From Red, to White, to There Ain't No Cure for the Wintertime Blues…

“… free in her wildness, she is a wanderess, a drop of free water. She knows nothing of borders and cares nothing for rules or customs. Her life flows clean, with passion, like fresh water. Time… isn’t something to fight against." (Roman Payne)

Gratitude

Assuming whimsical gods favor your continued existence, there eventually comes a time when the bulk of our lives lies in the unalterable past. Compensation for this injustice is said to be “wisdom.” And though it’s not a fair trade, wisdom for youth, it beats the cold earthen alternative. 

The Road To Happiness Is Paved In Red

Something challenging to do, in a place that inspires me to do it, and a friendly face or two with whom to do it, that's all I need.

Caught in a Flash Flood of Sunshine in Hell Hole: Not a place to be when It rains…

We stay out of slot canyons when rain is in the forecast, for obvious reasons. But what about when the Weather Guessers get it wrong, like on the day this family got caught in Little Wild Horse and captured this flash flood Video? Good thing it was a "light rain."

Rim Walk on the Flying Monkey

Another gorge-ous day in Virgin, Utah. Sun was full throttle and the breeze as light as our spirits. Chris and Suzanne had yet to do the Monkey Walk, so we took a picnic lunch of smoked turkey drumsticks and headed up to do a little dance around the edge of the ledge that separates life from death. I rode my bike, of course, and met them across from the super secret Government Compound for Research and Development of Weapons of Mass Destruction. My opinion, you understand. Why else would there be 8 foot fences with barbed wire, "Danger Keep Out" signs every 25 feet, locked gates, and funny noises emanating from within? 

Hidden Canyon Rearranged

What a difference a (wet) year can make. Bobbie and I have noticed that several of our canyon hikes feel brand new this time around.

Chinle/Scoggins/Coalpits Loop Hike… Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color

This is what we have to show for a sun splashed 11 mile hike through Zion's Wilderness… 

A Surf'in Safari To Tripodius Maximimus

"Catch a wave and you're sitt'in on top of the world," especially if the wave is red and warm.

You Only Get One Story, Make It Good

"Once you live a good story, you get a taste for a kind of meaning in life, and you can't go back to being normal; you can't go back to meaningless scenes stitched together by the forgettable thread of wasted time.” (Donald Miller, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life)

On Risk/Reward

In the distant west, Pine Mountain lay hidden under a mantle of clouds, clinging remnants of a one day storm that gave abused feet and legs a day off from work, er, "play."

Many Options On The "Many Pools" Hike

The hike up Many Pool's canyon(s) can be as easy or hard as you feel like making it. But one thing is for sure, it is a slap-in-the-face gorgeous trek.

East Rim to Weeping Rock; "Who's Cryin' Now…"

It's an ambitious and exhausting hike, East Rim to Weeping Rock. But, what's a life lived without challenge, adventure, and adrenaline?  Highly overrated, I'd say. No one knows the grains of sand that remain in their "hour glass." Set your imagination free. It's never to late to add a few compelling chapters to one's story.

Men In PInk Tights

When Jesus was treading around the Middle East in his Teva sandals, you know, healing the lame, raising the dead, and turning well water into a fine Pinot Noir (hic), there were more people (Native Americans, to be politically correct) inhabiting this area of Utah than now. 

Risk, Home, and Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

For me, it's never been what I do so much as where. I'm not sure where that philosophy came from (my light-footed parents?) but I'm thankful for the leeway it brought to my life. It allowed me to set a course to unpopulated and oppositional places, where lowly deserts rub elbows with high mountains, and a life that suits my restless G-nome. If "home" is where the heart is, I'm there, 24-7-365. 

Closing The Gap In Capitol Reef's Spring Canyon

It's amazing how much disagreement exists amongst so called "authorities" when it comes to such an important number. Why, sometimes I wonder if the National Park Service leaves it to tenured Desk Jockeys to come up with the "official mileage" for hikes within Govies' inner sanctums. They drag out a topo map, look at the "one inch equals a mile" scale, then use nicotine stained fingers instead of their legs to come up with total distance. Take the Spring Creek hike in Capitol Reef, for example…