Just a few pictures of the bike my Dad and I have turned into a speed demon!

Kids

When I weed a garden, 

sweat in the sun,

water the seeds 

and see them grow,

I reap a harvest and my belly is satisfied. 

As I pour out  of my self into my kids, 

work hard to teach them right,

and see them learn a new craft,

I reap no harvest and my soul is satisfied. 

For my first photo tip blog post I will give you the best, the ultimate, the most extreme… the one tip to help you take better pictures! Over the years I have had several people ask me what is the one tip to have better photos. I have never really had an answer to that because the term “better photos” is pretty broad. A lot of people these days are buying DSLR cameras to take better photos of their kids and/or vacations, so I’m going to focus (punny) on that. The one tip I would give to a beginning photographer is (drum roll) keep shooting. Wah wah wah. I know that is the most boring piece of advice ever! However, practice is the most important thing, so there. Kids are hard to take pictures of because they can do the kessel run in less than 12 parsecs [see here www.starwars.com if you don’t know what that is ] Kids are fast, and their genuine cute little moments happen really quick. You need to have a really good handle of your camera to be ready to take those candid shots when they happen. Vacation photos are always fun, but if you are spending the entire vacation trying to figure out the setting of your camera you won’t enjoy your photos or vacation. So, my advice is take your camera on walks, take it to the park, take it to the zoo, to the pool, and everywhere else you go. When I first started taking photography seriously I had a messenger bag for my camera and lenses. I carried it everywhere I went. You need to get a lot of practice before you are comfortable with your camera in various lighting situations. Good luck and keep shooting!

I recently posted this photo to my Facebook page.That amazing little smile happened for a split second but because I have invested a considerable amount of time to perfecting my craft I was able to get the shot.

Why do I like the outdoors? That is a good question with a long answer, but probably the best short answer is because my dad likes the outdoors. He likes the outdoors because my grandpa liked the outdoors. Last week my Grandpa passed away. He is this first person in my life, that I have been close to, to die. I was well prepared for the news because his mind has been gone for a couple years now. None the less, it left me with a lot to think about. Being the Transcendental that I am, I thought a lot about nature. The wild is a funny thing. You can go outdoors to take a million pictures, bring home a harvest, or carry away some precious stones, but you will always leave a little bit of yourself too. My grandpa spent his entire life taking boy scouts on float trips, camping outings, and hikes, all the while leaving little bits and pieces of himself out in the woods. He was scratched by the same Ozark thorns, woke to the same frost, and took shelter from the same rain. His memory will live on for me in those things.

Tangled up in brambles

Frozen in the grass

Falling from the clouds

Clearer than glass.

One more reason

I have now,

To go out of doors

Where the rain drips from my brow.

Dripping to where we all must go

Down to the ground.

An Interview with my 3 year old Indie

An Interview with my 3 year old Indie

Q: Why do you like the outdoors?

A: Because I like to bounce

Q: What is your favorite thing to do when we go camping?

A: play with Charlotte

Q: What is the scariest thing about being outdoors?

A: Dark

Q: Where is your favorite place to go?

A: camping

Q: What to you dream about?

A: I’m scared of crabs, I don’t like crabs

Q: What is your favorite animal?

A: Birds

Q: If you could bring one toy camping what would it be?

 A: My teddy bear

Q: What is your favorite camping memory

A: Eating homemade Ice cream. 

Mya's Interview

Q: Why do you like the outdoors?

A: Because I get to rock climb!

Q: What is your favorite thing to do when we go camping?

A: Roast marshmallows

Q: What is the scariest thing about being outdoors?

A: nothing

Q: Where is your favorite place to go?

A: White Rock Mountain

Q: What to you dream about?

A Roasting Marshmallows by myself

Q: What is your favorite animal?

A: An Elk

Q: If you could bring one toy camping what would it be?

A: A fishing pole, if you would buy me one.

Q: What is you favorite camping memory

A: I remember walking down all these rocks to get to this huge cliff with a beautiful view.

Marmot Drakon 45 Review!!!

