It's not about the easy way up.

Red Rock Canyon west of Las Vegas is one of the top rock climbing destinations in North America.  Greg has been waiting 30 years to come here.  The rock is spectacular, the climbing is amazing, the sun and temperatures are perfect.  A few too many people, but we can’t have it all.   Leland is really loving climbing.  Greg set up a top rope on this climb called Side Effects which has a difficulty of 5.10b.  Hard.  

It also has an overhang which makes for some swings when they fall off, but prevents as many scrapes.

  Anna likes it too but is more cautious.   

Greg did get up on the rock too with Leland learning to belay with me as backup.  

Rusty loves hiking to the crags and hanging out.  Tilly comes too but moans and then tries to curl up in the shade.   

Reality Check

When we left Alberta it was -32 C not including the wind chill.  Nasty.  We ended up staying in a pet friendly hotel in Helena, MT that first night so we didn’t freeze our asses off.  Within two days we were in decent temperatures above zero and now we are in Nevada – Las Vegas area with temperatures of 20 C and sun.   Rusty has been acclimatizing by blowing his coat and rolling in the dust and Tilly has been moaning and sleeping often at the same time.  Plans are for climbing and hiking and exploring.   Back in the land of the red rocks.

Reality check.   We have been struggling with the kids- particularly Leland about attitude and school and being self motivated.   Making it more their responsibility for learning than us hammering on them to learn- which never works.  We are now in Nevada where we have had two experiences that have reminded all of us, again, to be grateful for our lives and our circumstances.   We were camped at Lake Mead- near the east side of Henderson- near Vegas.   As we came back to our campsite from getting groceries, a rough looking guy asked Greg for a glass of water if it wasn’t bothering us.   We happily gave him two glasses but apparently he gets chased away by people.   Then Greg turns to me and says, “I’m going to give this guy a ride to his camp.”  Okay.  They heave his pack and sleeping bag with some stuff in the bottom into the back of the truck.  My only thought was that I hope Greg remembered which campground we were in.    Greg learns that his name is John and he left early that morning to walk (with his walker) to Henderson (about 10 miles) to get food.  He had abandoned his walker partway back and was trying to cut cross country.  He had also fallen and hurt his back more than it already was.  He had been a oil rig worker but lost his job after a couple of injuries.  A divorce and loss of his house are part of the saga too.  He was only 50 years old and looked about 75.  They find the camp- he is so grateful- Greg gives him some money and makes it back to us without getting lost.   It turns out that we can see the camp across the ravines from our campsite and with the binoculars spot his walker.  I know that Greg will obsess about this, and send him and Leland off to retrieve it and take it to John.  He waves, yells that he bought a tarp!  His last words to Leland were “Don’t be like me- go to school.”    John is having a beer with his buddy at a fire and we have a beer at ours, only a few unfortunate events apart. 

The next day an entire family of three generations moves into the site next to us.  Yelling, swearing, stomping, angry- in crisis family.  I can’t help but overhear their conversations over the next couple days and determine that they have bailed on their rental and their debts- all their possessions for seven people a dog and four cats are in a camper van and a Lincoln.  They have a ratty tent and too much stuff for their space.  It’s bad.  But there is a lighter side to their presence.   They are staring out at Lake Mead which is about half a mile away and the dad says, “When I was a kid you used to able to just walk off right here and swim.”  Daughter says, “What happened?”  Dad figures, “I think there is a leak in the dam and they are trying to fix it.”  Grandma yells, “That’s not what happened.  After they made the movie National Lampoon’s Vegas Vacation here something happened to the water.  It’s all the fault of that movie and Chevy Chase.”   Daughter- “Oh, okay.”   HOLY Shit!   So watch out Chevy Chase- when the Hoover Dam has no more water they’ll be coming to get you.  

Let them call us fools.

There have been some spectacular sunsets this winter already.  But we are packing up finally!!! Heading south the end of this week.  Likely going to Red Rocks which is a climbing area near Las Vegas.  Maybe we'll check out some crazy museums too.  We have cut down even more on what we need to take with us and it feels good to be giving stuff away again and packing some other stuff up to put in the sea can.
I love listening to CBC Radio Two in the late afternoon- a show called Drive.   The other day I heard a song Forever and Ever by Royal Wood.  These two lines really stuck.
"hey hey hey I want to run with you.  hey hey hey  Let them call us fools."  
Run not as in run away but run toward-  for joy and adventure and life.
What are you running to?

 Listen to the whole song here

So grateful.

So grateful for:

2013 and all its fun, travels, lessons, tears, hugs, laughs and wonder.

We hadn’t planned on being in the Alberta Foothills for the winter, particularly the worst December weather in Calgary for the last 112 years.   But are thankful for our friends who helped us get back on our feet and became part of our journey, our lessons, and our healing.

 Wrestling dogs

 Friends who rent us their house to camp in.

 Friends who became family

 Sunbeams for napping

 Foothills sunsets

 Shop for skateboarding and dancing

Pure happiness

 New jammies

The bearded wonder in all his glory.

Thankful

Christmas Kloodge

Christmas Kloodge (pronounced clooooodje)

We are pretty minimalist Christmas people at the best of times, but this year our two boxes of Christmas stuff are in storage.  So here is how we Kloodged (thanks to Judy for this awesome term) our winter celebration together.  Those of you who are Kloodgers know it- even if you don't know the word.  Those of you who are not- the basic premise is to make it up as you go along, use objects in unique and inventive ways and be okay with much less than perfection. 

We found red and green flashing lights in the shop where we are living.  Not our style- but who cares.  Anna and I cut a spindly tree out of a fence line- very artistic.

Sliced oranges to dry in the oven for the tree,

 

Anna needle felted a few decorations and collected some of the smaller stuffys.

 

Crazy gingerbread house out of graham wafers- as only four homeschooled kids could come up with- that is a monster chicken sitting on top. 

Charlie Brown Christmas tree with Dr. Porkchop in the top.

No potato masher?  Why a whisk just might do. 

 

 

We had a great time just being together.  Clean up from Christmas was the easiest ever and none of us missed our stuff.  Next time you don't have the exact perfect thing you need---I highly recommend Kloodging.

How Squatters Make Pie

Our lovely friend who is renting us the house has been calling us squatters- for fun of course- mostly because we have limited stuff- basically what we had in the trailer.  We did visit the sea can and took out Leland's play station, Anna's two big bags of stuffies, the printer for the computer, some winter clothes and the toaster.   That's it! 
Thanksgiving weekend I am in charge of pumpkin pie for dinner with friends.  I have roasted the pumpkin, made the filling, made the pastry the oven is preheating and I go to roll out the crust.....no rolling pin.   Hmmmm- a stick?   Piece of fence post?   Piece of plumbing tubing?  A can....too short?  I know a bottle of booze!!!!  

Works like a damn I must say.   And no I didn't drink it all. 

Guess Where?

Haaaa haaaa haaa the best laid plans- foiled again- but we have managed to land back on our feet with the kindness of friends to help.  Unable to find a suitable place to rent in the Kootenays we are back near Millarville camping out in a house that friends are trying to sell  We unpacked and winterized the trailer in record time- just ahead of the frost.  There is a table and four chairs and a TV because according to Marvin "Squatters need TV"