A Thirty Year...

dream will come true. No, not dating Bo Derek, that's a 25 year dream! 

I'm going into the Maze!!!

http://www.nps.gov/cany/planyourvisit/maze.htm

I finally found someone who doesn't fear dinging up his 4X4 Jeep and truck. We will use these macho mechanical beasts for what they were built for. Beat the poop out of them.

Thank You Greg Lyle and his family for allowing me to join in this adventure. I hear there will be s'mores at the campfires too. 

Do IPAs go well with marshmallows? We will soon find out.

This is a truly pack it in, pack it out sort of place. I mean everything!!! We will leave only footprints and tire tracks. 

So to you 20 or so blog fans, stand by for further photos and comments. Our trip is a week long. There will be plenty of yarns and pix to come.

Cheers from Green River, Utah.

My beer and coffee supply are holding up well.

See you on the other side.

Jeff

PS. Note the pictograph photo of two Ancient Ones baseball players. I'm sure they swung the bat better than A-Rod of the Yankees. They were paid less too. 

The Secret is Out...

about the Needles District in Canyonlands National Park. 

For over a quarter of a century, (that makes me feel old) I've been exploring and loving this isolated segment of grandeur. It's a destination park. There are no through roads. Heck! The pavement ends there 50 miles from the nearest highway. A potential visitor has to make a time and gas money effort to arrive within its boundaries. 

For me, it's a No-Brainer. Where else can I hike to the merger of two rivers, mosey along interconnecting canyons, see the Milky Way in all its intergalactic splendor, or savor the library "Shhh!" silence that abounds here?  Not many places. 

Unfortunately, there are now multitudes of national and international guests willing to venture west off of U.S. Highway 191. 

Yesterday, I counted over 100 hikers along the 11.5 mile Chesler Park circuit. The languages heard were a virtual Tower of Babel. Many years ago, a chance encounter of another human was equivalent to observing Sasquatch or the Loch Ness Monster. 

In the past, securing a campsite was just a matter of showing up. Now the campground fills quickly after the sun rises. Luckily, there's a private campground nearby that has hot water and showers! (You are right. It doesn't take much to excite me.)

As Yogi Berra (may he RIP) would say, "The Future ain't what it used to be." 

For those 15-20 devout blog fans I have, (OY! Are my pageviews down!) you can see a common thread to my posts. The times they are a changing and not for the better. 

http://jeffsambur.blogspot.com/2015/04/0-for-2-on-the.html 

http://jeffsambur.blogspot.com/2015/03/big-bend-epiphany.html

http://jeffsambur.blogspot.com/2014/10/angel-landing-zion-national-park.html

With all that said, being here sure beats a lot of alternatives. Work is definitely one of them.

On my way to the Maze! 

Cheers!

Jeff

It's time to trade...

Mountains for mesas and forested creeks for rocky canyons. I'm on my way to the Red Rock and Canyonlands country of Utah. But first, I took a time out in Grand Junction, Colorado. 

I hiked in Colorado National Monument. 

It's an old friend like the locals I know here.

A Happy Hour in the "River City" would be devoid of Yuck Yucks without spending time with the Millers and the Toolens. Having buddies scattered around the Centennial State is a major reason why I think of Colorado as home. 

In these gentle months of weather, there is no place like home.

Manana, I'll be in the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park. At least, I won't have to watch the Yankees play like poop.

Cheers from a pained Yankee fan,

Jeff

PS. I have three pounds of Starbucks and three cases of IPAs on board Barley the Van. I'm prepared.