Odin Tries to Fly

For the past few weeks I have been borrowing Ana's dog, Odin. Well, I have been helping her out and taking him on walks while she is still in the office. Odin is this less than two-year old Boxer-Black Lab mix that has tremendous amounts of energy, lots of love, and incredible strength. This afternoon, we took Odin up to Vedauwoo for a hike. Boy....did he love this adventure. Not only did he enjoy the hike at Vedauwoo, but absolutely loved the car ride. He attempted to fly as he tried to squeeze his face out of the back passenger window! It was super funny, I had to share a snapshot of what we saw! Hilarious! Do not worry, I was not driving!

Enjoy!
TheChristyBel

Easter...Not-On-East

Another holiday, where I am not celebrating with family. Not going to lie, it really stinks. I miss being home for holidays. Hanging with the Burton-Juniors, going to Phyllis and Ray's, the Easter Egg 'Hunt' to find YOUR egg...but knowing where everyone else's are, the food!!!!, and just being home. I really miss all of that.

But this year's Easter Sunday, I received a gift in the mail from Mom and Dad. It was one of the infamous treats sent from Mom from the Popcorn Factory. No, it was not another tin! haha. This package was a pyramid of some Easter treats: chocolates, peanuts, and popcorn! Super yummy! It was definitely a wonderful surprise to get this in the mail. Something delicious, colorful, and happy is something that I think is needed as this spring semester winds down and gets closer to the big Defense Day! yikes, it's right around the corner!

On Easter Sunday, Facebook was blowing up with pictures of food, Easter Egg Hunts, chocolate, desserts, and Easter festivities. I was definitely getting pretty homesick. So, I went to Vedauwoo for a nice, long 2-hour hike around the Turtle Rock Trail. The weather has been absolutely wonderful and so the hike was just beyond perfect. The snow has 98% gone, so I was able to use my hiking shoes and not have to worry about post-holing like I have been the past few times I have gone there.

But, I think spring has definitely sprung here in Laramie. The snow is mostly gone (there is some still on the mountain peaks and in areas where not much sun gets in) and there are other signs of spring popping up everywhere.

My hike at Vedauwoo was pretty nice. The weather was great (warm and sunny) - I did not even need a puffy! There were a bunch of people out on the trails too which was nice: lots of families and people getting a morning hike in. As my hike strolled around Turtle Rock, the willows were blooming Pussy Willows (I love those things - you know, the little buds that are absolutely furry!), Mountain Buttercup, and little rodents have come out of hibernation and scurrying everywhere.

Then after my hike when I looped back to the car, I scrambled up the rock to a high point to get some great scenic views. As I sat there on the rock, I heard some rustling down below, and sure enough, a moose was walking through the trees! How cool is that?!? It was pretty neat to watch it trudge through the forest and notice hikers practically walking alongside of them (and they did not even know it!!!!)

Below are some pictures of my hike. Enjoy!

Happy Easter!

TheChristyBel

My Easter Sunday Mass
No Peeps, No Eggs, No Ham

Happy Easter!

First Hike of the New Year

My knees are slowly allowing me to do all of the fun things I enjoy - but I must dive back into all those fun activities one step (literally) at a time. Friday, I got a text from one of my friends back in Delaware informing me he was passing through and wanted to see if a visit was possible. Having anyone come through Laramie from home is just awesome! So, of course I said yes! 

Saturday morning, my friend, Wyeth, stopped by for a some brunch and hopefully a chance to check out what Laramie had to offer. So after having breakfast burritos at the Prairie Rose, we drove over to Vedauwoo for a hike around the formations. It was so beautiful there! I had not been back to Vedauwoo since Marc left for Jackson and when the first snow came and stayed. 

Below are some photos from our 2-hour hike in Vedauwoo. Enjoy!

TheChristyBel

Snow Dusted Rocks!

Rock Scrambling Selfies
Photo Credit to Wyeth Schiffelbein

So Pretty!

Hiking Again & It Feels Great!
Photo Credit to Wyeth Schiffelbein

Fantastic Views

Let Me Just Capture This Moment!
Photo Credit to Wyeth Schiffelbein

The Sun Finally Came Out For a Smidge

Narnia

Scrambled to the Top of a Formation
This Is What We Saw!

Found a Frozen BathTub!
Photo Credit to Wyeth Schiffelbein

Climbing the Bee Hive in Vedauwoo

This afternoon, we decided to explore more of Vedauwoo. I have heard wonderful things about the Beehive Buttress near Happy Jack and the Lincoln Monument off the highway. So we choose to go check it out! In order to get there, you take Blair-Wallis Road from the Lincoln Monument towards the central area. From there you make a left onto 705J (note: it is unmarked and rough), and then another left onto 705JA until the road becomes too narrow to drive and it looks like you've hit a circle parking lot amongst the trees. After parking your car, you take a small trail or the ATV trail to the base of the rock wall.

