat Wire" was. Lesley, Mom, Grandma, and Elizabeth where left behind, I had little time to contemplate what they were going to do. The coordinates brought us to C-470 and Bowles and the largest monstrosity... ahemm. liquor store I have ever seen. Dubbed Tipsy World this was like a super Walmart of booze. Well I had found the "Flat Wire" aka Fat Tire and a new clue. Wow, How does that taste? Bring your brew and let's scoot. A special prize awaits you. (if you can find it.) The way is tough and I hope you don't fall or get caught. Watch out for cactus and shotgun wielding mountain folk, and always remember, "In case of flood, climb to safety." Go to 40% 00' 25.5" N 105% 20' 28.3" W. A new clue! I must be getting close. I punched the coordinates into my trusty GPS and off we went in the direction of Boulder, CO. As we drove through the city full of recently returning co-eds excited about a new year at CU we make a turn to the west and head up Boulder Canyon. My GPS tells us to stop at a tiny pullout on the side of the road just as the rain starts. There is Middle Boulder Creek to our left and a mountain to our right, I start up the mountain. No sooner had I started than I noticed a barbed wire fence, Ah "watch out for shotgun wielding mountain folk" I get it we're trespassing. Onward and upward the rain picks up and I finally notice a bright yellow dry bag suspended high in a pine tree. I've found it. I get the bag down and it is filled with all kinds of bread making goodies, and another clue. This one was written on the back of a box that told us to head up to the town of Nederland and then go north. We wound our way to the fun town of Ward and the Utica Grocery. Utica grocery was full of hippies and dogs, just the kind of place that would have delicious home baked mountain cookies. We enjoyed watching the locals shoot coffee cans with blow darts the size of a javelin and viewing the local yard art but we had one more clue to go. "Hurry Up! You're taking too long. Quit wasting everyone's time stuffing your face with those delicious cookies your last clue; 40% 20' 32.54" N, 105% 30' 22.11" W. Off we went to our weekend destination in a mountain cabin in Estes Park, CO. I arrived to Joyful howls by all of the ladies. Now, I should mention that Justin was to be a part of this little geoadventure but due to some run-ins with the Mexican immigration departing Mexico, and some flight cancellations he was slightly behind on the arrival into Colorado (hopefully that will be told in his blog). But that didn't mean he didn't have some clues and treasure to find high up in the trees as well. We had a fun time that evening when Justin arrived with our good friends John and Kelley and their dogs and then Nate and his dog arrived and Jamie and David arrived from Santa Cruz too. We stayed up late catching up. The next morning we had a little climbing to do in Rocky Mountain National Park. There are few places that I have strong place connection to, but Rocky Mountain NP and Longs Peak is one of them and I was excited to spend the morning climbing. Chris, Elizabeth and I went up to the Jurassic Park area across from the Twin Sisters to get the climbing bug out. We warmed up on some fun little routes that were very slabby, definitely a different type of climbing than I'm used to. After our warm up we went to one of the classic routes of the area "The Edge of Time" but Chris dubbed it the Edge of Reality. This was a 5.9 R with a difficult start but wonderful holds on the right all the way up. The views were also quite spectacular. I wish we would have had more time to go climbing and that more people would have been able to enjoy the routes. We headed back to the cabin for lunch, a fabulous cookout with burgers and brauts, and to see what else would unfold. Soon all of our Colorado friends and family started showing up. I was so surprised to see so many make the trip to the mountains it was wonderful. We spent the afternoon visiting with so many good friends. Again, I wish I would have had more time... but we alway have next time. Justin and I were toasted into the 30 something club, Yeah Lesley I made it. Slowly everyone departed and we settled down to relax and enjoy the rest of the time in the mountains. The next morning, my actual birthday, we packed and cleaned so we could head back to Denver for a BBQ at my parents house. We took the scenic drive along the Saint Vrain River. The BBQ and celebration at home was great with all of the family there. Our flight left the next day and it was back home to Jackson, MS for work and a little recovery before our next family event (Next Blog). Check back soon because we have a lot more to talk about with Lesley's family vacation and hurricane Gustav. I leave with some extra pictures of the fun. Enjoy!

