Rain, rain, go away...

Location: Slade, KY

Rock type: Sandstone

Number rainy days: I can't count that high

I love the rock climbing here at the Red River Gorge but this place is so wet that even the salamanders are heading for high ground. The rain for this month is 3 times higher than average. Luckily we bought a big blue tarp to throw over our camper which keep us dry but it feels like a sauna in the morning. Checking the weather online and is the pastime of most visiting climbers (closely followed by driving to 3 cliffs before realizing they're all wet).

We've joined forces with Team Canada the last couple weeks. These B.C. climbers give international flavor to our domestic trip. Melissa loves explaining to them how to construct that American delicacy, the s'more. She also now says "Eh" at the end of every sentence.

Kentucky is a crazy drug. 

The friendliest guy in WV, Roger at his world renowned campground. 

Deliverance

Ok, so it has been a while! Appalachia isn't exactly the internet and computer Mecca of the world. So, where did we leave off?? Well, we went to the Gunks. I'll sum it up: Melissa thought it sucked, Adam loved it. Why? Well, I admit (this is Melissa posting here), I just plain suck at trad climbing. Plus, it rained some more. If you want to see how insane it really got, you will have to wait until we post the picture of us ripping up our soaking wet, moldy mattress, then you will truly understand. Plus, I sort of threw the metaphorical ham at the butcher. You have to know John Lipani to get this reference. I'll explain. Late one night a loud group of boys from Queens arrived. I mean really late. And did I mention LOUD?? The exchange between us went something like this:

Melissa (at two o'clock in the morning after being flung out of a sound sleep, wanders over to meet the group): "So, have you guys been here before?"

Them: "Oh yeah, sure. It's great," they reply.

Melissa: "That's cool...," I say beginning to escalate. "So, are you always this F*#^%$ING loud when you come in??"

And so it went on and on, me inserting the "F" word every other word. You get the picture. I lost my shit on them. It wasn't pretty. But, I got my point across.

After the gunks, we visited the Cerniglia's in Allamuchy, NJ. We had a great time with my aunt and uncle and cousins and went pumpkin shopping. Tigger almost got electrocuted when he ate Uncle Tom's extension cord, but he lived to tell about it. We had a blast with everybody and were sad to leave. We'll get some pics posted soon. We then went to Brooklyn to visit my good friend Blair and her sweetie pie Neavitt. Blair and Neavitt are tearing it up on the NYC art and skate seen. Neavitt owns a cool little skate shop in Brooklyn called KCDC and Blair is really kicking ass with her funky blend of eclectic airbrush art.

From there, we headed to the New River Gorge in West Virginia and did some scary-ass slab climbing. It must have started to get to me because I dreamed I got a grey hair and woke up to a blood curdling scream frozen in my throat. We stayed at Roger's world famous Rocky Top retreat, a sort of Woodstock gathering of unkempt climbers from around the world. We have now landed in the thriving metropolis of Slade, Kentucky where we will likely stay until mid-November when we will go visit with Scotty Potty Holmes at Fort Bragg, NC.

Hope all is well with everyone and we will post more pics at the earliest convenience. Adam is getting really good with his photography and we have lots of nice ones to post.

The forests around here are pretty dense and almost tropical.

The New River Gorge of WV. We stayed here about a week. Slabby routes = I suck!

Jared catches air at the pumpkin patch

Anya wishes she only had a brain at the pumpkin patch in NJ.

Melissa and Blair at the world famous KCDC skateshop in Brooklyn.

Raina gets amped up for our killer badminton match in NJ.

Adam about to crank off his first Gunks 5.9 pitch, the finish to Bonnie's Roof...wicked good but only 10 feet long.

Skytop in the background and Melissa considers the long descent off this route.

Tearing up our crappy matress which acts like a sponge when it rains through the camper.