Meadow Creek
June 4-5, 2021
Meadow Creek was a last-minute improv after a more ambitious trip was quashed by a combination of overwork, dentistry and unsettled weather. In retrospect, we couldn't have chosen a better place to spend the first few days of summer heat. Less than 20 miles from town, Meadow Creek is a world away.
North Star Mesa
May 20-21, 2021
We are surrounded by mountains, and just north of us is the Gila Wilderness, New Mexico's largest wilderness area, flanked by the equally impressive Aldo Leopold Wilderness Area. The two are separated by a narrow corridor of national forest land, traversed by FR 150 aka North Star Mesa Road, which runs all the way from Mimbres to Beaver Head. Let's go!
Mogollon Box
May 13, 2021
I've always wondered what the Gila River does between the Turkey Creek access and the cluster of farms in Cliff/Gila. Now I know it meanders through a sweet, sweet canyon shaded by giant cottonwoods and sycamores. With premier local guide Ann H., we spent the day just walking in the water.
Allie Canyon
April 7, 2021
A perfect spring day in a wet canyon deep in the Gila National Forest. We four-wheeled to the trailhead and then hiked into dreamy Allie Canyon, which meanders through lush meadows and Ponderosa pine forest across the Piños Altos Range.
Aravaipa East End
March 27-30, 2021
So she did it! Our dear friend Ann H, who introduced us to Four Wheel campers, finally bought her own rig, a 2013 Taco with a Fleet flatbed. Ann came home with Turtle Truck just a few days before friends Jeff and Julia invited us to join them for three days in Aravaipa Canyon. It was the perfect first joint outing, and our first backpacking trip in more than a year!
Silver City Hikes
December, 2020 to January, 2021
It's now two months since we made the move to Silver City, and while we spend most of our time working on our new home (aka "The Bungle-oh", we've still managed to squeeze in a few local hikes, expertly guided by our old friend and new neighbor, Ann H.
Snowstorm!
January 26, 2021
Since we moved to Silver City, we've been hoping for a proper snowstorm. This is what we found when we opened our door about 7:00 am on Tuesday, January 26.
The Bungle-Oh!
Before and After Photos
I don't know if we really planned on renovating a 1945 bungalow, but here we are. Since moving here in early December, we have worked nearly full-time on unpacking, organizing and, ultimately, renovating our new home in Silver City.
The Biggest Adventure of All
October-December, 2020
We spent the summer camping and hiking all over central New Mexico and northern Arizona. From the Mogollon Rim to the White Mountains, the Manzano Mountains, El Malpais, San Franciscos and the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, we spent weeks exploring areas we'd only briefly visited in the past. It was good, it was TOO good! And it gave us a taste for something more!
Chiricahua Crest Trail
October 2-3, 2020
In 2011, the Horseshoe II fire tore through the upper Chirichuas. But now nine years have passed, and we decided it was time to return to the Chiricahua Crest Trail to scout the area for a future trip.
Life on the Edge
The Mogollon Rim and the Grand Canyon
As the terrible awful summer of 2020 wears on, we are spending as much time as possible far from Tucson. After a few days along the Rim with our ham radio camping buddy, we wandered north to Sunset Crater and the Grand Canyon.
General George Crook National Recreational Trail
A Walk Back in Time
The trail follows parts of a military road blazed in the 1870s from Fort Apache, near Whiteriver on the White Mountain Apache Reservation, to Fort Whipple in Prescott. It became one of the first major roads in Arizona, and for decades served as a supply and communications route.
The White Mountains and the Mogollon Rim
August 6 to August 19, 2020
In the summer of 2020, Arizona was hit by a triple whammy: a deadly pandemic, catastrophic wildfires and a near-total failure of the monsoon coupled with sustained record-breaking heat. We stayed home just long enough to clean up, fix up and restock and then headed north once again, with no particular destination in mind.
The Far Side of the San Franciscos
July 10 - 23, 2020
A few days before our long-planned trip to the Pecos Wilderness, we learned that New Mexico was requiring a 14-day quarantine for out-of-state visitors. On a whim, we redirected to the back side of the San Francisco Mountains, and found not only relief from the heat, but far more possibilities camping and hiking options than we ever imagined.
Ham Radio Field Day: Mogollon Rim
June 25 - July 1, 2020
By mid-June, the Bighorn fire had morphed into a monster of over 100,000 acres, and seemed hell-bent on consuming the entire Santa Catalina range. We decided to go ahead with our plans to head up to the Mogollon Rim for Ham Radio Field Day, if for no other reason than to get out of the smoke.