I am a unique breed of climber. You have heard of sport climbers, trad climbers, and bouldering, but have you heard of the family climber? Family climbers require a lot from their pack. You need to take all of your gear plus snacks, extra clothes, extra gear, and the occasional Barbie doll. I just got my pack and stuffed all my climbing gear into it, here are my first impressions. The pack looks cool. I know that looks don’t matter but, yes they really do. I love the colors and design of the pack. The pack is made of quality materials. In the world of ultra light backpacking some outfitters have designed some pretty flimsy stuff. Not so with this pack. In my opinion Marmot struck a very good balance between weight and durability. We will see if it holds up as long as my old climbing bag. If you are trying to decide which climbing bag to buy I would readily suggest this one for one big reason, the zipper. The best thing about this pack is its unique vertical opening. You can take this pack to the crag, throw it down on its back and with the zipper access all of your gear. It really helps to keep dirt out of your rope and harness by leaving stuff sitting on top of your pack while unloading other things. Pulling gear out from the top means you will have to put stuff on the ground while pulling out the gear deeper down. The Drakon 45 is also super easy to pack. The size of the pack was perfect for me to put all of our gear, including the rope, inside with a little room to spare. The hanging pocket is nice if you like to put small things in places where you can’t reach. I would have put it inside the top compartment. The smaller vertical zipper you see is a roomy pocket the perfect size for a guide book! I don’t know why more backpacks don’t have a vertical zipper, but for me that makes the Drakon 45 one of the top packs out there. Marmot has designed a excellent pack for climbers, I can’t wait to go get it dirty.

What is a CHIGGER??????????
A chigger is a mythological beast of burden used by the Romans to build aqueducts. The Great Wall of China was actually built to keep the chiggers out. Chiggers were also the cause of the dinosaur extinction. They are invisible, invincible, and intrusive! Ok, so some of those things are lies, but what is a chigger? I did a little research to give you a scientific answer that might make your summers a little less itchy.

    nice picture that has nothing to do with the article... enjoy

“Chiggers are the immature stage of certain mites belonging to the family Trombiculidae. More closely related to spiders than to insects, chiggers belong to the class Arachinida, along with scorpions and ticks. The term “chigger” commonly is used to describe the parasitic larval stage of mites in the genus Eutrombicula. These common mites cause most of the itchy, summertime bites that occur after walking outdoors through grassy or brushy areas.”
Taken from : https://insects.tamu.edu/extension/publications/epubs/e-365.cfm

So in summary Chiggers are baby spider/scorpions that live in the grass and bite your private parts because they are rude. I also found out that they do NOT burrow into skin. They just bite you and suck your yummy blood. The best way to prevent chigger bites is to wear bug spray with DEET, wear pants, (I need to remember to do that more), long sleeves, and keep your yard mowed. They don’t like the shorter grass, so keeping a well maintained yard really helps. After you go outside try to take a soapy shower and scrub with a cloth or one of those fluffy scrubber things that my wife has. This will help remove any mites that might be on you before they get too comfortable.

So You’re Not Outdoorsy???

A long time ago in a galaxy far far away, there existed recess. Recess was the best thing I had going for me as a kid. I loved it, and so did every other kid I can think of. Every single child loves to play outside and go bonkers. Now that I am an “adult” I hear people say insane things like F.E.M.A. builds concentration camps, and even more insane than that “I’m not outdoorsy”. How can a human being not like the outdoors? Mother Nature freely offers all of her bounty for our exploitation and you can’t go out and enjoy the woods? It’s just plain rude! Let me try to help you.

Research shows a positive correlation between time spent outdoors and lengthened attention span, being healthy, and the ability to prepare for the oncoming zombie apocalypse. However, you might like ADHD, Obesity, and Zombification. So let me try to convince you with my nonsensical objective opinions that spending time out of doors is the best way to spend your time. On a side note, if preparing for the oncoming zombie apocalypse is not important to you then stop reading, delete me from your friends, and stop talking to me because I don’t want to feel bad when I destroy your undead corpse :-) Here are the top three reasons why I love the outdoors.

