My friend Jim recently sent me a Forbes article with the subject line saying “You’d better visit it while you can.” The article was about one of the largest organisms on earth, and it was only a few miles from me. Yet I had never heard of it before.
Pando, the Latin name for “I spread” is a 106 acre aspen grove in Fishlake National Forest. The estimated 47,000 trees in the stand all share the same DNA coming from Continue reading
Headed west from Wisconsin with my sights set on Utah, I am determined not to have to cross the Rockies again. Having traversed I-70 through the Eisenhower Tunnel and across Vail Pass twice now, I will do what I have to do to avoid it again. That means either a more northerly route through Wyoming, or dropping down all the way to Hwy 160 to cross Colorado through Pagosa Springs and Durango…not exactly the flat plains. I decide to stay north and risk the weather.
But winter is coming on fast this year. Even as I left North Dakota, locals were talking about having to turn on the furnace earlier this year than they can recall in many years. I seem to have gone from summer straight into winter, skipping autumn altogether. Continue reading
I write a lot about the physical aspect of going it alone on this blog, but rarely delve into the emotional aspect. People often recoil at the notion that I am traveling/hiking/biking/kayaking/RVing alone. I recently had a man stop me on the trail just to ask if I was hiking alone. He remarked that he was seeing more and more solo women on the trail, and did I think it was because of “the book?” I replied perhaps, but I have been hiking solo 20 years before Cheryl Strayed wrote the “Wild.” In fact, traveling alone is Continue reading
I only planned to stop in Zion for a few days, just long enough to say a quick “hello” to my friends and revisit a few of my favorite places. I came with my usual “list:” Ride my bike to the end of the road, stopping for soft serve ice cream at Zion Lodge. See a couple of movies. Spend time with my favorite cottonwoods along the Virgin River as they turn from green to gold. And hike at least one trail I’ve never hiked before. But once I arrived, so did Indian Summer. Continue reading
Even though I set my intentions to see “all new things” on my southerly migration this year, there are a few favorite stops that I just can’t bypass, one of which is my favorite state park in the little Snow Canyon just outside of St. George, Utah.
I first visited Snow Canyon while staying at the Red Mountain Resort back in 2006 for Thanksgiving weekend as a “spa getaway.” I took several of the guided hikes from the resort which sits at the gateway to the state park. It was my first experience ever hiking slick rock, and my first time to ever hear “trust your shoes.” I can still remember Continue reading
I mentioned in my last post that there were two places I wanted to visit in Kanaraville. The Red Ledge RV Park would provide the best possible position to explore them both. I knew the park was within easy driving distance for the Tracker to make it to Cedar Breaks National Monument. What I didn’t realize is that it would be within walking distance of my second destination, Kanarraville Falls. Continue reading
As I start my southerly migration down through Utah this fall, my intentions are to visit some new places I have not been before…places I read about and wanted to see, but the timing or logistics has just never lined up. Two such places are in close proximity to Kanarraville. I check the Passport America website to find there is an RV Park right in the heart of Kanarraville…little else…no restaurants, no grocery stores, but right there in the center of the tiny town is the Red Ledge RV Park. Continue reading
“Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day
Nothing gold can stay.”
~ Robert Frost Continue reading
It was tough few weeks here in Zion for the mountain bike contingent. Both Bobbie and Chris had flat tires. Mark had his chain break while grinding up Flying Monkey Mesa. The only bike that hasn’t broken is my “vintage” Trek with the rusty bike chain and raggedy old seat. 😉 It has made three very respectable rides fifteen miles up the Scenic Drive in the Zion canyon and back.
But it’s not a mountain bike. And it has no suspension. Or disc brakes. Which means it’s Continue reading
I recently read an article in my NPR newsfeed suggesting that instead of “What,” we should be grateful for “When” this Thanksgiving. The premise is based around “time,” that rather than give thanks for things or even people, instead we be more appreciative of time.
It’s been an odd year for me where time is concerned. It seems as if the days are either flying by as fast as the cartoon version of pages flipping off the calendar, or as slowly as my blood red pen waiting for midnight so I can cross off yet another day. There has been no in-between for me this year. Continue reading