Day 364 - Sloan Canyon: Black Mountain

After sleeping in from another late night out, I just had to get out of the city and stretch the legs. Since Red Rock is packed with New Years visitors, I checked out the far less popular Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area. With only 3 hours to spare before needing to be back for buffet night, I tried to sprint up to the top of Black Mountain, the tallest point in the park. You don't mess with buffet night. I didn't make it to the top, but I made it far enough to see snow and my own breath and it was a cool view of the city. 

Day 363 - Spring Cleaning? Also, Happy Birthday Pops!

The show last night was a lot of fun. The Divas in Vegas is far classier than the one in Northampton. 

5 hours later! Almost halfway done... 

Should I keep him?

The majority of today was dedicated to cleaning out the garage and we still have a lot to do. And I thought my Dad had a lot of holiday decorations... (PS Happy Birthday!). Then, who would have guessed that I would be puppy-sitting at a Mexican restaurant at 4:00 in the morning? 

Day 362 - The Kraft Boulders

The very cool, fun and tall Plumber's Crack [V0]

Went bouldering today at the Kraft Boulders in Red Rock. I'm very out of shape... Felt good to work those lazy muscles again. Tonight I'll be going to another show downtown with John and Bill which I'm looking forward to.

Day 361 - Tenaya Creek Brewery

Spent the afternoon in the Salon taking down the Christmas decorations. Then Uncle John made a delicious eggplant parm for dinner. Afterwards, I finally made it to a Las Vegas brewery. Tenaya Creek was pretty tasty. 

Day 360 - Goldstrike Hot Springs

Guess which direction I went.

The canyon approach. 

Lots of interesting colors... mostly slime and bacteria and things you don't want to drink.

The springs feed into the Colorado River. Dat's me at the bottom.

Not a bad view. 

Today's adventure was to the Goldstrike Hot Springs in Boulder City, NV. I had never been to a hot spring before so I was excited to finally check that off the bucket list. The hike through the canyon was fun. There were a few pools along the way to swim in, most of them already occupied, but the best one was at the end. The hike/springs terminated at the Colorado and I found an unoccupied pool right at the junction. Although I would call it a warm spring, rather than a hot spring, you can't beat skinny dipping beside the Colorado 5 days before New Years.

UPDATE: A climber fell to his death today in Red Rocks. I was actually planning on going climbing there today and decided at the last minute to go to the hot springs today. Apparently a group was climbing at the Solar Slab (a crag I've been wanting to climb) and fell due to a failure while setting up the rappel to descend. Real bummer...

Day 359 - Happy Birthday Jeezy

This is officially the first Christmas I've spent away from my family back home. Thankfully I was able to spend it with family elsewhere. Since we did the gift exchanges last night, all we did today was go out for dinner and some small gambling. I was somewhat surprised with how busy the casinos were today, but I guess everyone has their own set of traditions. 

Day 358 - Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve at the Uncle's. We opened gifts and then were planning on going out to a nice steakhouse for dinner. Instead we cancelled the reservations and got some Dominos. I was totally okay with the decision.

Day 357 - Charlie's

Very festive trailer and toilets at Charlie's.

Stopped by the salon for the holiday party. Then joined Craig and Kevin for some drinks, dinner and more drinks. Ended the night at a place called Charlie's. Without getting into details, let's just say it was an interesting time and something you'd never see back in Massachusetts. Getting the full Vegas experience fo sho.

Day 356 - I'm The Cleaning Lady

Last night I finally went out on the town to explore the nightlife. Not used to 24 hour bars. Got home around 6:30. After sleeping in, I helped clean the salon again to get it ready for the holiday party. 

Day 355 - Pot Roast, Yo

Made my first pot roast today. I was told it came out good and that's good enough for me. 

Speaking of food, join me in the Saturn as we whip up some festive chocolate peanut butter no bake cookies. Fire Extinguisher recommended.

Day 354 - Hidden Falls Canyon

The approach. 

The summit of the approach before entering the canyon. Ice Box Canyon can be seen in the distance. The pure stillness and absolute silence at the top was a seriously ethereal and emotional experience.

The awful ice section where I almost fell to my doom.

Rappel #3. At 120 feet, it's the longest rappel in the canyon. 

The exit is near.

Today I went on my first ever canyoneering adventure. Decided to tackle the Hidden Falls Canyon in Red Rock Park. After 8 hours, 5 miles, 1500 feet elevation gain, 5 rappels, and a bruised elbow and heel, I was somewhat relieved to make it back to my car. While setting up the second rappel, I slipped on the ice and fell about 10 feet down the canyon all the while grabbing the rope and pulling in slack. Thankfully the rope was through the anchor and I was able to stop myself from tumbling down more. It was some serious Michael Bay action right there. A half mile into the canyon and the ice and snow disappeared, making the rest of the descent much more enjoyable. I'm looking forward to exploring more canyons, either during the summer, or after acquiring some crampons and static rope. 

Day 353 - Car Cooking

Today I made some Christmas cards and then made an absolute mess in my car. More to come on that..

Day 352 - Show Time in Vegas

John, Barb and I before going out.

Human Nature doing their thang

Slept in, went for a run and spent the day being lazy. Then we all got ready and headed out to the Venetian to watch Human Nature perform. Never been to a show like that. It was a good time.

