There is a delight in the hardy life of the open. There are no words that can tell the hidden spirit of the wilderness that can reveal its mystery, its melancholy and its charm. The nation behaves well if it treats the natural resources as assets which it must turn over to the next generation…
Just this morning I was bragging about this easy, low-stress job.Then, a few hours later, one of our campers goes missing. I met him and his wife on my rounds last night. They sleep in a tent, and I estimate their age at around mid-80s. Anyway, they drove up to a trailhead above us…
J is always talking about how great this trip has been. Yeah, the scenery is beautiful but the long days in the van while she drives get me down after a while. I get cramps sitting in one position so I sleep on my bed in the back and then, when I can’t stand…
Location: Lower Gray Canyon, BLM Recreation Area (Green River, UT) I believe that I left everyone curious about where I would end up for the next few days. I did not go far because I read about a wonderful Bureau of Land Management (BLM) area about 10 miles north of Green River, up…
Want to see a cool and fairly intact ghost town? One of the best is Lake Valley, NM, which is just north of Deming, NM. Gringo miners came into NM in the late 1800s and one of them found a huge silver lode in this mountain basin. Others followed and the town grew. From the official…
Day Three: I wake up early in my Rio Grande hideaway. My wanderlust pushes me to get going, so I forgo breakfast in anticipation of a smothered breakfast burrito in Taos. I continue on the narrow riverfront road rather than retrace my tracks back to the main highway so that I can inspect the other…
I am 5 days into my trek to Gardiner, Montana for the summer. Unlike my trip from Alabama to New Mexico, this trip north from New Mexico is smooth sailing. I am traveling an altogether different route than planned, thanks to a late snowstorm that blew into the Rockies, but the journey has taken me…
Where is your dream vacation? If you could do anything you want today, what would you do? What makes you happy? Who makes you happy? Everyone can answer those questions, everyone knows what brings happiness and contentment to their lives. Sitting on a tropical beach, playing guitar, working the potter’s wheel; each brings a spike…
Sometimes I feel that I am heading to a village deep in a jungle or to the African Savannah. Really, I am only going to Yellowstone for the summer, but preparations are more expedition-like. In addition to my previous reports about preparations, Tango and I got shots, haircuts, check-ups, teeth cleaned. Tomorrow I will repack the…
My mom was ahead of her time by limiting our intake of sweets and soft drinks. That, of course, made the few times we had a sweet treat even more special. If I could choose my own, I favored Chuckles, a jelly candy. My favorite of the five flavors: black licorice. I saved that spicy, sugar-coated…