It all starts here….
In January of 2015 we ( Snuggles and I ) would leave our jobs, house, family, friends, and Hometown behind. Piling into a converted mini-van (The Black Stallion) to venture out into the world looking for Adventure, Culture, and the true meaning of happiness.We were on a mission to meet new people, try new food/drink, and discover all that we could about this amazingly beautiful country.
With plans of starting a Thru-Hike in early March, we had some time to kill and other business to attend to before hiking the East Coast for up to six months. We grabbed Bowie (our black lab), loaded up the “Black Stallion” with various camping gear and headed West to see as many National Parks as we could in a Month.
“For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.” – Robert Louis Stevenson
Rolling in late to Cortez, CO we camped in the Black Stallion for the night waiting for Mesa Verde NP to open in the morning. Bowie decided she would drive…
Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado
“The Palace” – Beautiful Cliff Dwellings at Mesa Verde NP
Happiness Selfie.
Exploring the Underground homes of an Ancient Civilization
Grand Canyon National Park (South Rim), Arizona
First view of the “Great Ditch”…
Everyone needs a classic “Cheesy Tourist” shot.
Desert View Watchtower
Native art from various surrounding tribes dawns the walls and ceilings of the great tower.
“The wonders of the Grand Canyon cannot be adequately represented in symbols of speech, nor by speech itself. The resources of the graphic art are taxed beyond their powers in attempting to portray its features. Language and illustration combined must fail.” – John Wesley Powell
Joshua Tree National Park, California
Joshua Tree, CA (right outside the park)
Our great friends Dan and Lil drove over from LA to camp with us for the night
Huge beautiful boulder piles cover the desert landscape
Standing atop the massive rocks and looking out onto Joshua Tree, you feel as if your peering into an “Alien World”…
Lil, perhaps jealous of Bowie’s fine fur coat.
Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona
A long forgotten forest turned to stone, strewed out through a now harsh desert.
Petrified Wood Modeling.
Broken Monsters from another time…
The beautiful “Painted Desert”
We would soon travel back to Indiana to park our van, drop of Bowie, and head to Georgia to start our next Grand Adventure on the Appalachian Trail.