My Journey

[BigDawwg]

As I looked at the clouds on the way in to work this morning, it made me think about you and your travels.
I have family in SE Colorado, who raise cattle on a fairly decent sized piece of land. That made me recall a photo expose one of my cousins did on the people of the area. It is a different way of life, from how I grew up, but I always wished I'd grown up there instead.
If you care to look through the photos, here is the link:

http://www.kaylinngilstrap.com/pinon

Some of those folks are in their "Sunday best", but I assure you they are the "real deal!"
You just can't beat people like that!
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tgil,,,,, Very Nice Photos, and I've still got my Old Pair of "Chinks", and the "Walking-W" Photo,,,,, Very Nice Indeed, and Yes, that Life-Style is the Real-Deal, for Sure,,,, it is, and was, a Great Life Style,,,, and as I've said, I do miss it so......
Again Thanks for your Post.
BD in Alaska

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Monday May 04, 2020

Miles Hiked: 18.29 Total Elevation Gain: 2,290'

Unnamed Crater #2 (7,022')

Unnamed Crater #3 (7,031')

The plan for this day was not to climb two craters but indeed that is what we did.....





What I've discovered about the San Francisco Volcano Field is that climbing these things can really be addictive.....





And the sheer volume of them is really overwhelming for a guy and a dog like us.....





This would be our last day of summiting new craters.....temperatures were beginning to rise here as they had a few weeks earlier when we were further south.....my legs were sore and I think that Tanner was feeling the effects as well.....





I decided that Tuesday would be a rest day from the crater summits, and that we would begin to push further north on Wednesday.....I hated to say it but it was time to move on.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

One day these antlers that I found on the rim of a volcano will be displayed at my cabin (assuming I have one) and will bring back fond memories of hiking the volcanoes.....



I'm currently camped way up high in the snowy mountain peaks of Utah (and climbing them too) yet I still think about my visit here.....





The beauty and solitude never to be forgotten.....



I really had a hard time leaving this wonderful place behind.....



The cattle were special.....and I can hardly believe that I am writing that.....there was a quality about them that intrigued me everyday.....I absolutely loved watching and listening to them.....I never tired.....



We left late Wednesday afternoon.....we had plans for the evening....



No doubt we will be back.....



Not sure when.....

 

[calicamper]

The retrievers have pretty good heavy fur between their pads. My Dobermans not so much so I’m pretty familiar with the dog boots. Pretty much any trail with loose gravely stuff I need to boot up my dog or he’s laying on his back with his feet in the air for two days recovering. Its so obvious that he will actually wait and refuse to go on a hike till he gets booted up. LOL
Crazy thing the US Army Dog was the US Doberman. Those dogs must have been run hard and had calloused feet like no other. Because mine have all been super tender foot types. My Goldens all had bulletproof feet tho. That heavy fur between the toes makes a big difference.

 

[tgil]

I never knew there were so many volcanos in the US. Of course I knew about Mt. St Helen, and I've passed Capulan countless times. We drove up that when I was a kid. Seems like there is another I've seen in my limited travels.
Now I will have to Google and see what else I can learn about others.

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[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

tgil.....cool thing about traveling.....it's like studying geography daily.....

calicamper.....the day after we left the ranch we stopped at a roadside trailhead to have a hike. I says to Tanner "let's hike" (he knows the word well). I could hardly believe my eyes but he looked at me and showed his teeth. I grabbed my phone, said it again, and captured this picture of him once again showing the teeth.....then we went hiking.....he seemed fine with it.....






Now we're back on Highway 89 driving north, we pass through Gray Mountain, Arizona and then into the lands of the Navajo Nation.....



For miles and miles at any other time you would typically see roadside stalls where the Native Americans sell their handmade jewelry and other assorted wares. But now with the coronavirus outbreak everything is shut down.....loss of income must be staggering.....



These people, where 30 % of the population have no running water, are suffering even more than most as they continue to have the third highest rate of infection in the nation.....



As we continued north, the views of the land was nothing short of spectacular.....







Our goal for this day was to make it to Horseshoe Bend to watch the sunset over the cliffs along the Colorado River.....

 

[ITTOG]

I never knew there were so many volcanos in the US. Of course I knew about Mt. St Helen, and I've passed Capulan countless times. We drove up that when I was a kid. Seems like there is another I've seen in my limited travels.
Now I will have to Google and see what else I can learn about others.

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I read a year or two ago there were a little over 150 active volcanos in the US. I don't remember the number if you include the dormant one.

Our goal for this day was to make it to Horseshoe Bend to watch the sunset over the cliffs along the Colorado River.....

