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. 

Signal Mountain seemed an...

appropriate destination for Jenny and I to make a getaway to. In the past few days, Mother Nature has been signaling a change in the season. The long sunny days are now a feel good memory, the squirrels are burying the last of their nut and seed supply and windows are being shut to keep the cool air out. Lastly, I might be forced to put on a pair of long pants. Yech. 

Summer and Indian Summer flew by faster than a lit match consumes a thimbleful of white gas. Wump! 

For me and apparently Jenny, it's an introspective time. I think a lot about how I spent my favorite season mostly in Colorado. I reflect upon the many pretty places I'd been, the friends and family I visited and revisited along the way, the Colorado Rockies and Junior College World Series Baseball games I attended and the many times it just felt so right to be back home in the Centennial State.

It's a shame I'm too much of a cold weenie to spend the long winters here. I guess it's in my blood. My Dad (Sid) was a cold weenie too. 

In case you missed them, here's some of the highlights of what seemed like a shortened summer season.

http://jeffsambur.blogspot.ae/2015/05/play-ball.html

http://jeffsambur.blogspot.ae/2015/06/meet-newest.html

http://jeffsambur.blogspot.ae/2015/07/on-day-that-felt.html

http://jeffsambur.blogspot.ae/2015/07/america-greatest-invention.html

http://jeffsambur.blogspot.ae/2015/07/hiking-with-viking.html

http://jeffsambur.blogspot.ae/2015/08/a-backpack-trip.html

http://jeffsambur.blogspot.ae/2015/08/nothing-meek-about-mount.html

http://jeffsambur.blogspot.ae/2015/08/a-visit-to-pleasantville-colorado.html

http://jeffsambur.blogspot.ae/2015/08/roamin-in-wyoming.html

http://jeffsambur.blogspot.ae/2015/08/the-jewish-high-holy-days-are.html

http://jeffsambur.blogspot.ae/2015/09/armageddon-to-genesis-in-one.html

Come on Summer of 2016!

Cheers from cloudy Fort Collins, Colorado 

Jeff

Armageddon to Genesis in one...

Backpack trip. 

When Brad and I set out to do our weeklong 60 mile, three pass circuit on the John Muir Trail, experiencing damp, drizzly and windy weather was not what we expected. After all, we were hiking in potato chip dry and parched California. A state where rain and snow had gone missing for multiple years. 

We entered Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Park via Bishop Pass. The sky had a post nuclear holocaust look about it. Apparently forest fires were consuming acres west of us in the big tree groves of Sequoia. Yet a chill rain was hitting us square in the face. It wasn't pleasant. The sub-summer weather prevailed the next morning as we hunkered below John Muir Pass. It was a long dreary day of sitting in a cave waiting for conditions to improve. (See photo). Snow (White Death) was reported by the shivering masses who descended off the 11,955 pass. 

The following morning, we woke to an ashen gray atmosphere. At least it wasn't raining so we headed uphill. The higher we got the bluer the big sky became. By the time we reached the pass, only designer clouds were prevalent. The front was passing us by. 

Our Genesis was on! We had nothing but aquamarine above us and occasional frost below us. 

It was great!

Some hikes are worth repeating.

http://jeffsambur.blogspot.com/2014/09/for-years-i-been.html

From Dana Point, California

Cheers and Happy Jewish New Year,

Jeff

"I only went for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in."

John Muir

Reunited with my...

Brother from another Mother. 

http://jeffsambur.blogspot.com/2015/04/my-brother-from-another-mother.html

Brad and I are about to go into Great Smoky National Park for a 6 night backpack trip. Well, it's not the really Great Smoky NP, but Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Park. However, with all the Rhode Island sized forest fires nearby,  it's very smoky. Somewhere to the west of Bishop, California through the obscure haze is the High Sierra Range. We believe they are out there somewhere. 

Tomorrow we hope to make contact with them. 

Brad likes me (sort of) despite his serious game face at Mountain Rambler Brewery. 

He needs to take a "how to smile" lesson from Little Dylan Sambur.

She's got the "don't be serious, be delirious" grin down. 

Keep the blogging fires burning while I'm gone.

Cheers!

Jeff

PS. Happy 5776 Jewish New Year. We've been around for awhile.

"It ain't over till it's over."

Yogi Berra

From my last post, http://jeffsambur.blogspot.com/2015/09/life-and-nature-simplified-at.html one would guess that I'm back to running solo again. Wrong! Jenny read and enjoyed that post. (She said it was beautiful). We schmoozed (talked) a bit and decided this Hebrew pair warranted a second chance. 

After kissing and making up, we climbed 13,069" Mount Chiquita in RMNP. 

Why name a peak after a banana? I have no idea. It was too frigid and blustery to grow winter wheat let alone a tropical fruit. The U.S. Geological Survey named it in 1932. Maybe the dude was wishful thinking while he was on the summit getting whiplashed by the cold breeze. 

Yesterday, a wonderful time was had by all. Here are the photos to prove it. I believe  my last post was the best blog I ever wrote. At least, I know it impressed one fan! Ahh, the power of the pen or in my case the Mini I-Pad. 

Speaking of which, The Wandering, Wondering Jew blog has now quietly surpassed 20,000 pageviews. I'm still not sure what that means, but it sounds like a lot. 

Thanks for looking in and supporting my musings. As usual feel free to pass http://jeffsambur.blogspot.com/ along to your billions of Facebook friends, family members and your favorite foreign hackers. 

Cheers!

Jeff

Life and Nature Simplified at...

Great Sand Dunes National Park.

It's thirty square miles of slippery sand, 750' dunes and a landscape that is in constant flux. If you arrive early enough like Jenny and I did, the canvas is devoid of footprints. Late arriving fellow travelers appear as mere dots in its vastness. 

The park lies in a corner of the San Luis Valley, where you can wrestle an alligator on a nearby ranch or view UFO's from a specially designed platform. They grow a tasty red potato there too. Far away from the glitzy mountain towns of Colorado, it's off the must-see lists of most intrastate and out of state visitors. The area is sparsely populated with a few drive by in less than a minute burgs. Even though half of Colorado's ten poorest counties can be found in the Valley, I love the place. It keeps drawing me back. 

Last photo, just me and my shadow.

Sadly, Jenny and I have parted ways. 

Thank you Jenny for being my Colorado highlight in this too short summer season. It brought me great joy to see this state's wild wonders through a new set of eyes. I hope you keep on exploring. You are good at it.