Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Road Trip - Virginia or Bust!

On December 15, 2007 we left sunny 29 Palms, CA for a 3,000 mile adventure across the nation. I traveled and climbed across the country with a friend and fellow Outward Bound instructor, Scott Shepherd, who was also headed to Virginia to be with family for the holidays.
Destination #1: Lunch with my aunt and uncle in Pheonix, AZ.
We had a great time visiting, and then my aunt loaded us up with goodies for our journey. As we were traveling on a budget, we only ended up only having to stop at one grocery and one fast food place on the whole eight day trip. Thanks Aunt Sylvia!
Destination #2: Climbing in Cochise Stronghold (AZ) with friend and local climber Justin.
I was awestruck at the beauty and majesty of the rock and surrounding scenery. We could have stayed and explored for weeks, but I admit, it was cold!

Destination #3: Enchanted Rocks State Park, Texas
We enjoyed going for runs in warmer weather after a lot of driving, and a mellow day of bouldering (sometimes it's nice to leave all that gear behind), followed by a couple of trad routes the next day.
Destination #3.5: We drove an hour and a half to stay with an old friend of Scott's in Austin, TX. We enjoyed a night out on the town with live music in Austin before we started the last leg of our journey.
Destination #4: Blacksburg, VA
Done with our climbing, we decided to high-tail it: 19 hours straight for home! We had plenty of coffee, good discussions, silly radio sing-alongs, and road trip games to keep us awake.

Destination #5: My parents home in Alexandria, VA
After dropping Scott off in Blacksburg (and a good nap), I drove the last 4 hours home to spend Christmas with my family.