Great photos again. I can't wait to see the photos of Horseshoe Bend.

Thanks for letting us travel with you.

 

[chet6.7]

I didn't realize there so many volcanoes.

How many active volcanoes are there in the United States?

U.S. Geological Survey Volcano Hazards Program FAQs: "There are about 169 volcanoes in the United States that scientists consider active. Most of these are located in Alaska, where eruptions occur virtually every year. Others are located throughout the west and in Hawaii (see our Volcano...

www.americangeosciences.org

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

ITTOG.....thanks & my pleasure.....

chet6.7.....I checked out the link. Thanks.....




We must have arrived at Horseshoe Bend around 4 p.m. as best that I can recall. I was actually a bit apprehensive about visiting this place due to its popularity & the whole Instagram / Facebook crowd.....





The first sign of its popularity was that it had three toll booths to collect entrance fees.....something more typical of a national park I do believe.....





The toll booths were closed due to the coronavirus pandemic but the much expanded parking lot was open for visitors.....





I immediately assessed the situation, counted the cars, and decided that it was too crowded to proceed.....





The funny thing here was that there were maybe only twelve vehicles parked here.....I would imagine that in the real world, it's typically ten times that number, or even more than that....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

After an hour of hanging out and realizing that for every vehicle that left another one would come in.....





So finally Tanner & I made our way down to the viewing area and it was with great pleasure that I realized that the viewing area is immense.....





I did a bit of people watching while walking along the cliffs and waiting on the sunset. It was interesting to watch, even the small crowds that I saw, pose for pictures of themselves with Horseshoe Bend as their backdrop.....





I can't help but wonder how it is that people have become some fascinated with pictures of themselves. Is it my age that makes me unable to understand or is it just that I have a different perspective on life ? I hope it's the latter of the two.....





We stayed until dark set in.....we were the last ones to leave.....it truly is an awe inspiring view.....

 

[Arjan]

Fascinating pictures !

Love your look on live.

Not the safest place for dogs I guess - all those heights...

Any special safety features to prevent dogs, small children to keep them from falling down ?

 

[dwh]

Tourists have long been handing their camera to some random stranger to take a pic in front of a landmark. Nothing new about that.

The selfie phone cam has made it so easy that apparently even the local McD's is now a landmark.

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Arjan.....there is a specified viewing area with a metal railing. A small child or a dog could easily slip through it. Beyond the viewing area (which is where Tanner & I viewed the canyon) is completley unprotected. Tanner was on leash the entire time.....

DWH.....yep, nothing new.....not a fan of the behavior. In the age of coronavirus, I can't help but wonder if people will continue to hand their phones over to complete strangers.....




It was dark by the time we left Horseshoe Bend so I decided our best bet was to spend the night in the Walmart parking lot in Page, Arizona. It was no more than I'd say maybe 3 miles to the north. We had a great nights sleep here.....with Walmarts closing early these days, it was almost like sleeping in a campground. That morning happened to be Day 14 since our last shopping trip.....we hit Safeway & Walmart very early.....then drove north.....



Just north of Page, Arizona we crossed the Glen Canyon Dam.....





The visitors center was closed of course so we took a morning walk around the premises, walked across the bridge and viewed Lake Powell.....the stop was rather brief.....then we continued north.....





Not too far driving north on Highway 89 we finally left Arizona and entered Utah.....



In need of a longer hike, we stopped for a look along the way to view the toadstools.....





It just amazes me how much the landscape continues to change as we continue to roll north.....the landscapes of the western United States really are absolutely phenomenal.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Eventually we departed Highway 89 for the road less traveled.....Johnson Canyon Road. I read on the internet that it was one of Utahs most scenic drives.....





Just my opinion.....it's not even close to being one of Utahs most scenic drives.....





We spent that night camped along the western border of Dixie National Forest along Scenic Highway 12 (now this highway is truly scenic as it leads you to Bryce Canyon National Park).....



But we didn't take Highway 12 the following morning.....we've done this before. We backtracked to Highway 89, drove north, connected with Highway 62 and happened to come across the childhood home of Butch Cassidy.....





This little cabin was set in the most wonderful little valley that you'd ever want to see.....I loved it here.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

I loved it so much that I give you ten more photos of his childhood home.....







I even measured the dimensions of the cabin.....I thought yep.....this is the perfect footprint for my future cabin.....







The cabin measured 14'x24' with an upstairs loft.....and that was for an entire family.....





I'd be lying if I didn't say that I'm getting tired again.....coming up on three years on the road.....and well into my third month of self quarantine. A little cabin sure looks inviting.....