Sherri

That's always a plus.

Hold on to yer horses, there, Pardner. I'll be firing up the Westie for 11worth in a couple weeks. Best to let the anticipation build a little... (sorry for the premature "Free Saturday" plug. The calendar in my head is often a week short of a month. )

If you don't mind the Disney-like ambience, the KOA there has tent sites starting at $22/night, which looks more and more reasonable as the 10,000 Trails campgrounds keep hiking their prices without increasing quality of amenities. The Lworth KOA has a "Free saturday" promo going for this weekend. $34 total(incl. taxes) for two nights. Hot showers and clean bathrooms with piped country music included. Espresso bar extra. Pine Village KOA

I've never been successful at tracking exactly how much time goes into one of these. I kind of get lost in the process. At least a hundred hours, I'm guessing.

We were up at Brownstone Wall around April 10th(give or take) and admired a couple folks making steady progress up Rainbow. Looks like a spectacular line. Congrats!

LOL, Sobo, I was hoping nobody remembered that. But, hey, it WASN'T my fingers.

BirdDog, The only piece I have on display/sale locally is a salmon mural at Wild Birds in Gardiner. Crillz, Don't worry, I'll be careful. Most of the work is done with a bandsaw and scrollsaw, and then sanded with inflatable sanders(I've lost more skin on those than on the sharp tools).

That mural was commissioned by a climber in California(where it now lives). The client specifically requested the details it contains(the moon/stars, ringtail, and spring flowers) to commemmorate a special trip he and his wife had made to RR the previous spring.

I saw my first one in RR a couple weeks ago.

Thanks for the nod, Mark and for the kudos all! You guys are the best. :kisss: Arch is correct. I do intarsia. (and LOL on the spin, OW. She does have a way with that. ) TTK, I can't get a link to the article itself, but it is in the "Haulbag" section of this month's(May) issue of Climbing magazine: Climbing Mag They used a pic of the first RR mural I did, when I was first playing around with the concept. 28"x78" Here is a recent version commissioned last year: 36"x 80" In the right light, the sky begins to "glow" like the backlit silhouette of the canyon as seen when walking out by moonlight. I love that place.

I'll follow those legs anywhere. Let me know when you wanna go!

YOU'RE GAY????!!!!! All those years of wasted hopes and dreams..... Sorry for the letdown. I'll still climb with you. :kisss:

Hey Luke, FWIW, I fit the description(the gay part). I've met some of my best climbing partners thru this board, so you're off to a good start by posting. Hasn't mattered to me whether they're gay or straight--and it hasn't seemed to matter to them that I'm gay--as long as we have similar standards of safety and have a good time meeting our respective goals on the rock. I often post up for last minute partners for moderate trad stuff around Index and Leavenworth, so feel free to PM me if you're interested sometime that I'm available. Good luck in the meantime!

Great pics and write-up, Crillz. Brings back fun memories--thanks for letting me tag along with you and Amy. BTW, you were right about the Geronimo approach. There is a much shorter, direct approach via the trail from the east side of the Oak Creek parking lot. I figgered out the shortcuts today when we headed over to do One Arm Bandit(near Olive Oil.) Sorry for the extra walk, pal.

+1 Civility is always in style, though few seem to find it fashionable. Thank you for bringing a little to us here.

Nice shot of Dark Shadows in that last pic. The chocolate sheen on that varnish is beautiful and certainly adds a little spice to a few of moves. Friction schmiction... I'll be down there next week. Maybe see you around.

A 1700 acre, high-density development is proposed for the mesa which overlooks Red Rock(across from the scenic loop). If this goes through, it could be the new "view" we see from the climbs in Red Rock. An online petition can be signed here: Online Petition to stop development in Red Rock Conservation Overlay The Clark County hearing on the matter is on April 21, so the clock is ticking. More info about the proposed development and its irreversible impact here: SaveRedRock.com (sorry if this has already been posted elsewhere on cc.com or if I put it in the wrong forum...just trying to spread the word...)

Steve, It is time. Go back to Castle. It's 30 years on now. Climb the same routes that you climbed the day Luke died. Honor him that way. Peace. Well said, brother.

Exactly. And agreed about eventually adding triples for your favorite sized crack. (BD #2 and 3 for me ) In the meantime, you ask your partner to bring whatever size you don't have enough of for your objective.

A related thought to throw out there in case any newbs are in the audience, regarding carrying/using nonpro pieces on a climb... I used to have a couple cheap, non-protection biners(plastic) on my gear sling as racking biners. One day I was swapping leads with a guy who inadvertently used one of them for slinging pro on his lead. Incredulous that he could mistake it for REAL pro(I thought it was obvious that they looked like keychains), I asked him why he used it. With equal incredulousness, he asked me why the hell I would have something on my rack that is NOT rated as pro. It never occured to me that someone would use one of them as pro, but it also never occured to him that something on the rack that looks like pro is anything other than pro.

That was classic.

Sounds like it was a great adventure. Great pics and write up!

April Fool's?

Those look to be some terrific routes. The pics and write-ups are like a mini-guide. And you can't beat that sort of approach. Thanks for the reminder that I still need to see this place for myself sometime in the near future!

I need a new rope to fall on at Index this summer. PM incoming....