among nature

Western TN

We had a great Father/Son campout this past weekend, complete with cookin' hot dogs and smores over the fire. However, in the middle of the night I was awakened to an animal falling out of the tree I was sleeping under. It hit my tent with such force it collapsed enough that the animal landed on my feet, and it poked 4 holes in the rainfly from its claws. I immediately got up, but never saw what it was.

River-to-River Trail, IL

I had always wanted to try out southern Illinois' River-to-River Trail. So a group of four of us set out on a 3 day trip from Garden of the Gods to Lusk Creek. We actually traversed this section twice, doing an in-and-out of 35 miles or so. Unfortunately I forgot the camera, so these phone photos will have to do.

It was a bit grey when we started near One Horse Gap, which turned into a beautiful fall day.

The trail followed old National Forest roads such as this one at a few points, but we didn't mind the road-walking as they were all beautiful.

Here's my buddy's tent at our campsite the first night. We had a great spot overlooking the Garden of the Gods Wilderness area.

You can actually drive to the Garden of the Gods area, but we chose to hike 16 miles to get there instead.

We spent a fair amount of time there relaxing on the rocks. As the sun began to set, we reluctantly booked it back to our campsite a couple miles away.

They called me the Fire Master. We stayed warm.

The trail had a lot of rock formations along the way. I enjoyed the area and wouldn't mind coming back to hike the other 125 miles of the 170 mile trail.

San Francisco Peaks, AZ

Don't mess with these guys!

We arrived the night before the climb, camped at a nearby meadow, and were welcomed by this beautiful sunset falling on Humphrey's Peak.

Up early, the sunrise the next morning looking across the aspens and into the San Francisco Peaks Wilderness was just as majestic.

As we entered the forest, wildlife was just starting their day as well.

Up, up, up the scree fields we went. Lots of elevation gain on this climb.

I had to stop periodically to get out of the wind. It was intense. Here I am at the saddle taking it all in, hunkered behind a rock outcropping.

Here we are just below the peak. Our summit day was beautiful, but windy.

This was my second time summitting Humphrey's Peak, but it was much windier this time. The wind on the last stretch up to the peak would literally have blown you off the mountain if you weren't vigilant. With sustained winds over 50 mph and gusts much more than that, it was definitely a three-points-of-contact day! I am holding on for dear life!

Grand Canyon, AZ

The gummit shutdown didn't stop us!

We drove for 65 miles down Indian Road 18 and this was the only structure we saw. Don't forget to fill up the tank before turning off the main road!

It got really chilly that first night, as we stopped along the way on a rancher's land to brave the mid-20s temperatures.

Desert flora - hardy stuff.

After driving in the flat desert for hours, Indian Road 18 abruptly ends atop Hualapai Hilltop. Even though we had been here before 10 years prior, it's quite a drastic change in scenery as you peer down into Havasu Canyon, and took our breath away yet again.

The trail down to Havasu village is well-traveled, yet beautiful.

One of four major falls along Havasu Creek, Havasu falls is not the tallest, but it sure is pretty. There are so many waterfalls that many are not even named. If these same "minor" waterfalls were in another part of the country, every one would be considered substantial.

Looking down into Havasu Canyon, where we camped for a few days.

The trail to Mooney Falls was a little treacherous at times.

Mooney falls is taller than Niagara.

Walking through fields of desert wildflowers is really hard work.

Havasu Canyon (and Creek) comes in from the left. Beaver Canyon is on the right. At this junction, we entered into Grand Canyon National Park land despite the government shutdown.

We decided to dayhike the 16 miles round trip to the Colorado River and back. During the hike, you cross Havasu Creek over 25 times. It was a whole lot of fun.

Do you know the difference between a raven and a crow? When most people think they have seen a raven, they really have seen a crow. Raven sightings are much more rare. I was lucky.

We made it to the Colorado!

We had to stick our "feet" in its muddy waters.

A float group pulled up when we were at the mouth of Havasu Creek. We looked at them a little puzzled and said,
"How did you get down here?"
"What do you mean? By river, of course," was their reply.
"But the Park is shut down," we answered back.
"What are you talking about?"

Turns out they had been on the river for 21 days and had no clue the government had shut down....nor did they care. We were in the same "boat" in that regard.