Day 351 - The Calico Basin

Annie soloing the final pitch on Big Bad Wolf [5.9]. We were tied in but didn't bother clipping any of the bolts. YOLO

This here is the trick to drinking a lot of beer on a budget. Free booze while gambling. Put $5 in the machine, play as slowly as possible and drink as quickly as possible. Vegas baby!

Met up with Annie and Alec and headed to the Calico Basin just outside of Red Rock for some multi-pitch climbing. We started with a 2-pitch trad route called Physical Graffiti [5.6]. One of the best crack climbs I've been on! Then did a 3-pitch sport route called Big Bad Wolf [5.9] which was equally enjoyable. Then played some video poker for the free beer while waiting for my Uncle, Bill and Barb to get back from shopping. 

Day 350 - I went to Red Rocks Again

My current rope-solo setup. The backpack makes me feel like I'm going skydiving...

My breakfast buddy.

Annie working on a nice 5.11 to wrap up the day.

Headed to Red Rocks again. Started with some rope-solos at the J Wall. Then headed to the Panty Wall, which was pretty busy. Climbed with a few groups there, then got to chatting with Annie and Alec and got on some harder climbs with them. Then grabbed some Thai for dinner with them after. Solid session today.

Day 349 - Red Rock Canyon!

A duo can be seen on the right side of the photo working through a 5.4

After a lazy morning start, I finally headed over to Red Rocks. What a beautiful Park! Found some bolted moderate single pitch routes to start playing on. Love the rock here. Eventually made friends with a group of climbers who are visiting from a college in North Carolina. Will hopefully climb again with them later this week.

Day 348 - Case of the Mondays

Uncle Jack and Eddie. Eddie hates me with a passion that leaves me flabbergasted. 

Today was a lazy day for me in Vegas. Although the temperature is dropping here, I'm hoping to begin exploring Red Rock tomorrow. 

Day 347 - The Salon

Spent the day at Bill's Salon. Cleaned the place floor to ceiling. Was my first job in 5 months! Even got a very professional haircut at the end of the day. Watch out ladies and gents, this dirtbag is fresher than a Febreze commercial!

Day 346 - Nothing, AZ and Las Vegas

Got scared and ended up downclimbing this thing.

I'm calling it Rubber Eater [V3]

Pegmatite hand jamming is quite painful. Also, I found a plastic shotgun squirtgun at the top of this boulder.
Definitely going with the name Double Barrel Squirtgun [V1]

The town of Nothing, AZ

Started trekking to Las Vegas and absolutely had to stop in Nothing, AZ. Formally a population of 4, but has since then been deserted. However, there is an expansive field of pegmatite boulders. Not the best rock and few climbable faces, but still had a great time exploring and route finding. The climbs I did were quite possibly FAs and that's pretty cool! Then Finished the drive to Vegas to see my Great Uncle Jack and his companion Bill. Had enough time for a shower and we headed out to a local bar for an HIV/AIDS benefit event. It was a fun night for a great cause.

Day 345 - Camelback Mountain and Four Peaks Brewery

The view of the sunrise from my car bed this morning.

Ob God I get so excited when another identical blue Saturn pulls up next to me... She didn't even have the nerve to acknowledge my presence... It was probably an automatic.

The view of metro Phoenix from the top of Camelback Mountain.

Flight o' Four Peaks Brewery.

After uploading my second episode of Car Cooking at a nearby Starbucks, I drove further South and decided to see what the climbing was like at Camelback Mountain which is smack dab in the middle of Phoenix. I'll tell ya, the climbing there was a whole new level of choss that I have never experienced before. It was an all-you-can-eat choss buffet. Rock climbing has never felt so sketchy in my entirely brief climbing career. With that said, it felt good to be climbing again and I still had a good time. Then, to kill some time, I meandered over to Four Peaks Brewery to sample their fermented concoctions. Some decent brews. I also struck up a few conversations with some locals, mentioned my current employment status, and managed to get some pro-bono drinks. Beer always tastes better when it's free.

Day 344 - Down 4000 Feet: Central Arizona

Everything... And I mean everything in the desert has spikes or thorns of some sort. 

Aww the Saguaro is waving hello.

The Saguaro standing tall and proud. We're not in high desert anymore.

This cute little guy (Grey Fox) jumped out of a bush and scared the bejesus out of me. 

I like big buttes and I cannot lie.

Oh Saturn, where art thou??? (Totally not posed or anything #LiveAuthentic)

With impending snow forecasted in Northern Arizona, I booked it South towards Phoenix. So much warmer! Found some free camping on BLM land which also supported off-road vehicle recreation as well as backcountry shooting ranges. With some downtime, I recorded another car cooking episode. Hopefully it isn't too long. Need to try and make them shorter I think. Ended the day exploring the various trails in the area and wishing I had a bulletproof vest. Witnessed another breathtaking sunset. As hang-gliders effortlessly floated through the canyons and hot air balloons silhouetted the horizon, the sun gracefully lowered itself behind the scores of buttes and mesas and distant mountain ranges of Western Arizona. Only kicked 3 cacti with my shins as I scrambled back to my car in the fading light.

Car Cooking: Episode 2 - The Burrito