Greetings from the West Coast

 

We said goodbye to Smith Rock after spending about 2 weeks there.  In the photo, I am getting ready to rappel from a route on the popular Morning Glory wall.

 

 During the hot afternoons at Smith we went up to the Palisade Cove to enjoy the lake which had 72 miles of beautiful shoreline fed by three different rivers in Oregon.

After leaving Smith, we drove up the Oregon coast and stayed the night at a campground on a beach near Newport.  The following beach series of photos are from Hug Point near Cannon Beach.  We were lucky to find this gorgeous beach that had caves, a waterfall, and very minimal traffic.

Brent's beach artwork :)

 

Sunny was very eager to investigate and didn't enjoy all of our picture taking, here's one of the few she agreed to sit and look at the camera.

In order to get some payback for all of her ecstatic jumping and inability to pose for pictures, we would run her out on the beach into the low tide, she quickly retreated after the first wave would break.

One of Sunny's few stoic moments. 

Brent could outrun the hyper little puppy, I wasn't always so lucky.

On our drive up the coast we found some neat restaurants on the ocean and also a little aquarium where I got my seal fix.   We were able to feed the seals and have them do tricks ... it was basically me and a bunch of little kids giggling and having fun :)

We spent the weekend in Seattle and had a great time visiting some friends, walking around the famous Pikes Place Market, and watching our friends, Evie & Jeff get married at a beach resort.  But now our time on the coast has come to an end and we're heading back inland to Idaho and Wyoming for some more great sightseeing in Yellowstone and climbing on Devils Tower.

Welcome to a Sunny Oregon at Smith Rock

Brent and Sunny hiking ahead in Smith Rock State Park near Terrebonne, Oregon.  We've finally arrived to a slightly cooler climate, mid-70s to 80s instead of 90-100 degrees!  The climbing here is endless and the hiking trails are really well-maintained.  Aside from the frequent tourist and occasional snake, Smith is quickly becoming one of our favorite climbing destinations along with the convenient towns of Terrebonne and Bend located close-by.

Hiking down to the crag at Smith Rock.  Apparently the climbers here who set the sport routes are a tad more gutsy than we are, the broom-like object in my hand is a "stick-clip".  It's used to clip your first bolt since the first one is commonly at least 20 ft off the ground here.

Brent belaying me on one of the classic routes in Smith.  The interesting pockets in the rock and moderate grade made this climb a very popular must-do, we had to wait for two groups of people to finish climbing it before we could get on the route.  Luckily, Sunny seems to attract a lot of attention and kept us and the people around entertained.

Much like the crags in Colorado, Smith Rocks' accessibility, beautiful features, and well-maintained trails makes it extremely popular for other climbers and hikers.

Sunny entertaining herself while we climb nearby :)

An odd sleeper doesn't even begin to explain the strange habits of our new little puppy.

Getting back to her old self after being spayed last week, Sunny was excited to get on a hike nearby and is enjoying the shade at our campsite near Smith.

Summer Vagabonding with a Water Dog

Sunshine enduring the mishaps of new parents.  Traveling in the van has taken some getting used to for us and Sunny.  Despite trying to make extra shaded space for her underneath the bed, we apparently need to strap stuff down a little better for the little addition.

Sunny trying to show us how compact she can be in order to fit into our small van lifestyle.

Although the main focus of our trip has been slightly shifted in order to accommodate a puppy, we have been able to find some spectacular waterfalls, hikes, and dinner spots with patios.  The next series of photos are of our visit to Bridal Veil Falls up in Provo Canyon (ironically the canyon where Sunny was found as a stray and taken to the shelter we adopted her from).   The waterfall is the tallest one we've seen yet, 607 ft, 3 tiers.

The second tier of the waterfall was a short hike up and fantastic place to be to escape the middle of the day heat.

Our little family enjoying the Bridal Veil waterfall in the hot Utah summer.

Sunny leading me around the waterfall stream and trying to terrorize little kids.  She is extremely friendly for a puppy and really loves other dogs, people, worms, bouncing golf balls, tipping or plopping down on water dishes, and belly rubs ... which can be difficult since she's teething.

A little scared of being too close to the waterfall, she was happy to be picked up by mom.

Despite being predominately an Aussie mix, Sunny's love for water makes us think she is a little labrador.

Brent and Sunny hiking near the waterfall.

After lunch on a patio in Provo, we found a fountain area for the puppy to play in.
 

Sunny has taken to the leash pretty well and keeps up on trail runs and even leads across tree bridges.

Sunny With-a-Chance-of-Rain

We've added a new member to our vagabonding road crew, Sunshine!!   ....there was no-way of telling Sarah no after her first kiss!

