Climbing at Joshua Tree

Saturday Arik, Julia, good friend Bruce Bowles, and I all headed out to Joshua Tree to introduce the kids to climbing. Climbing 101. While both had had a little experience at an indoor climbing gym, and Arik had been to Joshua Tree once before, this was the first time for both to climb on real rock together.

The weather was clear and cool, typical for what you find this time of year in the high desert. Joshua Tree sits at around 2500 feet. It's not unusual to see a little snow in the winter. Even on the warmest of days it can get cold sitting in the shade between climbs. Once you start climbing, though, the layers come off quickly.

This is Turtle Rock (picture below). It's a rather prominent formation - a few hundred feet high - located in Real Hidden Valley, a place known during the 1800s for cattle rustlers to hide out. I chose it as a climbing venue because there's parking right next to it, ample picnic tables, and several beginners' routes to choose from.

The route we spent most of the afternoon on is called "Easy Day" and is rated 5.4 on the Yosemite Decimal Scale. It starts in a cove behind the Oak Tree (in the center of the picture) and follows the crack system up about 70 feet. You can see another climbing party off to the left.

By the way, to get a better view, click on the picture which will take you to Flikr.com. You can then view it (and any of these flicks) in any size you like. Try "large". It really opens things up.





Before the kids could rope up Bruce and I had to set a belay, lead the pitch, fix anchors, and prepare double ropes we could climb on for the rest of the day. Here's Bruce, Juju and Arik at the base of the route.





It's a ways up.





Once the harnesses are adjusted and the kids were tied in everyone was fired up. Here's Juju, with belay slave Bruce, ready to climb. For a girl who just turned six and never climbed on real rock before she showed true grit, purchasing fifteen feet of vertical rock on her first attempt.




OK, so it was her final attempt. Hey, a girl's got more important things to do - like staying out of the wind.





Next it was Arik's turn. His first attempt was inauspicious - retreating after gaining a mere six feet of elevation. But quit? No way! On his next try he fought the willys to get up an additional 15 feet. And once accustomed to the ropes and the feel of quartz monzonite under his feet he was on a tear. Before the day was over he'd climbed over the half the route's elevation - about 40 feet.




I Can Make It!




Whoa, it's steep.





Going For it.






As the afternoon waned and the sun gave way to the long shadows it got cold fast. Here's Juju, under a blanket of fleece content to watch the action from the safety of terra firma.





Though a mecca for climbers world wide, Joshua Tree has lots to offer anyone who loves natural beauty. There are miles of hiking trails and strange sights everywhere. Absent the abundance of life, in some places it could resemble the moon.





A View From the Anchors.





Around 4:30pm I think all of us had had enough. Now we were very much looking forward to dinner. Here's the chef, the multi-talented Bruce Bowles.





Moonlight Silhouette at Joshua Tree.

Palm Springs, Let Us Count The Ways We Love Thee.

Yes, here we are a couple weeks ago, thankful for a long weekend at the Westin Rancho Mirage. What a place!


The sun,

the warmth,

the mountains juxtaposed against the desert,

it was... wonderful.







The kids loved it - if possible - even more than we did, and why not?








We slept, we ate, we slept some more...and then ate some more...



We rode the tram... Here's Dad on top.



We got cold on top of the tram...



We looked down from the tram..



But most of all, like the ducks with water running off our backs...we just relaxed.






One thing is certain, we'll come back if we can.

"We're On Our Way to Jiffy Lube, Jiffy Lube, Jiffy Lube..."

As a postscript to Juju's birthday, the week before she was so excited she could barely stand it and kept asking what we had planned? A surprise party with a jump house? A dinner with all her friends at a fancy restaurant? A trip someplace? Lots of presents?

Finally, after several days of resisting her entreaties I confessed that yes, I had planned something, something very special, something I knew she would love.

What Daddy? What is it? C'mon Daddy tell me. Please, Daddy, pleeaassee tell me.

"Alright," I relented. "I can see you're excited, so here it is." Her eyes got very big and she stood on her tiptoes to hear about the wondrous adventure I'd planned for her big day.

"Jiffy Lube," I said.

"Huh?" "Daddy, what did you say?"

"Jiffy Lube", I repeated. "You're not going to believe this, but I've arranged, just for us, a tour of their main headquarters."

"Why, we'll get to see them training people on how to change oil and drain transmission fluid". "We'll learn all about oil filters and gaskets." They may even let us put on jump suits with real grease." "Maybe we'll get our own Jiffy Lube hats!"

Words cannot describe the look on her face.

"Daaaaaaad, stop it. We're not going to Jiffy Lube on my birthday."

