Can’t wait for another road trip through the San Juans!
The Toadstools
Lees Ferry
In November, I took a long weekend trip to the Bay Area, including a quick overnight stay in the incomparable Yosemite Valley. My mom’s favorite childhood memories happened here. They sometimes stayed in the tent cabins at Curry Village, shown above. So when we had a chance for a quick visit and I saw that there were some off-season openings at Curry, I jumped at the opportunity. I can imagine how much fun that would have been as a kid in the 50s.
Trail beers are among the best beers. On Friday, I brought a couple friends on their first trip to Peralta Canyon in the Superstition Mountains Wilderness to enjoy the magnificent view of Weavers Needle. We found a great spot to enjoy my imperial red ipa from Dark Sky Brewing in Flagstaff, specially brewed to support the campaign to designate Grand Canyon Heritage National Monument. The proposal would ensure that the Grand Canyon watershed isn’t polluted by uranium mining, that the last remaining old growth ponderosa pine forest in the Southwest isn’t over-logged, and that thousands of cultural resources are protected—not to mention countless recreational opportunities.
Signal Hill in Saguaro National Park outside of Tucson offers an easy walk to a dramatic spiral petroglyph with a saguaro-studded backdrop. But these petroglyphs aren’t the only in the region. Just a few miles away, for instance, the Cororaque National Historic District in nearby Ironwood Forest National Monument offers hundreds of far less well-known but equally intriguing petroglyphs. I love our National Parks, but there’s just as much to love in our National Conservation Lands, too!
Can’t wait for another summer paddle down the Lower Salt River outside of Phoenix. Always a great morning on the water, before it heats up and before the tubing crowds show up.
Bringing my mom and girlfriend Jen on a national park birthday road trip for their 75th and 37th birthdays in May. We’ll be hitting up White Sands, Carlsbad Caverns, and Guadalupe Mountains—and maybe even sneaking in a stop at Gila Cliff Dwellings if time permits. All will be first visits for them.
There’s a 300-room pueblo ruin complex within sight of I-17…and it’s named for a duck.
Looking forward to another kayaking adventure soon.
Where will YOUR next trail beer be?
I need more waterfalls like this in my life.
Woven hat on display at Heard Museum
There aren’t many places that can compare to the views from Glacier Point.
Oh deer.
Found this off the Geronimo Trail, a dirt road that skirts the southeastern US border between Nogales, Arizona and the New Mexico state line. Thank goodness I had a quarter handy!
In Soviet Willcox, all your golf balls belong to us…
Ruins of Fort Bowie, Arizona
Delicate
Missing this view.
