Irene who??

Hurricane Irene was predicted to be the worst storm Philadelphia would see in decades, so Mike and I decided to skip town with a couple friends.  We went to Mikes cabin in upstate New York and lived like true mountain men for a few days.  Beer, guns, scrabble and a grill (and a 5 hour Chinese war movie) proved to be a sufficiant way to pass a hurricane.  I know it is probably bad to say, but it was slightly disappointing to drive back in to Philly, one of the "worst hit" by Irene, and have no real signs of a hurricane.  Nonetheless it was nice to see that the bus and the Packard house was still firmly planted where we left it.  

I just bought a new micro 4/3 camera to replace my old DSLR and the cabin was a great place to test it out.  It will take some getting used to but I really like it so far.  We will be hanging out in Philly for a few days before going to NY for the US Open on Thursday.  Juno is going to be staying in a luxury pet resort near Mikes moms house.  After calling 10 kennels in the Philly area and not finding one under $25 a night, I decided to go with the luxury resort that includes "potty walks" for $30 a night.  She has only stayed in a kennel 1 time, and I left it up to my parents to book it.  I was surprised to see the extensive list of additional activities you can set up for your dog.  A 10 minute session of belly rubbing is only $6 for you dog at Country Kennels, and 3 "potty walks" for the dog that is a "true adventurer" is only $9 a day.  At Molly's Country Kennel you can really splurge and buy special #2 which includes a tooth brush, bedtime mint for fresh breath and a bedtime story.  What a bargain at $10.95...Anyways I think she will enjoy it.

Despite all the fun we are having in Philly, we are definitely excited to start climbing hard again.  While we were in the strange town of New Paltz, NY I bought the guidebook for the New River Gorge.  It is the biggest guide book I have ever seen and it is very obvious that a month will be nowhere near enough time!!  We will be getting there just as the temps get good in mid-september.   

Cheers,

Thomas

We are about $450 deep in the drive and only in Illinois.  I have seen lighting bugs for the first time since I was a kid in Virginia, a dead armadillo, a million and one signs saying God loves me in Kansas and Missouri, and the gateway to the west in St. Louis.  We stayed in a Walmart parking lot in Topeka, Kansas last night where I found out that a generator to run our AC unit is $1,500...That is enough to last us a few months on the road so we opted for a cheap inverter and a 6 inch personal fan.  If we were in a faster car we might have made it to the east coast in time to feel the earthquake.  And if we were in any slower of a car we probably would have felt the freak earthquake in Colorado.  Seems like we are lucking out and the signs all through Kansas and Missouri were right...

Eastbound...

Lincoln Lake

Mike and I began the 1,749 mile drive from Denver, CO to Philadelphia, PA today.  The bus is running great considering it sat around for over 2 months in the heat.  Leaving Colorado for the second time was much different than when we left in January.  Instead of wearing down jackets to stay warm since our heater sucks, we are wearing next to nothing since our air conditioning (or lack there of) sucks even worse.  We were planning on stopping somewhere to get a generator for the aftermarket air conditioner that came in the bus, but Kansas doesn't have ANYTHING which is making this drive seem like it is taking forever...I'm sure Juno is really missing the air conditioned homes, wood floors and fenced in yards that she had this summer.

Kansas

The plan is to spend a few days in Philadelphia with Mikes family before making our way to New York to watch the US Open (yes...tennis), climb in the Gunks and hang out at Mikes house in upstate New York.

We are glad to be back on the road, and appreciate everyone in Colorado showing us a good time and providing us a place to stay!  Thanks and keep checking the blog!  We will be posting much more regularly.

Cheers!

Toms Word Puzzle

(The following paragraph was originally written as the second paragraph.  You may choose to read this one first, or read the second paragraph first...How fun!)

I have reread what I have already written about 100 times which is super depressing given I just finished a book about a writer (The World According to Garp) that inspired me to write this blog.  Sadly my writing appears to be slightly less impressive than that of John Irving.  I am not going to bother rereading this once more...Anyone who knows me well knows that I become extremely interested (for a short period of time) in just about anything that I come across in movies, books or life in general.  Right now I am on a reading kick and have a growing stack of books I hope to read soon.  This means I am in a two-tiered web of special interest.  Reading, AND everything that I read about.  Right now I want to travel to India (Shantaram) & Austria (TWAG), be a climber & a writer, and many other things.  After playing beach volleyball this summer I also would like to play professional volleyball.  I have a long way to go and grow.  Trampoline jumping extraordinaire, avid fly fisherman & professional basketball knockout/around the world player. This may all change tomorrow.  My next book is called "The Alienist" and begins with a note: "Prior to the twentieth century, persons suffering from mental illness were thought to be "alienated," not only from the rest of society but from their own true natures.  Those experts who studied mental pathologies were therefore known as alienists."  Depending on how convincing Caleb Carr's writing is, I may soon be pursuing a career as an alienist.  I hope not.  After all this writing and thinking, I have decided to put this paragraph first, as I think it will do a better job of grabbing peoples attention.

