"That Was The Year We Wished On A Thousand Paper Stars." - A. Taylor

Rebecca and I took a quick trip to Philly to vist my mother. On a rainy, chilly day we meet up with David Nestor and Michael Holmes.

David spent two years in Ecuador with the Peace Corp. He has been back almost a year now and this is the first time I have seen him.


Holmes looks like a college professor with dirty thoughts on his mind.


We drank tea to help dry our wet and chilled bones.


Isaiah Zagar is an artist from Philly who does some amazing mosaics using not only tile but trash and any other objects that cross his path. Here are some examples of his work. Check out the link below for the history. www.phillymagicgardens.org/history.html








We finished the day at my favorite place to eat in Philly, Gianna's Grille. Everything in this pizza joint is vegan including their Philly cheese steaks and this huge case of desserts. I finished my meal with a peanut butter rocket.
www.giannasgrille.com/


We had 2 BBQ chicken slices and a sicilian slice with grilled chicken. Even the vegan cheese is really good here.

About a week after I returned from Philly, my friends Tim and Anna got married. The service was held at The Forrest Theater on UNC's campus. I was in charge of arranging the flowers and plants.

Grey and I spent the 30 minutes before the ceremony keeping people off the white runner that went down the steps. Everyone was tramping all over it with their muddy shoes!


Here I am giving someone a dirty look while they muddy up the runner!


Tim, the dude with glasses, is the groom. He has one of the best laughs I've ever heard, and he always makes me vegan food at holiday gatherings.


Those walls behind the bride and groom are great for climbing. Usually chalk marks cover the walls but it rained a few days before and washed it all away.


Now they are legal!!! Time to eat, dance and make fun of Grey at the reception.


And the night starts off with a sign of brotherly affection. Rob gets what he deserves!


Tim and Anna know how to throw a party: just add food, alcohol, and mustaches! They gave each guest a cracker which breaks open when you and a partner pull it. The person who gets the bigger half gets all the fun prizes it contains. Most had funny crowns and mustaches inside. Nothing is more attractive than a brides maid with a furry lip. But if you can't have that you can have Phil and Vijay.


Or just a dirty looking Vijay by himself.


Or better yet, a confused looking Grey Hubbard.

Is Your Bed Made? Is Your Sweater On?

On Friday morning Kevin and I left Zion a few hours before the rest of the group to pick up Mr. Holmes who was flying in from Philly. I got the times wrong and we were an hour early. What else is there to do when you have time to kill in Vegas besides gamble? Yahtzee suckas!!!


The one and only Michael Holmes.


Red Rocks, NV is the place to be if you are a sport climber. This spot was almost like a climbing gym there were so many ropes in such close proximity.


And so we climbed...


Swimmer Dan looking strong.


Wesley pulling on some sweet sandstone.


Timur used to live in Carrboro but now he goes to school at UCLA. He drove out with.....


PATTY! Patty and I are old buds from SD and she was nice enough to join our sausage party as the only female. She rolled up with her pups Zoe (not pictured) and Bear who greeted my kindly.


Back to the site for some food and drinks. We are now rolling 13 deep: Kevin, Wesley, Beadle, Grey, Dan, Brian, Timur, Patty, Michael Holmes, Rob and Phil Dow, Jordan who flew in from the Bay Area, and myself. (Am I forgetting anyone?) The night was pretty windy so we had to keep the fire down but we ate like kings; veggie dogs and real dogs on the grill, Patty steamed up some veggies, tons of snacks and cheap beer.


The next day most of us went climbing but a group of hippies went to check out a hotspring near Lake Mead.


After a long day of climbing and hotspringing, it was time to play everyone's favorite new game....Big Booty!
"Awww Big Booty, Big Booty, Big Booty. Aw Yeah, Big Booty. Big Booty One, One, Big Booty......"


Hang Ten Dude Bro! Jordan riding Phil's off road skateboard.


Two late editions to the group: Dan Dilworth and Damien from SD. Dan has a house in Las Vegas so after 7 days we got to take a shower at his place and sleep on some comfy carpet. Thanks Dan!!!!


But before that, we had one last afternoon of climbing. This is Wesley on some 5.10+ climb.


Even Mr. Holmes and Damien got in on the action. As you can tell from the rope, it was pretty windy. The night before we were unable to have a fire and spent most of the night hanging out in the van until we went to sleep. I thought a twister was rolling through our campsite.


Now someone is just being cocky.


Some people see God's likeness in clouds or on a piece of toast. We got to see a dog's likeness on Swimmer Dan's back. Hmm, dog spelling backwards is God. Coincidence? I think so.
Thanks goes out to everyone for coming out and celebrating my 30th. It was one I will not soon forget. And thanks to everyone whose pictures I stole and put on my blog.

Check out all the other photos from our trip at: http://picasaweb.google.com/smellydudes/

We Are The Here And Now (My trip out west, part 1)

I turned 30 this April and as a gift to myself I bought a plane ticket out west to explore Zion National Park and to do some climbing in Red Rocks, NV. To my surprise over a dozen of my friends came out to party with me. This is a brief summary of what happened during those 7 days out west.


Brian Leatherland flew into Vegas first and met up with Wesley who drove in from SD. Grey, Dan, Beadle, and myself all flew in later that night. Six dudes in a small hotel room..it's fantastic.


That night we hit up the strip and got up the next morning after about 4 hours of sleep.


Zion, located in southern Utah, is about two and half hours from Vegas. It is the mini Grand Canyon that you can actually hike around and not just see from your car or tour bus.


The dudes at Watchman camp site.


Our first hike in the park was to the three Emerald Pools. As we were walking under the first set of falls the wind shifted and I got soaked.


We made it to the upper pool after a quick stop to boulder.


This is our "soccer pose" just incase an impromptu game breaks out.


The moon raising over Watchman Tower and our campsite.


After the hike we went and did some bouldering. There were 5 or 6 really good boulders just outside our campsite. That is Brian working on a highball problem.






Our timing was perfect. Desert flowers in bloom.


The next morning we split up and went in two separate directions. Beadle and I hiked the East Rim Trail while the other dudes hiked the sometimes sketchy Angels Landing. Wesley preparing to battle the angels if needed.


This photo is from the first mile or so into the East Rim hike.


Then it changes to look like this.


At one point the trail lead us to this view of Angels Landing. I wonder how the other group is doing....


This is why Angels Landing is sketchy. They have a system of chains in place so you don't fall off the edge and drop 1200 feet to your death. Fortunately, everyone made it up and down alive.


As soon as we got back to the campsite Kevin Marks rolled up from SD and brought me my B-Day gift; a tofu potato burrito from POKEZ! A cold burrito never tasted so good. Thanks again Kevin.


The next day, while Kevin explored Zion, the rest of us traveled to the northern section of the park and hiked the 14 miles round trip to see Kolob Arch.








That is Kolob Arch in the background, the second largest natural arch in the world.


After our day of exploring we all went out for pizza and brew.


At least Utah has a sense of humor about the whole thing.

Next up, the group heads to Red Rocks, NV and doubles in size.