High Cliff State Park

High Cliff State Park - Lime Kiln Trail

Woke up Saturday morning and decided to take a drive.  My main goal was to scout land for the upcoming deer season in the Appleton/Green Bay area.  High Cliff State Park was near enough for my overnight base camp allowing me to also check off another WI state park.  I hastily threw together a backpack and … Read more

2016 New Mexico Elk Hunt

Dad sneaking into a better position for the shot on a monster bull elk

After several weeks of travel and about 5,000 miles driven, I arrived in Las Cruces, NM and reunited with my family. Took one day off to rest and prepare for the elk hunt season.  My Dad drew a bull tag for NM unit 34 which is located in the Lincoln National Forest.  Based on intel … Read more

Arches National Park

Arches National Park

After Capitol Reef I had a decision to make – skip some parks and start driving south, or press my luck and go for more.  Made some distance calculations with my road atlas (no cell service out here anywhere) and made the call to push onward in my adventures. Only about 100 miles or so … Read more

Capitol Reef National Park

Cold, windy night in the tent again but wore my snowboarding gear and stayed toasty warm.  First day in a while with 8 hours of sleep!  Broke down camp and was in the park before 8am but found this wasn’t ideal to photograph the rock formations.  Had to wait 30-45 minutes for more light to … Read more

Kanarra Falls

Hiking trail to Kanarra Falls in Utah

Ended up back in my favorite wilderness shack again last night.  Cheap rates, bed, heat, and showers make a very happy and rested camper!  Also very happy to be out of Nevada – not my favorite state, but some excellent geological features I wish I could have seen.  Maybe some other trip. Woke up early … Read more

Walnut Canyon National Monument

Down the highway from Sunset is the Walnut Canyon National Monument.  This site preserves the early cliff side dwellings of the Sinagua culture dating back to about 1100 CE, near the same time of Sunset’s eruption.  Can you imagine what they saw in the distant sky from their caves on that day?  Crazy to imagine. … Read more

Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument

I spent a good portion of last night trying to determine my next destination, and still haven’t decided.  So instead, I am winding my way through some local monuments.  First stop near Flagstaff is the Sunset Crater Volcano.  Last erupting about 1,000 years ago, it blanketed the surrounding 800 square miles in ash changing the … Read more

Grand Canyon South Rim

After finding that a) temps get really cold in GCNP during fall, and b) campsites are reserved over a year in advance regardless of what the interwebs say, I had to cave in and stay at a hotel.  Upside is I slept like a baby for the first time this trip.  Howard Johnson’s beds are … Read more

Grand Canyon North Rim

Started the day by heading to the Kanab BLM center to get info on the Escalante National Monument and found the drive was more than expected.  Also I am to the point I actually need to pay attention to the date – time is going by too fast!  Alas, no Escalante on this trip.  Also … Read more

Grand Teton National Park

Came into Grand Teton from the west via Teton Pass.  10% road gradients and intermittent rain do NOT make for a fun drive.  Wish I could have enjoyed the views on the cliff sides but no good overlooks/turnouts without risking life and limb.  Probably the most dangerous road I’ve been on. Weather of course did … Read more