Last day in Bishop...Sad climbing

So last night the girls went through our food bin and pulled out the pasta, canned chicken breast (tastes better than you think), cloves of garlic, and the cream of potato soup. I dont know if you would call it cooking...they pretty much threw everything into a pot of water and brought it to a boil...then a simmer. It actually wasn't bad at all, after eating pasta with just olive oil and seasoning for a few dinners during this trip.....it was a welcomed change.

In the warm bathroom in the campground, the only place to escape the bone chilling wind, Larry and I decided to look at our game plan after we drop the girls off at the Las Vegas Airport (Yes, Larry has gotten much better multitasking while sitting in a public restroom toilet stall). Our closest destination would be Red Rock Canyon just outside Vegas, its expected to be 60 degrees. Flagstaff, Az- Low of 3 degrees....yea thats off the list. Our expected next destination would have been Fort Collins, Co but its expected to have a high of 30 degrees. Hueco Tanks in El Paso is a nice 70 degrees so thats looking promising. Then there are the Tennessee Walls in Chattanooga- 65 degrees. So we have a very loose itinerary but we'll be heading back east after tomorrow. We'll definitely be stopping down in Florida to visit a bunch of my friends from college, it'll be a great place to relax...if we are capable of just relaxing....

Once again, early this morning, a warm RV'er greeted me while running his dog to tell me how impressed everyone was that we stayed in the tents overnight as the temperature dropped into the teens. Of course I shrugged it off and told him we had good sleeping bags and warm clothes. Later on in the day we ran into a couple that was leaving the "Sad Bouldering Area" and they asked if we were the group sleeping n the tents in the middle of the campground. After confirming their suspicion the lady went on to tell us that her husband told her one morning that we were up 'til 10pm laughing and having a good time, to his surprise (Climbers usually pass out after getting a warm meal in them....unless there are drinks to be had).

As I mentioned earlier our targeted area was the "Sad Boulders"....Why is it called that? Probably because the rock is sharp and the routes are tricky. If the route isn't obvious, then the holds are reachy, if the holds aren't reachy then the holds feel like climbing on broken glass....a Sad day... We warmed up on a high slab route, holds were tiny...it was more of a friction climb. As you get higher you just hope the rock has enough bite to keep your feet on the rock. After the slab we wove our way through the canyon full of boulders trying not to get lost while trying to match the boulders ahead of us to the photos in the guide book. After a few more climbs the sky grew dark and the wind picked up....yea this isn't the sunny California with the dancing raisins or people in roller blades skating along the beach. We did get hit with some light snow and sleet while climbing. But we didn't let the freezing winds and numb fingers stop us from climbing...we climbed a few more routes and then called it a day. Apparently, the rock feels sharper when your hands are freezing...and its not fun spotting.

So here we are warming up in Starbucks, the blog didnt allow us to post the photos yet and Larry is going stir crazy since I am the one typing the blog tonight. Its our last day here in Cali tomorrow morning we head back to Vegas to drop the girls off for their flight and for some more climbing in Red Rock Canyon.

Now for the tunes:
Jefferson Airplane: Surrealistic Pillow (The climbing area is only 5 minutes from the campground)

Quote of the Day:

Lisa: "Its going to be soooo Epic!"
(In response to the wind and snow while still out climbing....probably not in the girls best interest. But as Larry explained to the girls a lot of the things we do are only fun after we look back on it...but we try to enjoy ourselves in the present as much as possible.)

Ok we need to get out of here...Larry is starting to lose his mind...could it be the long hours, cold weather, the company....probably a combination of everything. For now we're all thinking warm thoughts.