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Road Trippin’ USA

septiembre - noviembre 2023
Una aventura de 90 días de Levin & Birte Leer más
  • 60huellas
  • 3países
  • 90días
  • 958fotos
  • 29videos
  • 25,7kkilómetros
  • 17,2kkilómetros
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  • Road Trippin’ USA
    1112
    Día 14–16

    Coopers Rock (West Virginia)

    15 de septiembre de 2023, Estados Unidos ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Coopers Rock wasn't on our list when we planned the trip, but with the detour over Niagara Falls, it was suddenly right on our way south. Birte had some unfinished business there with a boulder called Final Fantasy (V7) that she came very close to sending two years ago. Even though our fitness was not nearly as good as it was back then, we thought we should give it a try.
    We walked into the area and met a group of climbers who were clearing all the paths to the boulders of brush, shrubs, and fallen trees. We talked to one of them for a while and got lots of suggestions on what to climb and where to go. At some point we exchanged Instagram contacts and realized that we were actually already following each other! What a coincidence! 😂 Check out his Insta for some crazy slab climbing in West Virginia: @slab_justice_warrior
    The climbing at Coopers Rock is awesome and the area is huge! Everything is well documented by the locals on Mountain Project, so navigating the forest is really easy and convenient.
    Birte was able to relearn almost all the moves from Final Fantasy during the session, but it was not enough to finish the project. However, we had a really nice time at Coopers Rock and would love to come back here sometime.
    The rock is very solid sandstone and is said to have the closest resemblance to the gritstone of the infamous Peak District 🤷.    Leer más

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  • Road Trippin’ USA
    12121
    Día 16–21

    New River Gorge (West Virginia)

    17 de septiembre de 2023, Estados Unidos ⋅ 🌧 18 °C

    The first national park of the trip: New River Gorge!
    What a beautiful place.
    We stayed 5 nights and went bouldering every day. The area is very diverse, some boulders are in dense forest, others are right in the riverbed, some accesses are only a few minutes, others took us more than an hour just to get to a single boulder we wanted to try.
    All in all it was great and quite adventurous. When I asked the Ann Arbor crew about bears in the area, they said we wouldn't see any and that we were more likely to step on a snake looking for bears! Well...turns out they were right. On our last day we went to the Meadow Top area, a beautiful boulder field next to a cliff with a dense rhododendron forest. It was early in the day and there were no hikers or other climbers around. We were struggling through the thicket when I suddenly heard a scream from Birte. "Snake! Snake! You almost stepped on it!" I froze, then slowly turned around. I still couldn't see it. Birte had stepped back a few meters. The snake seemed to have frozen as well, so I took a few more steps away. Now there was a snake between Birte and me, blocking the way. It was a copperhead, easily recognizable by its copper-colored head. Luckily I missed it by a few centimeters. Maybe I even touched it lightly. But we were lucky. It was already half grown. The babies are more dangerous because they cannot control how much venom they use when they bite. This one didn't bite, but froze, which is their way of hiding and trusting their camouflage (which is really, really good...I just couldn't see it, even though I knew it was there!) Well...we survived! Birte took a detour to get back on the trail. We went to the boulder "Egyptian Root Canal" (V5) and Birte climbed it!

    There is so much to say about this place, but I will try to keep it short.
    Fayetteville, the small town in the National Park, is really cute with lots of outdoor and antique shops, cafes and restaurants everywhere. It has a very nice and outdoorsy atmosphere. Most of the people here are either rock climbing or kayaking.
    The campgrounds were all free and we met very nice people everywhere. At one campground, an African-American family with a huge old RV (like in the movie Little Miss Sunshine) stayed next to us. They were really funny. On the morning of my birthday (unbeknownst to them) the father was singing gospel songs at the morning campfire, using a hammer against the stone wall around the campfire as percussion. It was beautiful to hear. It reminded me of the chain gang songs of the convicts in old western movies.

    My favorite boulder was Pizza Slice (V8). A perfect line along the arete of a 45° overhanging triangle block in the middle of the river! We were lucky to get there on Thursday, as we learned from a kayaker the next day. From the end of September to the end of November, the dam is open from Friday to Saturday to lower the water level of Summersville Lake. One day later, the line would have been unclimbable! Perfect timing!    Leer más

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  • Road Trippin’ USA
    1
    Día 21–23

    Red River Gorge (Kentucky)