1. It is fun

2. It is healing

3. It is real

Show of hands, who has fun at the D.M.V.? I have fun outside because it is the exact opposite of the D.M.V. There are no lines, no charges, and no rules. Being in an environment where there are no rules is fun, but it is also very important to brain development. If you don’t have boundaries you need to create them yourself. This teaches kids to limit their horseplay, focus on what matters, and make independent decisions. There are natural consequences to those decisions so it teaches them to follow the rules because it is important, not just because someone said so. Obviously kids don’t do this well, none of us are good at things we have never done, so they have to learn! This means they might get some bumps and bruises along the way. This leads me to my second point, nature is healing. Natures healing power lies in its awesome power to humble you. Wading through a creek fishing is about as relaxing as it gets for me. If I have had a hard day, or week, or month one hour in the water can wash all of that junk downstream. The creek reminds me that erosion is a terribly powerful and destructive force. Yet, it creates ways for life to thrive. It can take lifetimes for a creek to form. You are just simply aware that you are not the center of the universe and your problems aren’t either. Outdoor sports like rock climbing and mountain biking require all of your attention. It pulls your mind out of the corners of the internet and makes you very aware of the present. Nature is also as real as it gets. I love to read and playing video games, but in nature what you do actually happens in physical time and space. You can’t beat that with a stick (except you can, because it’s real). We live in such a digital era; we need to take time outside of the virtual and spend time in the physical. There is no need to become an outdoor junky, but please take time to appreciate the natural wonder that is all around us every day. And remember, mosquitoes kill 2 million people every year! Muahahaha!

Yaylabs Ice Cream Ball

The Ice Cream Ball.
http://www.sierratradingpost.com/industrial-revolution-play-and-freeze-ice-cream-ball~p~3626x/?filterString=s~ice-cream%2F&colorFamily=03
I love ice cream. I eat a bowl of ice-cream almost every night. When I saw the ice-cream ball my first thought was “it doesn't work” so I never got one. It looks like an infomercial gimmick. However, after camping with my two little girls I saw the need to bring things that could keep a 3 and 5 year old busy. I thought we would be sitting around eating sweet milk, but at least it would give the girls something to do. After using it several times here are my pros and cons.
Pro- It works! It makes deliciously amazing ice-cream right in the middle of nowhere! 
Pro- It is fairly easy to use, and you can use your own recipes.
Pro- it is durable.
Con- Do you like sand in your ice-cream? The lid traps dirt so when you open it up there will be a little sand or dirt that might hitch a ride on your spoon. Con- It is NOT a soccer ball! It is hard plastic and full of ice so when a little kid in flip flops decides to give it a kick they will break all of their little piggies.

Overall I say hooray for homemade ice cream without electricity! It is a fun design that keeps kids busy while you prepare dinner, then provides dessert. Not many toys do that. It is just hard to keep from getting dirt on the lid unless your camping spot has nice grass. Just remember don’t kick it or you will be doing the stubbed toe dance.

When I go camping I want to get some solitude, but not have to drive too far. I want to ride some trails, climb some rocks, and get in the water. Oh, and I want to see some beautiful nature! These things usually do not happen all at once. I have no trouble finding solitude, but usually it requires a long drive. Mountain bike trails are easy enough to come by in the Ozarks, as well as beautiful scenery. Water sports normally require their own outing, as does climbing. However, I have just discovered the Swiss Army knife of campgrounds! Lake Leatherwood is a city owned campground just outside Eureka Springs, Arkansas. It offers a gorgeous little lake where you can rent a canoe or Kayak, it has outstanding trails, and it even has a couple bouldering routes.

Now understand that much like a Swiss Army knife some of the features don’t have quite the usefulness of others. Their climbing routes could be compared to the 3 inch saw that works really well for cutting pinky size twigs. But I won’t complain. On Miners Rock trail there is one of the most unique rock features I have ever seen. There are no other rocks around except this limestone wave coming out of the ground. It has a dozen lines to boulder on. On my first trip to Lake leatherwood I was very pleasantly surprised that I could ride all day, go for a paddle the next, and then go get pumped on a 45 degree overhang. I hear the fishing is good too. It is a great spot for wildlife photography for all you fellow photographer’s out there.

