Category: Post-COVID Shutdown 2022
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Buckskin Bandits
At 14 miles, Buckskin Gulch is the longest continuous slot canyon in the world. Time to check “hike a slot canyon” off Sheri’s wish list, and you cannot pick “take a tour of Antelope.” Utah’s Mighty Five National Parks in 2019 was an epic adventure. We were new-ish to RV’ing and we did it in Betty (our…
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One in a Vermillion
Surrounded by Utah’s Mighty 5 National Parks, it’s easy for Vermillion Cliffs National Monument to be overlooked, skipped, even unheard of. What is a National Monument anyway? Sheri was sure that it meant that a battle was fought there. Eric put his money on an important statue or building, like Lady Liberty. After a 2021…
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Turn the Page
If you have a hankering for a fried chicken sandwich, drive directly to Page. The Birdland comes with spicy mayo and hand cut fries. The Grand Canyon (brewery) and view of Sunset is extra. Even though Page is not overly bike friendly, driving is a breeze as the town in basically three streets wide and…
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Page(ing) Glen Canyon
Last month we were in a go fast, 12 miles off Corpus Christi, catching the limit. This month we’re paddling an extra long double kayak and jumping off a cliff that had been submerged for decades. About 150 miles north of Flagstaff is Page, Arizona, home to the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and the…
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Flagstaff Farewell
The phone rang at 9 pm. It was the front desk at the campground. The night attendant explained that we were in the wrong camping spot. We would need to move immediately. We looked outside at the pitch blackness and informed him that whatever space issue we were having could wait until it was light….
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Overland: Envy or Overload?
Often the most rewarding camping experiences over the years have been unplanned and unplugged. Last week Roxie bumped her way down a dirt road at El Malpais, as far as her suspension (and Eric) would allow. If only we knew what was further down that road. Time to switch things up? The pandemic blew up…
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Finding Flow in Flagstaff
If you say you’re going to Arizona, 9 out of 10 people gush, telling you that you HAVE to go to Sedona. It’s the darling of the state with a reputation for spiritual enrichment of the body and soul. We’re skipping it this time and heading up in elevation in search of enlightenment. When we…
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Lucky Break?
Construction delay signs and Walnut Canyon National Monument signs appeared at the same time en route from Petrified Forest to Flagstaff. Since we have the National Park Pass ($80 for unlimited access to every installation in the NPS) and Google was estimating a two hour delay due to an LA-sized back-up on I-40, we took…
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Petrified to Hike
Another day, another National Park sticker. That is a terrible attitude to have when exploring one of America’s Crown Jewels. It takes an Act of Congress to designate a NP, and everyone knows they rarely agree on anything. On our visit to Petrified Forest National Park, however, that was our attitude. Scurry and Plod were…
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Go with the Lava Flow
There’s a gravel road that cuts through El Malpais National Monument where searchers strap on backpacks and blow-up sleeping pads to hike 2700 miles from New Mexico to Canada on the Continental Divide. Barefoot and his wife who hasn’t picked a pass-thru name yet, sold their business in Seattle to figure out what was next…