The End of the Bus Tour...for now!

Alas … the bus trip has come to an end!  We drove until midnight after the MooseJaw event in Kansas City on Tuesday and slept at a truly dreadful Motel 6 in Salinas, Kansas.  The saving grace was a Starbucks next door to the motel.  We were on the road again by 6 am the next day, Starbucks in hand.  Lori, Jamie and Christin took turns at the wheel while George took a much-earned break from driving.  It was freezing on the bus, so we bundled up in coats, hats, gloves and sleeping bags. All was smooth sailing.                We crossed the border into colorful Colorado and hooted and hollered. We were almost home!  Then … ba-boom!  Lori, driving, said “But I didn’t see anything in the road!”  We shrugged it off.  Then, we heard it again. This time we pulled over to check it out.  The tread had separated from the right rear tire! Jamie, always resourceful, had her i-phone out before we were at a complete stop.  Ten miles down the road in Burlington was Eastern Colorado Tire and Auto- and, yes, they had bus tires!  A few minutes later we were being waved into the bay.  Like a Formula One pit crew, the tire was removed and replaced with a new one.  For good measure, we had the left rear replaced as well. Less than an hour later, we were back on the road.  A HUGE thanks to the guys at Eastern Colorado Tire and Auto!

The rest of the trip home was uneventful.  We did make the discovery that the bus can’t quite make its way around the downtown round-abouts, though.  After dropping Jamie and Lori off at their respective homes, we parked the bus on the edge of Poplar Avenue.  Within five minutes, Christin received  a text, “I see the bus made it!!!”  Indeed, it did. The bus trip was a blast.  The amount of interest and enthusiasm for a Bouldering Bus makes us feel confident that it will be a big hit in Boulder.  We were able to show the bus and tell about the work of The Women’s Wilderness Institute to nearly 200 people.  Best of all were the laughs and good times along the way! 

None of this would have been possible without the help from our sponsors. Beyond Gear, SCARPA, Access Fund, Moosejaw, Climbmax and our personal donors! A BIG thank you to everyone who came out and supported the ultimate bus tour! 

JOIN US ON OCTOBER 26TH FOR OUR WELCOME HOME PARTY: FIND MORE DETAILS ON FACEBOOK

Stay tuned for more updates about the bus; from your loving bus crew:  Lori, Christin, George and Jamie 

Kansas City at Moosejaw

We had such a great time in Kansas City in front of Moosejaw! The staff was so excited about the bouldering bus they were the first ones climbing and exploring. We loved their enthusiasm and the fact they put up a sign advertising the bus! Thanks guys!

We set up around 4pm and the time FLEW with all of the climbers and passerbys we had.  By 6pm we had to start giving the kiddos a 10 minute warning because the bus was such a hit! Many people were interested in the mission of Women's Wilderness and since Kansas City isn't ALL that far from Boulder, we're hoping to see some kiddos from Kansas City in next summers program! We had all ages and genders which just goes to show you how fun the bouldering bus is for everyone! 

The Birth of the Bouldering Bus

We are constantly asked about how the bouldering bus came to be and it is such a good story, we thought we'd share it here. Christin, the creator of the amazing bouldering bus, writes about how the idea came to be and how the bus was created from there: 

So … how did the bouldering bus come to be?!?  The idea was hatched on a hike with family and a climbing friend in the mountains over thanksgiving.  We laughed about it and then moved on.  Or, so I thought. About 6 weeks later, Ken (my husband) called me from work at lunchtime. “I need you to drive me somewhere – oh, and bring a check book.” “Somewhere” was the Cumberland County School Transportation Office. One of his patients worked there and assured him there was a whole fleet of retired buses for sale. A half hour and $2500 later, we were the proud owners of a 1986 Ford School Bus, Bus # 380!  Ken, with the help of his friend Rolf, removed all of the seats, welded a steel frame onto the inside of the bus, attached textured wall, drilled over 1000 holes, attached climbing holds and installed gym foam on the floor.  What was once a really silly idea was now a really silly reality!  We left the bus behind in North Carolina when we moved to Colorado, but once I joined the board of the Women’s Wilderness Institute in Boulder, I knew the bouldering bus belonged there.  

