Tue 16 Aug 2005
I am finally back in Boulder after the trade show in SLC and a brief visit with my brother and sister in Park City/Salt Lake City. In addition to seeing my own family, the best part about the trade show is seeing old friends. 
After thirty years of climbing, I’ve gotten to know a lot of people! As usual, the trade show went by fast since there was so much going on and I had the additional challenge of managing Owen. While I was busy talking to people, Owen was running around all over the place, climbing the displays, and darting across the aisle, but his favorite hang out was the climbing wall! Luckily we found a toddler friendly route to climb on the backside of the wall that led through a small cave to the top of the wall. Owen enjoys getting to the top of any climbing wall, but this one had the added bonus of seeing all the action from above and we could wave to the people standing below. Of course the beach balls, super balls with LCD colored lights, dogs to pet (or maul), and the chocolate treats added to his level of excitement. Fortunately, there were many on the spot volunteer baby-sitters around to keep him out too much trouble. Many people made comments about how it was not surprising to see such behavior from Owen based on who his mother is! I had to agree…
Now that I am back, I have a lot of work to catch up on, including making a possible last minute trip to Arco, Italy for the 20th annual Rock Master competition party (Sept. 2nd-7th). I also have to be in Phoenix, AZ on Sept. 1st for a presentation at the APRA convention (Parks and Recreation), then back in San Fransisco on the 9th and 10th for presentations at the Patagonia store and at the Sierra Summit event.