A Story

Today has brought to mind many things. Climbing and taking the sharp-end for the first time in a while made me think of a very bad memory.
"Dude your leaving tomorrow. Do you want to go to Tonk?" I told John that of course I did. If there ever was a place in Waco that I would call home it would have to be Tonkawa Falls. For a fox it would be the open field that held all the wonder of the world. Alot to say for such a simple place but mysticism comes in small forms and packs a punch like Liddell. Tonkawa is a bouldering area nestled into the area of Crawford, Texas. The area was formed by a waterfall (yes in Texas) that runs west to east. The limestone cliffs hold vast amounts of pocket madness and tendon crunching crimps. The route variations are endless and once there you pull the glasses off and see the beauty that is Texas limestone.
I started climbing four years ago and Tonk was the first bouldering I had done outside. I remember going out there day after day trying to get this one V2 that still remains nameless to me. I would work and grunt and not be able to pull it off. While my friend Ron would show me and then go work on a V6. I finally sent the bastard using my ape like wingspan and everything fell into place.
We had been going out there for a few years until the secret got out and the local fraternities decided to join in on our fun and jump off the ever so high (12 foot) waterfall. Challenging each other to make an even bigger splash than before seemed so rudementary. But hey, we were climbing rocks and falling on our asses for no other reason than to stand on top. Or so it may have seemed to them. I took about a ten foot plop on my back one day in front of all the soccer hooliganesque dudes and ladies. I was ok but my pride suffered the rest of the day.
Anyways, My last day in Waco was not quite what I had expected at all. I wanted to show John and Kelly a new problem. We were excited in the car, telling the same old stupid jokes that have always made a trip faster and much more intriquing. The ER joke was even bigger splash than ever before with a new twist. As we arrived we were not quite prepared for what we saw. The plan was to cross the river and warm up and then return to the other side. We sat in disbelief and saw the carnage. The side that had been wrought with vines and trees and supposedly indian artifacts was now a cleared out section of land. The trees, top soil and everything else had been cleared and pushed onto our slab of rock. Almost all the problems on all the walls were exterminated. I was speechless, I was without speech. I dont know who was responsible or why this had happened but I was overcome with rage. This was a private resource open to the public, but it sure as hell made me think of taking my Monkey Wrench Gang handbook out and wreaking some absolute havoc on some heavy machinery. But sadly we did no such thing. We attempted to make the best of it, but our charisma had been ripped from us like the trees of Tonkawa Falls.
And now I am gone and still dont know what happened. And I may never get back there.