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.

Solid Rock Climbers for Christ

It was a privilege to be on the road with Solid Rock this past fall. I was encouraged and impressed by the Christian climbers I met at Joshua Tree (CA) and Red Rocks (Las Vegas, NV). We met together to climb and fellowship, and to share the love of God with the climbing community. In breathtakingly beautiful settings, it was my "job" to share the best news I've ever heard, the coming of Jesus Christ, with people from all over the world. How cool is that? I thank God for an amazing fall season, and all of the people who helped to make it possible!

Climbing in Joshua Tree with Solid Rock member, Travis Wilcox

Solid Rock Coffee Outreach

Solid Rock members worship together in Red Rocks

John is camping out and working in Las Vegas to earn money for his family back in Chicago. He was grateful for the opportunity for fellowship.

The Klein family, Kurt Wedberg and myself at 13 Mile Campground

Climbing with Friends

This past fall I had the opportunity to spend time with some amazing people. Most of them work for Outward Bound or other wilderness education programs. Whether we were climbing, sitting around the campfire, or making dinner together, we enjoyed sharing our lives and appreciating the beauty around us.
Here are some highlights:

Jess staying warm between climbs at JTree

Climbing Wantanobi Wall (my hardest trad lead in JTree)
Ralph & Mick around the campfire before a crazy game of charadesWe attempted to escape the downpour at Hidden Valley Campground by hopping into Mick's Volkswagen

Mick and I always settled our disagreements like adultsCori, Mick, Liam, and I after a day of climbing in Red Rocks