“Mother Mother Ocean, I have heard your call.” Jimmy Buffett – A Pirate Looks At Forty Lyrics Time for another family celebration. My sister turned 50 years old on January 12th (also my parents 54th wedding anniversary) and she decided that the whole family should travel to Cabo San...
Ballena & Tortuga in Baja
“The whole Baja California peninsula is an energetic place, and it’s incredibly alive.” Gael Garcia Bernal Baja is a wonderful place to experience ocean life up close and personal. A quick trip to Cabo San Lucas at the tip of Baja California Sur was on tap to celebrate my...
Yosemite National Park – John Muir’s inspiration
For us outdoor folks, the most wonderous images come to mind when the name John Muir is mentioned. 100 years ago John Muir was ecstatically writing about the mountains. He was also writing about how we lose our feeling for being alive by working too much, focusing on making money instead...
New Year – Resolutions & New Blog look!
Welcome 2017! Time to join the hoards of well meaning folks out there making those all important New Year’s resolutions. Got immediately to work on one of those resolutions: Become a Better Blogger As a new to the blogging world I sometimes struggle in the creation and management of...
Home for the holidays
“Going home and spending time with your family and your real friends keeps you grounded.” Jennifer Ellison Four months on the road and logged many wonderful miles, spectacular scenery and great people along the journey so far. Time to head back home for the holidays to touch bases with...
Death Vally NP – Hiking & Off-Roading paradise
Death Valley, although as mentioned in the previous post seemingly muted, can claim a rich and colorful human history going back at least 10,000 years. Native Americans, foolhardy ’49ers, hardscrabble miners, boom towns, 20-mule-teams, the Civilian Conservation Corps, and most recently tourism and the creation of the largest park in...
Death Valley NP – Reflections on the desert……
Death Valley is truly the desert personified, an incomparable sense of space, quiet and solitude. The colors are nothing like the Utah or Arizona high desert landscape, they are there but much more muted and understated. And there are interesting things and people that are attracted to this true...
The other side of Las Vegas
This trip to Vegas I spent very little time on the “strip” and instead visited some great outdoor areas. There were many benefits to this the least of which is saving money staying away from the casinos! Another side of Las Vegas is that there are some great...
Giving Thanks in Las Vegas
Las Vegas for Thanksgiving? It may seem like an odd choice but at the time that I made the reservations it seemed to fit in well with my route. What made it the best was that Mom & Dad thought it would be fun to fly in to Vegas...
Grand Canyon National Park – Musing the future
Time to check another National Park off the list. I have been to the Grand Canyon a number of times but it seems that each time is different. With just a couple of nights here I was lucky enough to catch up with an old friend of the family...