Desert Rats

We tried our hands at being desert rats for a few days. The best part about being a desert rat is actually seeing the desert rats. The trip to Joshua Tree marked my first kangaroo rat sighting since 2004. Monumental. Its okay to get excited. Take a minute. Okay... now that the excitement has worn off a little, let's continue. We had the pleasure of 5 days in J-Tree thanks to my friend Cynthia's uncanny ability to land jobs in super cool places. So, good company, great turkey, and I even got my own room. A significant upgrade from life in the bay area. J-Tree is full of some of my not so favorite things, like plants that will kill you, but thanks to the recent rain, the harshness of these plants was softened by the occasional bloom. Speaking of harshness, the best part of this park is by far the harsh, although ridicuously sticky, rock. Not so much on the hand holds, though. We spent 3 days hoping that miraculously, our feet would stick to nubbins and our hands wouldn't bleed too badly. Or, in the absence of nubbins, we jammed our fists, arms, and feet into painful cracks, hoping the jams would stick. Sounds fun, huh? It was sweetness. The battle wounds alone were worth it. Incidentally, I promptly ripped off the scabs of the battle wounds during the groundfighting portion of our defensive tactics class. And this week, I also nailed my shotgun qualifications and even enjoyed it! Things are looking up as the snow falls in Tahoe and I only have 10 days left! Woohoo! Pic is Clay rocking a 5.10 dino. Sweet.