Pike National Forest Dispersed Camping

Pike National Forest dispersed camping – Idyllic campsite in the woods

My adventures for the day ended a bit early, but I didn’t get the best sleep last night and the drive back down the mountains felt like rushing things. I heard there were some good dispersed camping spots in the Pike National Forest so I decided to check those out. “Nice” is an understatement – … Read more

Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument – Petrified Forest Loop

Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument - Petrified Forest Loop Trail - The Big Stump

Continuing on from the Ponderosa Loop I followed further north onto the Petrified Forest Loop trail that explores the ancient Florissant Lake bed and it’s various petrified redwood stumps. Going clockwise, very early into the trail (on clear days like today) you may be rewarded with distant views of Pikes Peak. Zoomed in view of … Read more

Needles Highway

Needles Highway - Scenic Overlook towards Cathedral Spires

The Needles Highway (SD-87) is a 14-mile scenic drive through some of the best scenery in the Black Hills of South Dakota. It is also part of the larger double-loop Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway. This is by no means an exhaustive guide to the road – just some photos I took during my adventure. Less … Read more

Jewel Cave National Monument – Roof Trail

Jewel Cave National Monument - Roof Trail scenic overlook

Due to my scheduling blunders I had a break for lunch and to strategize on how to use my time for the remaining daylight hours. There are a some hiking trails in the monument that look pretty interesting, but as I sat in the shady forest eating my sandwich the ominous clouds rolled in across … Read more

Sheridan Lake South Shore Campground

Sheridan Lake South Shore Campground

I was late arriving to the Rapid City area last night but found open sites at the Sheridan Lake South Shore Campground. Temperatures were pretty warm for the season and I only had one neighbor nearby who were quiet which made for some peaceful sleep. Unfortunately I couldn’t see anything when I got there and … Read more

Tigerton OHV August ’23

Tigerton OHV Park & Campground - Connor on the trail

Joined up with my local group of TacomaWorld hooligans for a weekend of camping, off-roading, and other shenanigans. We generally prefer the riverside sites for seclusion and because they are just generally great sites. This particular weekend we had quite a large group – I think ultimately the count was 19 total. To keep the … Read more

WI June ’23 Off-Roading

WI June ’23 Off-Roading

Joined up with some friends from the Tacoma World forums for a quick weekend trip. Started by camping near Mountain, WI in the National Forest. Weather was excellent and bugs were not bad at all for this time of year. Didn’t take too many photos because we were just enjoying the drive. Tried to sneak … Read more

Trans Wisconsin Adventure Trail – BRF to Picnic Point

My Tacoma on the ice & snow covered trail between large log piles (photo courtesy of my friend Jonathan)

I’m not sure how or why it came to be reality, but for some reason our Tacoma crew decided it would be smart to try a winter outing. In February. In Wisconsin. And it was a good idea! Well mostly aside from the frozen camping. Read on for more details! Day 1: Main Trail Drive … Read more

WI Pipeline Off-Roading (June ’22)

Tacoma Off-roading - Overhead drone shot of the group (photo credit Camerasandcoffee of Tacoma World)

Back in summer of 2020 I bought a Toyota Tacoma with the intention of being able to explore deeper into places that my other cars & small SUVs wouldn’t allow. After over a year of maintenance, planning, and building it up I was able to join a group from the Tacoma World forums on a … Read more

Big Spring Creek (2022)

Big Spring Creek - Spring water cascading down the rocks

My turkey hunt was going nowhere fast today. After striking out at Governor Dodge State Park I fueled up, took a short midday nap, and drove around in search of new public lands with favorable terrain. Along the way I ended up at a familiar destination at Big Springs Fishery Area in Highland, Wisconsin. Here’s … Read more