Here, you’ll find unfortunately true tales of an accidental naturalist’s misadventures in the wild, as well as shorter, inspirational reflections of nature
Naatsis’a’an
The Mountain of the West
I’d only been closer to the supremely isolated Navajo Mountain once, years back when I’d driven toward it along a Native road and then got out and hiked to its base on Navajoland. A Dine’ couple had stopped in their car and asked me if I was lost and […]
Navajo Mountain, from the south
I headed south, up across Boulder Mountain to Escalante. Road trips, for me, are a blend of planning and inspiration, with inspiration taking the lead. Up I drove over the Aquarius Plateau, at 11,000 feet, the highest forested plateau on the continent. Snow blanketed its eastern flanks, and at […]
I ran out of road. I needed a spot to camp, one that wouldn’t charge cash since I had a grand total of $6.65 in loose change loaded into an old towelette barrel. I turned around, rode an abandoned asphalt highway until it connected back up with I-70. Kept driving west though the treeless Utah […]
A few weeks ago, I wrote about the drought affecting the Four Corners region of the U.S. Since then, the drought has only worsened to become, perhaps, the worst since written records were kept in the 18th century. Now, two fires, the 416 Fire about 13 miles north of Durango, and the Burro fire northeast […]
I muddled my truck through the endless malls of Grand Junction and hopped on 70, setting my course for Ruby and Westwater canyons. I missed exit 225 to Ruby. I was looking for Harley Dome Road but didn’t see the name on the exit sign. Damn them for not putting the name on the exit […]
I drove on and up toward the midsized city of Grand Junction, known by West Slope Coloradans as Junction. These last few weeks, the mountains, these San Juans, and the Abajo farther west in Utah, slept under snow-maker clouds. Finally, relief from drought. This late spring was colder than the mean, with snow and rain […]
I started this trip wondering what I should do with my life, so if you’re wondering about that for yourself, maybe you could help me out and read on, text me later with some suggestions.
My itinerary? Head to three canyons I’d read about on Wikipedia: Unaweep in western Colorado, and Ruby and Westwater in Utah […]
Sleeping Ute, from Sand Canyon
I’ve set more than one story here at Sand Canyon. Sand Canyon is noted for its Ancestral Puebloan ruins. Some are so far back in the canyon, and so concealed in the upper alcoves, that you can walk right past without seeing them. That was their whole point: to […]
The Crippy, a novel of fantasy and science fiction, is available on amazon. The Mind Altar, in the horror and science fiction genres, will be available on amazon on June 1st.
The Four Corners Drought is classified as ‘exceptional,’ a once in 50 year event that threatens disaster to the region. There are no signs it will abate any time soon.