I flew to St. Louis, MO, and didn’t get to see the Arch!

My vacation was awesome! I had a great time climbing Red Rock Canyon and surrounding areas out near Las Vegas. During the day we would climb, at night we would eat and see some sights. I didn’t drop one penny into a casino (other than to buy food at various buffets and restaurants). No gambling with money for me, only with my life….good thing my climbing partners new what they were doing.

The day we got there we climbed on “Magic Bus”. Lots of good routes, and I even led one. Lot of sunscreen was required, for the whole week, but especially day one, as the sun is very hot in the desert. Day two we hiked a rather long time to get to a climb (missing the turn a few times), but then climbed in the afternoon. I had to rest for a while, because the heat was too much for me after the hike – though it was fun to just hike around. Reminded me of the adventures I’ve had with Rachel…except in heat instead of rain and cold. I did climb a 5.9 or a 5.9+ in my old old climbing shoes. The next day we did a multi-pitch 5.8- with 400 or 450 feet of vertical height. First ever multipitch, was a great experience, but my head and my body were warring over who was correct. My body thought I was going to fall to death, and was having applicable reactions. My head knew I was just fine. After a day of multi-pitch climbing, the girls (two girls and four boys on this trip) decided to let the boys do a 7 pitch 5.8 while we shopped and played by the pool. I needed the rest day. The next two days we went to Calico Basin to climb. The first of those I only bouldered about, and the second was our last day there, and I did manage to climb - even with sun burned feet. (One day of forgetting sunscreen + sandals = very interesting tan lines, likely for the rest of the season.)

In the evenings we watched the Fountains of Bellagio, we saw the Pirates vs. the Sirens show at Treasure Island, we walked about, and we slept.

On the way back, we spent an extra night in Denver as our plane had mechanical problems, so I had not much sleep Tuesday night and flew from Denver to St. Louis to Minneapolis to get home. Now I’m jet lagged, but happy, and will post pictures when I get the chance.