# My Walkabout Nomadic. Storyteller. Soul searcher. Experience hungry. Music carnivore. Dreamer of better things. They call me H.C. You can find stories about my travels, stories from my decades on earth, and thoughts about why the world turns in our vast universe. - Site: https://mywalkabout.net/ ## From the Archives : My Hadrian’s Wall walking journey. Day three on the path to Humshaugh - Link: https://mywalkabout.net/from-the-archives-my-hadrians-wall-walking-journey-day-three-on-the-path-to-humshaugh/ - Published: 2026-10-31T05:28:32-07:00 - Author: My Walkabout **August 2019**. It was the end of summertime and only a few months before the entire world shut down. **I was twenty five miles in** on my solo walking journey along Hadrian’s Wall in Northern England. I had never felt more healthy, alive and sure of myself than during my time along this route. The fresh air and countryside. The constant hydration of water in my cells and good, clean food did me wonders. I cherish this adventure more than almost anything else in my little old life. [Day three walking along Hadrian’s Wall](https://mywalkabout.net/day-three-on-the-wall-the-path-to-humshaugh/) ## The Gila Cliff Dwellings - Link: https://mywalkabout.net/the-gila-cliff-dwellings/ - Published: 2026-10-30T07:14:04-07:00 - Author: My Walkabout **The drive from Silver City** to the Gila Cliff Dwellings was about 45 miles as the crow flies. However it is up and through the Gila National Forest, which is a road that climbs to some epic elevations and has quite a few twists and hairpin turns that will take the average driver almost two hours to complete and reach your destination. This is probably why they are more known but not as visited. I like a challenge. ![A winding river and road through a forested canyon with rocky cliffs](https:// i0.wp.com/mywalkabout.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/my-walkabout-6ae4a22f58759. png?resize=640%2C358&ssl=1) **As I reach the parking area** and head to the trail, a ranger is there to greet myself and few other people. He gives us a quick history of the Tularosa Mogollon Indian tribe that called this place home in the 13th century for about 20 to 30 years before abandoning this place. No one really knows why. ![A lizard resting on a rocky surface beneath a textured tree trunk.](https://i0. wp.com/mywalkabout.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/IMG_1786.jpg?resize=640%2C360& ssl=1) **I start walking** along a babbling creek admiring the start of Autumn in the changing leaves. I see a rattlesnake den in some fallen rocks and a colorful lizard as I start to climb upward. The first of the dwellings can just be made out through the trees. The ancient spirits of the inhabitants plays flute music in the light wind as I enter. ![Ancient cliff dwellings set against a rocky overhang, featuring stone walls and open windows.](https://i0.wp.com/mywalkabout.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/OriginalPhoto- 813087907.714571.jpg?resize=640%2C480&ssl=1) **As long as you respect the dwellings**, you can enter the caves. There are paintings on some of the walls, the last pieces of a story from another time. You can feel the people gathering around a fire, listening to stories from their Chief about plans for a hunt or perhaps the next stage in gathering food for an upcoming winter. ![Interior view of a cave dwelling with rocky walls and structures partially eroded, surrounded by a landscape of greenery in the background.](https://i0.wp.com/mywalkabout. net/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/OriginalPhoto-813088222.504498.jpg?resize=640%2C480& ssl=1) **Why did the families leave here**? The work that went into building this place makes you think that maybe famine or drought played a part, but it could have been something bigger. A war with a rival tribe perhaps. Maybe even some cosmic event took these families from their homes. Aliens from another galaxy. ![A wooden ladder leads down a rocky slope surrounded by sparse vegetation and a few trees.](https://i0.wp.com/mywalkabout.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/IMG_1800. jpg?resize=640%2C360&ssl=1) **We will most likely** never know why they left, and I find a bit of comfort in that. Life is more interesting with a bit of mystery, don’t you think? ## From the Archives : a quick google search leads to one amazing hike in the PNW - Link: https://mywalkabout.net/from-the-archives-a-quick-google-search-leads-to-one-amazing-hike-in-the-pnw/ - Published: 2026-10-29T05:51:34-07:00 - Author: My Walkabout **It was the 2018** Memorial weekend here in the United States. I was heart broken and angry about a failed relationship. Living a vegetarian life and spending too much money to try and alleviate depression and boredom, I fly to Portland, Oregon to stay on a farm. I chop my own wood, pick vegetables from the garden for my meals, and find one amazing hike called Saddle Mountain. A day that lent for epic photographs, it worked my legs, cleared my mind, and helped me snap out of the funk that I was in. [Hiking Saddle Mountain in Oregon](https://mywalkabout.net/saddle-mountain/) ## From the Archives : staying in the haunted Delaware Hotel - Link: https://mywalkabout.net/from-the-archives-staying-in-the-haunted-delaware-hotel/ - Published: 2026-10-28T06:20:27-07:00 - Author: My Walkabout **Well this is timely, isn’t it**? 