Author: Van-Tramp

Tombstone AZ 0

Tombstone AZ

Today we head into Tombstone Arizona, hoping for a little peace and quiet while visiting a historic place… but, as it turns out, Tombstone is quite the tourist trap much like Fisherman’s wharf in SF. Little of Tombstone-proper exists now, all overrun by tourism and commerce. Heck, you can even...

Planted in Tuscon, AZ 0

Planted in Tuscon, AZ

I figured that, since I plan to be on the road much more this year, I will update this blog for family and friends at a more frequent rate. Maybe a few times a week, maybe daily… who knows, but you should get a greater sense of where I am...

Death Valley Ntnl Park 0

Death Valley Ntnl Park

Im not sure why it never hit me, but the ‘Valley’ that sits at -282 feet below sea level also sits thousands of feet below everything else surrounding it. Just 30 miles out of the valley floor and you are at 3000 ft above sea level, and that applies no...

Amargosa Opera House 0

Amargosa Opera House

We stumbled upon the Amargosa Opera House while on our way to Death Valley. While we had not planned to do anything in this town other fix a sandwich and move on, we lucked into a tour that was just about to take place so we leaped in the doors...

Rhyolite ghost town 0

Rhyolite ghost town

On our third day of the first road trip in 2011, we stopped at Beatty, Nevada for the night. Just 6 miles outside of town is Rhyolite, a ghost town since the 20’s. It made for an easy afternoon stroll and was easy on the camera as well. After spending...

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What is boondocking?

The phrase “boondocking” generally means free off-the-grid camping. Some free camping can be found at truck stops, rest areas, and some big-box stores like Walmart or Home Depot, although with a usual limitation of a single night stay only. Most people consider boondocking as the free camping out in the ‘boonies’...

My travels during 2010 0

My travels during 2010

Sadly, a lot of my blog posts in 2010 did not make a site migration some time back… Pacific Coast drive (Hwy 1, Big Sur) Joshua Tree National Park Grand Canyon National Park Zion National Park Bryce Canyon National Park Capitol Reef National Park Black Canyon National Park Great Basin...

Pacific Coast drive 0

Pacific Coast drive

After spending a few days in NoCal, my Mother and I decided to attempt a coastal drive of California from North to South. What is normally about 8 hours of driving distance on the interstate took us 4 days including one night in a motel and 2 others camping in...

November road trip to 5 Ntnl Parks 0

November road trip to 5 Ntnl Parks

A lot of traveling again, even as winter approaches; On Nov 14th I began the 1500 mile trek to the L.A. area of California. I made sure to be able to spend some time in a few of the National Parks on the way… Capitol Reef Bryce Canyon Zion National...

Rocky Mtn Ntnl Park, Trail Ridge road 0

Rocky Mtn Ntnl Park, Trail Ridge road

A simple half-day is all it takes to drive to the top of the world. Trail Ridge road is the “highest continuous motorway in the United States, with more than eight miles lying above 11,000 and a maximum elevation of 12,183” cutting through and over the Rocky Mountain National Park....