It's been far too long since our last post! Here's Cody on his "golden" birthday. He turned 27 on the 27th of June this year, and we had a nice day. He's showing off two of his gifts in this photo- the delicious fruit arrangement from his mom, and the new shirt from my mom!
We both worked a bit during the day, and then I made him a huge dinner- a spinach salad, a whole roast chicken, and a cheesecake with fresh summer berries. About the time the chicken was coming out of the oven, I realized how silly it was to have this beautiful meal for just the two of us. We called up our good friends, PJ and Sarah, and asked if they had dinner plans- they didn't - so we brought a feast to their house, to share with them and their daughters. It was a warm summer evening, and we had a great night out in their backyard.
The following Saturday, we headed to Maple Canyon once again. Our friend Brian Dunnohew came down to SLC on Friday, for some work stuff, and then joined us. His psych is continuous and contagious- I'd climb with him any day of the year!
We had great weather, and good climbing! I managed to send Honeybucket, the .12a I worked last trip, despite blowing it on my first go, from the jugs beyond the crux! Noooo! Cody and Brian both made progress on Captain Bullet, but neither managed to send the route.
At the end of the day, we ended up at a small crag right by the roadside. The crag had seven routes, of varying grades from 5.10c to 5.7, all well within our climbing ability, and we decided to do a marathon, and climb them all! We worked from right to left, and I was so worked by the end of it- and we finished up on a .10a, I could barely finish it! Cody and I were definitely sore the next day.
Down at the shop... We've made some good progress, both on the exterior and interior. We attached the skeg, that funny fin-shaped piece. We glued in long stainless steel bolts to add stability, and you can see how long the drill bit needed to be to accommodate the bolts!
Now the skeg is attached, and Cody's fairing it in this photo. We had to lift the boat up a few more inches to allow for the skeg to fit.
We've also painted the cabin roof- and texturized it, so it's non-skid. It was a fairly easy job, but a hot one! I could just feel the sun beating on the black tar roof, heating the shop like an oven... The boat is really starting to look finished! Also in this photo, you can see some of the deck fills we've installed. The silver one, on the side deck, on the right of the photo, leads to a water tank. There's also a black one, further forward on the side deck, which will be the waste pump-out. It was quite the wrestling match to get them plumbed, but they're both attached and ready to go. I think the plumbing is pretty much complete, which is a huge relief!
Speaking of plumbing... Here's the cute little door I made for the head. We were able to salvage a door handle and hinges from one of the boats we scrapped. It really looks nice in the cabin. I can't wait until the mast is in place- it will go along the wall just beside the door, and will cover those exposed wires.
The deadwood has been reinforced with fiberglass, and had a preliminary fairing. I sanded the whole thing the other day- what a job! My neck and back were tired the next day! But it looks great, and is ready for the lead keel to be attached beneath it.
We've got the rudder laminated up, and fiber-glassed, and faired as well. It's quite big and heavy- should be nice and sturdy! One of our books recommends a thick, solid-stock rudder so that, and I quote, "The waterskier will break, and not your rudder." Apparently that's been a problem in some boats?
We've had a little assistant in the shop recently. He loves to lay around in all the sawdust. And he really doesn't like it when we try to dust him off with the air compressor.
We also attended the 20th annual International Climber's Festival this past weekend. Somehow, we never managed to take photos... Probably because we weren't climbing together very much. The Fest is wonderful in that we have a big group of friends to climb with, so I run off with a great group of ladies, and Cody with the guys. Regardless of our lack of evidence, this Fest was one of the best I've ever attended, and it was my seventh year attending! (Oy! that makes me feel old!)
I love climbing in Wyoming, especially at the Wild Iris. I've said it before...here. The wildflowers were still hanging on, and the temps were lovely. We had cool mornings, sunny middays, and afternoon thunderstorms. I made a lot of progress on a route that felt impossible a few years ago. Cody sent a number of hard routes. We saw the world premiere of a film documenting the history of climbing in Lander, and heard several pro climbers speak. (Tommy Caldwell, Cedar Wright, Henry Barber, Emily Harrington, and Timmy O'Neill, if you're interested...) Good times.
Now we're back in Salt Lake, hard at it again. Cody's got some work building a climbing wall up in Park City, and I'm working down at the boat shop. We've got more little trips planned in the near future, so we've got to make the weeks in between count, especially if we want to get out of the shop anytime soon!