This place was awesome. We had the whole crag to ourselves for the first hour of climbing. The routes are a huge variety of 5.6 to 5.11+, and most of the routes are sport climbs (routes with bolts up to the anchors, so you just clip your draws in as you lead climb up). But Marc and I both got to do three climbs each. The three routes we chose were to the far left of the wall, right next to each other. They all used the same anchor, which was at the base of a roof. I think they varied from 5.5, 5.6, and 5.10a! The first one was called Gypsie Fire (5.5), the next one was Rip Chords (5.6), and the last one was Walking the Board. Marc led all the routes as I belayed him from the ground. Note this is a great place to practice lead belaying (since I am still new to this activity, it was great to use these routes and practice how much slack and taught rope I need to give to the person I am belaying as they lead climb). But anyways, after Marc would lead up the route, secure the anchors, and would come back down, I would follow, collect the gear and then he would top rope belay me down. On our last route, Walking the board, I followed Marc up to the anchor to where we practiced rappelling again. This was definitely the highlight of my day: not only did I rappel down without hesitation, but I climbed my first 5.10a! Getting onto the rock was really challenging, but I also overcame climbing on an arete (a thin, knife-like, ridge of rock), which had little to no holds and a small crack to place the tips of my fingers in. Basically, I had to body shimmy my way up it to get to the anchor! Such a climbing accomplishment for this beginner!

TheChristyBel

Scrambling Up Vedauwoo

After class, Marc and I went for a hike to get a Vedauwoo sunset in. Below are some of the moments captured from our chilly and windy hike and scramble up from the Turtle Rock Trailhead. Enjoy. :)

TheChristyBel

PS. I saw my first moose here in Laramie today! Actually, two moose: a bull and a cow. When we scrambled to the top of a high boulder, we decided to sit and watch the sunset. While waiting for the sun to go down, we look down towards the parking lot and Vedauwoo campground roads, and this huge brown animal just starts emerging from the dense conifers, across the path, and into more conifers: behold a huge bull moose (with a nice rack of paddles too!) Shortly after, his cow followed his path and both were quickly lost to the dense trees just as how they appeared. Maybe this place does have some special qualities to it that make TheChristyBel more at 'home.'

Well, anything with moose will make me feel at home! 

Sorry for the side note - just had to share that moment of excitement!

CB

Trees Growing Out of Rocks?!?! Miracles!

Enjoying the Sunset and the Last of the Warm Rays!

Pano From the Top of Our Scramble

Resting, Relaxing.

Best Moment Captured on Film.
TheChristyBel Excited to Scramble and Knees Are Doing AWESOME!

A Beautiful Day Before the Snow

Overlooking the Beautiful Views of Vedauwoo Over a Ledge

The forecast was calling for snow for Sunday evening into Monday. You know what that means: get your fill of the outdoors before winter recreation is upon us. So, Marc and I decided to have a little brain break on Sunday afternoon for about an hour. We travelled up to Vedauwoo for some scrambling and a mini hike. Let me tell you, I am in LOVE in with Vedauwoo, more than Happy Jack. So many rocks to scramble on, climb, some great hikes all-around, and just a fantastic, beautiful place on a beautiful day before the snow.

-TheChristyBel

Vedauwoo

Vedauwoo Campground

So on our last day of visiting Laramie, where hopefully all of us will be for our Year 2 of the Graduate Program, we went and visited with the Vedauwoo Campground.  It's a great place right outside Laramie that offers some awesome trails, climbing, and outside time.  Some of the Year 2 Graduates took us here for a great little morning of the natural world outside Laramie.  However, it just was not enough time to explore...wah!

The Rocks and Geology Out Here are Really Cool!

We were asked to find a nice little spot to sit and reflect how the Graduate Program has been going, thus far, and how we want it to go for the future, as well as, thinking about how we want to take our paths for Year 2 in Laramie (if we decide).

My Little View From My Nook.

I was able to climb into the crevice of a little rock outcrop.  It was really cool to sit, think, and reflect about the week we had with the Year 2 Grads and visiting the University of Wyoming campus.

Loungin'.

I think that the University of Wyoming is a good fit for me for my Year 2.  I really enjoyed the faculty I met in my prospective program and it was great getting to know the graduates that were in my shoes just a year ago, today.  So it was great gaining and learning about their perspectives, adventures, and their thoughts on the whole Year 1 and 2 processes.

Now it's only a matter of time before I have to get all elbow-deep in the application process again!

Ahhhhhh! But first, I must go back to all this homework!

Forever Studying,
TheChristyBel