We left California and started the long journey east. We were planning to go to Yellowstone, so decided on a route that took us through Oregon and Idaho so we could see a couple more national parks that had caught our interest, namely Crater Lake in Oregon and Craters of the Moon in Idaho. The pictures of Crater Lake that we had seen were absolutely stunning, a fantastic deep blue lake surrounded by the steep walls of a massive crater. The weather was not fantastic when we left California, so we were hoping it would clear up so we could see [View Full Entry]

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Wow, so today is an exciting day for me and exactly one week since I've been back in Idaho. Life has not been boring though (as it sometimes can be when I'm here during the summer months with nothing to do). I ended the last day of my roadtrip by first going off to see the Craters of the Moon national monument. What makes this little spot near Arco, Idaho amazing is that there are huge lava fields (you can see it from space) that includes basaltic lava beds, tree molds, and caves only...there are no volcanoes! So where did it [View Full Entry]

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The time spent in Idaho actually encompasses much more than the climbing we did at Castle Rock and the City of Rocks but those two places were definitely highlights. To be more specific: Stef got back on the sharp end and led again, we did our first multi-pitch route, our first two-rope rappell, I led two more climbs rated 5.10a-both on bolts, but still...and I led a bunch of awesome easier climbs on gear and felt really good throughout (not sketched, fearful of immanent death etc) There was more that encompassed our time in the potato state, both before and after [View Full Entry]

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Craters of the Moon National Monument was other-worldly, but beautiful. The lava flows, boulders and cones were fascinating. But the really amazing thing was the wildflowers growing out of that dead-looking black ground. There are 750,000 acres of lava, that in some places looks as if it was just spewed out of the ground and tilled up in rows. We drove the Sawtooth Scenic byway through Sun Valley to Galena Peak Summit. It was a beautiful drive, but the towns of Ketchum and Hailey had a kind of phony frontier facade feel (how's that for alliteration.) Galena Peak Summit looks [View Full Entry]

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Well we've packed in a lot since our last update and it is my turn to relay what I can remember of the first bit. My problem is every day we go to new places, meet new people and have to remember new Spanish words. As a result I end up getting all my worms mixed up. If it is any consolation I am better at remembering numbers. I can tell you we came East on highway 20, down on 89, filled up with petrol at $2.87 a gallon, stopped for two 12oz coffees served by a waitress with 40inch jugs. [View Full Entry]

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First stop: Nat-soo-pah hot springs. It's a large natural hot spring which was directed into a huge concrete swimming pool, spa and hot soak tub. Think public pool, except it's warmer than body temperature and the water is green due to the iron pyrite (fools gold) that the water flows through underground before it feeds into the pool. They even had a water slide. And it was perfect timing; we had been in the mood to go swimming for a couple of weeks. Then, twin falls, where beautiful waterfalls cascade into a canyon just north of the hot springs in [View Full Entry]

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VERAO EM SUN VALLEY COM O JON [View Full Entry]

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Estou em Sun Valley, uma estaçao de ski em Idaho-USA, esta eh minha 5 temporada. e estou adorando como sempre..Estou conhhecendo pessoas novas e revendo alguns amigos..Esta sendo muito bom.... [View Full Entry]

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