After my failed attempt to reach Angel’s landing, I sit at Scout’s lookout wondering what is next in store for me. I could head back down the mountain or I could go into the unknown and follow the West Rim Springs trail to see where it leads….I think you know what happened next…. I check…
Tag: Travel
Humbled at Angel’s Landing
I’ve heard the stories about this infamous hike most of my life, yet today was the day for me to attempt it myself after forty eight years on this earth. I board the Zion’s shuttle bus at seven a.m. with a handful of other hikers, all of us looking excited and nervous as we make…
Springdale
It was two days before Thanksgiving when I pulled into the small southern Utah town of Springdale. The afternoon light was quickly fading as the sun descends over the western mountains. Known as the gateway to Zions National Park, this was a special place that I sadly hadn’t been to for many years. I think…
Stuppes Loop
As I was making my way through Joshua Tree National Park, I find a relatively empty trailhead parking lot that marked the beginning of the Stuppes Loop trail. I had no intended destination, so this seemed like as good a starting point as any to wander into the desert… A backpack to carry water, no…
Spinning my wheels on the backroads of unincorporated Joshua Tree
No need for a shirt today, as it’s above eighty degrees at 7 a.m. out here in the desert on this Autumn morning. I finish my Bloody Mary and climb onto my bike. The sand is deep on the unincorporated roads out here on the edge of Joshua Tree. I find the strange out here….
The Joshua Tree Homestead
It was the end of October, maybe the first part of November (I can’t really recall) that I find myself driving along the Interstate. I have the beautiful desert surrounding me as I return to the Joshua Tree area. This is the start of an annual pilgrimage I’ll be making as long as I am…
Just passing through…
Ray LaMontagne was coming to Little Rock as part of his acoustic “Just Passing Through” tour. I’d never been to Arkansas and I love acoustic Ray, so I think you all know what transpired… The Hall was a beautiful venue, perfect for a night of acoustic music. Secret Sisters was the opening act, a duo…
The Arkansas River Trail
It’s just above fifty degrees on this November morning as I make my way into a new city. Little Rock. Previously all I’d known about this town was from the movie character Lieutenant Dan’s comment about the city in Forrest Gump. I needed a more solid frame of reference. The mighty Arkansas river is before…
back to Buena Vista
I return to Buena Vista almost one year to the day from my first visit. It should have culminated from a year of a renewed friendship, but instead was a time of healing and a renewed sense of resolve as I solidified my solo journey. I’m still working on shoveling all of the hatred out…
Lake Ann
Time and distance weren’t even factors for the lost and tortured man. He wouldn’t have minded being mauled, ripped to shreds and eaten, only his gnarled bones would be left for some poor bastard to find. Dark thoughts swirled about in the early morning light as he readied himself to try and reach Lake Ann….
Yellow in the Rocky Mountains
The color yellow is quickly filling the Rocky Mountain landscape. It matches my mood on this Autumn day in October as I find myself going on a drive up a canyon without a set purpose. I find the ghost town of Winfield and a smattering of cabins, which is all that remains of this once…
The Biltmore House
The day had come to finally tour the inside of the Biltmore House. My last day on the Estate had me going from room to room, marveling in the artwork and beauty that lie within. For all of his money, I felt that George Vanderbilt was a man of the people, and I got the…