31 Years and Counting

I still don't find any shame in letting everyone know that Lesley is older than me, in fact she is another year older 31! We celebrated her 31st birthday on Aug 3rd here in Jackson, MS. You may wonder how I could top last years kidnapping and smuggling to Santa Cruz. Well, I couldn't but that doesn't mean we didn't have a fun time. We started off with a trip to the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science. I don't think I have ever learned so much about Mississippi as I did here. I also learned that not all aligators think that turtles are food. What do you think about this proof!We also saw Whiskers (I think that was his name) He is a giant albino catfish. The museum had a fantastic exhibit that showcased all of the swamps and lakes of Mississippi.
We would have liked to spend a lot more time there, maybe next time. We had to rush out to go get our ears lowered. Through some shrewed business arrangements Lesley was able to secure, in trade, hair cuts for life (maybe not life but at least for a while). Jeremy isn't so shaggy anymore and Les is down right Cute. The hair cuts were important though because we were heading to a five course dinner at Ro Chez'. One choice, thats what you get when you eat at Ro Chez', what ever they put in front of you. The pictures won't do it justice but the food was fantastic. We hope to return again, maybe after we amass a small fortune. I would list the menu for you but just look at the pictures.The next day (which was actually the "Birth Day" we decided to have a BBQ at Lesley's moms. I baked a cake, my first, and we had a lot of fun all celebrating together. About the cake, Lesley has a favorite cake that has been made in her family for years and this is the cake she asked me to bake. I had to call her grandmother Lynn for the recipe. I made three thin white cakes out of organic ingredients, whipped up a lemon filling and made a seven minute frosting. All assembled it looked decent, but tasted great. We managed to eat the whole cake in about one week. We also made home made peach ice cream to go along with it. I think Les had a good birthday.
We also managed to get out of Jackson and go to the farm for a couple days this last weekend. Corn harvest has started and Bruce has installed a new elevator to help store his gold. He also built a nice new building for his truck drivers to use while they are at the elevator. It has A/C a shower and places for cots. I'm sure they will love the new digs.
You can't visit the new elevators with out climbing up to the top, and that is just what we intended to do. Les was brave and made it up, well close to the top. So, thats the news for now a lot of exciting things are on the way so check back soon.

Bakery 382

I have discovered the joys of bread baking as of lately and to refine my craft, when I have time, I have been trying to make fun baked goods. I started out my baking hobby with none other than the coup de gras, or in Italian Colpo di misericordia, Pizza! After a few tries at that, and a very good pizza dough if I don't say so, I was ready to move on to a more complicated bread. Lesley and I decided that a reference book was in order so we dished out enough discretionary income to purchase the Bread Bakers Bible. This tomb was full of useful information on the "Art" of bread and I have been experimenting with dough starters, fermentation times, and ingredients. It is, I think, not so much different then home brewing beer. My first creation was to bake a batch of bagels. They were followed quickly by an experiment in Banana bread, and more banana bread this time with raspberries added too. I made enough loaves of banana bread that I finally felt comfortable enough giving one away to our downstairs neighbor for his birthday. Next stop cheddar loaf. I just started this dough this week and after preparing the starter and letting it ferment I dusted the top with the rest of the flour to ferment for 24 hours. Tuesday I was able to add the cayenne, Dijon mustard, and cheddar cheese and then let that bad boy rise for about 5 hours. Finally, at about 10 o-clock I was able to bake it. It turned out great! I had a piece this morning. I think I will enjoy baking, its very relaxing.


