Rainbow Hot Spring, West Fork, San Juan National Forest

9,000 feet and 14 miles round trip. I readily admit I needed to take breaks for oxygen.


After so many parks with so many well marked and groomed trails this was a refreshing, and intimidating, break. Every step of the West Fork Trail was up or down, not marked at all, and covered with lots of nice rocks.


Good friends Chris G. and Matt R. have been encouraging me to find the right hot mineral spring. I did. In San Juan National Forest west of the Wolf Creek Mountain Pass there is a 5 mile trail along the West Fork River. It is not well marked, and it is empty. Matt R. told me to park at the trailhead and go from there. I also picked up a description at a Chamber of Commerce in Pagosa CO (the people at these places are always friendly and helpful). The paper description said park, walk, look for some rough camping areas, and spring is between camp area and river. Fair enough. About 7 miles (due to some wrong turns that were dead end trails) I found the rough camping area ( some rocks organized into a fire pit) and I could see the river, about 100 feet below me, and I could see the spring way down there. What I could not see was any way to get to it. No trail, no route of any sort. But, after the trudge this far and judging by how cool (hot?) it looked from above I was determined to find a way down there. After deciding that I was willing to fall of the cliff climbing down instead of missing the spring, I made it down in about 45 minutes.

Then I soaked in the spring for hours and it, and the earth, and the river, swallowed me alive and held me there in total peace. Only the realization that I had a 2-3 hour hike back down the mountain, and the sun would go down eventually, got me out of the magic mineral water. This was, I am sure, the most quiet spot I have ever been in the United States. The only noise was the river. There was nothing else, anywhere, except water, rock, sky.


This is the source of the spring. A small hole in the rock face that feeds warm, very warm, nutrient loaded, moss feeding water into a small pool. Ahhhhhhh! cr

cheap hotels, critters, mud

I heard this woodpecker 100 yards before I saw him. I was in a very quiet stretch of forest and his work was echoing.


There are just so many beautiful waterfalls everywhere, on every trail.
This is Treasure Falls at Wolf Creek Pass, CO


I am going to take a stab and say this is a Redtailed Hawk.


Hiking along a trail, it looked like frozen mud...it was not, and it ate my shoe.


There are still $29 dollar rooms out there, and they are clean and fine and a nice break from camping every now and again.

Happy Halloween, San Jaun National Forest, CO

Critters everywhere

Smallest, most insignificant critter of all, appropriately dominated by just a really, really big and cool desert rock.


I could not help but think of some of the current presidential rhetoric bantered by both sides about an unfinished road, or bridge, or something. This stretch of highway was no more than 50 yards long, paved, lined and beautiful, but it just stopped.


llama, alpaca, ewok, mule goat? I'm not sure, but I think I am pretty sure it is not native to southern Utah where I saw it free ranging.



The wildlife is not always outdoors. This was my roommate in a very nice little motel. I am sure it was a Utah cricket....I think.


Utah, camels?

Madden Peak

2 hours and up to 9600 feet. Go van, go slow, but go.


How could I not stop at this place.



This really was bordering on insane. I started up this peak access road and then about 3o minutes and a few miles in I realized I could not turn around, but should not continue since the road turned into a boulder path, but I trusted my spirit and followed the comet and the comet went up the mountain.



At the top

Madden Peak
Elevation 9901 ft
Longitude N37 degrees 21.680'
Lattitude W108 degrees 8.813' ( a cool feature of Garmin I learned today)

Approximately 16 miles west of Durango Colorado

Arches and Nature

Today, Oct. 30, I visited Arches National Park in Moab Utah. The sights continue to be overwhelming, but it got me to thinking, which I can do a lot of alone for thousands of miles. There are actually stretches of days where the only person I talk to is "Samantha" who is the assigned Garmin Navigator voice. "Samantha, I know I am driving off course...I set the course and I have no idea where I am going." reply: "recalculating, recalculating, recalculating.... make next legal u- turn....recalculating" Reach for off button.

For almost 4 weeks now I have traveled the United States, and small parts of Canada and Mexico, looking at rivers, lakes, oceans, rocks, mountains, holes, one art museum (which not ironically featured an artist who is famous for photographing nature), trees, animals, and canyons. And I am not alone. Everywhere I go there are lots of other people looking at, photographing, enjoying, inhaling, becoming part of, all of these same things. There are people of every nationality, race, color, creed, language, orientation, size, shape, income....all of us obsessing over stuff of nature...rocks, trees, hills, water. Why? I can't figure it out. Why is this stuff so intoxicating? Why in the middle of one of the top 10 presidential elections in our history (still pales compared to the slander of Adams and Jefferson in the 'biggun of 1800), why are all of these people out here doing the same thing I am doing...looking at things and enjoying it? There is no power in enjoying the aesthetics of nature, there is no glory in it, there is nothing other than, really, enjoying it. The Arches park is a great example. It is well conceived, well maintained, and well used. There were hikers, bikers, lookers everywhere...yet the brochure admits that they don't really know how long the arches have been here and they don't know how long they will last, but they won't last forever. So, around this temporary natural occurrence, sandstone worn by wind and water, we have a wonderful national park that is just liberating to the eye and soul.

I sure can't figure it out. It seems like there are a lot of other important things, but we always go back to looking at the simple (extremely complex) things that are just natural.