Oh boy, where do I begin!?  It seems like I begin a lot of blog posts by apologizing for the lack of posts on the blog, and again, I am sorry for not posting anything recently.  We have been in Colorado since the last update and it is hard to find the time and motivation to sit down and write a blog worth reading.  I have been working as much as possible at the coffee shop which often times involves waking up at 5am and working till 1pm.  Luckily Boulder has endless climbing opportunities within a 30 minute drive such as Boulder Canyon and Flagstaff where we have been spending half days.  On days off I have been joining friends, some old and some new in the best summer bouldering destinations.  Our buddy from the road TJ has been living in Boulder for the last 3 weeks which means Mike and I have been playing "guide" in places such as Mt. Evans and RMNP.  The weather has been pretty awful the last week giving us a good excuse to visit one of my all time favorite bouldering spots, the "Hobo Cave" just 5 minutes out of town.  This is where I sent my first true project and first V7, which was really cool to show Mike and TJ.  Wow this paragraph sucks...

So this blog post is beginning to confuse my already overwhelmed brain.  I am going to try and just simplify the last few weeks.  I work sometimes (and request a lot of time off), I try to climb as much as possible,  read as many suggested books and hang out with friends and family as often as I can.  I may be forgetting some things, but anything else should fit into those general categories.  ALL of this is made possible by our good friends at the blue-broadway house.  Thanks Mickey, Chuck, & Mark.  Juno loves the yard, and Mike and I love the shower and couch.  I also had a chance to go to South Carolina and hang out on the beach with my ginormous family for a week, as well as go on a super memorable rafting trip over 4th of July weekend.  

Another interest I have really been enjoying lately is messing around with video footage and taking pictures.  Mickey just got a Canon 7D that takes awesome video and pictures, some of which have made appearances on this super famous and popular blog...His professional photography career already began when his pictures made the blog, and he doesn't even know it.  He is currently applying to jobs.  Ignorance is bliss.  We made a rolling dolly for his camera recently and have about 45 minutes of hilarious footage that I will try to steal from him and use in my next video.  Keep posted for that.  If you haven't already had a chance, check out the Joe's Valley Movie. 

So I am realizing this post might suck...Feel free to check out some of the other media I tune in to...

Mattpropertphotography.com

Actionadventureblog.blogspot.com

tjmaurer.blogspot.com

Siebevanhee.blogspot.com

facebook.com

http://vimeo.com/22990491?ref=nf

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JUZhqxqAMc&NR=1&feature=fvwp

Now, I apologize for my weak attempt at writing an artsy blog post.  I hope you enjoy and get some non-biast amusement out of it.

Cheers,

Thomas

Back to Boulder...

Juno with her Sister from another litter Lucy

Hey everyone sorry for the lack of posts lately... First off I want to give a shout out to Mickey for the awesome photos he has given us! After getting flooded out of Rifle and heading to Vail for the Teva Mountain Games Mike and I made our way back to Boulder.  I miss this place.  I dropped by the Brewing Market, the greatest coffee shop and my old work place, and was offered some hours for the summer.  I am gonna be working a few days a week here and climbing on my days off (and days on since work starts at 5 AM).  I went back to Littleton to celebrate my birthday last week.  As is typical with a Seymour birthday (no offense mom and dad) I picked out the majority of my gifts myself which included a new camera tripod, a Boulder Canyon guide book, and a rope and draws.  Perfect gifts for Boulder Canyon which is where we will be climbing a lot this summer.  We have been climbing there a few days already and have had a lot of fun on the granite walls that I didn't climb even once during my 5 years living in Boulder.  Mike and Mickey went down to Newlin Creek, an area south of Canon City last weekend and had a great time.  He should be posting some pics soon!

Which one is which?

Along this trip people are always asking me if the outdoor climbing in Boulder is as great as it is rumored to be, and I can hardly answer with confidence.  I never climbed in Boulder Canyon, Clear Creek Canyon along with many others.  For the most part I have only climbed in RMNP (which IS as great as rumored), Mt. Evans (also as great as rumored), Flagstaff (not my favorite), and some smaller areas near Lyons.  So far since we have been back in Boulder I have climbed in Lincoln Lakes and Endo Valley, 2 areas that have seen a recent surge in development, as well as Boulder Canyon.  In comparison to its neighbor Chaos Canyon, Endo Valley is much more accessible, less snowy and much more condensed.  We have spent two impressive days climbing here working on problems such as Dave Grahams "Extra Alientated" and Johnny Horks "Merkin."  With an easy approach and a lower elevation that Chaos Canyon RMNP, this area is perfect for the early summer months when Chaos is still covered in snow.  Yesterday Kayla, Angie, Mike Holly and I met Kevin and Liesel, some friends from this trip in Endo Valley.  Angie killed it.  Nice work!!!!  I have a few projects there that I am hoping to get a chance to climb again this week before going to Fripp Island, South Carolina for our annual family reunion.

"Extra Alienated" in Endo Valley, RMNP

Our one day in Lincoln Lakes (Mt. Evans) turned out to be less than expected.  Unfortunately for us there is no guide and hardly any information concerning the area, so we went in not knowing what to expect.  After a 20 minute scramble/sled down to the boulders we had a hard time finding anything with chalk on it, and nothing that we recognized from the movies.  Luckily some people told us where to find a few problems that we spent the rest of the day on.  I think I am still recovering from the grueling hike out, but I am psyched to go back with some people that are more familiar with the area.  TJ is getting in some time next week (assuming he doesn't dilly dally like last time) and I'm looking forward to seeing what he thinks of Colorado climbing.

With my work schedule I am planning on climbing in Boulder Canyon almost every day this summer.  On days off I will head to the park, Mt. Evans and Rifle Mountain Park.  In fact, I think I am going to head to Boulder Canyon right now.

Adios!

-Thomas

I will be working on some more video now that I have a tripod that works.  Keep checking!!!  Thanks for following our blog by the way.  I hope it is entertaining.