Desert Escape

by Greg

No Dogs. No Trina. Plenty of Dirt. Rock. Water. Cactus. Lots of canyons.

I had time but she didn't. Colorado had snow, which I'm not that great at camping in. I headed south/southwest into the desert. Sought dry warmth. Found it. But also found rain and chill. Visited some places I hadn't explored before. New bike trails in Arizona. California's Death Valley. Other places along the way. Saw some creatures. Met a few people. And had a buddy from home join up for the last part of the trip. I'll let the photos tell most of the story.







Water was a major theme of the trip. While I traveled, the whole Southwest region saw rain. Dry washes were running. Rivers and creeks were full.



To dodge the rain, I headed for Death Valley, the driest spot in North America. It rained. Most of the non-paved routes were closed. Dry rivers ran over dirt roads. Water collected in the bottom of Badwater Basin, 282 feet below sea level.







When the skies cleared, the mountain tops were covered in snow. Some canyons dried quickly. Water lingered elsewhere, ice in higher places.



























Thanks for checking in, on our lately-much-neglected blog.

Obscureography

Photos by Greg and Trina

More photos from our summer road trip. Not the iconic scenes, but the more obscure places we visited and the details we noticed as we moved more slowly and kept our eyes open.



























Kendall Dace

Iconografail

Words by Greg
Photos by Greg and Trina

Our Summer Road Trip - continued.

The iconic scenery of the American West could only propel us so far. While we appreciated the plants, animals and geological underpinnings of the "natural" landscape, the cultural kitsch of the West left us, er, less satisfied.

And while we enjoyed our Iconic West Drive-By, the real fun didn't start until we got out of the truck, threw a tent out under the stars, unleashed the dogs, and rolled, floated or stomped our merry way through the natural world.

As usual, we aimed for places where we could have some space to ourselves. Sometimes we succeeded. We do seem get more satisfaction from finding our little pack of people/dogs in wild country -- perhaps less-than-iconic-country -- with enough elbow room to explore at our own pace and to be quiet with our own observations and regard for our surroundings.

In this we did succeed. Here are some shots of the action.











Sprocket, baffled by the Ninja Squirrel!