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I wrote a short ode to Sonoran Desert National Monument, a half-a-million-acre chunk of undeveloped and overlooked public lands outside of the nation’s fifth largest city.

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Three murals in Belfast from 2001.

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The Equality House (Topeka, Kansas)

A colorful mural painted with a rainbow of horizontal stripes displays positive and inclusive messages about love, diversity, and acceptance on the side of a building.
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Surprised in Alaska, five years ago today

Also five years ago today, two of my friends surprised me in Alaska, flying up to be there when I finished my national parks quest. Here we are that morning at Sitka NHP, which was park 418/419 for me.

My wife had actually organized a number of friends (plus my parents and even my ex-wife!) to fly up and join in the surprise (she started two years in advance). We had originally planned on completing the Alaskan parks over three summers, so that’s what everyone was counting on. But I managed to cut it down to just two years instead, which, unbeknownst to me, ruined everyone’s plans. Whoops!

Three people are standing and smiling next to a sign that reads Sitka National Historical Park with totem poles in the background.
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Love this “cloud shadow” around Mt Edgecumbe, from five years ago today.

Aerial view of a mountain peak rising above a blanket of clouds, seen from the window of an airplane.
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“No one should be at the mercy of an algorithm they don’t control, which was not designed to safeguard their interests”

— António Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General #quote

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I read something that really pissed me off and I had to quickly write this before I went to bed. I’ll edit and clean it up tomorrow, but I’m publishing it tonight.

It’s Not About Nostalgia, It’s About Human Connection

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Classic

Route 66 painted on a lonely highway with Roy’s Cafe in the background, a classic RT66 diner near Amboy, CA
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Today’s is from a June 2022 weekend trip to Idyllwild . It was intended to introduce one of my Phx friends to one of my LA friends since they share so many hobbies and interests, but a new puppy issue prevented one of them from making it. Still, a nice way to escape the summer heat, and it’s the only campground I’ve stayed at that’s walking distance to a brewery 😂

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A large, curved glass roof with a geometric grid pattern covers an interior space featuring classical architecture with tall windows.
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One of the fun things I used to do was have my postcards “experience” my trip before I mailed them. So I’d dip a corner of it into the river, rub it in the dirt on the trail, press it into the embossed historical marker, or dribble some beer onto it. I’d then fill it out as normal and mail it.

A hand is holding a postcard featuring a sand pattern in front of a river with rocky red cliffs in the background.
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We spent in 2018 with some friends at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, then stopped at Lees Ferry, and got in Flagstaff.

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This comes to you from the rim of Aniakchak Crater in Alaska.

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Go home river, you’re drunk!

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One useful thing about writing online is that sometimes you end up writing for your future self. I just ran across a public note I wrote three years ago that I really needed to hear today. Thanks Scott, I appreciate your help.

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Here’s a short video of our flight back from Aniakchak, taken near Upper Ugashik Lake looking southeast towards the Aleutians. Just gorgeous terrain down there.

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Visiting Aniakchak Crater

Five years ago today, I finally made it to the least visited national park unit in the country, Aniakchak National Monument, a collapsed volcanic caldera in the Aleutian Range in Alaska. I really need to blog about the whole story about this.

A vast, barren landscape with a winding river flowing towards a turquoise lake, surrounded by snow-capped mountains under a partly cloudy sky.

This park is very remote, requiring a bush flight to access, and the unpredictability of the weather means you might be waiting many days for even a short flight window. It took six days of nervous waiting for us to make it there, constantly checking the weather and in contact with the pilot every couple hours. Many folks get skunked; a fellow park quester had waited ten days just prior to our arrival and never got an opportunity. We got ours on the very last day we had committed to the endeavor. This might be the best text message I’ve ever received, sent by the pilot.

A text conversation shows one person requesting to meet at 2:30 for a shot at Aniakchak, and the other person responding enthusiastically that they will be there.

I’ll write and post more about this on rscottjones.com, but for now, here are some photos of our time there.

A snow-covered volcanic mountain is surrounded by rugged peaks under a partly cloudy sky. A volcanic mountain with patches of snow stands under a cloudy sky, surrounded by a rugged landscape with sparse vegetation. Aerial view of a lake with turquoise water surrounded by mountainous terrain and patches of green and brown land, seen from underneath an aircraft wing.

Visiting Aniakchak was the lynchpin for me completing my quest to visit all 400+ national park units, which happened a few days later in Glacier Bay National Park.

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If you’re traveling in July and want to participate in my free postcard exchange, please sign up by Thursday! #travel #postcards

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On this day in 2018, we stopped at Edge of the World Brewing in the remote and infamous polygamist town of Colorado City near the Arizona/Utah border. I’m still surprised that this place ever opened, let alone stayed in business.

A group of four people sitting at a bar, smiling and holding glasses of beer.A brick building with large windows displays signs for Edge of the World Brewery under a clear blue sky.A polished wooden bar top features a circular logo with the text EDGE OF THE WORLD BREWERY and an illustration of hop cones.A bartender is pouring a drink from a tap while a glass of beer sits on the bar counter in the foreground.