The facilities do leave a little to be desired. The camping layout was open without tent pads, and only one porta potty for the lower campground. I went camping with my two little girls and we spent a lot of time in the potty. If you don’t mind walking a bit further there is a flush toilet near the rv camping. If you are like me, you can take the stinky bathroom in exchange for fewer crowds. I can’t wait for our next outing to Lake Leatherwood. It is a great spot for people looking to engage in a wide variety of outdoor activities. It is good for family camping and die hard mountain bikers. But most importantly it is not work! Look to Lake Leatherwood for a great weekend escape.

http://www.lakeleatherwoodcitypark.com/

                1303 County Road 204, Eureka Springs, AR 72632 (479) 253-7921

Custom Climbing Gear

Here is a highlight of some of my custom gear that my awesome friend  made for me. Check out her shop here http://www.etsy.com/shop/AislingLane

I designed this rope bag to be super cheap and simple. It is easy to throw over my backpack and quick to move from spot to spot.

This little gem is super handy to keep all your gear organized while at the crag. 

You can just slide it in and out of your pack while keeping all your draws and cams from tangling.

“Letting Go” in Richland Creek Wilderness Area.

Richland Creek has always been a location I wanted to check out because of all the great things I’ve heard about its beauty. It is probably the most remote spot in Arkansas, it is hard to find, and it has no maintained trail. The mountains there are very steep which helps create the breath taking waterfalls that punctuate the creek. I had a last minute option to go for a three day backpacking trip so I jumped on the chance to go to Richland Creek for the first time… with my 3 year old and 5 year old... daughters… who love Frozen. 

Mya is a pretty good photographer

My two daughters are pretty outdoorsy, but backpacking is a learned skill. The pack animal mentality does not come to humans naturally. I wanted to get them started early so I thought taking them to a beautiful spot with waterfalls would be a good Idea. I figured by the map and other’s trail descriptions that it would be about a 2.5 mile out and back trip, 5 miles total over 2 nights. I took my new 85 liter Osprey  Aether pack chock full of food, candy, sleeping bags, and more candy. The trip could have not gone better for the girls. They complained much less than I did when I first went backpacking so that is a good start. Richland Creek did not disappoint me with her wild beauty either. The non maintained trail was very easy to follow because of traffic. However, not all went so peachy. 

 

Indie and Mya being themselves 

From what I read, I gathered that we would be crossing two streams. No problem, I have crossed hundreds of Ozark streams that were ankle deep, I can do that. Wrong! It rained 2 inches the day before so I had to cross frigid chest deep streams, carrying my children across one by one. The shallower rapids were moving too fast to risk falling, so I opted for a safer deeper route. I am a stubborn Missouri boy and was not going to be deterred by a small creek.  The first time it was kind of fun, but by the 5th time I had waded into the cold water the new adventure feeling had shriveled off. Yes, I chose shriveled for a reason. On our last night I was pretty tired. I was physically exhausted from carrying 50 pounds of gear with a 3 year old sitting on top of that. I was mentally exhausted from swimming across the creek a dozen times, but most of all I was ready to “Let It Go”.

Richland creek 

I might have the most expensive backpack but it does not have hello kitty on it.

Can you guess what they are singing?

If you do not have a daughter from 3 through 30 years of age you might not know that a girl can repeatedly sing the theme song to their favorite movie an infinite amount of times.  The peace, solitude, and quiet of the outdoors had eluded me on this trip. All due to one catchy tune called “Let It Go”. I think I will engrave those words on my tombstone.  Here lies Aaron Wilcox he finally “Let It Go”.  Even with the ringing in my ears, nature’s medicine is strong. Both girls could not have had more fun! We saw a snake, found a turtle shell, and they saw daddy freeze his butt off (seriously I don’t know If I will be able to have more children). Because I spent good quality time with my girls and they want to return, I can call our first backpacking trip a success. Sometimes when you are taking young kids camping you have to relax and remember to just “let it Go”

Twin falls is the highlight of the trail