This past weekend Lesley and I had time to finally go visit Newt who has moved to New Orleans. We met Newt and Kristy at their new home in the Garden District just down the street from where he will be going to graduate school at Tulane. We enjoyed walking to all of the great restaurants and stuffing ourselves on the unique tastes of southern Louisiana.We walked Kristy's dog, Trout, to get Snow Balls, had fun shopping at Whole Foods which we are deprived of here in Jackson, MS, watched Trout get his teeth brushed, visited a park art show, and enjoyed the rain that seemed to fall every day. It was a quick weekend though and we are now back in Ridgeland baking bread and working.
Every one stay Cool!

Climbing Clarky and Johnson's Column Left Side

Hello blogging faithful. Well, we've had a wonderful adventure in the North lands of Montana and Wyoming, exploring the vastness that can be a beautiful wild frontier or a wildly hostile monster. We were lucky, we mainly got beautiful frontier...um and some of the hostile monsters. I shall start at the beginning though and give you all the whole story. We both enjoy adventures of many kinds and this adventure began on July 4th 2008, Independence day. We caught a flight from Jackson Int. Airport in a long day of travel that routed us to Houston, TX. Next stop Colorado (Yeah)! We had a short delay at DIA, but wished it could have been a bit longer so that we could say hello to the family and my Colorado mountains. We grabbed our seats on the next flight and headed to Bozeman, MT. The plane bounced its way through the mountainous landscape on its descent into Bozeman and you could feel that this was going to be a great trip. After our bags were collected, one for clothes and one for gear, we were greeted by Ross and headed into town to do some last minute work and collect our groceries for the trip to the Clarks Fork or better known by the few who love the place as the Clarky. Few details will be given on the exact location of the Clarky to protect its isolation and wildness. We were loaded and ready to hit the road. We left Bozeman and headed to Livingston, MT to enjoy roller skate delivered hamburgers and shakes and to put some petro into the C2 so we could make the approximately 3 hour drive. We drove through Paradise Valley and entered into Yellowstone NP. The drive through Yellowstone was fun, we saw antelope, elk, mule deer, and of course the Yellowstone bison. After Yellowstone we saw fireworks in Cooke City, MT and then headed to the Clarky. Upon arriving we were immediately and completely swarmed by the hostile monsters, moskoes to the locals, and mosquitoes to the rest of us. They were a blood thirsty army that never let up. Did I mention that Ross forgot (maybe on purpose) the tent? We thought we could tough out that first night so we threw the trusty sleeping bags on the nice mountain side and proceeded to stay awake fending off the evil horde, no way were we going to do that the next night. Alas the night was nothing that couldn't be fixed with some fresh brewed Yellowstone coffee. Next plan, set up the slackline. I didn't know it at the time but we wouldn't have much time for the slacking because we would be climbing and adventure hiking for the next few days. The slackline hadn't been set up for more than a few minutes when we were ready to go scope out the canyon and the river and hopefully locate some climbing. The trail was steep and the moskoes bad but we made it through the woods and across the boulder fields to some of the most beautiful vistas I have ever seen (the pictures of course will do it no justice). We adventure hiked across catwalks and scree slopes trundling as we went. Ross had a climb in mind that he had been thinking about from previous trips. This climb had never been done before. We stashed the gear we wouldn't be using and set up the first belay station. The climb was the left side of a column on the wiggle wall and it looked solid. (Sorry about the picture here but we left the cameras with our gear and this is the only picture of the wall taken and no pictures of the route) The first pitch was so much fun that I wondered how could life get any better and then I realized that we had three more to go. The second pitch was classic. This type of climbing is what is known as blue collar climbing because you get down and dirty. Trundling rocks to remove hazards, raining dirt from every crack, and lichen encrusted granite turned you into wonderfully darker versions of yourself, ask Lesley someday what it's like to have black teeth instead of white ones. By the third pitch, and lots of blue collar climbing, the rock was assaulting all of our bodies, well maybe not Rossy's, it was grueling. The fourth and final pitch became a low angle jaunt to the top where we finished out. Because it took us awhile to complete the route we opted to hike out and back to camp leaving