Happy halloween!

Mario is fine...

...I've got my doubts about Luigi.

Zinger Bliss

While my Dad was climbing me and Mom hung out at the 'Backyard Boulders' behind Castle Rock. This pool was on top of a big boulder. Cool, huh?

This is me climbing - and you can't see him - but my Dad is climbing 'Zinger' in the Hostess Gully on Castle Rock in the far background.

I like to sit on the flat rock that's on the lower left part of the picture and wait for my Dad.

Here's my Dad near the top of the climb.

This is our moment of bliss.

It's all good. Onward and upward. Peace, out.

Big Time

Again, Grandpa Miller

My Dad starting up 'Big Time'

Headed home. This is pretty much the circuit every time we come to Castle Rocks.

San Rafael Swell - Big Road Trip Saturday

I had a map laid out on the kitchen counter for a few days. Dad got the message and we followed my plan and my map. Here's the write-up;

San Rafael Swell (from Wikipedia) is a large geologic feature located in south-central Utah about 30 miles west of Green River, Utah. The swell is 75 miles by 40 miles, consists of a giant dome-shaped anticline of sandstone, shale, and limestone that was pushed up during the Paleocene Laramide Orogeny 60 - 40 million years ago. Since that time, infrequent but powerful flash floods have eroded the sedimentary rocks into numerous valleys, canyons, gorges, mesas and buttes.

The history shows evidence of Native American cultures, including the Fremont, Paiute, and Ute, and is common throughout the San Rafael Swell in the form of pictograph and petroglyph panels. From about 1776 to the mid -1850's the Old Spanish Trail trade route passed through the Swell. There are many native plants occurring that are nowhere else in the world.

Both the San Rafael River and Muddy Creek drain out of the high Wasatch Plateau and cut directly across the uplift of the Reef, which marks them as 'superimposed streams', pre-dating the time of the uplift. Part of the Swell has geographic features that resembles Mars. The Mars Society decided to set up the Mars Desert Research Station in the area as a Mars analog for such reasons.

Aren't these so cool?

Here we go!!

Thanks, Dad. You're the BEST.

Dead Snag Direttissima -My Experience

Just Joe

First Known Ascent. Dad and Marshall, Karmen in the background. Family affair.

That's the well-known Stoert's Ridge route on the skyline right of my Dad and Marshall. There's a write-up on www.mountainproject.com Big Cottonwood Canyon, Dead Snag, Dead Snag Direttissima.

If you want to try it (easy 5.8-) this hole I dug is five feet right of the knife blade crack that is the beginning of the climb. Just trying to help.

Now we're talking my language.

Thanks, Dad!

Summer Fun

This is the pump on a spring in City of Rocks. The water is so cold and good after a day playing in the sun.

Lots of magic going on.

This is at my Grandmothers' wedding. :))

This is where you'll find me about once a week - after, Ye Olde Spaghetti Factory, of course. Macaroni & cheese, applesauce, milk, spumoni ice cream and (if I'm lucky) a Masterpiece Oreo shake.