from rscottjones

Before dropping Jen off to fly home from Boise, we stopped by Wild Frontier Beer Project. The beer was okay, but the theme was great—I loved the topo coasters, outdoor-focused graphics and large recreation map covering the wall, and an upcoming livestream watch party for the next release of California Condors at Vermilion Cliffs back home in Arizona (on point for its proximity to the Snake River Birds of Prey NCA; also, a shout-out to my friend Maggie who opened her lodge property to condor project staff for many years).

On Saturday at 11am AZ time (MST), you can join the livestream to watch the 2026 release of California Condors from Vermilion Cliffs National Monument in Arizona. It’s the 30th anniversary of the wildlife project that saved the species, known for the world’s largest wingspan, from total extinction.

On my drive home from Boise, I found my way up to a cool overlook of the Three Island Crossing of the Snake River—a key decision point for migrants on the Oregon Trail.

We finally stopped at Snoqualmie Falls as we passed by last month. Interesting spot with an interesting claim to fame.

Enjoyed our stop at Merriman Falls in the Quinault area just outside Olympic National Park.

I managed to update my /uses page. Major new changes/additions: vehicle, electric cooler, battery, daypack, luggage, exercise stuff, probably some other stuff.

I’ve let my secondary omg.lol account expire—the username was the 🗺️ emoji, which was pretty fun to have.

I bought it to use as a dedicated statuslog on adventuresaroundthe.world during our big 100 day trip around the world—an easy way to update our whereabouts right at the top of the site. Anyway, I hope its new owner posts just as many travel updates as we did!

I marked off some new counties on our trip, finishing off California and picking up some in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho.

I’m quickly closing in on my initial quest goal of 100% of the West + 50% in every state. I’m already at 50% in each state, and should finish the West in 3-4 trips. Whoa!

It took me 47 years, but I finally found some.

Common scenic drive scenery in the West. I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.

We made it to Big Hole National Battlefield, the site of the bloodiest battle between the US Army and Nez Perce during the Flight of 1877.

The visit marked Jen’s 400th national park unit (she’s getting close to finishing!) and the 250th national park unit I’ve visited more than once.

I’m back in Phoenix after barreling home from Boise the last two days. While we had to dramatically shift the trip due to weather, we still got some good things accomplished. Final road tally was 5045 miles.

I’ve always found it a bit funny to call these “jumps.”

Jen flew home from Boise last night, which means (after a surprisingly fun and late solo night out last night) that I’m now making my way back too.

The dilemma: do I simply quickly barrel on back via interstates, likely staying in a hotel somewhere between Provo and Cedar City…or do I take an extra day, camp in the Wasatch Range tonight, do some central Utah exploring tomorrow (San Rafael Swale rock art, Goblin Valley, Cap Reef) then camp at Bryce Canyon, and make the final drive home on Thurs?

We started the day at the Idaho Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial, which was much more extensive than I had expected.

Are any of my friends using retro.app for social photo sharing?

I’ve been told there’s a growing rift in Canada, but I didn’t believe it until I saw it with my own eyes 😜

Locals enjoying one of the (several) hot springs we passed on today’s drive. Not a bad way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

I had to stop to take a ton of photos of the Sawtooth Mountains during our drive towards Boise. 😍