A desert adventure

I went on a backpacking trip down in Moab Utah over the weekend with uncle Mike; we did a two night trip up and around Mill Creek and Rill Creek right out side of Moab. It was a awesome trip as you can see in the photos, definately a repeat. I stopped at Goblin Valley State Park in the San Rafeal Swell on the way back to Idaho and checked out that geological marvel; it is amazing just what nature can produce. The Colorado Plateau definately has some of the most diverse geology in the world. Check out my web album for more pics.



An idealic waterfall in Rill Canyon, most of the hiking was like this; very sweet!












Mike chimneying up a rock in Mill Creek
Me on the first day. We started out in torrential down pour! Rain of biblical proportions!

Canyoneering, Wild Cat Canyon

This weekend Jennifer, Bryan, Amie and myself tried out a new sport that has taken hold mostly in southern Utah and is growing steadily through out the northwest; canyoneering. For those of you who do not know what canyoneering is here is the blurb from the wikipedia
"Although hiking down a canyon that is non-technical (canyon hiking) is often referred to as canyoneering, the terms canyoning and canyoneering are more often associated with technical descents — those that require rappels (abseils) and ropework, technical climbing or down-climbing, technical jumps, and/or technical swims.
Canyoning is frequently done in remote and rugged settings and often requires navigational, route-finding and other skills and preparation needed for wilderness travel.
Canyons that are ideal for canyoning are often cut into the bedrock stone, forming narrow gorges with numerous drops, beautifully sculpted walls, and sometimes spectacular waterfalls. Most canyons are cut into limestone, granite or sandstone, though other rock types are found. Canyons can be very easy or extremely difficult, though emphasis in the sport is usually on aesthetics and fun rather than pure difficulty. A wide variety of canyoning routes are found throughout the world, and canyoning is enjoyed by people of all ages and skill levels."

While our trip was not very technical, it still involved a lot of scrambling and some low class bouldering. The canyon that we checked out was WildCat Canyon in southern Idaho around the town of Marsing. It took a couple hours and was well worth it, definately a repeat trip. There are a bunch of canyons around that area that I would like to explore and I hope to find a bunch more around Idaho. For more info on Idaho canyoneering check out northwest canyoneering. If any one has any beta on some canyons or would like to go check some out let me know and I will be very happy to oblige; as I'm pretty excited about checking out some more stuff. Check out mine and Bryans webalbums for some pics of our hike.

Idaho Pioneering a New Extreme Sport

If you are anything like me, you might have tried something in the past called "Riverboarding". Riverboarding traditionally consists of three main elements. A board, a rope, and of course a river. We used to go to a bridge in Hailey and tie up an old rope, then extend that rope to either an old wake board or just a piece of ply wood. We would then try to surf on it for hours. If you could stay up for more than a minute you were doing pretty good. Well, all that is about to change. A new company based in Idaho promises to change the face of Riverboarding forever. Their name is Banshee Riverboards, and they have set up a sweet system for surfing the rivers. The best thing about it is it doesn't require gas or a boat to work! The system is a board attached to a high quality bungee. Check out their site for more information and check out this great video to see the product in action. I'll see you on the rivers this summer!!

Company Site: http://www.bansheeriverboards.com/
Video Link: http://youtube.com/watch?v=8R0MW-qoTEc

Snowkite Soldier

Most of you know that I'm interesting in Power Kiting, but for the most part I'm all talk and no walk. Despite being really interested in it, and owning a few kites myself, I rarely ever get time to actually do it. Well, that may or may not change, but I did just learn of a local company that is trying to make the sport more of an every day thing here in Fairfield and the Camas County. Snowkite Soldier offers a few different types of lessons and packages for people either beginning in the sport, or for people already familiar with it. Their site also offers some great maps of the area and the best places to go Kiting. Check them out, and go get a lesson if you've been thinking about trying the sport!

Here is the link to the site: http://www.snowkitesoldier.com/index.htm

Dreaming of Snow

Well, it has really been trying to snow lately, but the problem is that it has been way to warm and the snow eventually turns to rain. I was getting a little anxious for some real powder, so I created "Idaho Rocks Best Winter Pics of 2005/2006" for our viewing pleasure. Hopefully after viewing the album, our collective thoughts can bring some of the white stuff our way.

