Thoughts..

My findings from last night's dive.  Organic honey wheat bread? Turbinado sugar? Potatoes, peppers, yellow squash, spinach, organic cauliflower? Flowers? What?!  From a dumpster? Why is it all thrown away, wasted??

I have a friend who is bolder than I can ever be, and constantly inspires me to wander outside my comfort zone.  She doesn't hesitate for a second when diving, even in broad daylight, with a street-full of cars zooming by.  A month ago, at 11pm on a chilly night in small Colorado town, I sat in my van, contemplating whether or not I should see what was in the Safeway dumpster.  I was so incredibly nervous.  By going in there, I would be entering into a stereotype society finds disgusting, or takes pity on.  I was worried I would be caught, mid-act, handcuffed, and locked in a cell, accused of trespassing.  But, most of all, I was worried I could never be bold, and do something that would be considered totally crazy to my younger self.  

My heart, beating fast, kept me alert as I stepped out of my van and speedily crept toward the prize.  I peeked inside, and saw bags upon bags, and nothing too exciting.  I dug around a little and to my surprise, discovered a bunch of organic, packaged greens.. baby spinach, kale, and mixed lettuce.  Collecting the goods, I sprinted back to van and laughed out loud, so proud of myself.  

A month later, in a small town in Utah, I walk over to the dumpster with little hesitation.  I don't feel worried about being caught, because I'm not doing anything wrong.  I spend more time searching, and end up finding so many things, and often organic goods, that are thrown away because they're expiring in a few days, weeks, months, or simply unwanted for no logical reason.  It's not that I can't afford to buy food.  I can, and I still do.  But, I'm happy that I can contribute to preventing waste in our society.  Even if it's the tiniest bit.     

Phoneless

I've been in Moab for a week now.  It's taken some getting used to the rock here (sandy, much?).  But, boy it's lovely.  After spending Thanksgiving in Denver with my friend, Amanda, we decided to wander over to Moab to boulder, and climb some desert cracks.  It's been really fun, but after 7 straight days of climbing, I'm literally exhausted.  Yesterday, I made a new friend, and we wandered into Longs Canyon and climbed some cool routes.  But, after he dropped me back off at my car, I couldn't find my phone.  I searched and searched, drove back up Long's canyon (the most horrific dirt road my van has been on.. and it survived!) didn't find it, and as I was driving back to town, fully expecting it to be lost forever, I spot something white in the middle of the road.  Then, I spotted all these broken pieces nearby.  My phone got run over... probably by me as I had followed my friend back to town.  Such is life!

Good times though, I was surprised how at peace I was, upon discovering the loss.  So silly, how connected we feel with this little rectangle of metal.  Last night, as I made dinner, instead of browsing my phone, checking insta-face-gram, seeing how many likes I'd received... I read a book, wrote a letter, did some yoga, and reflected on the day.  

After I found the phone in the middle of Potash road, in the darkness, surrounded by a glorious star-lit sky, I wandered over to the market dumpster (which I've been frequenting all week), found tons of bananas, squash, peppers, tomatoes, and mushrooms. Then, as I was walking back to the van, in the dark, an old creepy-looking man carrying a box startled me, and then, to my surprise offered me a bunch of bagged chips ahoy cookies, and went about his evening.  Then, I went to the market (for the first time in 2 weeks), bought some bacon and eggs.  One egg was cracked, and the cashier sold me these 5$ organic, free range eggs, for 1$. And, to top it all off, I'd made a new friend who was supportive and fun, and offered me a warm shower, and a place to cook dinner.  .  I couldn't be happier with how the day turned out :)

Amanda and her van, Penny at Goose Island Campground

Beautiful Moab!

climbing in Kane Creek!

A new home

And, she is finally completed.  Hurray, hurrah!

Early Franny plans

blueprints

ideas

ideas... executed!

The back!

Van build #1

So.. I recently bought a huge hunk of a van.  And, I thought.. oh! I can finish this build out in 2 months, no problem.  Well, it's been 3 months and I haven't even gotten all the walls up! Sigh, but I've learned a lot! How to saw things, cut & drill into metal.  Working with wood is really fun.  I would have never pictured doing something like a few years ago.  Even though it's taking forever, it's already starting to turn into something pretty neat :)

shortening the step

step complete! 

endless insulating .. 

figuring out the window frame

Baptiste's fancy woodworking!

starting to feel like something!

these cedar fence panels don't look too shabby!

bed frame construction 

Potrero Chico

Tent life.  Early mornings.  Endless cups of tea.  A little bit of Work.  Slowly, people drift from their tents into the kitchen to make their morning cup of coffee.  Oatmeal, eggs, avocados, mangoes, more coffee, climbing plans.  Mornings are usually slow here at Homeros, a small campground with a big community of dirtbags, from places like Ireland, Austrailia New Zealand, Canada, Argentina, and the States.  After arriving in Potrero, I already felt welcome.  Ran into old friends, and made new ones, all whom live out the days climbing, reading, playing guitar, and sleeping under the stars.  