    22 de septiembre de 2023, Estados Unidos ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    We are not sport climbers. Everyone knows that. However, from time to time we go to some sport climbing areas to see if we suddenly get the hunger for a long route. So far without much success.
    Red River Gorge is really famous, maybe one of the most famous climbing areas in the world. Pictures and videos we had seen of the area made us curious, so we packed our harnesses and belay gear when preparing for the flight to the USA.
    Lucia and Noah, two of Birte's friends from Ann Arbor, moved there two years ago and invited us to climb and stay with them. We gladly accepted and had a great day climbing with them after a night at Miguel's Pizza, which we had to visit for at least one night! Miguel's is known throughout the USA. At every crag, whether it's sport climbing or bouldering, you'll find climbers wearing Miguel's Pizza shirts. It is the American counterpart to Magic Wood, but much bigger...and much cheaper!
    The rock is bulletproof sandstone, like everywhere in the Appalachians. And the climbing is really fun. The holds range from crimps to slopers to jugs. Some of the climbing is very technical, other routes are mostly physical. There are short boudery routes and long endurance testpieces that go 50 meters or more.
    As expected, we were not very strong mentally while climbing and had trouble committing to moves above the third or fourth quickdraw, but we still had a lot of fun! The climbing was better than anywhere we have climbed before. We could really see doing this more often. But RRG is not just around the corner...

    Saturday night was a big party at Miguel's house. It was the 40th anniversary! There was live music, free pizza, and free beer. After a long day of climbing, the crew of Lucia and Noah, Ciarand, Danny and Jonah, and us grabbed one of the last parking spots near Miguel's and rewarded ourselves with pizza and beer. The vibe was awesome!    Leer más

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  • Road Trippin’ USA
    1
    31
    Día 23–27

    Stonefort aka LRC (Tennessee)

    24 de septiembre de 2023, Estados Unidos ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    We left Red River Gorge at noon and arrived in Stonefort, Tennessee around 5 pm. Everyone had told us about Stonefort (or Little Rock City as it was originally called) and recommended boulders we should check out. The area has had many ups and downs, with times when it was completely off limits to climb there. The rocks have always been on private property. At one point, a golf course was built right next to the rocks, and not all golfers were big fans of bouldering...but eventually a compromise was reached and climbers were charged a fee to enter the area. Two years ago, the golf course and some additional land around it came up for sale, and a group of climbers (and investors) bought the golf course and the rocks, ensuring that bouldering will continue to be allowed! However, it still costs $9 to get in.

    The area is worth it though. The rock is top quality sandstone, the access is easy and short, and there are plenty of 5 star lines! The area certainly met or exceeded all expectations!

    My goal was The Shield, a very famous line that follows a shallow sloping crack through an otherwise empty wall. I knew I was probably not fit enough to climb it, and the conditions were not the best at 28 °C, but I gave it a try. I could not climb it, but I really enjoyed the two sessions on it. I wish I could go back one day in slightly colder temps...

    We spent the nights at Chester Frost Park, which is about 20 minutes away from the area. The campground was really nice, next to a lake where we went swimming in the morning and after returning from a day on the rocks.    Leer más

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  • Road Trippin’ USA
    1
    Día 26

    Chattanooga (Tennessee)

    27 de septiembre de 2023, Estados Unidos ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    When we woke up, we felt that we desperately needed a day of rest. So instead of spending another day in Stonefort, we decided to go down to Chattanooga.
    The city was very different from the cities we had visited on our trip so far. It looked very clean and tidy 😅.
    We first went to the Songbird Music and Guitar Museum where we learned a lot about the early blues music history of Tennessee, especially of Chattanooga and its former music and entertainment district around "Big 9 Street". There were also some original guitars of famous musicians like BB King, Chuck Berry, Duane Allman, Les Paul and Bo Diddley 🎸.
    After the museum, we headed to the Arts District and the pedestrian bridge over the Tennessee River, where we enjoyed delicious coffee-blueberry ice cream. It seems that Chattanooga makes good use of every bit of space it has in this area. There are recreational parks, fountains, sculptures, and even a small amphitheater-like music stage under a bridge!
    A couple of Birte's friends from Ann Arbor recently moved to Chattanooga, and we know of others who are thinking or dreaming about it. Now we understand why. The city is really nice and the area is just amazing! There's so much climbing in the area that a lifetime wouldn't be enough to try it all!    Leer más

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  • Road Trippin’ USA
    1
    Día 27–30

    Rocktown (Georgia)

    28 de septiembre de 2023, Estados Unidos

    There are three famous sandstone areas near Chattanooga: Stonefort (Tennessee), Rocktown (Georgia), and Horse Pens 40 (Alabama). Of course, there are hundreds of smaller areas, but these three somehow made it into separate guidebooks, and everyone we met asked us if we were going to visit all three. Well, we had all three guidebooks on hand, but we realized that we should spend the week we had planned for the Chattanooga area on two areas instead of three, so we dropped HP40.

    Rocktown is about 1.5 hours from Stonefort. The last few miles are a terrible road uphill into Crockford-Pigeon Mountain Park.