2016 found me driving up to Leadville, Colorado. I beautiful little mountain town situated well above 10,000 feet. I stay in the gloriously haunted and fully creepy Delaware Hotel. Not much sleep was to be had, and at this elevation I couldn’t scream even if I wanted to…. [Leadville Colorado’s haunted Delaware Hotel](https://mywalkabout.net/the-haunted-and-creepy-delaware/) ## From the Archives : Covid and illness hobble my will to live - Link: https://mywalkabout.net/from-the-archives-covid-and-illness-hobble-my-will-to-live/ - Published: 2026-10-27T06:08:22-07:00 - Author: My Walkabout **In August 2020** I have unbearable back pain. I’ve no doubt it was from my hiking the previous weekend, getting lost and putting both my mind and body under tremendous strain was the culprit. Donning my Covid mask I enter the hospital Emergency Room, but get no help, only drug seeking judgement. The healthcare system fails me, as I knew it most probably would. I turn to nature and somehow drive up to my lone cabin for the weekend to see if I can try and heal myself through solitude. [Pain and Misery in the Mayer Arizona hills](https://mywalkabout.net/the-invalid-of-grape-vine/) ## Last week at the movies vol. 8 - Link: https://mywalkabout.net/last-week-at-the-movies-vol-8/ - Published: 2026-10-26T06:39:13-07:00 - Author: My Walkabout **Good day everyone**, it was an interesting week at the movie theater last week, seeing all kinds of different movies. Let’s get into it : **First up was a movie** I knew absolutely nothing about. I hadn’t even seen a trailer, but another YT channel called[ The Flick Chicks](https://www.youtube.com/@flickchicks9649) did an out of the theater review of this movie. They are two olderish ladies that appear to enjoy going to the movies regularly as part of their retirement (just like myself) and they enjoyed it so I thought I would take a chance on it as well. It is about Anna-Nicole Smith’s doctor that ended up going to court with two other people from her life after she had died. I found it very entertaining and quite moving and emotional at the end. I learned something new, and was glad I saw it. **Halloween is a week away,** and as part of my enjoyment of the spooky season, I re-visited the movie Dawn of the Dead, the first Zach Snyder directed movie from 2004. I vaguely recall watching this at home back in the day, but hadn’t seen it since. I am usually not a fan of the zombie genre, but this movie is great! So funny, great jump scares, and high tension throughout the movie. **Wildwood** is the latest release from Laika studios, and is a marvelous feat of stop motion animation film making. I have always been in awe of this type of creativity. The movie is set in Portland, Oregon and having been to this city countless times in my own travels, I recognized many of the places shown. Additionally, if you were not aware, the city does have a park located in the hills above downtown called “ Wildwood”. I am not sure if this park is the same one based in the movie, but I wouldn’t be surprised. I have hiked in there and felt the presence of magic and fairies myself. I just am not sure who this movie is for. I don’t think kids will like it, and some scenes are probably not for little kids anyway. It might just be for cinephiles. **In keeping with spooks and scares**, the new DC Studios release of Clayface was last week. I was highly anticipating this movie. Not being aware of this villian in the Batman universe, I was looking forward to it, hoping it wouldn’t be a failed villian origin story like so many of the Spiderman villian origin movies over the past few years from Sony. I was not disappointed. It had me squirming and twisting in my seat, and shocked a few times with delight and awe. **Probably the buzziest movie** right now is the new Nathan Fielder documentary, You Can See Everything. I have watched the HBO doc_ The Inventor_ and only the first episode of Hulu’s _The Dropout._ Elizabeth Holmes and her company Theranos is a fascinating story and so I was looking forward to learning more through this film. I had absolutely no idea though who Nathan Fielder is. After seeing this movie I did a bit more research on him as a comedian, and I find him to be somewhat akin to Andy Kaufman. I would keep that in mind when watching this. I will not spoil anything here, as opinions on this vary wildly. Form your own opinion, but if you are interested I would say it is very entertaining, the three hour run time flies by, and at the end you will, if nothing else, have something to talk about afterwards. ## From the Archives : Finally making it to NorCal’s Mount Shasta region - Link: https://mywalkabout.net/from-the-archives-finally-making-it-to-norcals-mount-shasta-region/ - Published: 2026-10-25T07:22:32-07:00 - Author: My Walkabout **The year was 2017** and I am not sure but I believe it was Labor Day weekend. I flew into Oakland, rented a car and made the long journey up North to the area around Mount Shasta. Pristine and full of natural beauty. It was also a time when I still used an actual camera instead of my phone, and I think one can really tell the difference with the photo’s that were taken here. What do you think? [Mount Shasta and Lake Siskiyou](https://mywalkabout.net/lake-siskiyou/) ## Glenwood’s National Catwalk canyon area - Link: https://mywalkabout.net/glenwoods-national-catwalk-canyon-area/ - Published: 