Official name: Sunshine With-a-Chance-of-Rain Tenhoff
Current age: 4 months
Current weight: 25 lbs

We adopted Sunny from a shelter near Provo, Utah, here she is demonstrating her calmer side.

As a Australian Shepherd mix she's the perfect balance of energy and serenity and her instinctual herding quality shines-through during our morning runs, as she likes to stay slightly behind Sarah and I to make sure we stay on the path.

Having already demonstrated her ability to sit on-command during her first day, here she is getting a few pointers on potty training for her first night in the van.

 Sunny sitting awkwardly as we drove out to our campsite. 

Sunny has already shown quite the liking to water, diving head first into creeks and frolicking through streams during our walks.  However, when it came to her first experience with ducks, she was very inquisitive, but too cautious to dive in after them.

The Waterfall

Driving from Moab to Provo, we found this little gem along Hwy 191.....the water was too inviting to miss on this hot summer day.

Although content to just soak her feet at first, Sarah was quick to ditch the dress and enjoy the full waterfall experience.

Commercials advertising the soothing tranquility of shampooing your hair under a waterfall are completely misleading.....we could only endure a few quick moments under the pounding water before the experience became too much.

We'll be spending the next few days climbing the western edge of the greater Rocky Mountains in the Wasatch Range.

Colorado National Monument

Brent and I standing in front of the Independent Monument, located in the Colorado National Monument Park. Every year, for the last 100 years, local climbers have climbed the monument on the 4th of July and raised an American flag on the summit. 

Arches National Park

 After 3,500 miles on the road together, Sarah finally gets behind the wheel of Betty and drives the remaining 40 miles to Shelf Road.

Searching for a new climbing area outside the crowed crags of Denver, we headed southeast for a dusty little town called Canon City. Just beyond the city limits we found an area called Shelf Road that offered the forearm-blistering, finger-wrecking climbing style we were searching for, unfortunately for us, we also found the scorching summer heat amongst the vast limestone bluffs....we quickly realized why this area was less traveled during this time of year.  

Our commitment to Shelf Road quickly deteriorated after spending our first night in the sun-baked van, after our second night, all personal fortitude was gone and we quickly agreed that a more northernly trajectory was our best option. 

We planned a course towards northern Utah, I slammed a Red Bull before our departure and we drove through the night.

Utah is just one of those states that you can't help but stop and enjoy the unique and amazing sights regardless of the heat.

Here we are at Arches National Park, home to over 2,000 sandstone arches. The picture is of Balanced Rock, just a little rock formation standing a 130' tall, the top boulder is equivalent to three school busses.

The view from the Park Avenue Trail

Just another picturesque view of the sandstone walls on the Park Avenue Trail.

Sarah and I standing under the Delicate Arch, the landmark depicted on the Utah license plate.

Sarah took her time to appreciate the 52' arch, here she is standing under it alone....I don't think she realized that there was a group of people waiting to photograph the arch without her standing under it and gazing into the distance.

Finstads visit CO

Gearing up to take my parents along the river trail in Clear Creek Canyon near Golden, CO to watch us sport climb outside.  

Brent leading the longest climb in the Canal Zone crag, 125 feet, called 'Made in the Shade'.

We really enjoyed the climbing in CCC, can't wait to come back to this area where there's a plethora of routes just off the road and a short a hike away.

Photo of me near the top of Mount Evans, which is located along the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains.  The long and meandering drive takes you about a 1/4 mile from the top at over 14' elevation making it the highest paved road in North America.  My dad graciously drove us through this park, after taking Betty through the Rocky Mountain National Park, I'm sure she was glad to sit this one out.

Brent looking out towards Denver from the observation platform near the summit. 

After a chilly hike in flip-flops of course, we made it to the summit of Mount Evans - 14,265 ft.

Looking out towards downtown Denver from Coors Field.  After a warm hike through the Red Rocks Ampitheater in the morning, we spent the day cooling off by the pool and walking through the 16th Street Mall area in Lower Downtown before catching the baseball game.

Brent and me at Coors Field with my parents watching the Rockies play the Sox.  Turned out to be a beautiful night in Denver to catch a game. 

Deer! Elk! Caribou! Antlers! - all proclamations I made from the car before I finally got everyone to look at the big beautiful creature moseying along the side of the highway in RMNP.

In order to escape the 100 degree days to come in Denver we headed back up north to Estes Park with my parents to check out RMNP.  Ironically, we got rained out in the afternoon in the city and got caught in a nice sleet storm at the top of the park.  All in all it was a great week showing my parents around CO, but we're off for UT and OR now!