our gear stashed to retrieve in the morning. The route that I just described having never been climbed before was dubbed by Ross "Johnson's Column, Left Side" and gave it a rating of 5.8, I think that rating is a sandbag though. Camping was about to be a whole lot more comfortable because Ross's friend Peter showed up with a plethora of camping amenities, including a four season tent, and a moskoe proof bivy. Les and I set up the tent and proceeded to cook dinner. Cooking is a big deal camping. Food always tastes better after a hard day in the hills and this was some of the best cooking I've had. We cooked all of our meals gourmet style. Breakfast burritos and andouille sausage pasta for example. After a few beers and good conversation around the campfire with everyone the moskoes again got the best of us and it was time to retire for the day. Waking up in a cool, relaxing tent without half our blood being drained does wonders for a person. Man, we felt great in the morning, thanks Peter. More Coffee and it was time to adventure hike back to get our gear down by the river. Ross went ahead to gather the gear while we ventured down a different route to visit the Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone river. I didn't mention it earlier but there was a lot of snow throughout the west this year as many of you know and the river was screaming. Much too dangerous to cross or swim in, although we were able to lay over a rock and wash some of yesterdays climb out of our hair. It was non-the-less beautiful in its power. We enjoyed sitting on the rocks just looking and listening, and Ross enjoyed collecting the unique driftwood that the river had brought up. After we rested we decided to hike out and head to another climb, Ross packing out his sweet find as well. This one a little further away. A one pitch route over a raging creek that Ross had climbed once before. I rappelled down to the creek to start. This was going to be a fun top rope climb for me because I was still exhausted from yesterdays adventures. I picked my way through this classic dihedral route (Look closely at the picture and you will see me on the climb). I made it to the top exhausted , and pumped. Ross's turn. Ross is an excellent climber and this route gave him no trouble. After Ross got back up we set up a new anchor on a more difficult "futuristic" climb next to our last route. I was tired and I didn't have the experience to climb but I was all for belaying Ross. When he got back he looked beat and said that the route was probably a 5.12, and I was glad that I hadn't attempted that one. We had a lot of daylight left, and we where close to Sunlight Valley so it was time for a drive. This was in the top 10 of most scenic drives I have ever made. Ranches and green pastures surrounded by snow capped mountains. We pulled the truck over and made a little side hike to check out some rock and the views up there were absolutely inspiring. This is Grizzly and Wolf country and the signs of them were everywhere, from the high fences lining grazing pastures to the gun in the rack of every pickup truck but we were not blessed, on this trip, to spot one although I know they where there. Back at camp we had to give up our tent when Peter left but luck for us Witt and Kim also left and when they did they left El Casa there for us to use so one more night protected. We enjoyed a nice evening around the campfire and talked until we made our retreat to our skeeter free zone.
Monday we had to pack up and head back to Bozeman so we decided to go the long way over Bear Tooth Pass. This is also now in my top 10 most scenic drives list. It was crazy to see so much snow in July but now I know why the Rivers and Creeks are exploding right now. Above tree line people were skiing, hiking, driving, and enjoying the mountains. We wound our way through the switchbacks up one side and down the other eventually making it to Red Lodge, MT. We kept on until Bozeman. Once in Bozeman we found our way to Conrad Ankers house, a friend of Ross's, who let us stay there while they were out of town. We cleaned up and grabbed some bikes so we could tour the campus of Montana State University where I have been interested in one of their graduate programs. We also took the bikes to Ross's welding shop the "Stronghold". Pat, whom also works there was there when we arrived and we visited and shot some prairie doggies, who have been eating up the garden, with a bow and arrow, how very Montana like. We invited him to dinner with us at Aleworks and ended our trip on a good note. I won't bore you with the trip home because it was basically the same as the way out but in reverse. I will say as I end this post that I had one of the best times just camping and climbing and I can't wait to get back out to Montana. We have a couple more trips planned this summer so there should be a lot more excitement to come.