West Slope Is the Best Slope is something people say who live on the Western Slope of Colorado, which I now know (because I’ve asked Tracy a million times) means west of the Continental Divide—and not east of it, which is called the Front Range. We were on the Western Slope at Colorado National Monument […]
Lemme Tell Ya the Story of Mike, the Headless Chicken
In Colorado in the 1940s, a guy stepped into his backyard to kill a chicken for dinner. His ax skills weren’t all they could have been, I’m guessing, because not all of the chicken’s head came off. What remained was one ear and the brain stem. The chicken (Mike) didn’t just run around headless, he […]
The Drama of Colorado National Monument
We’re at the very western edge of Colorado, at another amazing national monument. Feels like we’re seeing one after another of these places while they’re still protected. From Our Campsite Tracy scored a spot at Saddlehorn Campground, which is in the monument and therefore tricky for two reasons. You have to pass through roughly blasted […]
While This, Then That
Last pictures while looking here, and thoughts while seeing that.
Surrounded at Three Borders
The three borders of our current spot—where Utah, Wyoming, and Colorado meet—is the reason Wild West outlaws used to hide out here. If the law from one state was chasing them, they’d simply ride over the line to another state where the fellers chasing them had no jurisdiction. And, at this spot, they’d have two […]
Campground Surprises at Dino
Unexpected small joys (and one small rattlesnake) at Dinosaur National Monument.
Bone Jam and Ram Jam at Dinosaur National Monument
The bone jam I’m taking about is from the Jurassic period, when this specific area in Utah was wet (attracting dinosaurs), then dry (killing dinosaurs), then wet again, at which point a river flowed through, washing a whole lotta bones into this small canyon, where they got caught in the mud, then covered by sediment. […]
Trying to Stay Amazed in Utah
I saw this graffiti on a bench above Angel Peak badlands in New Mexico, and I’m trying, random person with a magic marker defacing public property, I’m trying. Islands in the Sky at Canyonlands I struggle with sensory burnout when we see so much so often. I’m not complaining, but I am staying back at […]
Arches, Moab, People
A day spent in Arches National Park, Utah
Seeing Green in Canyonlands Nat. Park
Canyonlands is a big national park in southern Utah that we’re tackling in sections; we’re camped near the south section now and we’ll move to the north section tomorrow. It’s got a lot of interesting rock formations, petroglyphs and pictograms, but—big deal to us now—a lot of green. It’s been since we were waylaid in […]