    We arrived just before dark. The campground is very close to the trailhead that leads to the boulder field, so we expected a lot of climbers at the campground. We were really hoping to get a spot on a free campsite next to such a famous bouldering area. Well...we were lucky...the campsite was completely empty. It was pretty spooky.
    We built a campfire and grilled vegan sausages for hot dogs and corn over an open fire under a full moon. It was delicious.

    In the morning we took a shower under a very old oak tree that had dropped a lot of acorns on our car during the night... Then we went to the area. The first sector is called "The Orb". It contains several impressive boulders with great lines, one of which is the problem of the same name "The Orb", V8, which I was able to check off the to-do list.
    Next on our list was the boulder "Golden Harvest", which is 20 minutes deeper into the forest. It is one of the most iconic boulders in the southeast and contains two five star lines: "Golden Harvest, V10, and Golden Shower, V5. The perfect boulder for Birte and me! We both had a project there! After an hour I was standing on "Golden Harvest" and Birte had made some very promising links on "Golden Shower".
    At the boulder we met Nathaniel, who had climbed the V5 a few minutes before we arrived. He stayed with us for an hour and then showed us around. Together we went to the "Sherman Photo Roof" where I was able to climb the namesake line (V7) and the line next to it: "Nose Candy", V6. It was a very nice and successful day! Thank you Nathaniel for a great afternoon!

    The next day we went back to "Golden Shower" and Birte finished the previous day's project! 💪🏻

    Rocktown was great. We discussed which area we preferred, Stonefort or Rocktown, but we both couldn't really lean towards one or the other. Stonefort is very convenient but crowded and commercialized, Rocktown on the other hand is the opposite, but the road is rough and the rocks are a bit more spread out. The rock is similar to Stonefort, but there are a lot more roofs, a bit like Albarracin, some top-outs on the other hand are almost like in Fontainebleau! You can even find some typical Fontainebleau shapes in Rocktown!
    We can definitely recommend both areas to anyone thinking of going there. It is amazing. We wish we could have visited HP40 as well...    Leer más

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  • Road Trippin’ USA
    3
    11
    Día 30–31

    Nashville (Tennessee)

    1 de octubre de 2023, Estados Unidos ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    After leaving Rocktown we had a long way to go to get to the next bouldering spot (Hueco Tanks). We could have gone straight through Dallas, which would have been the shortest way, but also the most boring. Instead, we planned several stops and sights along the 1500 miles and moved the route a bit further north so that we could drive on historic Route 66 for a while.
    The first stop was Nashville. The Music City. When we imagined this place back home, we thought of small music venues with some live bluegrass, folk and country artists. We searched for concerts from Germany, but couldn't find much, so we figured we'd just go somewhere and see if anyone was playing that night.
    And then there is the real world...
    We drove to Nashville and tried to find a parking space. It was crowded like hell. All the parking lots were full, people were walking across the streets, there were bright neon signs and loud party music everywhere. We finally found a spot, realized the fee was $45 for 4 hours and kept looking. In the end, we parked just outside downtown for only $25 for 6 hours...
    Hungry as we were, we immediately went looking for a diner and found a nice one downtown. We had coffee and an omelet and enjoyed the quiet of the place, which was in stark contrast to the world outside the diner.
    Nevertheless, we strolled through the downtown area, went into some cowboy shoe and hat stores, saw funny people on the street and found out that there was actually music everywhere. Just not like we imagined. Every single bar, club and pub had show bands playing music all day long. There seemed to be no difference between 11am and 9pm.
    Most of the music we heard in the pubs was terrible and there were drunk people everywhere, so we decided to leave without a concert. But I really wanted to go to the Johnny Cash Museum and it was worth it. The museum was very well designed and composed. It had a lot of music, of course, but they also displayed artwork and lyrics by JC and showed a 20 minute movie collage of movie appearances! JC really played a lot of roles in several movies, TV shows and he even had a cameo in The Simpsons!
    After the museum we happily left Nashville and continued our trip west until we reached a small campground halfway to Memphis.    Leer más

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  • Road Trippin’ USA
    2
    Día 31

    Memphis (Tennessee)

    2 de octubre de 2023, Estados Unidos ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    Since Nashville didn't live up to our expectations, we decided to make one more stop in Tennessee before crossing the Mississippi River into Arkansas: Memphis. Home of the Blues.
    We went straight to the Memphis Recording Service or Sun Records Studio as it was later called. The place was opened in the early fifties by Sam Phillips, who wanted to give all the black musicians he had heard on Beale Street a chance to record their songs for little money. Many artists jumped at the chance to record a two-sided demo with one song on each side for $4. For some, it was the first step to national and even international fame, such as Howlin' Wolf, Ike Turner and Jackie Branston.
    Word got around and white artists began recording at the Sun Studio, including Johnny Cash, who recorded his first three LPs there. One day, an 18-year-old kid walked in with $4 his family had been saving for three months. He wanted to demo a ballad he had written. He was very nervous, but sang well and made a great impression on Marion Keisker, the secretary, who then got him a spot in a Sun Records band that was supposed to play background for other artists or do sound checks for them and so on. But they turned out to be so good that the band soon became a group in its own right, named after the 18-year-old boy: Elvis Presley.
    The Sun Records tour was great. We heard a lot of funny and interesting stories, listened to some great music, and at the end we stood in the recording room where all the above mentioned artists had performed and recorded. In the room was even the original microphone used for all the lead vocals on over 700 LPs and many more demos, including Folsom Prison Blues by Johnny Cash and the first recorded track by Elvis Presley!

