apAdventures

Making Our Way North

May 27th, 2026

A cozy and dry dinner while a mountain storm dumps

posted by ARR

Posted in Bouldering, Cute Kids, Durango-Colorado, Hiking, Mt. Biking, Running |

No Comments »

First Stop: Durango, Colorado

May 27th, 2026

Wasting no time, we hit the trails of Durango Mesa immediately upon arrival.

And what was intended to be just a quick “stretch our legs” ride ended up business as usual, a 3ish hour lung-busting endeavor. Hard to stop when you’re having fun and it’s still light until 9pm!!! 😁

Mountain biking is a tad bit dirtier of a sport than bouldering, especially when you’re me, the slow one in the back of the pack riding in the dust cloud of the shredders in front of you. So yes, I splurged and bought a shower for this trip. In Paul’s exact words after partaking in this camp-luxury: “game changer.”

Warming up at the Warm Up Boulder, Sailing Hawks

Spike ball at the boulders. The locals were very impressed that the boys hauled it all the way up here.
(If only they knew all the crazy things these two have hauled to boulders over the years, haha).

*Sunday Stroll, v6.* Still as hard as ever! I will never send this climb.

*Last Tango in Durango, v6/7*, a repeat for Paul

A repeat attempt of *Legacy of the Kid, v9*

Cruisin’ on the trails up the mountain behind camp, after a day of bouldering. Did I mention these gloriously long days of light?! 😁

Ivan attempting to break a log in half for the fire with his bare hands.

posted by ARR

Posted in Bouldering, Cute Kids, Durango-Colorado, Mt. Biking |

No Comments »

All American Roadtrip

May 23rd, 2026

Colorado, Wyoming, Utah…here we come.

posted by ARR

Posted in Bouldering, Cute Kids, Durango-Colorado, Hiking, Mt. Biking, Running |

No Comments »

Spring Sends

March 29th, 2026

A quick recap here on some notable moments from this spring’s fun…

Paul ticking off *Scream, v11*. Impressive, as he did *Scream Stand, v10* more than a decade ago, and was never able to even come close with this lower start.

Me staring down the lip that I want soooo bad on my send of *Devil*’s *Butthole, v6*. Finally! (Thank you, 5am 4×4’s before work, for literally three straight months so that I could have the endurance I needed for when the planets unexpectedly align themselves with the kids’ busy schedules, and I find myself sitting below this perfectly perfect mother-of-all-Hueco-jug-hauls with the opportunity to SEND. ☺️)

Ivan (ahem, I mean Paul, because he’s 18 and older), getting his Level 1 Rocket Certification. Which basically means no more baby model rockets anymore. We’re talkin’ legit high power rocketry now, people! Yeah!

Silas having a wicked strong gymnastics season. Now a Level 9 gymnast, he qualified for Regionals and now Nationals too!

If you’re gonna yank the kid out of school for a gymnastics competition, you might as well tack on a climbing trip to Joshua Tree, right?!

Me warming up on *False Hueco Traverse, v2*. Dang, I forgot how beautiful this place is.

Paul running up the ultimate J-Tree classic *White Rastafarian, v3*

Ivan smiling his way up *Flintlock Dino, v0*. This kid is always smiling when he’s sending.

Silas wanting his glory too….but barefoot! Rules don’t apply for this boy.

Soaking up our Spring sending satisfaction

posted by ARR

Posted in Bouldering, Cute Kids, Gymnastics, Hueco Tanks-Texas, Joshua Tree-California |

3 Comments »

Phoenix Mountain Biking

March 1st, 2026

Not too shabby!

Morphing a gymnastics comp weekend into a family adventure:

posted by ARR

Posted in Mt. Biking |

No Comments »

with SNOW!!! Upstate New York is buried in the white stuff for the holidays, just like it always would be when I was a kid. And just like when I was a kid, we’ve been outside playing in it nonstop since we got here! 😁 Happy New Year!!

It’s not a New Year’s celebration without blowing off my dad’s cannon

Ready for pot banging and the cannon blast! Countdown time

Best luge trail E V E R! Ivan and I iced it with a watering can last night to increase the speed, and Uncle Richard added a jump!

posted by ARR

Posted in Cute Kids |

2 Comments »

Baby, It’s Hot Outside

December 24th, 2025

This is the mantra that’s been in my head this last week. Temps have been soaring here in the desert but we’ve been embracing it, getting outside to play as much as possible. It was over 80 degrees on Monday! But then I woke up this morning, looking forward to hitting up some local boulders with the family before embarking upon the cooking and baking and chaos of preparing our traditional Polish Christmas Eve dinner. I woke up to….RAIN!

Oh cozy Christmas Eve day. What a perfect early Christmas present! ❤️

Some good mountain bike rides this last week

Finally have some good endurance and closer than ever on *Devil’s Butthole, v6*

Good progress on *Scream, v11*. Stuck the opening move!

And a scorching hot trail run yesterday for good measure. Embracing it!

Now it’s time to cozy down and wait for Santa ☺️

posted by ARR

Posted in Bouldering, Cute Kids, Hueco Tanks-Texas, Mt. Biking |

No Comments »

An excuse to come back. Like we need one!

November 30th, 2025

No big sends on Root Canal or Diesel Power, but lots of fun. It’s really hard to have a bad time in the valley. 😁

Embarking upon a “hike” up to the Sunnyside Ledges with our Yosemite crew on Thanksgiving day

A nice spot to make a Thanksgiving dinner

*Rage Against the Dying of the Light, v7*

Happy Thanksgiving!

posted by ARR

Posted in Bouldering, Cute Kids, Yosemite-California |

1 Comment »

The perpetual ticklist

November 26th, 2025

We’ve started the trip off by checking out some new boulders because the climbs we really want to do are wet. (I swear I type this every year!)

After a day or two to dry out, then it’s on to the ticklist. The two main climbs Paul and I want to do have been on our ticklists for years at this point. First of all, they both tend to stay wet longer than most due to their location and the direction they are facing. Sunshine is a rare and fleeting commodity here in the valley this time of year. The last few years it’s been not until the middle to end of the trip that we get to try them (after we’re good and beat from climbing all the Plan B boulders!). This trip is turning out no different. Second, both climbs require the classic valley combo of strength AND technique. Unlocking the puzzle is the real challenge, not powering through the moves. I heard a new climbing word recently on a video that sums up the requirement for sending both of these climbs perfectly: Tech-power.