VISIT TO SALT LAKE CITY FAMILY - APRIL 2021

Anna and I flew to SLC and stayed for two weeks with Liza, Paul, grandddaughter Evie, and Winston (the family dog). We got to see Jeff and Maggie (both nurses) when they weren't working.

We hadn't been with our granddaughter since October 2020 so we were astounded at her progress. Seeing her on Facetime just had not been the same.

We had dinners with the family at Paul and Liza's house and gourmet dinners at Gail and Richard's house in Park City.

Paul was very busy using heavy machinery to clean up and grade the front yard and the terraced back yard. Liza was her usual real estate star. Anna and I helped: she cooked and I did scullery duty. We spent a majority of our time taking care of Evie who loved being outside, regardless of the weather.

We took Evie to a playground almost every day and we made special trips to the Tracy aviary, the Wheeler Farm and the Cross E Ranch.

Below I've tried to capture some of the "magic moments' of our visit.

Evie with animals:

After seeing her dad using heavy equipment, Evie loved the farm tractors:

Evie in nature:

Evie at the ninja park:

Evie just being cute:

I tell Evie "No more snacks." She responds, "Snacks! Snacks! Snacks!"

I have made a series of ten second videos below.

Evie trying out for the NFL: https://youtu.be/ULDQ0c6kzM0

Anna taking Evie down the serious slide: https://youtu.be/5DsYQYpXexs

Evie on the bounce pad: https://youtu.be/eDiiAfRo-yQ

Evie feeds baby goats while Anna's hair feeds mature goat: https://youtu.be/abEEOTpoMPI

Evie telling the goat to get down: https://youtu.be/5LboQGm0PZI

Evie loves the swing: https://youtu.be/LJTCKh7GmSc

Evie going down the slide: https://youtu.be/D6v6PuUTJlM

Evie going down the slide backwards: https://youtu.be/23_ZB7aJ6bM

Anna and I had a great time. We close with a photo of grandparents with Evie.

 

 

Rock Climbing in Virginia

 Anna and I drove our camper to Great Falls National Park and camped in Reston, Virginia. We hired a guide, Grant Price, from Blue Ridge Mountain Guides. He spent two days teaching us how to set up "natural" anchors using trees and rocks. Our climbs were all exposed, directly above the rushing  Potomac River. The climbing routes are not bolted and they're slab or crack climbs.

On days one and two we worked with Grant and on the third day we practiced by ourselves.

Day 1: SANDBOX area: Box Left, Sand Box Corner, Right Dihedral

Day 2: DIHEDRALS area: Pride, Beginners' Chimney; Juliet Balcony area: Anna rappelled and climbed Left Stuff

Anna rappelling: https://youtu.be/OiFw8z2a52c

Myron climbing:

Anna (series):

Anna again:

 

Some of our rope work:

Very weird local mushroom:

Our last dinner (leftovers) at Great Falls comprised brisket, lasagne, chicken tenders with lemon and capers, and salad.

Because we expected rain we drove south to Richmond, Virginia so that we could experience indoor climbing at the recently expanded Triangle Rock Club there.

Then we returned to Durham after another great adventure.

An Adventure in Hiddenite

Anna and I drove two hours with our T@B camper to Hiddenite, North Carolina to go rock climbing at Rocky Face Mountain Recreational Area. A former quarry was bolted for top rope and sport climbing. Climbers can park right at the face of the rock wall. We did some recon after setting up camp.

https://youtu.be/NSLzRIvhMkY

Our campsite was at the edge of a stream.

https://youtu.be/7uaMoQIFQMo

Anna set up the anchors so we could top rope:

The rock was very different from any we've climbed; there were very few easy places for hands. We had to keep our body up against the wall and rely on toe placement to ascend. Climbing the routes was all slopers and smearing.

Anna did very well while I barely managed to summit a climbing route; but I did clean the anchor.

On our second day, Anna did her first outdoor sport climb! She placed all the quick draws ascending and cleaned the route coming down.

As usual, we ate and drank well. Our first night at the campground was filet mignon and the second night was Indian Dhal.

Before leaving Hiddenite we panned for gems at the Emerald Hollow Mine ( https://www.emeraldhollowmine.com/ ). We were quite successful (aventurine, common opal, amethyst, quart and jasper) but we didn't strike it rich.