Devil's Tower

It's just a two for one kind of day around here.... I already posted about life in Lingle, but I just have to post about our weekend in Devil's Tower!  

Our buddy Tim drove up from Laramie to join us for the weekend.  We headed out on Friday evening and arrived after dark.   

We awoke the next morning to the tower looming above our campsite, it's splitter pillars calling our names.

After a short hike on the tourist-friendly paved trail, we ventured up to the base of the tower itself.  

Looks pretty impressive close up, doesn't it?

Kelby leading the classic and mile-long Assembly Line (5.9) pitch.  The columns of the tower make for some of the longest and most sustained pitches I have ever climbed. 

A couple of goobers on the belay!

Team Harris-Long-Scott on the Summit! All the tourists asked us what it was like up there- well, it was just a big grassy hill, covered in ants.  Not so glamourous.  But we signed the summit register, took some photos, ate some granola bars, and rapped down.  It was a hot day, and once we were back on the ground, we headed straight for the river.  

  The boys, cooling off and admiring the tower. 

After our swim, we were playing hearts at our campsite, and a friendly park ranger came by and told us about the evening program going on that night. A man named Buffalo Bill Boycott was going to be playing music and telling stories, and to quote the ranger, "It's just going to be a lot of fun." 

We headed out to have dinner, which ended up as a bust.  The KOA campsite had a diner that served buffalo burgers in the shape a buffalo.  Not so good.   

But Buffalo Bill, he was good.  He played the banjo, guitar, mandolin and fiddle.  He told jokes and bits of cowboy poetry.  He did Native American sign language storytelling, and told us history of the wild west.  It was a great show!  We went to bed exhausted and happy.  

The next morning, we climbed a bit more- attempted the classic El Matador (5.10d), and then headed over to the slightly easier but still classic Soler (5.9) and Walt Bailey (5.9).  We were battered and tired at the end of the day, but another river swim, and a real burger for dinner worked wonders.   

What a dreamy weekend!  

Life in Lingle

Cody and I are currently in Lingle, Wyoming, with the Greenwald family. Our good friend Kelby Scott spends his summers working on his sister and brother-in-law's farm.  He invited us to come work with him for a week or so, and he and Cody have been hard at it all week!    

The Greenwalds grow corn and alfalfa, and also run a feedlot of about 2000 cattle.  This is a photo of the freshly swathed alfalfa field outside of the house.  Kaylee swathed it herself!  She even let me do a row-  I managed to drive the swather in a nice straight line.  After swathing, the hay is baled and fed to the cattle.  

Did you know alfalfa has purple flowers?  I didn't either!

Acres and acres of corn!  The Greenwalds use "round-up ready" corn, so they can use round-up to kill the weeds, but not the corn.  The corn is almost 7 feet tall, and will grow to 10 feet when they harvest.  The feed almost all the corn to the cattle come harvest time-  They keep some of it to eat themselves!   

  

Kaylee and Makenna raise goats for their 4-H club.  This is Peaches, a nigerian dwarf goat.  Currently, she's about as wide as she is tall,  and is expected to have her babies sometime this month! 

After milking the goats, we funnel it into clean beer bottles and feed it to the kids.  The Alpine goats give   about 2 gallons a day!  We made some fudge from goat milk, and attempted to make cheese, but the recipe didn't work out...  We'll try again this week! 

Some hungry kiddos!  These guys drink 2-3 bottles of milk every morning and night.  They've grown so much in the past week!  

There are lots of baby animals around.  These barn kittens will handle the mouse population when they get a bit bigger!  

Sweet Emma-  one of the family Welsh Corgi's.  

One of the many beautiful spots around the farm!  

The Wonders of Wild Iris

We love just about everything about climbing at Wild Iris. 

We love the hike to the crags. 

We love the climbing itself.

(This is a route called The Devil wears Spurs, a fantastic 5.10d)

We love the wildlife.  

We found this picture-perfect nest in a limestone pocket along the trail. 

Wildflowers.  

Enough said.

Did I mention the wildlife?

These are some curious baby pronghorn antelope, coming to say hello.  They were less than twenty feet from us before they trotted off.  Don't miss their adorable furry rumps as they run away.

When it comes to living the dream, there isn't a better place than Wild Iris.

ps.  Congratulations to Bryan and Charleigh Wolfe!

 They had a beautiful day for a wedding, and we wish them all the best!

pps.  Wild Iris is about 30 minutes outside of Lander!  

Love in Lander

  

  Cody and I are currently in Lander, Wyoming, to see our good friend Bryan Wolfe get married to a lovely lady named Charleigh.   Their wedding is fast approaching!  Only two more days until they will be Mr. & Mrs. Wolfe.  Cody is one of Bryan's groomsmen, and I can't wait to see him all dressed up!  

 

Charleigh and Bryan took us and another couple, Jason and Jolene out on a four-wheelin' camping trip to Shoshoni Lake when we arrived.  We had some fantastic weather-  Wyoming summertime is pretty fantastic.  

Who says happy cows come from California?  These Wyoming cows look pretty happy to me!  They taste good too-  The Ganett Grill serves awesome burgers made from local Wyoming Beef.  Yum! 

The wildflowers are in bloom up there!  Just beautiful.  

We ended up turning around before we reached the lake, because there were some lingering snowbanks blocking the trail.  The snowbanks lining the trail (the ones you can see in the photo) were melting, and we were riding through a creek for quite a way!  

