Chattanooga

So I've never done this whole blogging thing before, but I think it's the easiest way to keep everyone updated with what I'm doing. Also I think I can add some sweet photos too... as soon as I figure out how.

Right now Micah and I are in the Jasper Public Library. That's Jasper, Tennessee. We spent last weekend at the New with a whole bunch of WOODS folk (like, 20 WOODS folk + some elders). It was really awesome to have so many people that I love together there. We stayed an extra couple days at the New with Tyler, who helped us out like whoa by letting us use some leftover food stamps from his Alaska job. And by some leftover food stamps, I mean somewhere around $130 of food stamps. It was the best going away gift ever.

We managed to pack the car with enough extra room for Matt (and/or any additional 3rd person), then we took off for Chattanooga. It seems so far that we have gotten really lucky with the weather. A couple guys we saw the first day said "good timing! The weather just broke!" Which, after Katherine Bell's warning of the extreme heat in the south, was a huge relief. We are staying at Foster Falls State Park. I've been here before - freshman year WOODS spring break. it's really cool to be here again. There are a lot of random memories that it's bringing back. There are some differences though, here's Foster Falls from spring, '04:
Here it is (different angle because I was too lazy to walk all the way down to the base) now:

The first full day we had here, we decided to climb at Foster Falls. It's sport climbing, and, apparently, known for it's really hard sport climbs. I wanted to get back on the only climb I remember doing 4 years ago - a 5.8+ that I was extremely proud to say that I almost flashed. But I fell at the top because it was hard. But when Micah and I tried to get on it, we were surrounded by bees. There are a lot of bees at Foster Falls. Instead we did a couple 5.9s.

The next day we went to Little Rock City... well, we also had an adventure in Chattanooga in search of a new stove, since ours has a major leak in it and is really scary. But Little Rock City is badass. It's a boulderfield owned by a golf course. It lines one side of the golf course (on the other sides of the boulderfield are a cliffline, woods, and a crazy canyon maze system - which we'll explore soon). You're not allowed to let the golfers see you, so that gets rid of a lot of boulders, but there are SO many boulders packed into this area, that it doesn't even matter. A lot of boulders look Horse Pens-ish, and every problem I did (or attempted) was really cool. After a rest day today, I think we'll have to go back tomorrow.

Here's some climbing pictures of me and Micah:Also we made a movie, but you have to turn your head or computer sideways to watch it. We don't have the video camera yet, but we'll make some cooler videos when we do:

In a couple days, we'll go down to Rocktown, Georgia, and then Horse Pens40, Alabama. I'll try to take more/better pictures for the next post. I love you and miss you all!

-Stella