I left for the road two weeks ago. I've been taking my time so much that I'm actually still about a 15 hour drive from my first destination. It feels relaxing to just go with the flow of the trip for a bit. My first stop was Hartley Springs in June Lake. I got out of the car for about 2 hours of climbing. It was just enough time to warm up and bust out some speed sending. From there I trickled through the Happy Boulders, then went to sleep in Moe's Valley, Utah. Then, thankfully, I got talked into a mini detour to Joe's Valley. I was psyched because I hadn't been there in about 3 years. While there I hung out with some cool people. They totally converted me into a butterfinger donut addict. Thanks Food Ranch. I got to see many boulders that I hadn't seen before. I managed to do 5 v9s and a v11 but the send of the trip was definately a problem called Wills of Fire v6. I had to dig pretty deep to send that one. There is a scary move in which you have to jump to an incut gaston at the lip from a fingerlock. I hate fingerlocks. It looks like most people can just stand up static to the move at the lip. As you guessed, I can not and must jump into a barndoor swing to stick that move. It was awesome though. Probably one of the coolest walls ever.
After that, I swung over to Carbondale, Colorado to hang out with some more cool friends. It ended up snowing just about everyday I was there. That didn't stop us from partying it up every night and taking a trip to the White House pizza joint. If in the area I recommend this pizza. A break in the weather opened an invitation for a bit more driving, so I tested the limits of my bordem tolerance and went through the state of Kansas. I must say that the police in Kansas are very suspicious of any cars that have California plates. After the gauntlet, I ended up at the next leg which is where I am now; which is Kansas City, Missouri. I've been hanging out with Frank Lucido getting the KC tour. This has included sampling some really good mid western food. One of the places we went was the famous KC BBQ place called Rosedales. All I can say is Holy Shit! It is cheap, fast, and really damn tasty. I was impressed. If I lived here I'd go everyday. Also, believe it or not, there is some bouldering right in Kansas City. We've been messing around the areas of Swope Park. The rock is limestone that seems to vary in quality. Some is bullet, some is dried mud. None the less, we've been psyched to do some climbing. From here, I think Arkansas' Horseshoe Canyon Ranch could be the next stop. I all depends on the weather. We shall see.