"What," I said and with incredulity. "You mean you don't want to go?"

Daaad. Noooo. You're kidding. Aren't you?

"No, I'm not kidding," I persisted. "Do you have any idea how many kids would do summersaults to be able to get their hands greasy and look under the hood?" "Why, I can't wait myself" "It's going to be great!" "Maybe they'll let us wipe down some grease with shop rags!!"

At first, both she and Arik were convinced the whole thing was a ruse and laughed along with Dad's joke. But I persisted, playing it up as the day went on. In fact the closer we got to Juju's birthday the more I talked about how excited I was to be going to Jiffy Lube. And sure enough, first Arik then Juju started asking questions.

Dad, what will we do there? Do they serve lunch? Is it a real factory?

"Oh, yeah. It's real, with car hoists and red tool boxes all shined up and ready for us to look inside." "I bet they'll have more crescent wrenches than Home Depot".

And in homage to the innocence and wonder of childhood, Cathy and I witnessed a marvelous transformation right before our eyes. Cynicism and disbelief turned first to curiosity, then to interest, and finally into authentic anticipation.

On the morning of the appointed time we got up early and packed for what would be a long day. As we piled in the car and headed out the driveway here is what we heard from the backseat:

Dad, how far is it? Do they know we're coming? Do they have a big cafeteria there? Who is going to give us the tour? When do we get there? When Dad!

Suddenly, I could contain it no longer. In a burst of sponteneity I began singing..."We're on our way to Jiffy Lube, Jiffy Lube, Jiffy Lube, we're on our way to Jiffy Lube so early in the morning..."

Within ten seconds -- with genuine smiles on their bright little faces -- they joined in the chorus...We're on our way to Jiffy Lube, Jiffy Lube, Jiffy Lube...."

And so we all sang, right up until the moment we pulled into the Disneyland parking lot. I laughed, and then they laughed and got even more excited when they realized where we were.

It was the best day at Disneyland I can ever remember. It was about as perfect as it gets. But the fact that our two children would be almost as excited to watch oil being changed, so long as Dad thought it was fun, was priceless. For in that moment, anyway, Cathy and I looked at each other and felt like maybe we were doing something right.

It's just an idea, but maybe Jiffy Lube should consider factory tours.

Agape Veritas

Well, now that I've begun to understand a bit about html I've decided to launch another blog. The name I've chosen is agape veritas, Click Here greek for love truth, or love of truth. Since my teens the idea of truth has been a central theme, and the search for it is what ultimately led me to belief in God. I hope to use this site for more serious musings and a collection point for articles I've written. I've only just started it but I hope you'll enjoy it. Please give me your "comments" if you feel so inclined.

Mark Schneider

Who says Halloween has to be scary?

Yikes! Is it an alien? A new species? Arik tying on a Halloween look? Almost.

For the last few years we've celebrated "All Saints Day" at Yorba Linda Friends Church where they put on quite the event. Each year it seems to get bigger and more extravagant. Parents from all over the community love it almost as much as their children. They've got games, rides, rock climbing, bicycle races, jump houses, live music, and enough candy to fill any kids' bag. They even serve dinner!


What do you think guys?



Ever fashion conscious Juju models her bumblebee outfit before we head out. Turned out it was just the thing to be seen with a knight in shining armor.


Sir Arik and Princess Bee Juju


Instant Bonding



Primitive Sail Races

Here's sweet Elizabeth determined to win this race, with a little help from Dad.

Headline: HP Business Man Steals Formula 1 in Germany!

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Alright. Maybe not, but I was tempted. Saturday I returned from Germany. Along with colleagues from Hewlett-Packard, we were there to entice our hosts with a few ideas on how to make a better engine. It seems the Germans know something about building cars. In Stuttgart we visited a Mercedes Benz engine factory, more like a small city, where twenty thousand people worked. But that was nothing. Down the road in Sindelfingen over forty thousand labor daily to create some of the world’s finest cars. And are they fine – like the CLS 350 seen here - not sold yet in America.



One of the highlights of the trip was touring the Mecedes Benz Museum inside the company's engine campus. There's just something about "quality". Even though most of us will never own one of these beauties, one can still enjoy fine craftsmanship and precision engineering. I didn't know this, but the Mecedes Benz Star goes back a hundred years. Here's one of the first inline 6s.




Or how about some racers: one from the 1950s, the other some twenty years later.






Here's a classic - the Pope Mobile (John Paul).



With all the newer models coming, Daimler is wasting no time building a new museum. And like its cars, it too is looking to be a thing of beauty.



OK, so I didn't really drive the formula 1. But it does go pretty well with the suit.