A short drive to the east of Bend is the Lower Crooked Wild and Scenic River, and this past weekend I thought it would be an interesting place to seek…
If you’re following me on Facebook, you know that we just got back from an incredible roadtrip to Yellowstone via Oregon, Idaho, and Wyoming. I tried to post regular updates with…
At the end of the year, David's grandfather passed away after a long and active life. He lived in Hot Springs Village, Arkansas, and we quickly found out that getting…
We kicked off Thanksgiving week with a tour of an area northwest of Barstow known as the Black Mountain Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC). This is a fascinating BLM…
I’ve been in California for fourteen years, and until now Gold Country was simply something standing between me and the mountains. We’d drive through quaint old west towns on our way to the high country, and I’d always tell myself that one day we’d come back to explore. Last weekend was finally the time for that exploration. Over two days, we drove from Sonora to Auburn via the historic highway 49. Along the way we learned a lot about the history of California’s gold rush, explored antique shops, stayed in a ‘haunted’ hotel, and spent a night on the town in one of the bigger remaining cities along the route.
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Spoiler: we found a lot of one and not much of the other. We took the weekend and days before Christmas to head north towards Oregon in search of some…
We finally got to Denver for GABF! But before heading to town we did a morning hike in the Flatirons of Boulder. We figured it would be good to get in some exercise before the days of indulgence at GABF. As much fun as this festival is, I’m glad it’s only once a year!
Morning hike with coffee to the first Flatiron:
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We left West Yellowstone Monday morning at sunrise, heading south to Jackson. It was a beautiful sunrise, but it was so cold outside!
We took the short scenic drive to Mesa Falls and found the place deserted. The 28 degrees and misting fall water kept us from enjoying the place too long. Brr!
Upper Mesa Falls:
We woke up on Sunday morning and did a double check: nope, not dreaming, parks still closed, Congress still run by selfish asses. Grr. So instead, we decided to head out on a recommended wildlife-spotting loop for spring when the snow has not yet melted, followed by a visit to Big Sky. We drove around Hebgen Lake and did not see any wildlife, but we did see the fascinating remnants of an earthquake that decimated a local recreation area and essentially created a new lake. It was windy and 25 degrees, though, so we didn’t linger.
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