Josh climbing at the Virgin Wall

On this sleepy Friday morning, a group of us glance up at the large wall in front of us, where we spot the tiny dots on the wall, Derek and Chino, who are attempting to climb El Sendero Luminoso, the classic 15-pitch route (which Honnold notoriously soloed), half the pitches going at 5.12+.  They've been up since 4am, in hopes to finish it by dinner time.  Soon, we all file into Bob's van, drive down to the market for some fresh vegetables, tamales, and El Buho coffee.  The market happens every Tuesday and Friday, and is crowded with stands filled with random goods ranging from combs to pokemon cards.  Then, over at the tamale shop (that also sells thrifty clothing) Katelyn, Colum, and Bob enjoy delicious homemade food, while sitting on broken chairs and old crates.  Post-market, we all wander over to El Buho, the local Christian-owned coffee shop with a friendly climber vibe.  

Back at Homeros, we frequently look up toward El Toro, tracking Derek and Chino's progress.  They're now about halfway, with most of the 5.12 climbing behind them.  While it's a long day for them, it's a rest day for us, as we sip margaritas and dine on fresh guacamole.  

View of Outrage Wall

California

Been home for over a month now.  It's a bit strange to be back in California after all that traveling.  I covered so much ground in such a short time.  I guess 8 months isn't that short, but since I've been at home, it feels like it all just flew by.  Sometimes I have to remind myself, 'It happened, right?'  I'm eager to get back out there though.  Excited to explore Potrero Chico in Mexico, and to see some friends again.  Then probably off to Indian Creek again to climb some cracks and hopefully head over to Colorado after to see what that's all about.  I don't really have a plan to be honest.

Where the heck are we??? O_O

This past year has been a whirlwind of new experiences.  I don't think I've had time to process them all.  Plenty of ups, and a few downs, lots of laughs, and a handful of cries.  I was worried I would barely meet anyone on the road.  It took so long to cultivate a good group of friends in the big city, that I worried it'd be even harder out there.  But, the climbing community is one of a kind.  Many of the insecurities I had before these adventures have nearly left me.  I think, meeting all the lovely people on the road, has reinforced that I have no reason to feel insecure about anything, about art, climbing, myself, my life.  That we're all different, and come from different places, different circumstances, but we somehow find ourselves spending it together enjoying each other's company, even if it's just for a short while.   

Kenny and Charlotte making veggie burgers

Kenny & Charlotte, who I met in the Red, invited me over to hang with them on Char's uncle's yacht, which was quite epic.  It had something like 8 beds, and a full kitchen and living room area.  We went kayaking and paddle boarding one morning out on the bay, watching the seals nest themselves up against the back porch of expensive boats.  At night we played mah-jong, went for a drive down through Laguna beach, ate an entire carton of trader joes ice cream, and talked.  A couple weeks later, my friend's Adam and Sarah (who were incredibly kind to get us into Disney at no cost, and join us for a few hours), Kenny, Charlotte, and I went to Disneyland.  I was hoping that they'd get a chance to go before they left the states.  After stuffing our faces the night before with my mom's cooking, we ended up spending 12 glorious hours riding rides, and trying not to purchase all the sweets.  It was prettyyyy fun :) 

Claire :)

stannn

Took a detour, went up to San Francisco for a few days to catch up with old friends :) It was lovely to see everyone again, bustling about in their busy lives!  Making things, going places, living life.  Mostly stayed with Stan and Emily, who were kind enough to host me for 4 nights, (thanks guys!).  Finally saw Star Wars, made lots of gluten-free pancakes, listened to a lot of Justin Beiber.  Met up with Marc and finally had some Solfood :) Boy, it was delicious!  It was such a good side-trip, and so good to see everyone.  

Ojai hills

Took a quick trip to Ojai to check out some boulders. It's really pretty over there, a lot of rolling hills and lovely sights.  Tigger joined me too, I thought it'd be nice to see how he'd go if I took him bouldering.  He did really well! Sat patiently while I climbed, and followed me up and down the trail.  Maybe he'd do well on the road? We'll see...

tigger my man