Tyrolean Traverse

In May, Eric and I started climbing outdoors again.  After work one night we went up into Boulder Canyon, crossed the creek on a tyrolean traverse, and climbed part of Tonnere Tower.  There was still a little light when we got back down to the tyrolean, so we took off our shoes and played on it a little above the rushing water.

Manitou Springs

In March we went to Manitou Springs, CO to enjoy a weekend away together.  We had arranged for my friend Andrew to come over to dog-sit Naga.  Unfortunately, when he got there Naga was not having any of it.  We had to change our plans quickly and fortunately Erin's sister, Amy (who Naga got along with), was willing to look after Naga for the weekend.

By the time we got down to Colorado Springs it was getting dark and we stopped at Edelweiss German Restaurant for dinner.  It was delicious.

We then went to Manitou Springs.  We were staying in the Buffalo Bill room at The Cliff House.  We were hoping it would be warm, but it had just snowed so it was rather cold.  We ended up watching a movie in our room.

Since it was so cold out we decided not to head up Pikes Peak.  Instead we had some breakfast and walked around town.  After checking out we went over to Garden of the Gods where we took this photo.  The snow on the red rocks was very beautiful and it was good to hike around.

Thanksgiving in California

For Thanksgiving 2013 we went to Tulare where we enjoyed seeing my family and friends.

My friend Joe invited us down to Bakersfield to watch a hockey game.  The highlight of the game is that everyone throws stuffed bears and other stuffed animals out onto the ice after the local team scores their first point.  The stuffed animals go to local deserving kids and families for Christmas.

Climbing

My friend, Eric, and I have been climbing together since the start of 2013 first at the gym and then outside when the weather warmed up.  We climb sport routes where there are already bolts in the rock to clip into.  We switch off leading these routes.  For most of the summer we stuck to single pitch routes that were accessible with a single rope.  By the end of the summer we felt experienced enough to do a multi-pitch route.  This one was at a place called Creekside which is up Clear Creek canyon on the road between I-70 and US-6.  It is a 4-pitch route called "Playin' Hooky" that varies between 5.7 and 5.9 in difficulty.  Being multi-pitch adds a little complexity as Eric and I pull up the rope and switch off leading between each pitch.

Once we got to the top we had a beautiful view of the canyon we had just climbed up.  It took us several hours to get up to the top and rappel back down.  It was a fun, full-day climb that I'm hoping we can do again in the future.

Naga

At the end of June after getting back from Costa Rica, Erin and I got our first puppy together.  We had been talking about getting a dog for some time and with Erin going on Summer break, now was the time.

The Name
Naga is the name of a serpent/dragon from Buddhist mythology.  When we first started talking about getting a dog we were living in Taiwan and travelling around South-East Asia.  It was the year of the Dragon in the Chinese Zodiac and parents were eager to have a kid under that sign as it was seen to be very auspicious.  We decided we would get a dog under that sign.  It took us a bit longer to achieve that and it wasn't until the year of the Snake that we got Naga.  Fortunately the name still fit.

Picking Her Out
Erin and I had gone back and forth on the breed of dog to get.  She wanted something small and cute; I wanted a regular-sized dog.  I liked the idea of a German Shepard or Belgian Malinois; She wanted something that didn't look like it would eat her.  We compromised on a Lab (still on the large size) for our first with the option of Erin getting a smaller second dog.  We also wanted to get the dog as a puppy so we could train it and a female so it would be less aggressive.  We checked several places, but then one weekend we finally drove out to some farms South-East of Denver to check out their puppies.  The first had some black Lab puppies, but we decided they were to hyper and didn't seem like they had a lot of human contact.  The second place we went to had a variety of colors of Lab puppies.  The one female, chocolate Lab came up and played with us, seemed pretty keen, and was very cute so we got her.

The First Year and a Half
I'm writing this post a year and a half after we got Naga because things have been very busy since then.  There was potty training from our 4th-floor apartment in Englewood, puppy socialization and basic obedience with Ted Terroux, hikes in the mountains, agility training at the Zoom Room, playing fetch in dog parks, a knee injury scare, and recently, a road trip to California.  There have been rough times and good times, and we can't imagine life without her now.

Costa Rica Part 2

This last month has been busy with finding a new place and getting a puppy, but before I get into that I'd like to finish writing about our trip to Costa Rica.

By the middle of our trip Erin and I were loving Costa Rica.  We finished our stay on Lake Arenal with a walk around the property.  I was struck by how the lodging was so well maintained, but then just a few steps away we seemed to be deep in the jungle.  We found several of these poisonous blue-jeans frogs as we walked along with numerous birds and insects.

Before long we were off driving around the lake to Monteverde.  Along the way we stopped at a local brewery started by surfers.  Monteverde, we had learned, was founded by Quakers leaving the US and the draft.  As we drove over rough roads and rolling green hills it certainly seemed remote.  It took several hours driving over unpaved roads to finally get to where we were staying and we were so happy for some paved roads when we got there.  Our arrival got even better as the proprietor welcomed us to her home with drinks and a beautiful view of the clouds and tree-tops.  She was very welcoming and showed how much effort she had put in to her place as she showed us around the various tree-house rooms.  By happy hour we had settled in and enjoyed another drink as the sun set behind the clouds.