Unexpected Surprise

Our pipes were frozen under our kitchen sink, so we opened up the faucet with the hopes of warming it up and breaking the ice loose. Well, when we left for work the next day we forgot to actually close the faucets. The Good news is that the pipes are no longer frozen. The bad news is that we had a very unexpected surprise when we came home from work! All I can say is thank God for Shop Vac's!

Snowshoeing in Idaho City

Jennifer and I went snowshoeing around Idaho City today; it was pretty sweet. There wasn't a whole lot of snow, but it was still pretty nice. I know that I am doing a little snow dance every night in hopes of hitting up some freshy soon. Here are some picture from the trip


 

So much fun on Willow Ave

Well, we have been quite busy the past few weeks. After having our extremely nasty toilet break down on us for the last time, we finally decided to buck up and get the bathroom remodeled. It is has been a challenging process for sure, with many unexpected scenarios. All in all, it has been a good learning experience so far. The project has also expanded a little beyond just the bathroom. Despite some peoples opinions, we decided to take down the barn wood in the lower level. We found some interesting things behind the wall as you can see here. Take a look at a some of the pictures if you dare. We'll send some more pictures as the project progresses. Those who know this house, please send me an email and let me know your thoughts on the "surprise door" on the North Facing wall. Should we open it up??

Click Here to see the pictures

ID Rocks November Person of the Month

Ben set up a few new web albums to share with the family, and one of the pictures of good old Uncle Mike is up there. This is such a classic picture, I thought we should share it with the rest of you. Most all of you will appreciate it. Click here for more pics by The Law.

Sunset on Soldier Mountain

The snow has arrived and we are getting really excited to start playing in it! It is still very much "Mud Season" here in Fairfield, but soon that will be replaced with frozen snow filled streets. I hope you all enjoy these pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them!

 

Really extreme skiing

Check this out; these guys are really skiing the NORTH face.
http://www.acro-base.com/fr/imgs/galerie/video/videos/eiger06/eiger-faf-emb.mov
it takes a minute to load so be patient.

Okay, the REAL first snow in Fairfield

 

First Snow in Fairfield

It officialy snowed for the first time this year on the Camas Prairie. The blue sky you see below only came out later in the afternoon. The pictures on the bottom are what we woke up to this morning. It won't be long until we are snowboarding!

 

Race

Fairfieldites and Camasians!! Harken to me! Cry havoc and let loose the dogs of RUNNING!! At 9 in the AM on Saturday, the 11th of Novemeber in the Year 2000 and 6; I will be running the Soldier Mountain Scramble; it is a race up the steep slopes of Soldier Mountain ski area and would appreciate any support that might be offered!! Thank you and may the Force be with you!
Ben

Soldier Mountain

I hiked Soldier; it was sweet; nuff said


 

Halloween in Fairfield - 2006

Wow, Halloween is already over. Time to start thinking of all the other fun holidays to come! I thought I would share some of the pictures from our weekend if anyone was interested. There were so many good ones, that I created a web album to view them at. Click here to check them out. Thanks to Ben for having the digi-cam handy at all times! 

