Author: Van-Tramp

Panum Volcano Crater 0

Panum Volcano Crater

Since I am ahead of schedule, last night I decided to turn my alarm off and sleep in as I was not going to leave this spot on the side of the road until after my afternoon workload is complete. So I got going around 9am with coffee, breakfast, and...

Yosemite Ntnl Park, Wapama Falls 0

Yosemite Ntnl Park, Wapama Falls

Today I woke early to get into a hike to Wapama falls as early as possible. While I would have preferred to be hiking by 6am, the National Park does not open the gates until 8am. 7 miles past the gate is the dam which begins my 3-mile hike into...

Mono Lake 0

Mono Lake

Arrived in Lee Vining I hit up the Mono Lake visitors center for info on what to do and where to camp for the night. It was clear that I could pull over and camp just about anywhere unless specifically marked. It was all BLM land around Mono Lake, and...

Pipi Valley Campground, CA

Pipi Valley Campground, CA

Pipi Valley Campground is a campground I went to as a child of 8 or 9 years old with multiple other families close to ours. I have fond memories of this camping trip; swimming in the stream, catching snakes on the shore, and just having some of the best times...

McArthur family BBQ 0

McArthur family BBQ

Today was dedicated solely to getting all the California families together for a BBQ while I was in the state. My nephews and nieces came out for some swimming and food and I got to hang with my two brothers for the first time since Joel’s death. Mom and I...

Driving thru NV, Holy Hamburger! 0

Driving thru NV, Holy Hamburger!

Yea, so the truck stop didn’t do it for me, and it was full of flies! By the time I finished my evening work and dinner, I must have had a 100 stow-away flies in my van. I left the truck stop after sunset and continued on my path West,...

Arches Ntnl Park, Delicate Arch hike 0

Arches Ntnl Park, Delicate Arch hike

Again, the alarm sounded at 5:30, but I didn’t get around to moving until 6:30. As much as I want, I just can not bring myself to get going that early. After my two cups of coffee, I took the half-hour drive into Arches National park to the Delicate Arch...

Utah – Negro Bill Canyon hike 0

Utah – Negro Bill Canyon hike

I drove a few miles down the road from Moab, Utah to that trail I was considering last night; Negro Bill Canyon trail head. Arriving just after 7am, and got straight to the hike. It did not take long for me to be amazed with this trail; hiking at sun-rise...

Colorado Ntnl Monument 0

Colorado Ntnl Monument

The Colorado National Monument reminded me of a smaller Canyonlands National Park; huge views and and huge cliffs that the camera never does justice. A very scenic area that makes a great day-trip for the family. It is an easy off and back on from I-70 and worthy of the...