Fear and Loathing on my way to Vegas

Today is the five year anniversary of my most infamous drive from Hueco to Las Vegas.

Now before I get started I thought I talk about a little self reflection I've done over the years since this trip. In the past I've always pictured myself as Sal Paradise, Raoul Duke sort of character in all my adventures. But after reviewing my memories I might be more Neil Cassidy, Dr. Gonzo than I once thought.

To set the stage for this misadventure I have to introduce you to my best friend Gabriel. Gabriel is the kind of guy you meet at a party and you remember his name. Probably because he's lining up some sort of naked sauna roll in the snow.

I met Gabe in the Yukon when I borrowed a Tom Wolfe book from him after a random conversation. When I tried to return the book I found out that he was living in a tent behind the college. That's all well in good except it had dropped to minus 20 the night before. Tracking him down I found him showering in the public bathroom. He said he wanted to show me his tent. Turns out it was more of a tarp held up with a stick. After that Gabe moved into guest room at my parents house.

Fast forward ten years. Gabe was heading to go back from Mexico and knew I was in El Paso Texas.

Gabe emailed asking if he could get a ride to Vancouver if he bused in.

I had just spent 6 weeks having the best climbing trip of my life. I had climbed into shape and was cleaning up my projects left and right. Two days before I was planning to start the long journey back to Canada I drove out of the desert and met Gabe at the bus station. Gabe got off the bus with two friends. A Welsh guy and Gabe's new British sweetheart "Jimjam".

Surprised, I loaded them into the van to head back out into the desert. Before I had made two turns it became clear this travel arrangement was going to be a difficult one. Jimjam was tired from the 20 hour bus ride and wanted to stay in a hotel. Gabe pulled me aside and told me he was down to his last 50 bucks. And one night in the hotel would break him for the rest of the trip. He also told me his Welsh friend was worse off than him.

Feeling bad for my buddy I took them all out for all you can eat pizza. Gabe told me the trip had been good but his love interest was dragging down hard on him. He had got this rash on his privates and was worried it might be a sign of bigger problem. (I tell you this because this is the conversation we had in the lineup for pizza.) He said look man you have to look at this. It's bad and I'm not sure if I need to go to a doctor. So into the bathroom we went were he proceeded to whip it out.

(I'd like to stop here to clarify some things: One I'm not a doctor and know nothing about STD's, two it's not a hobby or passion of mine and three I don't recall really wanting to see this.)

Of course as Gabe is showing me his unholy sausage the door to the bathroom did open and yes someone did walk in. I kid you not. Needles to say I was doubly mortified. One for concerns of charges of indecent exposure or for soliciting sex and two for seeing something that is now burned into my memory for life.

(New rule: No more penis viewings for the remainder of the trip.)

That night Gab and Jimjam got a hotel while me and some random Welsh guy headed back into the desert to spend my last day in Hueco climbing.

I had my single greatest climbing day of my life that day while Gabe and Jimjam wandered the streets of El Paso passing the time until we got back. Needless to say they weren't psyched when we finally got back from climbing for the day. They had to be forced to leave their hotel at 11 and spent the remainder of the day walking the streets hungry. Gabe had spent the last of his money on a hotel and couldn't afford to go to Denny's for a Grand Slam.

When we met them, I shared a couple of my peanut butter sandwiches. My plan was to drive to Bishop with a stop in Las Vegas. I hit the gas station Gabe informed me that Jimjam was having a problem with her bladder and had to go to the bathroom every 20 minutes. I was a bit concerned. I mean that can't work. We're about to do a 12 hour straight drive.

I wasn't psyched. I was of the mind set that every time we stopped for gas, then we could use the bathroom. But I'm not completely heartless. In Gabes pre-trip conference he also informed me that Jimjam tended to get carsick and needed to sit up front.

Ok ok. Easy. Right?

So we filled up and headed out. We had been in the van for ten minutes when Jimjam stated.

"Garybell I have to go to the bathroom."

I mean I was sitting right beside her, no more than two feet away. I thought she was joking. Gabe tapped me on the shoulder from behind.

"Ah guy we needs to stop."

Now I'm not a jerk but two things started to bother me. One, we hadn't been in the van for more 15 minutes and two, why was she has holding a four liter water jug.

