TIME PORTAL
Mesa Verde is the strangest National Park…and I mean that in in a good way…that we’ve been to. It’s pretty small, not very picturesque, rarely crowded, easy to get a campsite, has excellent wifi, and free showers twenty-four hours a day. All definitely un-National Park like. Read more
The Ultimate Campground Host
GRIZZ!
We’ve met A LOT of campground hosts and many of them are really, really good at their job. But Grizz is what I call a category killer. If you ever find yourself in the Lake Powell area we recommend the Lone Rock Beach campground largely because of Grizz.
We spent nearly three weeks there and although it’s a GREAT place to camp…you can camp on the beach and as close to the water as you dare…Grizz was probably the biggest reason we stayed so long.
After watching him chase down some some pretty rough looking locals who were speeding down the beach one night, we asked him if he ever get’s scared when discharging his duties. “I’ve been shot twice and blown up once”, he said. “I don’t get scared too often anymore.”
We had many great nights on the beach sitting around the fire with Grizz and his companions, Dutchess and Buddy, and we even cooked a super tasty beef brisket together one afternoon in a fire pit that the kids built on the beach and lined entirely with rocks.
If you see Grizz please give him a hearty hello from us…and make sure not to speed on his beach!
Family First
KAILA AT THE CAMPFIRE
It seems that we adhere to an economic mythology that criticizes the people who put their relationships, family, and the raising of their children ahead of their work, and makes heroes of those who do the opposite.
Escaping the heat
SUNSET OVER THE LA SAL MOUNTAINS
This was the view from our camp. I can’t quite find the words to do it justice…so I’m just going to shut up about it and let the picture speak for itself.
The heat came as predicted and we headed for cooler climes. It’s only about thirty miles from the river, but it’s thirty miles straight up. Aspen groves, creeks, and World Class mountain biking abound! A hundred years ago we probably would have thrown up a cabin and called it a day.
THE WOLE ENCHILADA
Back on the Colorado River
THE COLORADO ON A VERY HOT DAY
It’s still raining all around us so we decided to spend a few more days on the river. Next week it’s supposed to be over 105…we’ll try to miss that.
In the mean time, it seems that Kaila has found a way to feed us. Every night the river guiding companies pull-out on the beach next to our camp and camp in the group camp adjacent to us. Kaila has charmed her way into helping the guides cook and even CLEAN UP their meals. Her hard work has earned her the role of honorary river guide AND it’s gotten us all a couple of nights of strawberry shortcake!
RED CLIFFS OVER THE COLORADO
Trying to hide from the rain
LIGHTNING OVER THE COLORADO RIVER
Apparently there’s some hurricane down Mexico way that’s wrecking the weather in the area. With four solid days of rain forecast in Southern Colorado we skipped out and headed back to the Colorado River where the forecast was ninety degree days and only occasional T-storms. At about three am Copper D. Dawg let me know that he was VERY unhappy with the thunder and lightning. So we got up and let nature entertain us…well one of us anyway…by bouncing lightning off the canyon walls for nearly three hours.
T-REX LIGHTNING
The Valley of The Gods
CLINT WAS HERE
I’ve passed by the turn-off for the Valley of the Gods at least half a dozen times and every time I had a schedule and someplace to be, always promising myself that next time…Well, we finally made it and I’ve gotta say that after getting fleeced at yet another tribal rip-off – Monument valley ($20 to enter and there’s no hiking on the formations) – this place is nothing short of stepping into your own personal spaghetti western. Free entrance. Hiking anywhere and everywhere. And you can curl up with your six gun and sleep underneath any one of dozens of amazing buttes.
Gooseneck State Park
NOT YOUR GRANDFATHER’S HORSESHOE BEND
This is a REALLY cool place. We highly recommend it. A hearty thanks to our friend Mark who recommended it to us. Lightly regulated remote camping with a well maintained pit toilet. Check, check, and check.
More Gooseneck State Park
MORE BENDS, LESS CONGESTION
It’s just a few miles off the 163 but it might as well have been a thousand. This place has two or three times the bendies of Horseshoe Bend and none – I mean zero – of the congestion.
We pulled in and were greeted with a total of four – yes four – campers. We drove about a half a mile and camped literally thirty feet from the one thousand foot drop into the San Juan river. It was AWESOME! Just be careful if you get up to take a leak in the middle of the night.
PASSING THUNDER STORM
As we were setting up this cell pushed through to our north and shook things up quite a bit. The winds went from about two mph to about thirty in a heart beat and we saw at least one tent commit suicide by flinging itself into the abyss.
On the San Juan River
MILKY WAY OVER CAMP
This is what ZERO light pollution looks like. The Stars often look like fireworks and satellites appear so bright and move so quickly across the sky that they look like UFO’s.