Validation

I've recently discovered I've been developing some alarming, adult-like behaviors.  These new habits include:

• preference for fleece jackets over hoodies
• voluntarily going to work at 5:30 am and working 50+ hours a week
• buying my own car insurance
• buying a car (not a truck)
• resolving issues with billing folks over the phone, immediately
• skipping a super awesome trip to Costa Rica because I need to save up for it

Perhaps worst of all, this morning when my alarm went off I almost didn't press snooze because I actually thought "You won't actually get any more sleep in the next five minutes."  Who thinks things like that?1?!  These things all seem like they're making me more boring, and one of my few life goals is to be interesting.  So I'm in need of a little validation.  I'm still having adventures, right?  Turns out I've done a few interesting things in the past couple months, all with Brent, and there's pictures, so I'll share them here.

High Creek Lake Backpacking Adventure

I used my tax return to buy some back packing gear, and then didn't go backpacking until September.  But now my stuff has been used, so it's totally legit.

 We didn't leave until 3:00 in the afternoon, but made it up to Mount Naomi in good time.  

 And we made it to High Creek Lake in time to make dinner and enjoy the sunset.  

 The lake was beautiful the next morning (ok, we didn't get out of the tent until noon, but it was not the afternoon yet....)

 And there were these things in the water (someone suggested they may be skud, I can't verify that).  

And there were salamanders!  Especially great because I'd seen a lot of dead salamanders at a field site the week before.    

City of Rocks Climbing Adventure

The next month, after car troubles, a marathon, busy schedules and some fall weather, Brent and I finally made it to City of Rocks.  City of Rocks is a state park full of granite monoliths that used to be a landmark for emmigrants on their way to California.  Now its a great place to climb.  

Some of these rocks are 2.5 billion years old (some of the oldest rocks in the West), but most of it is 28 million years old, a geologic feature called the Almo Pluton.  The Almo Pluton is formed when cooling magma intruded into older rock. 

 The complex cracks in the granite (known as joints) formed through the processes of contraction, extensional tectonics, and expansion due to weathering.  These cracks are super cool to climb, I wish I was better at it. 

There are lots of sweet lichens growing on the rocks.  Lichens are symbiotic organisms, a combination of a fungus and algae.  If that's not rad enough, they also are capable weathering away the granite.  Rad!

 It was pretty great climbing.  Brent is certainly much better at it than me, but is good enough to let me follow (and occasionally flail) behind him.  He also indulges me in pictures at belay stations.  

 I think this picture captures just how little I bring to the table.  But it's super cool at the top of these monoliths, they're full of panholes, weathered depressions.

We've pretty much mastered the simul-rap, which is difficult capture in pictures while descending.  

Mountain Biking

As the season was winding down Brent and I went on a brief mountain biking excursion.

  It was a pretty beautiful afternoon, 

 and mountain biking is totally cool on a full suspension bike.

 And Brent's beard was looking particularly wonderful in the afternoon light.

Wind Caves Adventure

I thought the adventure season was over after biking, it got pretty cold after that, but we still managed to fit one more hike in.  

The Wind Caves are a pretty standard standard Logan hike, and the views are great, especially given the half hour of easy hiking it takes to get there.

 The Wind Caves are caverns eroded by the wind.  I should know more about them, but...

 Anyways, it was a nice hike.  And served as some validation that I still do fun things.  And I have high hopes the winter will continue to be great!