Where the Pacific ocean meets the start of the Redwood forest is a sliver of land where the mighty elk call home. Golds Bluff Beach.My tired body makes it’s way toward the soothing sound of ocean waves, I find a lean-to shelter left by another wanderer where I take comfort inside. I have a book…
Tag: gas mask
Puerta Blanca
The trail head signs are overshadowed by a larger warning : “Illegals and drug smugglers may be crossing in this area. DO NOT attempt to approach them, immediately call the police!” The morning fog is thick as I make my way along the White Door in the southern bowels of the Sonoran desert….
Desert Views
It was either November or December, I can’t recall for sure, but the temperature was twenty degrees and snow was fairly high as I start out my day exploring the Desert View trail along the mighty Grand Canyon. The original plan was to hike down the canyon to the Colorado river, then back up, and…
alone on Ajo Mountain
Across the desolate highway is a dirt road with a faded sign that leads to Ajo Mountain. The wanderer crosses the blacktop like a hurt tortoise, then meanders onto the desert sand, and starts the journey under the mid morning sun. The rain clouds follow. It doesn’t take long before all signs of…
Monte Cristo
Back in the year 1889, an gent by the name of Joseph Pearsall discovered silver and gold in the South Fork of the Sauk river. Over the years a mining company turned the pristine Washington State wilderness into the town of Monte Cristo. The boom attracted thousands looking for their piece of the American…
My first step into the Badlands
After an eternity on the long and empty roads of South Dakota, I finally made it to the entrance of The Badlands. Windy and overcast, an ominous and dreadful feeling filled my bones. The signs to watch for rattlesnakes didn’t help. I could taste the spookiness on my tongue. I wish I could tell…
Rhyolite
The masked man enters the empty and colorless town at mid day. The desert heat fades every living thing into the shadows and decaying recesses. He walks past the “Do Not Enter” sign and into the ghost town of Rhyolite. Once bustling with over 10,000 people living here in the early 1900’s, now all that…
the story of how sh*t went down in Death Valley
The fourth of July this year landed on a Monday, giving us 9 to 5 workaday during the week folks a long three day weekend. I took advantage of this time to go back to a place I first visited in December 2011, Death Valley National Park. Why did I want to go in the…
The Badlands
He wasn’t quite sure if he was chasing Death, or if the roles were reversed. The dramatic landscape around him felt otherworldly. He grasped the steering wheel tightly and headed up into the unknown and unforgiving Badlands. Nothing felt real, as if he could step off into space and not fall to his demise. The…
Space truckin’ in RMNP
Two days he had, that was all. The gas mask is securely fitted, the truck is put into drive and up the mountain road he climbs, to elevations above 12,000 feet. Rocky Mountain National Park becomes his sanctuary. He finds a dirt road that doesn’t look well traveled. A perfect place to find that open…
The Wigwam Motel
Over the years I’ve driven through the small town of Holbrook, Arizona at least fifty times, maybe even a hundred. Yet it wasn’t until I moved here that I took the time to appreciate this gem on Route 66. In particular, The Wigwam Motel, started by Mr. Lewis in 1950. Seven of these “wigwam villages”…
Y2K16
4:47 a.m. 6 degrees Fahrenheit. January the first, two thousand and sixteen. No food, no water. The faintest of orange starts to glow on the horizon. He straps on the mask and walks out into the salt flats. “Kiss my fat ass 2015”. The last week of 2015 was just as horrible the rest of…