Stalked

Last evening I went running around 6:30 on the Military Reserve trails and ended up with a hour and a half adrenaline pumping, endorphin chugging run. Don't ask me why I decide to go running then, but I just did it. I ended up all the way over by Camels Back park and then headed back to my car which was at the Cottonwood Creek Trailhead over by Saint Lukes hospital; I estimate it was around a ten mile run. It was dark when I got back to the Reserve trails complex and I ended up scaring and being scared by a small herd of nine deer when I was coming down a series of switch backs on the Ridge Crest Trail, or maybe the deer where scared by something besides me, since they ran across my path in front of me, instead of running away like they normally do. I got to the bottom of the hill and started pounding my way back along the home stretch to the car, in the failing light I could barely see more than a few feet in front of myself, my tired legs and brain focused entirely upon getting through the last half mile with out tripping and breaking my neck; it was getting very dark out. Upon reaching my car I was happy to be finished after such a long hard run and wandered around for a minute, drinking water out of my camelbak. That is when I heard it. A rustling in the dense arboreal foliage; the sound of something large trying to move stealthily through the undergrowth. Some what unnerved but still high from endorphin/adrenaline cocktail coursing through my viens; I stood for a moment considering going and seeing what was making all the commotion. Instead I took off my backpack, got my key, opened up the car and got in. I turned the car on and flipped on the lights. A pair of green eyes shone back at me not more than 15 feet away in the woods. The eyes where very similar to a cats eyes when you shine a flashlight on them and they reflect the light back; the eyes where bright green and looked quite large, about 2 or 3 inches apart. Needless to say I was pretty freaked out; I got out of there as quick as possible. I think that the owner of those big green eyes was probably a mountain lion and it had maybe been stalking me, for how long I don't know, but even being stalked a little bit by a cougar is longer than I would like. Later I looked up some stuff about mountain lions in Boise and came up with this.
"The frequency of mountain lion reports in the vicinity of the capture area suggests that the lion had been making a pretty good living among the homes along the Boise River, likely feeding on deer, raccoons and probably domestic cats." (Idaho Fish and Game)
"Since last summer, dozens of mountain lion sightings have been reported to Fish and Game, many of them from the area between the Warm Springs Mesa subdivision and Parkcenter Boulevard on the opposite side of the Boise River. "Lions are frequent visitors to the valley, and most simply pass through on their way to other areas," (regional conservation educator Evin Oneale )
"Although the recent valley plague of pet disappearances blamed on mountain lions has, for the moment, dissipated, residents are still reporting sightings of both lions and lion tracks in the Ketchum area." By GREG STAHL
Express Staff Writer

Sun Valley the Next Humboldt?

I was just told the other day by a friend that a local guy named Ryan Davidson is trying to gather enough community support to introduce new legislation in Sun Valley that would allow the Growth, posession, use & sale of Marijuana in city limits. Pretty crazy! I guess the City Clerk denied his petition but was later proved to be doing so illegally. The Idaho Supreme Court has ruled that if the voters want to vote on it, it is up to us and not some city clerk. Refreshing to see government working FOR us for once! Either way, here is the full article if you want to check it out.

Click here for full article

Flying Shrimp Threaten Boise Residents!

Flying Shrimp Threaten Boise Residents! Yes you might not realize the threat that flying shrimp pose, but I am here to tell you reader that these airborne shrimp are indeed quite deadly.
Shrimp are found everywhere these days, in salads, in stir-fry, in sushi, even in pizza, but in only one form do they become airborne and there shrimp become so frightening. These flying shrimp can be found at local Japanese steakhouses where they are superheated on a large grill that allows many people to sit around the heated grilling area. Once the shrimp have been heated up they are then propelled via spatula through the air by the table chef, towards a table patron’s mouth. The shrimp that has been basted in a variety of spices and sauces has an interior temperature that is very hot, and has a good chance of burning a person’s mouth. There is a strong possibility of a person having to consume large amounts of Asahi beer quickly in order to prevent the scalding from the sizzling, spicy, flying shrimp; but what might happen if there is no beer or a person doesn’t catch the flying shrimp? What if it hits them in the eye and temporarily blinds them?
The shrimp could scald the mouths of the American citizen and has the possibility of catching a carpet on fire with its sizzling spiciness. We as Americans must remain on the alert against the danger of spatula propelled, flying shrimp.
I have taken it upon myself to notify the Department of Homeland Security of the danger of flying shrimp. They have heeded my warning and now are banning just not shrimp, but all aquatic animals on all domestic and international flights through out the country. Hopefully through these new precautions every man, woman, and child can sleep peacefully now that they are safe from the threat of flying shrimp. Thank you for taking the time to read about our newest threat; the ever present flying shrimp; hopefully through ever present vigilance all American’s can live a live with out the terror of spatula propelled flying shrimp.

Spelunking & Hotsprings

Just a few more pictures of the "people behind the blog". These also come from Craters of the Moon. We are Spelunking fiends! Of course, in occordance with our tradition, we had to stop at Carey HotSprings on the way back home. Soooo nice!