2026-10-23T07:30:30-07:00 - Author: My Walkabout **As HC crosses over from Arizona to New Mexico**, he notices no discernible change in the landscape. State lines are funny in that regard, only humans pay much attention, nothing else. The open road with high desert are all around him as he follows the map to a little speck called Glenwood where he hopes to find a gas station. Glenwood is quiet, perhaps a little too quiet for him as he pulls up to the only pump in town. A man in a truck ahead of him appears to be sleeping. The RV parks and campgrounds are empty. He notices a worn sign across the street pointing towards the Catwalk recreation area, his destination. There is another sign below though that looks more recent, stating the area is closed, however it is dated a few days prior to his arrival. The gas tank is full, and since no one is around to ask, HC takes a chance and starts driving up the dirt road. He drove four hours to see this place, what is ten more minutes to find out if it is actually accessible or not. Pulling up to the parking lot, he sees a a river that has broke it’s banks and it covering the road. One car is pulled over before the river. HC passes them and sees a truck ahead of him trying to cross, but gets stuck in the river about halfway through. The truck spins and goes into four wheel drive before finally, barely, making it out of the river and into the parking lot of the recreation area on the other side. HC decides to park his little corolla safely in front of the river. He speaks to the couple has a bit of a snack and asks if the area is open. “It sure is, just opened back up today according to the Ranger. But that water is risky to try and cross in your car!” My thoughts exactly. I slowly cross the river, soaking my feet and almost slip and fall on my butt, but eventually make it. On the brightside, you only have to pay if you park a vehicle, so I walk right in and start hiking. No ranger in sight, in fact no one is here at all. ![A narrow rocky passageway with a wooden walkway, surrounded by towering cliffs and a blue sky above.](https://i0.wp.com/mywalkabout.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/ 10/IMG_1747.jpg?resize=640%2C360&ssl=1) **This place**, back in the day, was used by miners to bring out silver. Today the original catwalk was replaced and moved up by ten feet to hopefully avoid flooding and let one see the beauty of this unique canyon safely. I go about a mile in before I come to yellow tape blocking one from hiking further. Their is a dirt path where you can hike another mile or so deeper into the canyon, but our recent rains have blocked this off for safety reasons. ![A close-up view of a rusty rock climbing bolt embedded in a stone wall.](https:// i0.wp.com/mywalkabout.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/IMG_1749.jpg?resize=640%2C360& ssl=1) **Admiring the unique canyon walls** as I circle back along the catwalk, I come to some trees just starting to turning colors with the Autumn temperatures when I spot something foraging about. Upon closer inspection I see that it is a Coatimundi. In fact, it is an entire family of them. I call them the monkeys of the Southwest, even though they are closer in relation to racoons then monkeys. ![Four coatis on tree branches above a trail sign reading Glenwood Catwalk Recreation Area, Gila National Forest, Entrance](https://i0.wp.com/mywalkabout.net/wp-content/ uploads/2026/10/my-walkabout-6ada39ea20423.png?resize=640%2C640&ssl=1) **The older couple** that was having a snack when I parked before the river must have somehow made it across, as I see them coming up the path. I’m not sure why I called them older, as they are just like me. Retired and on a road trip enjoying the countryside. I point out the Coatimundis, to their absolute delight. ## From the Archives : in my top ten unique places, Iceland’s diamond head beach - Link: https://mywalkabout.net/from-the-archives-in-my-top-ten-unique-places-icelands-diamond-head-beach/ - Published: 2026-10-22T05:55:30-07:00 - Author: My Walkabout **The year was 2023.** I didn’t know it at the time, but this year became my last( at least for awhile) of routine world solo travel. I was on day five or six of driving alone along Iceland’s Ring road around the country when I came upon Diamond Head Beach. It was not even 7:30 a.m. and so I was pretty much by myself for the first hour or so. Maybe I was in some sort of fantastical dream, because I couldn’t believe my eyes. I was so enamoured that I stayed here for hours longer than I should have, hiking, walking along the beach, watching seals and icebergs move through the clear glacial water…. [Iceland’s Diamond Head Beach](https://mywalkabout.net/breidamerkursandur/) ## From the Archives : seeing the main Zocalo in Mexico City over Semana Santa - Link: https://mywalkabout.net/from-the-archives-seeing-the-main-zocalo-in-mexico-city-over-semana-santa/ - Published: 2026-10-21T05:14:40-07:00 - Author: My Walkabout **The year was 2017**, and I find myself in Mexico City during Holy Week. I catch a classic pink taxi to downtown, and as the sun rises I wander around the Zocalo admiring the buildings in relative silence. Just me and the street sweepers. I get true spiritual inspiration as I pray in the old churches and admire the artwork in one of the greatest cities in the world. [The main Zocalo in Mexico City](https://mywalkabout.net/zocalo/)