Amazing views, the weather improves.

An interesting tower, off the side of Park Avenue

Hero Shot. C'mon Ryan, out a little further.

Up we go to the mesa top and the skies clear. The views are awesome, the knife edge fun, the trundle....no, that wouldn't be right. Hee, hee. Feeling quite pleased with ourselves, for lucking into the right timing, we spend a delightful afternoon, swallowing a roll of film each. Out to a few new corners of the world, we go. The sky is getting grayer. We know if we squeeze these extra explorations in, we may get hit again, but we go anyway. On the sprint home and down the gully, the rain comes again. A light to moderate affair, it matches the rain on approach. A magic weather window sandwich on lite rain bread. Very happy are we.

The Three Gossips and the Tower of Babel

Out at the End of the World

Damn, I am getting soft. Those motel prices in the off season, when the weather is wet, a room for 2 for $32 with tax, just seems so attractive. In November, I could claim that everyone else was inside, so why stay out alone? This time Ryan plans to camp. My shelter is soaked. The forecast stinks, the ground is saturated and I am sure I could come up with more excuses if I had to, but what the hay, I am gettin lazy and soft. Tom and I would share a room and sling wet tarps and tents from every angle and nook and cranny. We would chat and read and dry gear and I must admit, I enjoyed it. Until the next AM, when Ryan informs us that it stayed dry overnight and that the winds blew everything dry. Regret....You have no idea how much flack my friends will send down the pike to "The New Indoor Ram." Ryan called his girlfriend who came up with the trips best line and I quote.."You stayed out, they stayed in..You won..can you come home now?" No, I say no! With canyons flooding around the state, we were ideally placed by the Arches playground. Arches had been our awful weather fall back position from the start, of each FreezeFest. Time to pull out those old dusty, off trail, fin scrambling, chimney stemmin, secret around the next corner, Arches classics from my youth. There is always a place to be. The best was yet to come....