Here, you’ll find unfortunately true tales of an accidental naturalist’s misadventures in the wild, as well as shorter, inspirational reflections of nature
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.
Priest Gulch
Took a drive up to Lizard Head Pass last Saturday, April 21, and there was too much snow to hike the trail. Up there, in the San Miguels, I caught the north facing slopes, and there was much more snow than on the west-facing slopes of the La Platas, my home range, […]
Place water here
When I post (which hasn’t been for a while), I often place some picture at the top of some fantastical place you might want to visit. In the photo above, you’ll see a more ordinary world, what I see almost every day: Summit Lake. Doesn’t look like much of a lake, […]