Tucson, Phoenix and on to Sedona

So we found a nice spot to camp in Tucson at a lookout on Mt. Lemmon. Turns out it's also a popular spot for kids to go and play loud music and drink. Luckily they didn't stay too long and we got a good night's rest. Also the moon setting over Tucson was pretty rad.

Unfortunately the next day was way too cold and windy to go climbing so we abandoned those plans and drove to Phoenix. The bartender the night before recommended some hot springs outside of the city so we drove there as we were both looking forward to a shower/soak.

The hot springs place was... unique... to say the least. Sort of homemade outdoor setting in the middle of nowhere. Oh well, we paid for 1 hour in the communal bath area, which also was nude-only bathing. In this area was an array of random tubs laid about where you would choose whichever tub suited you.

It was a fun, new and interesting experience for sure, but we were beyond happy to be clean again. We then drove to some BLM land to camp for the night.

Next day we found some climbing in Phoenix at an area called Tom's Thumb. The climbing was on desert granite, which was fun round granite covered in massive crystals. An aggressive hour long approach got us to the climbing where we put down a 2-pitch 5.6 rad route that was really fun. It was Camille's first time climbing on granite and she did awesome.

Then we drove towards Sedona and camped on some BLM that night. We finished the drive in the morning. Holy moly Sedona is beautiful. The town itself is incredibly touristy but the surrounding red rock sandstone cliffs and spires are spectacular. 

The first day we did a nice 4.7 mile hike around some of the cliffs. We stopped a lot because every 20 feet was photo-worthy.

About halfway through the hike we found this incredible formation in the sandstone. There was a huge arch on the ground and then a smaller window above it.

When you climbed inside this formation it felt like you were on another planet. It was something I had yet to see in all my exploring of deserts thus far. And the lighting was incredible!!

Then on the hike back we found a large group of female Mule Deer accompanied by this one protective buck.

The next day we found a spot to climb. Another hour long approach filled with brutal scrambling and cacti to avoid at every step. Then we got to the route. Camille's first route on sandstone! She did awesome once again. It was a 3-pitch 5.9. To get to the start of it, you had to crawl through a tiny tunnel. New for me!

Pitch 1.

Sizing up pitch 2.

The summit! Awesome views!

Sorry, I'd provide more details but Whole Foods is closing and we're about to get kicked out. Until next time!.

Back to America and Heading West

So the cold temps were too much for Camille and I. Our two options were to either:

1.  Wait 2 days without climbing until the weather warmed so that we could climb a couple days more before leaving Mexico
2. Leave Mexico right away and spend the couple cold days driving in a warm car

We chose option 2. The plan was to drive from Mexico straight to Big Bend National Park in the US. Unfortunately, between a weird glitch in Google Maps and an oversight by me, we drove several hours north towards the border on a road that didn't actually cross the border. Thankfully we were stopped by some Mexican soldiers before we got too low on gas. The conversation went like this (in Spanish):

Soldier: Where are you going tonight? (It was like 8PM at this point)

Us: Across the border, to Big Bend National Park

Soldier: With your car???

Us: Yep!

Soldier: That's not possible. There's no border crossing on this road

Us: There's no bridge over the river?

Soldier: Nope, no bridge

Us: Shit

Soldier: Laughs to himself

So we retraced our path a couple hours south, then drove north again towards Del Rio, USA, slept on the side of the noisy highway, and properly crossed the border the next morning. In the morning we ate pounds and pounds of fruit and Camille made guacamole from our avocados assuming they would confiscate all of our food. Luckily the border at Del Rio was super quiet. After some confusion about passport stamping, fees, and cancelling our vehicle permit, we were back on American soil and heading towards Big Bend.

Big Ben was awesome! Lots of amazing geological features which Camille really enjoyed. We also saw plenty of wildlife including roadrunners, a coyote and a baby mountain lion!

I think one of the highlights was the hot springs. A quick hike from a parking lot leads you to a quasi-constructed "bath" at the edge of the Rio Grande. The water was a consistent 105°F and absolutely wonderful after a couple days of not showering.

It was really interesting bathing in a hot spring next to the Mexican border. If you wanted, you could jump into the Rio Grande and swim the 20 feet to the other side and be on Mexican soil. I'm not a good swimmer, I was just in Mexico and the river was cold, so this feat was not attempted. After a couple hours in the hot springs everyone left and Camille and I had the place to ourselves. The stars were spectacular in Big Bend! Definitely worth the stop.