As we swung into a gas station on the edge of town, Jimjam ran in to relieve herself. I questioned the logic of this trip. I'm like "Gabe why don't you guys fly". He of course was like "Dude, I don't have anything left".

So five minutes later we were back on the road. As I step on it to get out of town as quickly as possible I begun to notice something troubling. Jimjam wasn't speaking to me directly. It always:

"Garybell, I don't like the music."

"Garybell, I'm cold."

"Garybell, It's too warm in here."

"Garybell, I have to go pee pee."

"Garybell, we're driving too fast."

"Garybell, how much longer."

"Garybell, can't we talk about something else."

"Garybell, I'm thirsty."

One hour into the drive I was at wits end. As we pulled over for our third bathroom break. I decided new rules:

Jimjam sits in the back of the van.

Jimjam is advised to shut up.

Jimjam is advised to cut back on the water.

Oh and Jimjam is strongly advised to shut up.

6 hours in 12 bathroom breaks.

New rule: At least two hours between bathroom breaks.

My eye twitched every time Jimjam broke one of the many rules of road. I'm normally quite sane but this was testing my limits.

"Garybell why can't I sit up front? I like to look at the license plates?"

"Garybell can you get Matthew to play something that isn't so dreary?"

"Garybell I have to go wee."

I knew we weren't going to make it to Las Vegas in a single push. I was on the edge of madness. I pulled into a gas station/rest stop and said we were crashing for the night.

I had a double bed in the back of my van and I planned on sleeping for a few hours and making my way to Vegas the next day.

Now normally I'm a nice guy. "Of course you can sleep in the back... Of course we can turn the heat on... Of course you can have my sleeping bag. But in the last 8 hours she had broken me. I was a stark raving mad man. It may not show on the outside but I was ready to snap.

Gabe and Jimjam were going to sleep up front, me and the random Welsh guy were in the back. Welsh guy could sleep across my feet. Gabe was informed if Jimjam complained she could sleep outside.

When I woke up in the morning the van was empty. When I entered the gas station I found Gabe and Jimjam sitting at a table drinking a hot coco. Gabe had found change sitting on the dashboard and got them a hot drink. Gabe pulled me aside and said that last night was the hardest night of his life. Worst than any of the nights in the tent in the Yukon. He thought they were going to die and that I might sleep through his death.

I felt bad. Gabe was my boy. If he died if would have been terrible. I said "Why didn't he climb in the back and cuddle up?"

Apparently Jimjam asked that very thing.

"Garybell I'm freezing can we trade with them?"

Some one told her:

"Isn't it time for a bathroom break!"

And not in a Welsh ascent...

The next day was much of the same driving. Pulling over and constant whining.

I was forming a plan in my mind as we drove. It won't be written here for legal reasons. My Dr. Gonzo was emerging. Instead of acting like a crazed father with a mini van full of kids, I'd gone to the dark side. After all we were driving through bat country.

We stopped in on the Grand Canyon as we neared Vegas. Sadly Jimjam never got see it. What with bathroom breaks and problems with her camera we left before she made it to the edge.

I'm not one for sightseeing and neither was Jimjam judging by the speed in which she moved once we got there.

Next up the Hoover Dam! With me being the only one with any money to their name, I decided not to pay for parking and rather slowed down to peer out the side of the window.

"Garybell why aren't we stopping?"

"..."

Gabriel is my best friend, hell he was the best man at my wedding and for that reason I didn't drive off on one of our many pit stops on the way to Vegas. But I knew as we neared Vegas it was the end of the line. Jimjam had to go. I still had a few days to go in my trip and I planned to spend a week climbing in Bishop. I had no doubts that Jimjam wouldn't be able to handle sleeping in the desert.

The plan was simple. I'd fit the bill for a hotel in Vegas. Then before dawn broke I'd head to Bishop solo.

I think my plan showed on my face. As I paid the hotel bill the Welsh guy said quietly.

"Can I come too?"

Taking a random stranger over your best friend is quite tough. I knew I couldn't leave without saying something, so while Jimjam was heading to the bathroom. I told Gabe "You can come to Bishop. " He smiled relief on his face. "But she can't. Your choice."

In the end Gabe made the choice that proved he's a great guy. He called his mom and she wired enough cash and he and Jimjam flew back to Vancouver.

Welsh guy and I headed off.

In a way I was Sal Paradise when Dean needed a ride. I just wasn't going in the right direction.