Oh, and I also wonder what is the right age to bring children to these sites. My mother always told me to take kids where then can do something (swim, run, play) anything, but don't expect them to be happy looking at things. I saw a very unhappy young fellow today playing his video game in the back of a van while mom and dad were packing the daypacks for the 3 mile hike ahead. Hiking at national monuments, after endless hours of driving to get to the monuments, is not a great day for a kid. As it is, I told this kid to stay in the car and I would hike with the parents and eat his peanut butter and marshmallow sandwich.

Finally, well not really, I wonder if it is possible to do this kind of journey other than alone. I know a million reasons to travel with other people...I know 2 million and have lived half of them, but on this voyage I turn around 20 times a day to go back and see an animal. I stop 100 times a day to just stop. I don't drive after sundown and if such is the case I sleep in the van at a rest stop. I don't have any idea where I am going more than one day in advance. If I want to stop and read or write this silly blog, I stop and do it. I just don't know.

A big giant, massive, open country

Some people choose to live with not many neighbors.


Sun Crater, a 900 year old lava field from a volcano called Wupatki.
I am not ashamed to admit that the 1/2 mile climb to the crater, which was, I am sure, straight up, winded me desperately.

There are just so many cool rocks, and walls, and mountains, I wanted to be next to at least one of them.


This seems like a very important pipeline, but...

...if this is the pipe that pipes whatever the Transwestern Pipeline pipes then people are not getting that particular resource.

Canyon de Chelly, Chinle AZ

More modern version of the Hogan, which I learned is a traditional Navajo living and ceremonial building. Just about every house in the massive Navajo reserve, I think it is called Navajo Nation, has one of these on the property.


More traditional version of the Hogan, but this one was retro built as an example for people like me with cameras.


Canyon de Chelly in Chinle AZ. The actual name of the place is Tse'yi' which, again I learned, is a Navajo word that means rock canyon. Apparently when it is said in Navajo is pronounced something like Chelly, which is the word Spanish explorers gave it. I know so little.


The canyon is way in the middle of the desert, but it has a river and it is very fertile and lush. What a cool place to live.


And, I learned, Navajo natives lived there a thousand years ago. In the center of this picture, against the wall and on the floor of the canyon, is a house carved out of rock.

Natural Bridges Utah & stuff

There are somethings that are constant. No matter how desolate the road, if there is a stop sign there are elections signs.


The second most sighted wildlife in every state I have visited: the expired beer bottle


The first most sighted wildlife in ever state I have visited: the crow. These guys are everywhere doing the critical job of eating everything that is laying dead everywhere....now if they would only eat beer bottles.


Sipapu Natural Bridge in Utah. Just, well, just incredible.


Kachina Natural Bridge. Not only was this one equally spectacular, but it will have a fond (if that is the word) place in my trip memory because as I rushed on the road to get to this park before sunset, then rushed down the trail to see the bridge before sunset, then rushed back up the trail to get new batteries for my camera, I tripped, fell, and crushed my trusty, little, cheap camera. I bent the lens and parts fell all over the ground, not to mention hurting my knee. I will memorialize my camera when I figure out how to take more pictures.

Another great campsite, Mt. Hualapai, Mojave AZ

I think, I hope, the eagle back in Thunder Bay Canada has made peace with me. I was setting up my campsite tonight when I noticed these two deer close by. It is more than likely that they were attracted by the fresh vegetables that I was cutting up for some camp stew. I don't care why, they came closer, stood for minutes, hours? and I held out carrots and they approached. It gets no better than seeing, event touching, wild animals who are gentle animals. I will sleep well tonight, unless these deer let the word out to the other critters that I have fresh vegetables in the camp.


Driving across the desert I saw this peak, then I saw a road sign that read Hualapai Mountain State Park -- camping permitted. I was very happy. The state park is 6,400 feet above the desert and I watched the temperature drop from 89 to 64 in the course of a 5 mile climb. Then I got to the site, there was nobody there but me, and these wonderful deer who have gladdened my heart.


While strolling in the desert I did not see too much wildlife, but then I saw evidence of why I might not have seen too much wildlife.
Wednesday morning 10/29/08, at sunrise for sure, I head to Chinle AZ to see the Chelly National Monument then to Moab UT to visit Arches National Park. I need to remember to get a pumpkin.

Interesting day in the desert

I went on a snake hunt and found myself in a very, very large desert with beautiful mountains in the background. Wow, I say.


The elusive roadrunner. I have been looking for this guy for days, and I finally found him, while pulling over to, um, er, use the roadside.


I think this was just a cool photo of a boat, a pink boat, by itself in a desert lot. As far as I could tell there was no water for a lot, lot, lot of miles.




This is just a good looking cow, bull, steer?

Grand Canyon Sky Walk

dust, bumps and more dust


From the looks of it they are building a hotel that will overlook the overlook.



The Grand Canyon is always, well, Grand. I drove to the Western Rim today on the Hualapai Tripe Reservation where somebody built the Canyon Sky Walk. The 25 mile drive to the Skywalk is on a brutal, bumpy, dusty road, but it does not stop people. The overlook was impressive, but not without cost. It is $25 to get into park; $25 to park a car; $25 to take the shuttle bus to the overlook; $25 to enter the skywalk; $35 if you want your picture since no cameras or cellphones are allowed. I do hope this money goes back to the tribe like the brochures says, but I doubt it.