Travel Bytes

Canyons of the Ancients

June 8-9, 2020 – Day 7-8 – Canyons of the Ancients National Monument in southwest Colorado gave us spectacular views, as did Hovenweep just across the border in Utah. Sleeping Ute Mountain often hovered in the distance, its grey-blue mass providing perspective to the landscape.

Theodore Roosevelt NP

August 25, Day 84: Theodore Roosevelt NP in North Dakota is one of the least visited of our National Parks. The area is very isolated, and the land beautiful. We found it surprisingly full of life, especially at dusk.

Mesa Verde

August 9, Day 69: We saw Mesa Verde Cliff Palace, and it took our breath away. Tucked beneath a massive natural alcove, it looks like a toy village at a distance until you zoom in and realize the scale. Over 600 smaller structures remain in the park, often lined across the valley from one another for easy communication. The ruins evidence a large population that thrived here 800 years ago.

Chaco Canyon

June 6, Day 5: Jean has long wanted to see the Pueblos of the American Southwest, and Chaco Canyon offers some of the most ancient and sacred. From 840-1150 AD, the Ancestral Puebloan people built massive, architecturally unique villages here, unlike anything before or since.

Craters of the Moon

August 9, Day 69: No, not those craters of the moon; Craters of the Moon National Monument! We almost bypassed this national monument to save an hour in our drive from Twin Falls to Jackson Hole. I am so glad we didn’t! The ancient lava flows there were astounding… I haven’t seen anything like that outside of the Big Island of Hawaii.

Run from Evel

August 9, Day 69: My goal this morning – run to and from Evel Knievel’s jump site! An early start provided beautiful sunrise views of the Snake River Canyon on the way.

Land of 1000 Springs

August 7-9, Day 67-69: Southern Idaho is a desolate and parched land, but it hides 1000 springs offering cool water and a ribbon of green and blue in the Snake River.

Life in Death Valley

June 22, Day 21: We found hidden life in Death Valley. Yes, that picture is #nofilter, unretouched. While the temperature in the valley was well over 100F, Darwin Falls was a cool, willow-shaded oasis teeming with red dragonflies, lizards, and chirping birds.

Run at Eagle Lake

October 4, Day 123: I did a Sunday morning run at Eagle Lake, on those marvelous chat-rock carriage trails that wind through Acadia National Park.

I parked and made the short walk across Duck Brook Bridge to the carriage trails. I intended to run around eagle Lake, a total of about seven miles. It was a cool and wonderful fall morning, perfect for a run.

Cottonwood Canyon Road

June 18, Day 17: We ventured Cottonwood Canyon Road, a 47-mile backroad through the Grand Escalante National Monument from near Zion to Kodachrome Basin State Park. We left our yurt near Zion National Park and headed east on US Highway 89 for a couple of hours to a non-descript exit. We turned north, and the pavement ended.