But then again Dr. Gonzo knew the true score. She was one toke over the line.

Climbing is climbing is climbing.

Funny thing happened to me down at the Tea Shop today. I was talking to a regular customer about climbing when a another person walked in and overheard my conversation. I talking to my regular about her interest in getting into climbing. I mentioned that Squamish has a bouldering coop.

Well the gentalman who had just walked in stated that Squamish didn't have a climbing gym.

"It's a bouldering gym, which isn't climbing."

"Well shucks" I said. Because in all honesty I didn't know what to say to that other than don't listen to this guy, he's an idiot and well I figured that wouldn't go over well.

He went on to compare bouldering to top-roping and it really bugged him when people called that nonsense rock climbing.

I asked if he'd ever been bouldering?

He said he had and that it wasn't at all like rock climbing.

In what sense I asked?

No real answer that didn't involve things like height.

Then I asked the classic rock climbing question. How long have you been climbing?

His answer almost two years.

"Well shucks" I said. "I see now, you don't know what the fuck your talking about".

Ok, I didn't say that, but that's what I was thinking. Because anyone who's climbed for any length of time knows you don't rain on a parade you don't know anything about.

Now I'm not overly interested in ice climbing but I'm not going to tell a ice climber their sport doesn't count because their wearing crampons and wielding axes.

I said that a lot people boulder and "climb" and the ones that do don't hold one above another.

Because its about movement on rock. And just because you jam a cam in now and then doesn't make your sport better than mine.

He said a few other things that made me convinced he was trying to impress my regular. After which he offered to take her out climbing and show her what the sports all about.

But why is it that people get so down on bouldering? Is it because its about pure difficulty? Or is because they go out and try it and get shut down on the "warm ups"?

I'm not trying to be a jerk... Well ok I'm being a bit of a jerk but what's up with "Climbing" snobbery?

The Helmet Situation.

Time to bring a little humor to the blog.

These past few months my blog has been a bit of a downer for me. I was super upset about the Duncan situation. I don't want climbing arguments or enemies.

I thought I'd tell a little story about me climbing in Australia.

I went to Australia to visit a good friend and climb the amazing sandstone in the Grampians.

After traveling and climbing in Tasmaina, Sydney and the Blue Mountains, my good friend Garrett and I headed down to a Southern area known as the Grampians. We climbed a bunch and had some good laughs but sadly Garrett had to go back to Sydney to work while I was to stay on and climb for a few more weeks by myself. Now normally this is fine in a world class area. Usually there are other climbers to hangout with and people to spot you on your projects. However for some reason the area was completely empty.

Stapleton campground was a ghost town. So each day I'd head out to the boulders and climb until I was wasted then come back to eat until it got so dark that I'd have to sit in my tent reading or watching movies on my 2" ipod.

Finally after a couple weeks a family rolled in on a camping trip. They had two preteen girls and a Dad who worked in the Australian film business. So I quickly latched on to them. I was in need of human contact and this family was my salvation.

As we were sitting around their lantern on the second night of their trip. They asked me what I was doing in the Grampians. I explained I was climbing/bouldering. Having never heard of bouldering before they asked me to explain it. So I said the usual; climbing with no ropes not very high.

(It's funny, the minute you tell someone you climb with no ropes they get this look like they're talking to a crazy person. Some sort of Dan Osman daredevil.)

Well they of course pictured me freesoloing the Tapia Wall. I was very tempted to leave that image in their minds. But sadly I explained climbing not that high as in four feet above my pad caused my legs to shake uncontrollably.

Their next question was whether I wore a helmet while doing this "bouldering" thing. I explained that no one wears a helmet and that there isn't a high danger of hitting ones head with rocks or falling on to it.

They looked at me skeptically but went along with it. I think they thought anyone hardcore enough to spend weeks climbing by themselves probably knew what they were talking about.

The next day as I prepared to go out bouldering I told them they should come along to the campground boulders which were a short walk from our campsite.

Again they expressed concern about my lack of safety equipment but I reassured them it would be fine.

As we neared the boulders I could hear a large group ahead of us. I was a little excited to have some other people to climb with. Then turning the corner I was in shock. There was a group of 20 boulderers all climbing and all wearing helmets.

My new friends turned to me in disbelief.

I'd lost their trust and I'd lost their respect. I was just another cocky kid trying to build himself up as some adventure hard man.