    After the tour, we drove downtown, parked our car at the footbridge to Mud Island Park and walked across. Mud Island Park was out of this world. It seemed like a beautiful park and venue, but something was wrong. No one was there except maybe 5 tourists. Everything was closed...and had probably been closed for 10 years. Someone had stopped time. The place was insane: an amazing amphitheater-like stage overlooking the downtown skyline, a mile-long walk along a miniature copy of the Mississippi River, a museum, a swimming pool, several cafes. All closed. And for some magical reason with almost no vandalism at all, though you could get into the park and most of the buildings! Maybe one day there will be life again in this phenomenal island park. Hopefully.    Leer más

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  • Road Trippin’ USA
    1
    Día 31–32

    Route 66 (Oklahoma)

    2 de octubre de 2023, Estados Unidos ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    At some point we had to cross the country. The southeast was awesome, but we still had tons of destinations in the west. The problem with the part in between is that it's mostly boring...or so we thought.
    We chose Route 66 to get from Oklahoma City to Amarillo, Texas, where we would leave Route 66 and head south.
    Oklahoma is the state where most of the historic Route 66 is still more or less intact and drivable. Many other states got rid of the old road after the "new" interstate system was established sometime after World War II. For a while, the road could still be used, but as the years went by, maintenance became too much of an issue and many states just cut the expenses and closed the road. The road really wasn't what we expected. Sometimes it was horrible to drive on, but we weren't in a hurry and drove slowly from one sight to the next. Birte had found a homepage with a lot of sights along the way, so the time passed quickly and we even had to skip some things.
    Near Erick, Oklahoma, we turned on the radio to listen to local news and music. After only 2 minutes the music was interrupted by a regional thunderstorm warning. People were advised to leave open areas and not to drive, as high winds, rain and lightning were expected over the next hour. The storm was currently on its way to Erick. Well...shit. We still had a few miles to go and weren't planning on stopping in Erick, but we figured we should probably take the advice seriously since thunderstorms in the US, especially in the Great Plains, can be severe. The website listed a small "Curiosity Shop" for Erick, close to Route 66. This would be our shelter.

    Inside the store sat a bearded old man. Everything was crammed full of stuff, be it instruments, memorabilia, signs, lamps and whatever else. We talked to the guy about his shop and about music. Then suddenly he grabbed his guitar and gave us a 15 minute private concert. It was amazing. What a wonderful coincidence that the storm led us to his shop!

    The overall experience of driving Route 66 was great. The road was mostly empty because everyone uses Interstate 40 to get from A to B, so we could stop whenever and wherever we wanted. Many of the towns along the way were deserted, which gave it a spooky horror movie feel, but every now and then you would find a nice little gas station left over from another era.

    I have a video of our private guitar concert in Erick, but Findpenguins won't upload it for some reason...if anyone wants to watch it, let me know and I'll send it via WhatsApp.    Leer más

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  • Road Trippin’ USA
    Día 32–33

    Route 66 (Texas)

    3 de octubre de 2023, Estados Unidos ⋅ 🌬 28 °C

    Route 66 was not much different in Texas than it was in Oklahoma. We pulled off at a couple of places and saw a classic car junkyard (one of hundreds we had passed in the last few weeks), the Leaning Tower of Texas, and more restored little gas stations.
    It was getting dark and we hadn't figured out where to stay. Most of the campgrounds were full because of the Albuquerque Balloon Festival. We ended up at the worst RV campground we had ever seen. It was located between Interstate 40, an airport, a truck gas station, and a truck night stop. It was more of a trailer park than a campground, and the restrooms...I won't go into detail here...
    We set the alarm for 5:30, got up and left as fast as we could. In downtown Amarillo we found a nice coffee place on Google that was open at 6am: Palace Coffee. We filled our cups and drove to the Cadillac Ranch west of Amarillo to watch the sunrise. As a living art project, someone has buried a bunch of Cadillacs halfway in the ground. Anyone can participate. All you need to bring is a can of spray paint 🧑‍🎨
    After that, our time on Route 66 was over for a while. Later we will come back and drive a bit more on it in New Mexico (after Hueco Tanks).    Leer más

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