Grand Canyon Part 1, South Rim

The Grand Canyon is a place neither of us has ever seen, and our first stop was the South Rim.  The view was absolutely breathtaking!  The massive expanse that lay before us was something words can’t do justice to.  It really felt dreamlike to me… surreal.  We stood staring down thousands of feet, out across the miles to distant plateaus, and down to the Colorado River, which appears as but a thread, delicately winding its way through the rock, though it is the very force which created this place.  To me, it felt like floating on a cloud.  To Ken, it felt like treachery.  Actually, it wasn’t quite that bad for him.  He was definitely in awe of the place and enjoyed it thoroughly, but scolded and glared at me several times when he thought I was too close to “the edge.”  Perhaps my definition of “the edge” is different than his!  Anyhow, I did maintain a safe distance from “the edge” and managed to take a ridiculous number of pictures.  I did suffer two disappointments – first, the air was very hazy, and second, I was unable to compensate for that with the camera.

Scenic Flagstaff, Family Time, and Altitude Woes

Let me start with a couple of pictures I forgot to include in my last post.  We saw tons of these oil wells driving through both Texas and New Mexico.

Three Rivers Campground in White Mountain Wilderness, NM (Elevation 6600 ft.)

After leaving Roswell, we continued to rack up the miles in the New Mexico desert.  It seemed to take forever to reach our intended destination, the primitive Three Rivers Campground.  We finally arrived after traveling about 10 or 12 miles on Three Rivers Road (which turns to gravel halfway in) off U.S. Highway 54.  It was getting late with little daylight remaining, so we got busy setting up camp, opting for the quick backpacking tent and the screen house.  Within 5 minutes of arriving at the campsite, we were visited by a hummingbird who was very interested in the red gas cans on the back of the Jeep.  He chirped and flitted about, trying to figure out where to drink from, but alas, there was no nectar to be found.  He returned a few more times, and my camera was, of course, sleeping on the job.

Carlsbad Caverns National Park, NM; Roswell, NM

Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico is an area offering diverse opportunities for exploration.  The 9 mile scenic loop drive within the park to view the landscape and wildlife allows access to backcountry camping when open.  We had planned to drive the loop, but unfortunately the road was closed for repair due to recent weather damage.  Other activities available include night sky viewing events, a nightly bat flight viewing program, Ranger-guided cave tours, and self-guided cave tours.  We opted for the hour-and-a-half self-guided tour, where we viewed “The Big Room” after taking an elevator down 750 feet.  The Big Room can also be accessed by the Natural Entrance, which adds about an hour to your tour.  Once you’re down in the cavern, it’s amazing to realize that these caves were formed by sulfuric acid dissolving the limestone.  The rooms are huge, and the different types of formations are beautiful and fascinating.  Also worth noting is the fact that the air temperature in the cave remains a pretty consistent 56° Fahrenheit year round.  Taking photographs in the low-light conditions is very challenging, especially for a novice like me.  Here are a few that came out the best:

Lake Talquin State Park (FL), Caprock Canyons State Park (TX)

Our trip to Alaska is well under way!  We spent the first night in Lake Talquin State Forest in the Florida panhandle.  It was kind of a strange place, seemingly an unlikely location for a campground.  It’s out in the country of course, but in order to get to it you drive through an area reminiscent of a ghetto in the city.  We dubbed it “Wilderness Ghetto.”  On the up side, we were the only ones there.

Camping in Bear Country

When spending time in nature, it’s easy to lose yourself in the beauty and serenity of it all.  The smell of fresh air, the chorus of wildlife all around and endless views that are a photographer’s dream are there to be discovered.  The tranquility can be mesmerizing, but at the same time, you are at nature’s mercy.  A peaceful hike in the woods can become a fight for your life in a split second if you happen across the wrong animal at the wrong time.  Being out in nature is recreational for us, but for the creatures that live there it’s pretty much what they do for a living.  They live and die there.  They hunt or are hunted, forage for food, defend their territories, and raise and protect their families.  When we enter their domain, we become part of that equation from their perspective.  They don’t know we’re just there to enjoy a walk and take some pictures. They see us as just another animal that might pose a threat, and indeed, some of us do.  Sometimes we can even be seen as an easy meal!  Knowing this, it is up to us to take precautions and remain vigilantly aware of our surroundings.  Common sense and a little homework can make the difference between a fantastic outdoor adventure and getting eaten alive.

Our Jeep & Modifications

Note: This post was edited in March 2017.

OK, time to talk Jeep stuff!  We purchased a 2012 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited in the spring of 2012.  Since we like to go to very remote places and we do a lot of camping, we viewed this as an essential purchase as an aide to our lifestyle.  This was also part of our plan regarding our big trip to Alaska.  As such, we have made several modifications to enhance our ability to do these things.  Aside from aesthetics, each item has a practical function.  I’ll try to list these in the order they were added.

Here's what it looked like before anything was done.

15,000 Miles of Awesome!

We have exciting news to share!  A few years ago we had an idea and started planning an epic journey.  The time to take this journey is approaching.  We’re taking our Jeep and our tent on a little trip… for 4 months, across the continent.  We’ll start in Florida, drive across the U.S., through Canada, and into Alaska.  Our Jeep was purchased and modified for the purpose of this trip and many similar trips to follow.  We will be tent camping the whole way, staying at a hotel maybe once a week or so, in order to do laundry, stock up on supplies, make phone calls, etc.  Other than that we will be off the grid and loving every minute of it!  Planned stops include several National Parks – Canyonlands, Grand Canyon National Park, Yellowstone, Glacier National Park, Banff and Jasper in Canada, and Denali to name a few.  We will also drive the Dalton Highway up to Deadhorse in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, which will put us well inside the Arctic Circle.  The Dalton Highway was featured on seasons 3 through 6 of the television series Ice Road Truckers.  It is 414 miles of mostly gravel road, having gas stations only at mile posts 56 (Yukon Crossing), 175 (Coldfoot), and 414 (Deadhorse).  That’s a 239 mile stretch with no gas available, so we’ll be bringing an extra supply just to be safe.  You can never have too much gas… well, actually... oh, never mind!

Limekiln & Harris Lakes; Moose River 8/7/13 – 8/14/13

This year’s annual camping trip with Adam & Jacqui and Kaden took us to new places.  Our first night was spent at Limekiln Lake Campgrounds, just outside of Moose River Wild Forest.  We had a spot near the water, and had to keep a constant eye on Kaden, who is two years old and into everything.  He is a very busy little guy, and moves quicker than expected!  The site was nice and roomy, plenty big enough for all of us to share.  Adam & Jacqui rented a pop-up camper for the weekend; we used our regular tent for the single overnight, as it sets up and tears down pretty quickly.

Shenandoah National Park 5-16 & 5-17-13

Okay, so we’re into 2013 now! We’ve had two visible modifications done to the Jeep at this point: a roof rack/basket, and a light bar. I’ll discuss those more in detail in a later post, but their functions are obvious.