Old dogs are expensive. Mary took Nora to the vet this week to get an ear hematoma (another one!) drained and stitched. While there, she asked about some weird looking lumps on Nora, which turned out to be cancerous. So the vet lopped those off while Nora was knocked out anyway and a thousand dollars later Nora has some new ragged scars and a ridiculous cone collar to show for it. And hopefully no cancer for the moment.

Catching up on some outdoorsy photos from the past few weeks.

Day trip up to Leavenworth for bouldering and hiking. These photos are from the Mad Meadows area. We also stopped in town for the requisite Bavarian bratwurst.

Kayaking the Yakima River canyon. Second time out in the whitewater kayaks and it turned into a 17 mile paddle. Basically just Class 1 rapids at best, but still lots of fun. Cloudy day that turned blue-skied and sunny later (after my sacrificial beater camera was sufficiently waterlogged to refuse to take photos). Big horn sheep in the last photo.

Rock climbing at Feathers near Vantage. Just a quick couple hours. Didn’t feel great (my broken shoulder has been bothering me a lot lately and I was still feeling the 17-mile paddle from a couple days before), but it was nice to get back on rock after over a month away. Climbed Jesus Saves (5.8), Blood Blister (5.10a), and Alter of Sacrifice (5.7). First photo is Blood Blister roped up (not me pictured).

And rock climbing at Royal Columns. Took my friend’s young sons rock climbing on some kid-friendly routes then finished up the day with a couple more interesting climbs. Climbed Western Front (5.3), Good Timer (5.4), Slacker (5.4), X-Factor (5.8), and Orange Sunshine (5.10b). Orange Sunshine was definitely a highlight. Felt good to bang out a 10b after struggling at Vantage a few days earlier. Also took a peak at the flow conditions on the Tieton River with the fall water release starting already. Looked zippy and fun, but probably well beyond my meager kayaking skills. Maybe next year.