Charleigh admires the view of the Lander Valley.  

The Wyoming state flower dotted the hillsides along the way.  

So much love blooming all over this town!  Even the rocks are feeling it!  

Slow times in Laramie

Gingersnaps for Cody's homecoming.

About a month ago I found a lump near my groin.  After some investigation I diagnosed myself with an inguinal hernia.  This type of hernia is common in men and unfortunately I can't say that got it from doing something extreme.  It just kind of showed up.  It wasn't that uncomfortable and the information I found said it probably wasn't life threatening.  So we went on about completing a small job we had agreed to do.  After that we decided that I should probably get it checked out and decide what to do.  A doctor looked at it and told me that it was indeed an inguinal hernia and that I didn't have to get it fixed right away.  However given my highly active lifestyle it would be best to have surgery and get it fixed.

Beth on Kim 6, a fantastic 5.6 in Vedauwoo.

We called the Salt Lake Surgical Center and got a quote for the surgery,  It was quite costly and the couldn't do it until June 17, which would be too late.  So we started looking into Mexico, everybody has heard the rumors of cheap healthcare south of the border, and of course most of it is just that, rumors.  After   talking to several hospitals in Mexico I decided to go with Dr. Rosales in Piedras Negras Mexico.  I talked to him directly and we discussed my surgery.  He sent me an Itinerary and some forms and two days later I was on an airplane to San Antonio TX.

Blue blossoms in Laramie. 

In San Antonio I was picked up by a Rosy, the shuttle driver for the hospital.  It was me and two women that were going down to have some kind of bariatric weight loss surgery.  We rode for about two and a half hours to Eagle Pass,  the American side of the border crossing.  She checked us into the Hotel and told us to to meet her at 7:15 am to cross the border to the Hospital.  The crossing was very quick and we were at the hospital around 7:30.  I had some blood tests done and an and iv was put in.  The las thing I remember was being in my room around 10:00 am on my hospital bed.  I woke up around 4:30 pm and I  couldn't move my legs.  For the surgery I was sedated, once asleep they gave me an epidural.  Needless to say the epidural was still working when I woke up.  I spent that night in the hospital channel surfing mostly mexican television.  I wasn't very sleepy on account of me being knocked out for about six hours during the surgery.  I got some spanish practice on the nurses who didn't really speak english and the next morning I was in the van headed for San Antonio.  

Yes, the rumors are true.  There is cheap healthcare in Mexico,  Dr. Rosales did a great job. The scar I have is incredibly small.  The procedure cost just over half of what it would have cost in the US, including airfare.  I suggest going to mexico for health care to anyone who wants quality healthcare at a reasonable price.

Sardines on Saltines!

A delicious crag lunch.  

The last few weeks have been rather uneventful.  After returning from my little medical tourism trip to Mexico, I spent about a week just lying around letting my body heal.   Beth spent most of her time cooking delicious things for me and our friends, the pinnacle of which was rosemary-lemon shortbread cookies.   It has been over two weeks since my surgery and I'm  doing very well, not climbing yet but at least I can hike out the the crags with everybody.

Laramie has been treating us well- we love having friends around. It's been a great place to hang out and recover.  We're off to Lander this weekend- for Bryan and Charleigh's Wedding and the International Climber's Festival.  We're living the summertime dream in Wyoming!  

Spring has finally sprung!

 A few photos for your consideration:

Sarah and PJ's golden doodle (Golden Retriever and Poodle mix)  and

their husky doodle (Husky and Poodle mix).  

What sweeties!  

Simple backyard pleasures- toes in the grass,

and doggy kisses.   

Life is good!  

On the way to Wyoming, I think.   It might be Kauaii.  

Verdant-osity abounds. 

The cherry blossoms of Laramie!  

I must have jogged beneath 30 of these trees this morning.  

They make morning runs much more pleasant.  

Breakfast:  hazelnut banana bread and ripe nectarines...

So much beauty just out the window!   

      For those of you who don't know, Cody had his hernia repair surgery today.  It was successful, and he's comfortably recovering.  He'll be back tomorrow evening. (Nothing to worry about- I assure you!)

Has spring sprung in your neck of the woods?

Or is it summertime already?

How to build a climbing wall in 10 easy steps!

  This is the wall that Cody and I built at Expedition Academy, in Green River, Wyoming.   Vertical Solutions contracted the job, and Cody and I went out and built it for them.  It's a traverse wall- meaning that it's intended for climbing sideways.  I think it will be a fun addition to their high school PE class! 

Step 1:  Frame the wall with 2x4s. 

  

Step 2:  Pre-drill sheets of plywood, install tee-nuts. (Each tee-nut gets stuffed with a little bit of foam, to protect it from the textured paint.  We had roughly 800 tee nuts to install.  Lots of stuffing!)

Step 3:  Sheet the wall with the plywood.  

Step 4:  Putty the seams, sand the edges. 

Step 5:  Prime the wall.  

Wait for paint to dry.  

Step 6: Paint the wall.

Wait for paint to dry.

Step 7: Seal the wall.

Wait for paint to dry.

Step 8:  Bolt holds to the wall.

 Step 9:  Install fold-up pads. 

Step 10: Step back, cock head, admire handiwork. 

 Shake hands with the satisfied and excited PE teacher. 

Oh!  I forgot.  One more step:

Collect paycheck, pack up van, drive off to continue living dream.