That night I ate alone staring in the dark across at their campsite. They played board games while I ate cold beans out of a can. I wanted to run across and explain it was just a freak occurrence. But the moment was lost. I was tempted to drive into town and buy a helmet just to make peace. But I'm not sure it would of helped.

The End.

Well kiddies. Only 20 some odd days until I'm done the 180 day challenge. Then some much needed rest.

Oh and if you're climbing with redheaded giants be sure to look up cause they can grown angry and toss down small boulders that a helmet would be the only thing to protect you.

Till next time.

Not to beat a dead horse...

A friend from the Duncan boulders sent me an email with some photos. I'll let them do the talking.

The Duncan Debate

Yo!

This past week I was over on the island doing some family stuff. Mostly eating, drinking and laughing it up. However I did manage to sneak up to Duncan for a day of sandstone bouldering in one of the hidden gems on the island.

Seriously I'd tell you where it is but you have to cross private property and well you could screw it up so I can't go back. That and it's a 45 minute hike up hill. You'd be too lazy to go there anyways.

Ok, where was I. Oh yes, bouldering in Duncan. Janelle and I hiked up to the boulders to meet up with some friends for a fun day of sandstone bouldering. I don't have many projects up there but I'm always psyched to repeat stuff and just enjoy myself.

While climbing up there I came across a few new boulder problems. What was interesting about the new problems was that they had arrows drawn on them and written names on the boulders.

My first instinct was graffiti and the disappointment that a climber would do something that was destructive to a climbing area I love.

The arrows were around four inches long and there was 4 of them pointing in varying directions. The name was about a foot and half wide and written in red.

I found out that one of the people who had written the names and drawn the arrows was in the forest that day. It felt pretty weird broaching the subject. I didn't want to get super confrontational. But I was feeling really upset about this new ethic. So I asked the individual to have a discussion about the arrows and names. He was receptive and I asked him why he would draw arrows and write the names on the problems. He had two main reasons; 1) he felt that this was a way to make the forest his own and 2) he thought this would prevent boulders from growing over.

Well both these reasons didn't seem like valid reasons to graffiti the boulders and make an eye sore. To his first point I said that no one owns these boulders or lands that he was trying to make ours and by painting on the boulders he would expose our user group as a destructive force in an already fragile climbing area. The main problem with the Duncan bouldering area is that it requires that the boulderers cross private property. Access to the boulders can easily be restricted by the local land owners. I imagine that they would be disappointed to see names and arrows all over the boulders above their land.

To his second point I argued that arrows and names aren't going to prevent regrowth at all. Quality of the problems will prevent regrowth. People climb the good problems and forget about the crappy ones. Same thing happens in Squamish all the time.

One of the problems that had a name on it I climbed and proceeded to add a lower start to. Now do I place a lower arrow? And write a name lower down to show that I've added a harder lower variation? What if someone else finds an even lower variation? Secondly what was funny was the problem I later found out had been climbed ten years earlier and had just regrown. So the name is incorrect on the boulder. All these factors alone seem like reasons not to write names and arrows.

I believe writing the name on the boulder is quite ego driven. You want people to know you did the problem, you want them to see you've climbed it and that the name is given and written permanently. Has climbing ever been helped by knowing the name of a problem? Is the grade the next thing to added? Different colours to highlight feet and hands?

Imagine a boulder that has 20 problems on it? Squamish has a few with that many. What is it going to look like with names painted all over the rock?

No amount of reasoning seemed to be getting through to this individual. He thought he was right and nothing I said seemed to matter. I said we'd been climbing in this area for 12 years and got on just fine without names and arrows. He being a new climber to the area should respect the local ethic. Again he didn't seem to care.

The fact that his actions could cause a large split in the climbing community didn't seem to matter either. The more I debated the more I realized that he wasn't going to change his mind. He said he had this debate with others and based on their disagreements towards arrows he decided to write the names as well.

I didn't have anything more to say after that. I felt like he was a destructive force and a detriment to the community as a whole. To write the names large and bold out of spite was a person I couldn't reason with.

It put a huge damper on an otherwise fun day of bouldering. I won't name names on this blog but I hope the person out there writing names and drawing arrows leaves Duncan alone. I feel the the solution will be to bring graffiti remover next time I head up to the boulders to remove all trace of this ego driven nonsense.

Sorry for a downer post. I promise next time to be all circuits and harder ascents.

