Charlie, is my first friend in Las Vegas. We connected through a mutual appreciation for the arts, and he is very found of my art. We have been good friends for about two months now.
A few weeks ago, Charlie introduced me to another friend of his, Gene. He also lives full time in a class A motorhome, and we are actually neighbours in this RV park, in Las Vegas. Gene is 82 years old and still climbs rocks. That fact alone is amazing, but when you take into account that he started when he was in his early 70's, it is even more inspiring.
I was invited to go out hiking yesterday, with both of my new friends, and see Gene climb one of the routes he created at Red Rock Canyon, in Nevada. Yes, he was one of the creators of the climbing routes that other climbers are using now, and he is published in the tour guides for Red Rock Conservation Area. The Canyon is about 30 minutes west of Las Vegas and a beautiful place to visit and spend a day.
Link to the Red Rock Canyon Climbing Guide
The last time I hiked was in 2008 when visiting Zion National Park, in Utah, with a friend of mine from Edmonton. Yesterday's hiking path was of moderate difficulty on the way down to the canyon. On the way up, was a different story. I ran out of breath a couple of times and had to stop for a minute or two. While Gene was climbing, other people arrived to attempt to climb some of the other routes, including a guide/instructor with a beginner lady climber and her son, as students. Charlie decided to try to climb the same route. He did a great job, for a beginner, but gave up at a quarter of the way up, when the nerves set in. I felt tempted to try it as well but I did not feel confident enough.
I took pictures of Gene and the other people climbing, and then took advantage of the down time, while the climbing was going on, to wander around close by and take pictures of the slots in the canyon, and interesting rock formations and textures.
Spending the day in nature, in the wild, was so refreshing and peaceful, and the whole experience was inspiring and reinvigorating. I can not wait to do it again.
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| Gene Belaying for Charlie |
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| Gene on his way to the top |
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| Gene at the top of the route |
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| Gene on his way down |
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| Detail of climbing shoes |
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| One of the girl climbers leaping |
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| Very agile climbers |
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