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It’s both sunny and raining—just how we like it here in Phoenix ☀️🌧️

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Big congrats to Wren House Brewing for winning Arizona Brewery of the Year for 2026. Their flagship hazy ipa—Spellbinder, my longtime fav—also won Gold along with three other brews winning Silver.

Wren’s been our favorite Arizona brewery for years, and their Südhalle location is our go-to spot. A glass of hazy, golden beer with a logo featuring a bird wearing a crown sits on a coaster at a bar.

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A bridge to nowhere

An old metal truss bridge spans over a calm river with hills and a partly cloudy sky in the background.

A large, flat-topped hill overlooks a calm body of water that reflects the sky and clouds above.

A river curves around an island of vegetation under a partly cloudy sky, with the shadow of a bridge cast on the water.

A rusted steel beam structure frames a calm body of water with a partly cloudy sky reflected on its surface.

A wooden pedestrian bridge with metal supports stretches across a river under a partly cloudy blue sky.

A calm river flows through a desert landscape with a large plateau under a partly cloudy blue sky.

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A few petroglyph boulders from Celebration Park, Idaho.

A tilted wooden sign welcomes visitors to Celebration Park, Idaho's first archaeological park, set against a backdrop of dry hills and blue sky.

A large rock surface etched with ancient petroglyphs sits among other boulders in a dry, open landscape under a clear blue sky.

A rocky landscape featuring ancient petroglyphs carved into a large boulder under a clear blue sky.

Large rocks with ancient petroglyphs carved into their surfaces are set against a partly cloudy sky.

Ancient petroglyphs are carved into a large boulder in a desert landscape with scattered rocks, dry grass, and sparse bushes.

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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).

Two glasses of beer from Wild Frontier Beer Project are placed on coasters atop a wooden bar counter with a menu board and taps visible in the background.

A sign reading Wild Frontier Beer Project - Find Your Wild is set against a backdrop of stylized mountains and pine trees.

A relaxed Bigfoot wearing sunglasses and a beanie is sitting on a folding chair by a campfire, holding a glass of beer, with trees and a sunset in the background under the words WILD FRONTIER BEER PROJECT.

A large, detailed map of the northwestern United States on a wall highlights wildlife locations with the phrase Find Your Wild.

A flyer for the California Condor Release Watch Party and a Wild Frontier Beer Project coaster are placed side by side on a wooden surface.

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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.

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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.

A serene river winds through a landscape of green fields and dry shrubbery under a clear blue sky.

A historical marker titled A Most Dangerous Crossing describes the hazards faced by Oregon Trail pioneers at the Blue Island Ford and features an engraved illustration of people and wagons crossing a river.

A historical marker titled A Difficult Decision describes the challenges faced by pioneers crossing the Snake River, highlighting the dangers and decisions involved in their journey westward.

A winding road stretches through a dry, hilly landscape with sparse vegetation under a clear blue sky.

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

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Checking out the new Outpost micropub client by Jim Mitchell. Yet another way to post to micro.blog–gotta love open standards!

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

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

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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!

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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!

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

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

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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.

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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.

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

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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?

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