We are so excited to bring the bus back to Boulder and we will be having a Welcome Home Party for the bus on October 26th! Stay tuned for more details. 

From the road, 

Christin, Jamie, and Lori

Climbmax Climbing

The Bouldering Bus was a huge hit in Asheville!  We parked early Sunday morning in front of Climbmax on Wall Street in Asheville.  Wall Street is a narrow, one way, cobblestone street that ends directly in the center of downtown Asheville.  Popular brunch spots, a large non-traditional church, and coffee shops call Wall Street their home. The amount of foot traffic on a Sunday morning there is amazing!  We opened our bus doors early to satisfy the curiosity of passer-bys. When we drove away at 1:30pm we had talked to well over 100 people about the bus, our road trip, and The Women’s Wilderness Institute! Hundreds of photos of the inside of the bus had been taken and we even gotten some shout-outs on Facebook.  Teens climbing at the gym across the street, kids coming out of the church, and even a group of twenty-something year olds who are conservationists from Montana were among the crowd who tried out the Bouldering Bus.  Everyone loved it – a hit for all ages!

We went to Woolworth Walk in downtown Asheville and man, were we disappointed in their shakes. We got cookies and cream and mint chocolate chip and we both give our shakes 5/10. So far our favorite shake was the salted caramal at Farm Burger! HOWEVER, their sandwiches were incredible and original! We got a BLT, a curry chicken sandwich, and a turkey reuben that were just delicious!

A big thanks to SCARPA for their shoe donation, BEYONDgear for the chalk bags and Climbmax for their support! 

Check out the rest of our photos at the Facebook album!

Tomorrow we're in Kansas City at Moosejaw Mountaineering from 4-6pm so come on out and climb on our school bus! 

Asheville!

After some completely exhausting delays at the airport, we finally made it into Fayetteville, got picked up by the bus (which I think is a hilarious way to leave the airport) and made it to Asheville! The bus moves pretty slow but looks so incredible and powered through the eastern continental divide.

Christin (the original owner and creator of the ever so wonderful climbing bus) will be posting the story of how the bus came to be within the next couple of days.

So...our first milkshake assessment comes from Farm Burger in downtown Asheville. We give their Salted Caramel milkshake an 8/10. Although very delicious, our assessment is that there should have been more delicious chunks of caramel or whatever that delicious candy was throughout the milkshake.

We’re so excited for our first stop with the bus at Climbmax tomorrow – we’ll be there from 11:30-1:30 and we hope to see you there! 

This weekend!

We could not be more excited to start the ultimate road trip this weekend! Today we met to finalize our travel route and meet one  last time before our trip.

Our stops are in Asheville, Nashville, St. Louis, and Kansas City - if you have any recommendations on places to stop, eat, or visit, let us know, and if you're in any of these cities, we'd love to see you and have you climb on the bus! Along those lines....we've decided we are going to conduct "milkshake surveys" as we trek across the states and so stay tuned for our favorite spots and let us know yours!

A big thanks to our donors and sponsors - without them, this trip would not be possible. 

Along our journey, we are going to be stopping at Climbmax in Asheville and Moosejaw in Kansas City! A big thanks to Climbmax, Moosejaw, and Access Fund for their continued support.

There's still time to donate if you'd like to make a contribution and make sure you stay up to date with where the bus is and where we're headed through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and this blog! 

See you on the road!

Bus trip sponsors

We couldn't make this bus trip happen without help from sponsors!

Today, we're recognizing and thanking Scarpa for their donation of rock climbing shoes for the Ultimate Bus Tour happening in just over a week!

Our team could not be more excited to share this opportunity with people across the country! Our route includes Charlotte, Fayetteville, Asheville, Chattanooga and Kansas City! Let us know if theres a place you think we should visit!

Thanks for helping us spread the word and if you'd like to donate, visit the site at:

https://www.womenswilderness.org/climbingbus

See you on the road!