Green Street Theater - Halloween NM Style

Halloween 2011 - Green Street Theater Style, marked my return to NM for the first time since, May of 2010 prior to my departure to Spokane, WA for residency (shout out to club Deac). It was awesome to be back in Albs, seeing the fam and visiting with friends.  Ohhh yes then there was the Halloween party!

The pics below were taken during costume preparation with Suzzette N Todd, and Krisitin  prior to the party.

For actual party scene pics visit Wes's blog   

One of my better moments

Mad Hatter - Todd

Slutty Cinderella, Naughty Little Red Riding Hood - Suzzette, Kristin

RAD

Shelf Road ' N

A campsite filling group of us traveled down south for 4 days of climbing on Shelf's always impressive limestone.

The crew - Jerm, Lisa, Ryan'o, J-Rock, mua, Kster

Shelf Road: Nearing 1000 vertical pocketed routes on bulletproof limestone.  Shelf probably sits #3 on my list of favorite limestone crags visited this year.  (Spearfish, Ten Sleep, Shelf)  One great attribute of Shelf is however the possibility for winter climbing.

Newly released Shelf guidebook: Bob D. Antonio (2010).  I believe this is book #3 or #4 published for the area. This new release is the first to contain all shelf crags and to utilize color photos. Warning: There have been a few reported errors in the guide. One such example exists on the Spiney Ridge section of the guide book and involves two classic routes: Toxxxic Entertainment (5.10a) and Purple Toe Nails (5.11c).  The route tracing drawn/transposed over the color photo are shifted.  Making Purple Toe Nails look like its neighbor Toxxxic Entertainment.  The error caused me to jump on Purple Toe Tails instead of Toxxxic Entrainment as warm up number two for the morning.  In fear of not on-sighting a 5.10a as the flash pump reached painful levels I thankfully reached the anchors.  After reaching the ground and grasping my forearms in embarrassment, I was greeted by another couple saying "Nicely done, that's a hard route"  I responded "that's the hardest fn 10a I have ever done"!  "NO NO You just on-sighted Purple Toe Nails a classic 5.11c"  Thank goodness I was just about to go back to camp and drink beers.  Anyway heads up with the new guidebook:)
        

Cactus Cliff - A popular colder weather crag

K on Urban Fringe (5.10d)

Ryan on LaCholla Jackson (5.9)

Me on Funkdemental (5.11b)

Ryan on Ga-Stoned Again (5.9)

Noteworthy Sends:

Funkdemental 5.11b

• FL

Purple Toe Nails 5.11c

• OS

Pot Pie Pizza & Da "Bers" - The Windy City

Chicago with the Casey's!  Finally made it out to K's crib:)  This visit was long overdue:)  What a perfect time to visit the windy city, which really was more like the sunny city for our 5 day visit.  I mean really.... a Bears game in early October, in short sleeves, like I said perfect timing.

Trip Highlights (many more then whats listed below)

• CPOG (chicago pizza & oven grinder company)   

• Pizza Pot Pies:  what a Chicago welcoming, from the airport to the CPOG 
• Valentine's Day Massacre: a garage directly across from the CPOG was thought to of housed the sub-machine guns that brought the notorious “St. Valentine’s Day Massacre” to headlines around the world. Rumor has it that the house at 2121 North Clark (now CPOG) served as a lookout post for the hoodlum henchmen of the Valentine gunners.

• Wendella Chicago River Architecture Tour

• Chicago's architectural heritage is considered to be among the finest in the world...what better way to view the magnificent structures then via Chicago River.  Wendella boasts as Chicago's only tour boat company with a dedicated, in-house education department allowing the docents to provide a unique and entertaining insight into Chicago's architecture.  Great idea Debbie:) 

Tribune Tower (On June 10, 1922, the Chicago Tribune hosted an international design competition for its new headquarters, and offered $100,000 in prize money for "the most beautiful and distinctive office building in the world". The competition worked brilliantly for months as a publicity stunt, and the resulting entries still reveal a unique turning
point in American architectural history. More than 260 entries were received.)

One of my favs.  The architect purposefully used specifically curved glass windows to capture the reflection of surrounding buildings

Sears....I mean Willis Tower as it was renamed in 2009. Once the tallest building in the world, now remains as the tallest building in the US (108 floors, 1,451')

 

• Bears vs Panthers (10/2/11 Soldier Field)

• Starting with a taste of tailgating.. NFL style with Chicago's diehards
• I also learned during a phone call to brag to my pops about getting to watch a game at Soldier Field...It turns out he one upped me - He played at Soldier Field against Navy with the Air Force Academy back in 1966

Tailgating at Soldier Field - Now these guys had the setup!  A convert into a party ambulance:)

Not bad for the "Nosebleeds" - Bears won 34-31 - Do you think in 1966 the endzone graphics were in black and white? :)

• Wrigleyville  & Bears victory celebration at Chicago's top 3 bars
• After the bears game, Kristin got this rural raised city slacker on the L (elevated train) to Wrigleyville
• Formerly a working-class neighborhood, Wrigleyville is the nickname to the neighborhood directly surrounding Wrigley Field, which is more commonly referred to as Central Lakeview.  
• The top 3 Bars:
• Sheffield's Beer Garden (located in 3 blocks south of Wrigley Field)
• The Green Mill Cocktail Lounge (Shades of Al Capone's heyday are found in the wall memorabilia. Ask the bar tender about the famous booth where he and his henchmen could keep a cautious eye on both doors)
• The Hopleaf (Chicago's best Belgium Style Muscles, and one heck of a beer list)

Waveland Avenue and the Wrigley Rooftops  (Wrigley roofs have dotted the neighborhood of Wrigleyville around Wrigley Field. Venues on Waveland Avenue overlook left field, while those along Sheffield Avenue have a view over right field)

Already looking forward to our next visit to the Casey's in Chicago.  Maybe next time we will remmber to get a group photo:)  In the meantime we will keep working on a McQuade/Casey Colorado Christmas:)