The other day when we were complaining about being rained out from climbing it actually cleared up and we managed to get in some route climbing on Mt. Lemmon in the later part of the afternoon. I was pretty convinced that we were not going to see much more of the storm but each day we’ve been getting more and more rain. This morning we woke to a very stressful situation. As I drove to work and neared the end of our road I noticed a puddle larger than I had ever seen. I figured that I knew where the road was and I would simply drive through it. Well…the car stalled half way into the puddle! I had to get out, in the pouring rain, with my dress clothes on and push my car out of the puddle. After a few tries I got it started and bailed on trying to get to work.
April, Holly, Morgan and I decided to check out the Agua Caliente wash several hundred feet behind our house. Watch the video and you will see why we are REALLY NERVOUS about our house getting flooded right now. Also…more rain is coming…
Well, today we’ve been officially “rained out” of climbing. It’s been a while since we were rained out, hmmm, a year? Two years? Since we arrived in Tucson? Since we left Pittsburgh? Typically, when it rains, we just hunker down under the rocks until the rain passes. Shoot the bull for about an hour or so, and then waa-laa, rock is dry and up we climb. On this occasion, however, we are genuinely “Rained Out”. We awoke to thundercracks around 4am or so and it’s been dumping ever since. And I mean DUMPING. CONTINUOUS dumping. We had plans to head up to Mt. Lemmon today, but due to tropical storm so-and-so, here we are at home, watching it pour. But all is well. It’s amazing how living 3 years in the desert can make you truely ache for rain. Yearn for that rainy day where you actually have an excuse to sit around inside all day, make warm drinks, bake an apple pie, ahhhh it’s raining.
Last night we had some friends over for Mexican dinner night. It was a blast! Eric, Sarah, Matt, Courtney, April and I all stuffed ourselves with tons of good Mexican food. But, the grand finale was when I attempted to make Sopapillas. I nearly ruined them but everyone came into the kitchen and helped out. After we successfully made them and stuffed ourselves for a second time we walked outside and laid down by the pool, unable to move.
April and I plan on running, FAR, tomorrow morning to start working off the Sopapillas…
Finally, we had a woody session at our house this evening. It was really nice getting back in touch with good friends and we all had a lot of fun. My abs hurt more from laughing with friends than from the climbing. We’ll definitely be doing this more. Check out our current setup.
Yesterday it looked like it was going to rain all day. There were thick black clouds over the Catalina Mts. but for the most part they stayed put. They didn’t drop anything on our house. April and I even got a little cocky and said, “It isn’t going to rain. The clouds are just messing with us. Let’s go running in Sabino Canyon.” So we did and we had a perfect run in nice cool temps.
Yesterday: Saturday March 11th
Overnight was another story. We woke up around 2AM to a loud wind and the pitter patter of rain on our roof. I said, “The mountains are definately getting a ton of snow. It’s going to be awesome in the morning.” Sure enough, I woke up to April saying, “Get up! Get the camera and get out there!”
The Catalina Hwy. is currently closed because we tried to drive up there. Hopefully later we can venture up into the snow and get a few sled rides in or something. Here are a few pics we took.
I don’t know how many days it has been since we’ve seen a real rain. Matt do you know? You mentioned it the other day. I know Phoenix is counting about 126 days straight. I don’t think it’s that crazy because…uh…we live in a desert!
So, to get my fix for the “winter” of shoveling snow April and I ordered 2 tons of rocks. I can’t say exactly what we did with them because we are keeping every house modification a surprise since my parents are coming to visit soon. But, I will mention that I spent 4 hours continuously shoveling last night. It felt just like a Pittsburgh winter minus the cold, clouds, humidity, gloves, snowpants, heavy coat, and hat. And minus the neighbor who tries to park his car in the spot that you just shoveled snow out of (which is why you put a chair in your spot on the street once you’re done).
Finally we decided that it was time to take a little break from Hueco and hang out at home in Tucson. We spent the weekend relaxing at home. Relaxing for us means non-stop stuff going on from the moment we wake up to the point at which we can’t keep our eyes open in the night. Friday night we climbed on our woody, Saturday we worked on the house and spent the evening out with our friend Gina. She recommended a really classy, super cool hangout called 58 Degrees and Holding. Today we finished up some projects (secret projects because my parents are coming in a few weeks) and are spending the evening really relaxing. I have to go…the hot tub is probably just right.
Tomorrow we leave for Yosemite. Our 1 year anniversary! It’s going to be a long day. We just had an awesome party with our best friends. Thanks to everyone who showed up at our adobe. It was a fun time. Click on the pic to see the AWE$OME photos. We’ll keep ya posted for our Yosemite trip too…
Sorry for the apadventures neglect. Things have been quite busy around here lately. So this entry will be a quick a dirty summary of what we’ve been up to over the past few weeks:
1. Grit. Grit is our new bud living in our guest house. She’s here from Germany for a few months working at the university. I met her at the gym one night and turns out we have a common friend from Germany. Small world. Anyway, not only are we psyched that she’s as psyched as us about climbing, but she also likes to run! and run and run and run. Grit, Paul and I just ticked off a 7.5 mile’r this evening. Whew. Paul and I finally broke the 7 mile mark…just barely. 🙂
2. Climbing. Climbing has been stellar as usual. We’ve been frequenting Flagstaff lately. Hitting up Priest Draw. The weather up in Flag is gorgeous…crisp fall wind and getting rather chilly at night. Can’t wait for the aspen leaves to turn. Last weekend Paul, myself, Grit, and Morgan went up with Miles who is real good fun. He helped develop the place a (few) years back and showed us some stuff we’d never seen before. Cool! Paul is still taking it easy on his finger that he tweaked back in May. But how easy can you take it when you’re climbing on Priest Draw pocket roofs? 😉
3. Training. We’ve got the campus board up!!! Grit and I started building it the weekend before last, Paul stained it with some nice weatherproofing stain, and just before we left for Priest Draw last weekend we finished it off. It stands tall and proud out back by the mamma woody, looking oh-so-good. The woody has been stripped and re-set. Courtney, Grit, Paul and myself spent a night last week eating those new peanut butter double stuff oreos and setting new problems. And this past weekend we picked up some cheap 2nd holds from Voodoo. Now if we could just find the time to get some cushy mattresses so we don’t have to “Climb At Your Own Risk” each night.
4. Biking. What?! More biking you say? Well, kinda. I *finally* succeeded in getting myself motivated to ride my bike to work and back last week. I only did it 1 day though, so don’t ooo and ahh yet. My butt was waaaaay to sore to climb back on the seat so soon. We’ll see how this week goes.
5. Morgan. Cute.
6. The adobe. Still hanging in there. Our list of home fix-up to-do’s keeps growing. The bathroom sink has been clogged for 5 months now. Brushing your teeth in the kitchen is not so bad…..
7. The old ball and chain. A major smoochy smoochy weekend is coming up for Paul and I. Oct 2nd will be our 1 year wedding anniversary! Amazing that one year has already gone by. What a fine year too at that. If the upcoming years will be anything like the first, I think it’s safe to say I made a real darn good pick with that Paul, heh heh. Anyway, we plan on spending it in Yosemite. CAN’T WAIT.