Peace.

The Ten Commandments of Bouldering Etiquette

1. Thou shall not Beat down a boulder problem.*
2. Thou shall leave a bouldering area better then you found it.
3. Thou shall only listen to music with headphones.
4. Thou shall brush off your excessive chalk and ticks.
5. Thou shall stay on designated trails.
6. Thou shall give attentive spots.
7. Thou shall not brag or spray excessively.
8. Thou shall keep your language and tone to a reasonable level.
9. Thou shall think of the area more than yourself.
10. Thou shall control your animal's behaviour.

*** Beat down -- To show up to a boulder problem in a large group and proceed to attack the boulder with no respect for the boulder or anyone else trying it. A classic beat down move is to steam roll a small group with a larger one finally forcing the small group to leave due to the loud obnoxious behaviour. Usually beat downers don't brush or clean feet between tries. Beat downers often have one or two climbers who have climbed the problem before who either sit to the side spraying about past glory or trying to climb said boulder with street shoes.

More then half way home!

I'm a unstoppable climbing machine!!!

Or at least that's my mantra before I go to sleep each night.

My body is sore! Boom!

I don't think climbing five days a week would be so bad if I wasn't in the middle of a training program.

Basically I've been forced to do weights and pull-ups on climbing days. It's making it difficult to feel 100% while climbing.

Though I do feel stronger, it hasn't lead to many new sends.

So far I've climbed 43 days in Squamish this year. Which when I write it, it doesn't seem like that much. But I did go away for a month. I'm more than halfway done my climbing goal for the year.

Today I finally dropped under 200 pounds. Now I know what your thinking, "Holy crap that guy was a fat bastard". But my mother was married so I'm not a bastard. Yes I was gigantantor. But I am bigger than you so that does mean I'm going to weigh more than the average bear.

The weather this year has been really weird. It's rained a lot. More than I can remember in previous years. That said I've still been able to get out and go climbing.

Driving to Squamish when it's pouring in North Van is very hard on psyche. It's tough to have faith that my friends in Squamish aren't messing with me. I mean if someone told me it was going to be dry and it wasn't, damn I'd feel betrayed.

Kidding!

So it's been a busy year so far in the forest with many traveling climbers. I love seeing new faces, and seeing people hyped to get out and climb. A couple things that does suck however is coming up to your project and there's some dudes playing crappy music with their cell phone. I'm not a hater of music or anything but I'd rather just enjoy nature without listening to electric guitars over an iphone. Also the amount of garbage in the forest increases as well as people wandering off trail.

A couple of goals for the rest of the summer are:

• 190... Pounds
• 150 Days by the end of August
• A bunch of hard new problems
• Do the highball project I cleaned off
• 100 problem day in the forest
• 200 point climbing day (might happen on the 100 problem day)
• 20 pull-ups in a row
• Deadlift 500
• #AIDIW

Anyways that's my goals and blah blah blah.

Oh and if I didn't ask I don't want to know how many tries it took you... Joking! I'm glad you told me that way we both know how awesome you are...

Peace!

Ask and you shall receive.

(Photo courtesy of Mike Chapman) Big Bang North Walls Squamish.

Hi Gang,

I thought I'd write a blog post as I sit around waiting for the apocalypse. There's only a few more hours till I beam up to heaven so I might as well give you all one last blog while you experience the worst five months ever. The new fifth horseman Osama is going to be the worst!

While I know later today I'll be floating on a cloud without a care in the world, I thought I'd tell you what I've been up to the last two months since last we spoke.

Well I haven't taken much of a break since coming back from France. I've climbed 34 days in the last 2 months along with weight training every other day. And shocker of all shockers I took a Yoga class last Wednesday.

But I've also gone to physio for my pulled groin and now strained right knee.

I sprained my knee five weeks ago trying and failing on one of my longest running projects. Of course this happened when I finally made a huge breakthrough on the problem. Doing all the moves finally and cross-linking the bottom and the top.

Even though I can't right heel hook I'm super tempted to bite down hard and give it another try. Though at the moment common sense seems to be winning. That and limping isn't as much fun as it looks.

My weight training is going well. Or at least I think it is. I haven't noticed very many gains but I imagine that will take sometime. My brother was nice enough to give me two weight lifting bars (35 and 45 pound bars) along with just over 400 pounds of weight. I've been super interested in doing deadlifts and other lifts which I couldn't do with just dumbbells.

