Over twenty plus years have I driven past the exit sign for Crown King without giving it much thought, as there is nothing in the surrounding area but a vast desert with mountains in the distance. Recently I learned that there actually is an unincorporated community that lives in the mountains, if one is willing…
Tag: mountains
Idyllwild
The month of June was here, although it felt like more time had passed than just a few months. Nothing like quarantine to mess with one’s sense of time and space. The restriction had been lifted for us to be able to safely leave our State, and I take full advantage with a road trip…
ATV ridin’ in the Sierra Madre mountains
My next Puerto Vallarta adventure takes me to Old Town, weaving through small cobblestoned streets until I find the small shop tucked away in the center of the city. Rows of ATV’s are at the front entrance. Our group gets a quick tutorial, then we saddle up to the mechanical beasts and start our journey,…
Big Bear for the 4th of July
Is there such a thing as the quintessential American holiday getaway? This is the question I was looking to answer as I rumbled along Interstate 10 from Phoenix up into the mountains above Los Angeles. Destination….Big Bear. It is the start of the long 4th of July Holiday weekend, and the town is packed with…
Fox Ranch Valley
The old man rumbles along in the high desert, heading back to Chocolate Falls. Water is flowing this time, although not as abundantly as he would have liked. He spots tiny moving dots below of people playing, and searches for the trail downward. Its a warm spring day, and so he moves with extra caution…
Riding with loss
I was with her from 1990 to 2002. We raised her three children, bought a home, tried our best to have a life better than our parents. Without a doubt there were hard times, but I foolishly thought that love would keep us afloat. When we broke up, I was unable to give her kids…
Sweet single track in the San Tans
Almost every morning for the last two years I’ve awoke to the beauty of the San Tan mountains off in the distance, as seen from my bathroom window as I get ready for the day. With so much to see and experience here in the Phoenix area, it had taken this long but the time…
Lake Siskiyou
He opens the cabin door and is assaulted by the scent of fresh pines. Not a cloud in the sky on this picture perfect morning around Lake Siskiyou in the Mount Shasta area of Northern California. The trail is only a few steps from his back porch, and soon he finds himself lost in nature…
McCloud Falls
Lately I’ve been waiting until I arrive at my destination before looking for things to do in the area. I like the spontaneity more than the prior planning. My last day in the Mount Shasta area of California finds me searching for a hike before I head back down the mountain to the airport. Enter…
Mount Shasta
It was easily over four hours from the bay area up to the pristine mountains of Mount Shasta in northern California. Years before a friend of mine had shown me a picture of them hiking here, and that was all she wrote. I took a mental note and planned for the day that I would…
Inspiration Point
I haven’t seen California this lush and green in….forever. I think the plane has taken a detour and I’ve been re-routed. The call to be in the mountains above Berkeley is even stronger now. Tilden regional park just above the city offers great hiking trails and jaw-dropping views of both the bay and the inland…
The Mickelson Trail
It was a beautiful Autumn morning as I woke up in Deadwood, on the day of the 46th year since my birth. To celebrate, for lack of a better word, I went hiking along the Mickelson trail in the Black Hills. Originally the Burlington Northern line that took trains from Edgemont to Deadwood, the Mickelson…