Broke in Kentucky

 


So, we did make it here to Kentucky, but, about 45 minutes away from our destination, after 4 days of crossing the country, we hit a snag. Well, Jake hit a median, and this happened (see picture). This being a broken strut bar. Though it appeared to be an easy fix, we spent 2 days trying to find the part, no one could order it, not even the normal westy sites, and we couldn't find a junkyard with it either. Finally, thanks to The Samba, a generous man offered to send us the part, we paid the shipping only. Generous and kind. Except, now, we can't get the old part off. No joke, many hours of pulling, warming, pulling, and the bolt will not move. We need pneumatic tools, or a competition. It's a big weekend in Kentucky. Miguels Pizza (where i lived for a fall and where all climbers in the red congregate) is having their 25th Anniversary party and with all the people, we've started a contest to see who can get it off. The prize is a case of beer. So, minds are working, muscles are flexing and we're keeping our fingers crossed.

So, current status is - bad steering, no power steering either (still haven't found that tool) and a cracked windshield. Those are the major issues. Christmas time will be a busy Toby repair time, if only we can get her back on the road with this part.

Otherwise, we made it across the country with limited issues. A stop in the Ozarks and bouldering at Area 74, a couple of scary redneck experiences, some beautiful forest (after desert for 2 months, it was a welcomed change) and we made it back to Kentucky.

And did I mention it's freezing here. Literally. It didn't go above freezing all day today. It snowed last night and it hasn't melted. Even some of the most hardcore climbers aren't climbing. We're all huddled in Miguels, in and out to take care of dogs. Made it out climbing yesterday with hot hands and a lot of freezing appendeges. Hiking today, less cold on the hands. Hopefully, tomorrow will have some sun (high of +2) and we can get out to some rock.

Ah, Kentucky. Being on the roads have it's ups and downs.

Zion, Indian Creek, Grand Canyon

 

So, after dropping Jessica off in Vegas and a couple of days of taking care of business in St. George we headed to Zion National Park. We boarded Whipper for the day and went on a beautiful but steep hike to a high view point, Angels Landing. Zion is quite beautiful, but being jaded by the Canyonlands, I could not help comparing.

We had a couple of nights at some free camping nearby a river, and after a couple of trips into to town for dog vaccinations and Toby repairs, we headed off towards Indian Creek to meet up with our friends, Matt and Jazmyn.

Indian Creek was beautiful. Pictures give you some idea. We met them where they were camping, relatively isolated and in the heart of the canyon. I decided that even if I was not to climb, I was happy to just be here.

We did climb and though it was stout, I managed to learn how to handjam and even pulled myself on a fist jam. I was thrilled. Jake got some amazing climbing in as well, and remembered what it was like to push hard.

After a visit to Moab to watch the elections from a hotel room with friends (Ya Obama) we spent an extra day in Moab at our lovely campsite where we had been with Jess. It is so peaceful and beautiful up there, it was hard to leave.

Down to Indian Creek for a visit with our friends before heading off to the Grand Canyon, North Rim.

We spent the day there, and again, though it was beautiful, I had seen so much beauty in Utah, I was not as blown away as I had expected when I dreamed of visiting so many years ago. We had a quiet day, spent some time reading and deciding our next move.

Driving down towards Flagstaff we drove through Wupatki National Monument and Sunset Crater to see some ruins and learn a bit about the history of the natives of the region.

We were in search of a mechanic to help us fix a leak in the power steering and found one south of Sedona. We drove straight there and there we waited for 2 days to have him try and fix it. We visited the quaint and historic town of Jerome up high in the mountains and spent a lot of time at Safeway enjoying their free internet. It was a nice way to spend a rainy couple of days.

And from here, we head back to Sedona for a day of hiking and then we have decided to slowly make our way back to Kentucky for Miguel's 25th Anniversary party and Thanksgiving. We had planned to stay out West a bit longer, however, some bad news has made us realize we need to be closer to our extended family in the Red, a little sooner than planned. So, hopefully the weather will hold out and we can enjoy some amazing climbing along the way.

Check out the photos at http://picasaweb.google.ca/tjkuenzli