The New Face

Before and After.

Looks better, eh? The inside still needs work though....

Worst Ad Slogan Ever

Someone in the marketing department should rethink this slogan...

Saga of the Baby Bed

Well, it's not much of a saga. We bought Whiskey a little bed, and figured she would grow out of it and move on.

January, 2009

May, 2009

That hasn't happened. She still loves her baby bed. Note empty size-appropriate bed in the background.

Ken-Plucky! (Part III): Return to civilization

Well, we packed up all our muddy possessions and headed to Indiana, to visit B.'s parents. We stayed there a night (and Whiskey didn't destroy anything - yay!) and then it was off to Chicago to our niece and nephew could meet their new furry cousin.


Whiskey looses her bed to Felix

A view from the 18th floor of Brandon's brother's place. Brandon, his mom, and Whiskey are visible in this photo - go to the crosswalk just above the white car. Brandon et al. are up and to the left of the crosswalk.



Whiskey looses her bed (again)

Colette and Whiskey doing Yoga (Whiskey is the down-dog position)

Felix and Whiskey reading about trucks


Hanging out in B's brother's place, on the 18th floor.




Whiskey on the way back to Minnesota

Ken-Plucky! (Part II)

This is how we managed to climb in the rain - check out that overhang! (Our friend J. who met us down there from St. Paul)


Brandon belaying new friend Michael on "Too Many Puppies"

Friends naughtily giving Whiskey people food (this happened all week, despite our best efforts).

Michael from Australia on the start of "Too Many Puppies". We teased him about not being able to make the climb after the group of bikini-clad climbers left.

The I.C. on "To Defy the Laws of Tradition". Check out that sexy brain-bucket!

B. with his Kentucky woman (he looks thrilled!)

Whiskey watching Brandon climb

Brandon with his make-shift stick-clip (for clipping those first bolts that are a bit too high for comfort). Again, check out that overhang!

Brandon attempting to send "Return of Chris Schneider".

Deciding where to climb for the day

Waiting out the rain with Whiskey

Brandon cleaning a climb

People keep asking, "What did Whiskey do while you were climbing?" 98% of the time, this is what she did.


Brandon starting a climb, with a spot from new friend Scott


Brandon attempting to dry out all his earthly possessions, which were soaked the first night of the trip when the I.C. left the tent vestibule open.
Brandon trying to revive the coffee filters after they fell in a rain puddle.

Stay tuned for Part III of the trip, entitled, "Taking the muddy dog to visit the in-laws on the way home!"

Ken-Plucky! (Part I)

Well, B. had a whole 2 weeks off before summer session of school started, so we packed up the camping and climbing gear, threw the dog in the car, and headed down to Red River Gorge, Kentucky.

Whiskey is an excellent car dog - of the 14 hour trip, she spent two hours doing this:

And 12 hours doing this. She's quite the sleeper.

We stayed at a place called Miguel's Pizza, which is quintessential dirt bag camping. Miguel lets climbers stay in his goat pasture for $2/night, and in return he makes a lot of money selling pizzas to hungry dirty climbers.

There's no real rhyme or reason to the camping - just pick a spot and throw your tent down. If more people come, just squeeze in tighter. This photo was taken later in the week - a paltry showing compared to the crowd on Memorial Day Weekend.

There's a covered area for cooking if it rains (and it rains every day), and there's lots of cool wood carvings that Miguel does on the off season.

This part of Kentucky (called "The Red" if you're in the know) is green green green, thanks so the bounty of rain they receive. Here's a few shots of the area:

Rain, and more rain

The Nada Tunnel - this long crazy tunnel blasted through a rock wall. Even crazier, it's single lane, so before you proceed to have to make sure someone else isn't already in the tunnel. Apparently Van Halen took his tour bus through the tunnel once.

Local architecture

Thus concludes Part I - stay tuned for Part II, which actually includes the climbing!