The next morning, after breakfast, we entered the national park to see the flora and fauna up close. We started with a zip-line tour through the canopy.  It was very fun and exciting with several long lines high above the jungle floor.  For some added excitement at the end there was a Tarzan swing where we jumped/fell from a platform and swung on some ropes.

After the zip-line tour we joined up with a guide to show us around the park.  He was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about all the animals and plants.  He found for us a Quetzal, a beautiful bird found in Central America, along with a troop of monkeys and a coati that came up to us looking for some food.  I don't think we would have seen half the things we did or understood what we were looking at without the guide and his telescope.  We finished our trip to the park with a stay in their hummingbird garden.  I don't think I've ever seen so many hummingbirds all in one place.  There were several feeders placed out for them and they were so used to people that we could walk right up to the feeders and the birds would continue to buzz in and drink with us there.

After a long day of zipping through the forest and looking at all the animals you might think we were done.  Instead we had signed up for a night walk in the jungle with another guide.  We saw animals at night that we hadn't seen during the day including sleeping birds, snakes, and a tarantula.  The best part was standing in a clearing with our flashlights off as fireflies blinked around us and the stars shined above.  It might have been the crowning moment of the trip.

The last stop on our trip was the beach at Playa Samara.  Through a combination of being tired and not being big beach people we didn't do too much there.

We had tried to go out on a boat, but we weren't able to arrange it.  We ended up walking on the beach a bit and enjoying some good local seafood.  It was nice to sit out by the beach and enjoy some drinks, but before long we were ready to go.

We drove back to San Jose where we stayed for a night by the airport and flew out early the next morning.  It was a wonderful trip and a nice vacation.  Even as we were leaving we were thinking about what we would see the next time we were able to make it down here.

Costa Rica Part 1

Erin and I recently returned from Costa Rica where we had a wonderful time.  We started out with a direct flight from Denver to San Jose leaving at midnight and arriving at 5am.  As such, we didn't get much sleep, but we had arranged to rent a car that morning.  After getting the car we drove down the road to a Denny's for breakfast where Erin read about some of the scams that some rental car places use.  With that in mind it was very troubling when we started to have car trouble when we left Denny's.  Fortunately we were able to get the car back to the rental place and they got us a new one without problems.  We then drove our new car to La Fortuna (about 3 hours away) in Arenal where we checked in to our bungalow and proceeded to take a nap.  In what would become a routine for the rest of our stay in Arenal we spent the afternoon in the hotel's hot springs drinking Costa Rican caipirinhas before going to the hotel restaurant for casado with tilapia.

The following day, after we had rested, we had arranged for a white-water rafting trip.  The guides picked us up in the morning and took us out to the river where we were given gear and directions.  We were on the Balsa river starting off in a section with Class III - IV rapids.  Our group of two rafts and two kayakers taking pictures was soon on its way.  We quickly realized the need for instructions on shifting our weight left or right to the high side of the boat as the guides directed us into and through large currents and eddies.  The trip was tiring and wet, but very exciting and in a beautiful canyon.  As we pulled in to land we thought we were finishing, but were only stopping for a break with fresh pineapple and watermelon.  Back in the boats we continued down through Class II and III rapids until we finally got out of the river.  Exhausted, we were taken to an organic farm for a delicious lunch.  They then showed us around the farm ending with a demonstration of getting cane juice from sugar cane and a drink of fermented sugar cane juice.  All-in-all it was the most fun organized activity we did on our trip.

The next day we were up early for a canyoning trip.  The main draws for canyoning were a series of rappels down waterfalls.  While these were exciting, they were also very tame and methodical.  There was a guide at both the top and the bottom that could stop you at any point.  This reduced the feeling of control.  It also seemed like they were just going through the motions, giving everyone the same experience, making sure everyone stopped at a certain point so they got in the waterfall.  When it was done they too took us to lunch, but it wasn't as good.  After our great experience the day before we were a little disappointed.  For the afternoon we went to downtown La Fortuna for an ice cream and a walk around the center square.

For our last day in Arenal we walked in the volcano park with some wonderful views of Arenal volcano.  Though the volcano is dormant people are not allowed to get too close.  The park contained lava flows, jungle flora and fauna, and some nice views of our next destination: Lake Arenal.  We soon checked out of our first hotel and started our drive around the lake to our next hotel overlooking the lake.  We had lunch out on a scenic, windy peninsula of the lake and took a short walk around.  The countryside is nice, but the lake seemed very under-developed since we didn't see a single boat out on it or any piers.  We finished the day off by reading out on the balcony of our room and then walking next door to a delicious dinner.

It was all very peaceful and relaxing; and a nice mid-point for our trip.