We did plenty of hiking the next day.

The Santa Elena Canyon was beautiful.

The day after we did a quick hike in the morning before hitting the road again. We stopped at several visitor centers and they were all closed. I wonder why?

We drove to Las Cruces, NM to spend the night. We found a nice camping spot on some BLM land above the city. The view of the setting moon and the city lights was awesome.

The next morning we drove an hour north to White Sands National Monument. We hit a border patrol checkpoint right before the monument. When we told the man we were heading to the White Sands he explained that it was closed due to the Government Shutdown. Oh... that's why the visitor centers at Big Bend were closed. All National Parks and National Monuments are now closed until Congress can get its act together and pass a damn budget. This could put a huge wrinkle in our plans to visit a bunch more national parks. I hope they approve things soon and get that silly government back up and running smoothly.

Either way, there was a spot on the highway near the National Monument where the sand was spilling over the fence. Lots of other people who were disappointed that the park was closed had stopped here to get a glimpse of the White Sands. So we also perused and had an awesome time frolicking through the beautiful white dunes, in painfully whipping winds. Thankfully this little hop over the fence made the drive worth it.

Now we're at Crooked Tooth Brewery in Tucson, Arizona editing photos, updating things and planning next steps. We think we'll climb tomorrow outside of Tucson then start making our way north. Camille saw that the Grand Canyon is still open during the shutdown so maybe that will be a stop for us in our near future!

El Potrero Chico Is Magical

Camille and I have been climbing in Potrero Chico for a week now. Today is the first day of rain, hence why I'm finally updating the blog. Until now I've climbed every day and a rest day was definitely necessary.

Although there's the occasional loose rock here and there, the climbing here is really fun. It's mostly comprised of grey limestone which offers a huge variety of holds and climbing styles, depending on where in the park you decide to climb.

We're staying a La Posada, camping in the car amongst many tents and vans. The view of the mountains every morning hasn't gotten old yet.

Camille and I have climbed lots of single pitch routes over the week. So much variety all over.

I've also climbed with some other people for a few days. Here's Marino following me up a pitch of Treasure of the Sierra Madre, 7 pitch 5.10c.

Here's Dave towards the beginning of our send of Yankee Clipper, a 15 pitch 5.12a. We linked up most of the pitches and finished the route in less than 4 hours. It was also the first time I tried simul-climbing. A proud accomplishment for me for sure.

The view from the top was spectacular.

Here's the entrance to the park. It's a couple minute walk from the camping. Feeling quite spoiled here.

Camille and I also climbed up a few multi-pitches. Here she is during the very exposed traverse on Dope Ninja, 6-pitch 5.10b.

Tongue selfie to celebrate getting to the summit.

Awesome views during the rappel back down.

Celebratory margaritas at Edgardo's food and beer truck. The warmth of the fire was warmly welcomed.

The cold and rainy day today isn't fun, but the low hanging clouds are nice to look at.

The light here is consistently amazing.

Sometimes the moon says hello.

We're here for at least a couple more days. Temps have dropped considerably and there is now ice forming on everything. We'll see how the next couple days go!

Viva Mexico!

Did a little more exploring in Austin before heading South. Camille and I explored Hamilton Pool. I've been a couple times before but never with a geology enthusiast, which allowed for a cool new perspective of the area. Never noticed how the entire place was covered in fossils!

Then we stopped at Jester King Brewery. They make really tasty farmhouse beers and they had live music and outdoor games. We also did the tour which was really interesting and educational.

Then we drove to Mexico! We thought the border crossing would be straightforward but we were proven wrong immediately. We drove through a couple checkpoints where we were waived by without stopping. Then suddenly we were in Mexico... No passport check, no car inspection, just free to drive in Mexico... We were very confused. We followed some obscure signs, asked a few people and finally found our way to the vehicle permit office where they eventually charged us a bunch of fees, stamped our passports and gave us a permit for our car. Sigh of relief.

Then while driving away from the permit office I gave half of my carrot to a guy selling newspapers and he called himself a rabbit.

Then we got to Potrero Chico!

We are staying at La Posada, the most popular camping spot for climbers, as you can see in this photo of the communal kitchen. At the camp it doesn't feel like we are in Mexico because everyone speaks English. But it's a lot of fun meeting all sorts of people from all over the world. 

The climbing so far has been really fun. Just single pitch routes at the moment, but hopefully we'll climb something really tall soon.

More to come soon!