Deadlifts are awesome. I feel like a mother lifting a car off their trapped child every time I lift. Eat your heart out Bruce Banner from the TV show. Its a funny thing seeing what your max is and where you should aim to do your "work weight". I just stacked all the weight on the bar in the house to see what my max was. And quickly realized I'm not as strong as my imagination.

No strong man competitions in the near future.

A couple things with my goal to climb 180 days. Its hard on your body. Don't believe me? Well next year give it a try. Your body will be asking you for rest but you know that you have to get your days in. Every sunny day feels like it could be your last so you have to get out there and do battle with the stones.

That said, I'm having a lot of fun going for it. Right now I have a small lead on a friend but their an underhanded sneak who will go climbing even though they tell you their taking a rest day.

Jokes on them, two can play at that game...

What I've also learned is that I can climb multiple days in a row. In years past my body seemed to completely shut down if I went two days in a row. But I think I've conditioned myself to climb 2, 3, and even 4 days in a row. Antihydral is your friend people, especially if your in the + 200 pound world that I am.

Though I have noticed all my climbing and weight lifting has caused my weight to drop a bit. So if you see me in the forest you can tell me how slim I look and that the little black dress hasn't looked better on me.

Hell maybe in a few months I'll be back under 200 and talking about how I can ride in airplanes without having to buy two seats.

Well I'm off to find some white robes for my exit to heaven.

Stay clean people!

What I've been Up to.

So this year I went on record that I wanted to climb 180 days. As of today, I'm on track.

Though climbing 21 days out of a possible 26 in Fontainebleau didn't do wonders to my body.

Some people out in TV land were saying that it's about quality not quantity, to those people I say, "Have you ever had a bad day in Font?" I mean come on man. This isn't Bishop we're talking about here people. This is the single greatest climbing area on earth.

Anyways back to my ailing body. As it stands now my hip flexor feels destroyed, both biceps are screaming from tendonitis, left shoulder feels like it's now two extra feet away from my neck, and both calfs feel like my Achilles tendons are going to snap.

That said I have a play date at the gym here in forty five minutes. Got to keep the dream alive.

Well this trip to Font left me humbled, Life lesson never go on a trip with a guy who will flash every single one of your projects. I mean for some people this would be ok. But for someone who is as competitive as I am, this can be a tad tough...

Well I sent somethings did a bunch of problems avoid slipping on too many condoms and came away with what I think is better footwork, which remains to be seen.

You can check out some photos on my flickr account which is linked at the bottom on this page. Here's a hot video of a few problems I saw and didn't come close to trying. More updates to come I promise. I couldn't really update this blog on my Iphone.

Peace~

Happy New Year!

Like everyone else I like to make "New Years Resolutions". This year my resolution is to climb 180 days in 2011. Seems doable but we'll see at the same time.

Now kids out there, this isn't a competition. But I do plan to win this. (I've already bought the trophy...) I will set a couple ground rules for myself and anyone else who wants to play along at home.

1. For a climbing day to count you must climb 2 hours plus in one calender day. That means you can't go do one boulder problem and count that as a day.
2. You can however have easy days. That means circuits and high volume days.
3. Climbing in the gym counts, but skipping a potential outside day counts as -1. If it's raining and you want to climb its fine to climb in the gym. Going to the gym when you could be climbing on real rock is just sad.
4. If you have any question on whether your climbing day counts feel free to email me. I'll be happy to adjudicate the matter.

Likely reasons your day won't count:

• Doing pull-ups in your bedroom.
• Drunkenly bouldering on your RV.
• Walking around the boulders talking about climbing but never actually climbing.

So incase you missed it, Squamish has been going off as of late. The weather has been amazing. Cold, dry and perfect conditions. Basically every problem is dry and if they are not it's because theres icicles hanging off it (Perfect Weapon..?).

While this weather is awesome, I've been focusing on sending the "7 Terrors". On Sunday I managed to do one I hadn't be able to repeat in 7 years. Needless to say I was psyched. While the weather was good I was going around trying to wire all the problems so incase "Bad Day Low" ever surrenders and I can quickly race across the boulders to try and finish up the list.

Hope you all got out to enjoy the perfect temps. As I look out the window now I see snow beginning to fall. Looks like tomorrow is a gym day...

Later!