[ A steep, rocky slope, dotted with pinyon trees & lots of rocks; above that, the sky is dark grey. ]
A perfect time to go rock climbing: right as the clouds roll in!
… look, I didn’t say it was a GOOD idea.
It really wasn’t rock climbing so much as rock scrambling. Major Tom still disapproved of the amount of effort involved.
![](https://www.thevagabondtabby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/20200922_145325.jpg)
Looking down at my foot, in classy purple Keens; I’m standing near the edge of a rock. Several feet below is Major Tom, a big grey tabby wearing a black harness. ]
Loiosh was pleased, though.
![](https://www.thevagabondtabby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/20200922_145351.jpg)
[ Loiosh, an orange tabby wearing a green harness, caught mid-step while walking across a big rock. ]
We got pretty high pretty quick!
![](https://www.thevagabondtabby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/20200922_145554.jpg)
[ A view down the hill; the foreground is a pretty steep stretch of red rock, & well beyond that is the grove of trees where I spent the rest of the day. ]
But then I took a break to let the boys catch up. Action shot!
![](https://www.thevagabondtabby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/20200922_145606.jpg)
[ Major Tom, caught in the act of leaping to a higher rock; both his forepaws are off the ground, & his face is very intent. ]
Another break … hard to see my chair all the way down below, but it’s there.
![](https://www.thevagabondtabby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/20200922_145626.jpg)
[ An even smaller stretch of red ground, with the grove beyond it; but most of the picture is taken up by the forested hill on the other side of the valley. ]
Action shot twice! I’m really impressed I got decent pics of both of them mid-jump.
![](https://www.thevagabondtabby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/20200922_145733.jpg)
[ Loiosh is running up the hill rather than jumping, but he looks pretty intent too. ]
Tom declared this break would be longer. I wasn’t complaining. Or moving.
![](https://www.thevagabondtabby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/20200922_145910.jpg)
[ Tom’s flopped on the ground, leaning against a big rock, hindpaws braced against my shoe. He really is fond of feet. ]
Some of the rocks had these bumps. I don’t know if they’re harder bits that weather slower? Or if they somehow form there?
![](https://www.thevagabondtabby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/20200922_150206.jpg)
[ A close view of a grey rock; small nodules, the biggest maybe a half inch across, stick out from the surface. ]
Tom gives the hill a skeptical look.
![](https://www.thevagabondtabby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/20200922_150702.jpg)
[ He’s standing on a slope littered with small & medium rocks, looking to the left & up the hill. ]
… this is why.
![](https://www.thevagabondtabby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/20200922_150740.jpg)
[ The next part of the hill, which is about a five foot high sheer slope. ]
Fortunately, I’ve got monkey toes, & I’m not afraid to use them.
![](https://www.thevagabondtabby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/20200922_150950.jpg)
[ A view down at my feet, which are next to my purple shoes, because feet are better for climbing. ]
It was a bit of work, not gonna lie. But I grew up rock-scrambling with my dad (usually with my mom at the bottom of the hill making concerned squawking noises) & when you’re dangling by your fingers & three toes, the skills come back quick.
No, I didn’t see how Tom got up there.
While bending over to put my shoes back on (even when I was a kid my feet weren’t up to cactus spines), I saw this.
![](https://www.thevagabondtabby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/20200922_151928.jpg)
[ A tiny, perfectly circular hole, perhaps a quarter inch across, leads straight down. Pine needles & other debris are arranged & fastened around the sides of the hole, to create just a bit of a ridge around it. ]
I wonder what built it?
That’s about when the rain started falling. But I had a plan! Or at least a rock.
![](https://www.thevagabondtabby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/20200922_151935.jpg)
[A REALLY big, red rock, with a bit of a space under it. Yes, we did all fit. ]
Tom wasn’t too sure about my choice of shelter.
![](https://www.thevagabondtabby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/20200922_152319.jpg)
[ Tom’s standing just out of the rain, rock overhead, staring deeper into the space underneath. ]
But he settled in after a while.
![](https://www.thevagabondtabby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/20200922_152855.jpg)
[ A close view of Tom’s face. He’s looking rather thoughtfully out across the valley. ]
Time to head back down! Tom managed some Dramatical Posing.
![](https://www.thevagabondtabby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/20200922_153602.jpg)
[ Tom’s sitting on the slope right above a bit of a cliff, looking off to the right in a concerned manner. Behind him are a couple of pinyon trees. ]
Sometimes I find something the geology training won’t let me ignore — there’s some nice cross-bedding on these sedimentary rocks.
![](https://www.thevagabondtabby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/20200922_153821.jpg)
[ A deep red-grey rock face. Lines of slightly more durable rock, which have eroded slightly less than the rest, stick out; they curve & swoop across the rock face, looking rather like waves. ]
Loiosh wins at Dramatical Posing. Excellent choice of venue, perfect posture.
![](https://www.thevagabondtabby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/20200922_154007.jpg)
[ A dead, weathered juniper trunk splits around a big rock, which is caught between the trunks. Loiosh is standing on the rock, facing upwards, a noble look on his face. I think he was watching a bird. ]
We didn’t make it all the way to the top, though I think we were three-quarters of the way there.
![](https://www.thevagabondtabby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/20200922_154203.jpg)
[ The view up: a couple dozen feet of steep, rocky slope ( with Major Tom sitting somewhere in the middle) leads up to a band of trees. Above that, a steep cliff makes up the top of the slope, with more trees atop it. ]
Next time!