apAdventures

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 »

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 »

Gymnastics, Rockets, Mountain Trails, and where we can squeeze it in: Bouldering

February 24th, 2025

It’s winter. Which means it’s gymnastics competition season. This is the time of year that I find myself getting grumpy with all the running around to competitions (which are never in Tucson) and all the sitting inside gyms or sitting in the car driving to and from gyms on perfectly beautiful winter bouldering days. Inside sports should be a summertime activity! Says this Arizona mama, haha. But then I watch the kids do their thing on rings, pommel, floor, vault, parallel bars and the cringe-worthy high bar (high bar scares me) and I’m over it.

Silas crushing the rings. He placed second with this near-flawless routine. I mean, how can this NOT snap a mama out of her funk?

Winter also means it’s Science Fair season. And Ivan has been hard at work with what has become the most wildly successful science fair project of all science fair projects ever attempted in this household. Yes, we’ve had some real doozies over the years. Ivan’s project this year is “Can I design, build and fly a 3D-printed rocket better than the store-bought ones?” The answer is yes. Yes he can.

Design iterations from right to left, culminating in the GFFF (Giant Fun Fin Flyer – the big guy, far left)

Design iteration #2

The GFFF. Flight success! Take that Estes!!

Ah our beloved mountain trails, which is another wonderful activity to partake in during the winter months. A trail day is grand when one doesn’t need to wake up at 4am to beat the heat!

Rincon Peak, 15 miles, 5k feet elevation gain. This hike is one we’d wanted to do for years, but didn’t dare take the Prius or Honda Fit down the “4 wheel drive recommended” road to the trailhead, especially when the start of said road is 1.5 hours from our house. Well for Christmas Santa talked us into dumping the Prius and getting a truck. This was the first hike we did in the new year, eager to test out the new truck on some rough terrain. Turns out, the road was all groomed and of ZERO challenge accessing the trailhead! What a letdown. Good thing the gnarly steep trail more than made up for it.

Bear Canyon, 10 miles, 1.2k feet elevation gain. Some mild little 4th class scrambling got us to this lunch spot with a view! Bear Canyon in the background.

Ivan on the way up to Cowhead Saddle, 18 miles, 3.4k feet elevation gain, just the two of us. Crushed it.

How do you make a moody 15 year old happy? Wake him before dawn, shove a banana down his throat, and set off on a 15 mile adventure. Just Silas and me on a thru-hike up Ventana Canyon, past The Window, and then over and down Esperero Canyon, 15.4 miles, 4.8k feet elevation gain. I struggled to keep up.

A 4 mile segment of the Arizona Trail. This was supposed to be a bouldering day at Priest Draw due to the kids having a gymnastics comp in Flagstaff. It snowed though and so the forest roads were a mess. We opted for this short hike instead and a Kilter Board session in the local gym.

Which brings me alas to bouldering. Like many winters of late, we don’t quite get outside on real rock as much as we (read: I) would prefer. But what matters most (and what I keep telling myself when I get grumpy) is this: when the opportunity presents itself, we go! We’re still going people! LET’S GO! 🤪

A v2 on the My Tan Boulder during a free window of a gymnastics comp in Las Vegas. Red Rock Canyon, Nevada

*Contorted Lip Traverse, v3* on Hairpin Boulder. Tucson, Arizona

Paul attempting *Scream, v11*. Hueco Tanks, Texas. And sends *Scream Stand, v10* again for good measure

Meanwhile I’m still hoping for a few back-to-back visits to *Devil’s Butthole, v6* so I can finally string all these moves together and send! Hueco Tanks, Texas. My trainer on the home wall just isn’t enough! 😤

And that about sums up this year’s adventures thus far!

posted by ARR

Posted in Bouldering, Cute Kids, Gymnastics, Hiking, Hueco Tanks-Texas, Red Rock, Nevada, Running, Tucson-Arizona, Videos |

No Comments »

12th Day of apAdventures Climbing Vids

January 5th, 2025

And finally, the grand finale: a whole 6 minutes and 25 seconds of V11 battling. Happy New Year!

posted by ARR

Posted in Bouldering, Hueco Tanks-Texas, Videos |

No Comments »

8th Day of apAdventures Climbing Vids

January 1st, 2025

posted by ARR

Posted in Bouldering, Hueco Tanks-Texas, Videos |

No Comments »

3rd Day of apAdventures Climbing Vids

December 27th, 2024

posted by ARR

Posted in Bouldering, Hueco Tanks-Texas, Videos |

No Comments »

2nd Day of apAdventures Climbing Vids

December 26th, 2024

posted by ARR

Posted in Bouldering, Hueco Tanks-Texas, Videos |

No Comments »

12 Days of apAdventures Climbing Vids

December 25th, 2024

Merry Christmas!

posted by ARR

Posted in Bouldering, Hueco Tanks-Texas, Videos |

No Comments »

The Devil’s booty never looked so good

December 16th, 2024

Note to self: when it’s time to send, arrive before 11am while the top of the booty is still in it’s morning glow. And definitely wear the purple pants.