My idea of...

Winter.

On top of Mighty Camelback Mountain in Scottsdale, Arizona  (,2704 feet of oxygen deprived granite)  there was a slight wind chill in the 75 degree sunshine. Somehow I survived and endured the harsh elements. After all, I didn't want to embarrass myself before those 100-plus bestest buddies who hiked with me to the summit. Ahhh wilderness! 

Speaking of atrophy: with T-Minus one week until I turn 61, I realized taking a three day break from physical mobility is not a good idea. The way I was breathing on that minuscule chunk of crumbly rock, one would think I was summiting Everest. 

Note to self: Always keep moving until Happy Hour. 

Cheers from 33.5 degrees North.

Enough to make a difference in being SAD. http://jeffsambur.blogspot.com/2015/11/i-playing-dirty.html

Jeff

I'm playing dirty...

At Ojo Caliente, New Mexico. There's nothing like a mud bath to ease the 900 mile jaunt to warmer temperatures, longer days and shorter shadows. 

I'm en route to Scottsdale, Arizona which should relieve my onset of SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder). It's real. I wish it wasn't so. I've been lethargic, lazy and the simple task of placing an IPA to my limps has become a chore. Add the double whammy of being a cold weenie (I've worn pants for three days in a row!) and it explains the primary reasons why Barley the Van and me are now on the run.  

In two days I descended south from 40.5 degrees North to 36.3 degrees North. A gain of over 15 more minutes of daylight. Score!

Here's my post from last year when I was way too far north for early November. http://jeffsambur.blogspot.com/2014/11/arches-for-the.html

Be thankful you don't have this malady. You are saving heaps of money by not spending it on gasoline or airline tickets. 

Today I'll travel south of the frost zone.. It was 23 degrees in Ojo Caliente last night. Brrr. I'm glad Barley has plenty of blankets.

BTW: playing in the mud is fun.

Cheers!

Jeff

After Working too Many...

Halloweens, I can't say it's a number one Holiday on my personal hit parade. 

For emergency service employees, it was no party. 

We were usually up all night separating warring Witches and Warlocks, dealing with costumed drunks and seeing the results of mixing drinking with driving.

I might have scored a few hours of rest eventually, but woke feeling hungover even though an IPA never touched my lips. 

That all being said, the Sambur's know how to throw a fiesta. Here's some photos of the action.

The last photo is me in my "the guy who lives in a van down by the river" costume. The "Free Candy" sign is my nephews sick Sambur sense of humor at work. 

With the longer shadows and shorter days, Barley will soon be pointing south.

Cheers

Jeff

With a Dwindling IPA Supply...

and time constraints, Jenny and I retreated from Beyond the Zion Curtain to brew and marijuana friendlier Colorado. Despite less than stellar weather, we stayed in motion. We visited lots of stands of Red Rocks. 

http://jeffsambur.blogspot.com/2015/10/hiking-between-the.html

http://jeffsambur.blogspot.com/2015/10/a-heck-of-way-to-run.html

We had the moist fortune of glimpsing a rare tap pole shrimp. They occupy a small niche in the big order of things. Their whole life cycle revolves around the periodic pools of pot holes. 

Birth, childhood, sexual maturity, Happy Hour, parenthood and death all within the wet and dry cycle in a sandstone depression. They made great protein supplements for our dinners too. Use a really tiny lure to hook them if you want to be successful. They are most excellent when served up Cajun style. 

From The Hot Springs Lodge of Glenwood Springs,

(Barley the Van took the night off),

Jeff 

Hiking between the...

wet spots. 

Somehow Jenny and I lucked out for a few hours when there was nothing liquid falling from the sky. We opened this window of opportunity to tiptoe through the puddles to see these ohh-ahh views. 

A high pressure (sort of) system is pushing the moist stuff out. Yay! 

Back to the Needles District in Canyonlands National Park manana. 

Compared to being in Moab, it really will be "west and wewazation at wast!" 

http://jeffsambur.blogspot.com/2015/10/and-wewazation-at-wast.html

From the wilds of Canyonlands RV Park, deep in the heart of downtown Moab,

Cheers!

Jeff

A Heck of a Way to Run

a Desert. 

As Hebrews, Jenny and I are genetically linked to arid regions. Think Moses and the Tribes wandering around the Negev for forty years. Those poor snooks had more luck finding Manna than moisture.

Since we've arrived near Moab and its famous red rock attractions, most of what we've experienced are Noah's Arc downpours and icky clouds. 

In downtown Moab, Barley the Van hydroplaned through three creek crossings. In a normal October they are dry street crossings. In Dead Horse State Park, a mudslide nearly inundated two REI tents. (Not ours!)

WTF! 

I yearn for a return to normalcy. I wanna talk to who's in charge! 

From dank and dreary Dead Horse Point State Park,

It's a great day for hypothermia!

Cheers!

I still have plenty of IPA's and a dry hotel room in Moab is looking better and better.

Jeff 

"West and Wewaxation at Wast!"

Thank you Elmer Fudd.

After my gig at repairing 4X4 doohickeys in the Maze, I needed a break. 

http://jeffsambur.blogspot.com/2015/10/edward-abbey-classic.html

So I turned thumped up and filthy Barley the Van east to Grand Junction, home of my long time friends Jack and Judy Miller.

Barley was wounded too. I had to replace a cracked battery that couldn't handle the road abuse. There's nothing like sniffing sulfuric acid fumes for a good night's sleep. No wonder I had a scratchy throat and itchy eyes. 

Manana, we're heading back behind the Zion Curtain. My beer and coffee supply are holding up well. Jenny will be joining me for her first close encounter of Utah. We hope the weather cooperates. One can only spend so much time at the Moab Brewery.

Last photo: "Be vewwy, vewwy quiet. We're hunting wabbits!" 

Elmer Fudd is the Yogi Berra of cartoon characters. 

Cheers from River City,

Jeff