We made it to Canyonlands on Saturday night and camped out on Lockhart Basin Road.  The next morning we went up to a place I’ve been before, which I’ve dubbed ‘Mushroom Rock’.  It was windy, but the views are awesome up there.  You can see Junction Butte and Island in the Sky in the background.  We planted a geocache and then headed for the Needles.

Travis on 'Mushroom Rock'

Our first campsite was in Elephant Canyon (EC2).  The sky was hazy because of all of the wind, which didn’t fair well with my photograph taking.  I still managed to get some great shots and an awesome time-lapse during the night.   We woke up to sleet and snow falling on us, but it stopped after about 30 minutes.  We packed up our gear and headed for our next campsite in Devil’s Pocket.

Campsite at EC2

Our third night was in the Devil’s Pocket.  We setup camp and then day hiked for about 6 hours through Chessler Park and Devil’s Kitchen.  The haze was gone and the temperature was 70 degrees.  We only saw one person the entire day.  We made some dinner when we got back to camp and then enjoyed the view up above.

Devil's Kitchen

Campsite at Devil's Pocket, Big Dipper

My brother and I are about to make an ‘epic’ 10-day Canyonlands adventure in southeast Utah.  We’re headed out Friday and should get there sometime Saturday evening.  We’re going to start in the Needles and work our way around to Island in the Sky, Horseshoe Canyon and then maybe take a peek at The Maze.  The Jeep is ready and as you can see, I’m about all packed up.  I’m sorry Cherokee buddy, but you can’t go..

]]> http://www.lancesnead.com/2010/05/18/ready-for-the-canyonlands/feed/ 0 http://www.lancesnead.com/2007/11/28/thanksgiving-vacation/ http://www.lancesnead.com/2007/11/28/thanksgiving-vacation/#comments Thu, 29 Nov 2007 02:37:31 +0000 Lance http://www.lancesnead.com/blog/2007/12/17/thanksgiving-vacation/

Update: Uploaded all the pictures to flickr. Viewing them from flickr is way faster than from my website (photos section). I still need to figure out why my webpage is loading so slowly.

Well, it’s been awhile since I’ve posted. Jen and I have been busy with that little thing called life, as I’m sure all of you are. It’s nice to get a chance to step away and go somewhere you’ve never been or re-visit an area that brings back great memories. One such area, the great American Southwest, which I love so much. The diversity of landscapes; mountains, rivers, deserts, mesas, blue skies, open plains, and the crisp dry air rejuvenates the soul. I remember the first time Jen and I met. One topic of our conversation was the time I spent in southwest Colorado(Durango) and just how awesome it was. Life felt simple then. Moving back to Texas was bittersweet, but returning to visit or possibly live there again has never been far from my mind. Not surprisingly, taking Jen there for her first time was something we both looked forward too.

Our plan before the trip was that we would stay in hotels some, and the rest of the time we would go camping. Thanks to good friends, we had most of the gear one would need to do some comfortable car-camping. Sleeping bags, tents, camel-backs, camping stove, rain gear, and even a blow up bed. We used none of it of course, because it was 20 below most nights we were there. But hey, at least we were prepared! I guess living in Texas for most of my life I tend to make silly assumptions that all the states are as warm as ours. Camping in Colorado in November? I don’t think so. Trust me, we won’t make that mistake next time.

We started our trip out with a little bad luck. Shortly after crossing the border into New Mexico on our way to Santa Fe, I heard a heavy vibrating sound coming from back of the car. Turned out I had been driving on extremely overdue tires for some months now. The tire was worn down the the steel radial. It was cold, but we slapped on the spare quickly and drove to Fort Sumner to evaluate our options. We said a little prayer and decided to press on toward Santa Fe a few hundred miles away. Thankfully we made it to Santa Fe just after midnight and got a good nights rest. In the morning, we snagged some new tires and then headed over to the Georgia’ Okeefe Museum in downtown Santa Fe. Her artwork is captivating, inspiring, and I definitely see why she loved the Southwest so much.

Our next stop was Durango, Colorado. If I had a choice of places to live, Durango would be high atop that list. So many things to see, so many outdoor activities to do, and a great sense of community and appreciation for their environment. We spent two great nights at the Econo Lodge, which I must say was quite cozy and met our needs just fine. Took Jen downtown on Main street for a much needed bite to eat and my personal favorite, Ska Brewery beer, brewed right in Durango. The next morning we took a hike up on Raider Ridge which overlooks Fort Lewis College and the rest of Durango. It was cold, but by the time we reached the top, it was well worth it. After that, we took a wonderfully scenic drive up Hwy 550 to Silverton. The sun was setting at 4:30pm, so driving winding mountain passes after dark wasn’t something we necessarily wanted to be doing. So we headed back to Durango for one more night before heading to another personal favorite, Mesa Verde National Park.

The ancestral Puebloans inhabited Mesa Verde and the surrounding four corners area from around 500AD to 1300AD. Mesa Verde’s claim to fame is most definitely their amazing cliff dwellings. Truly resilient people, the Anasazi mysteriously vanished from the mesa top and headed south near the end of 13th century. The cliff dwellings leave something to the imagination. Who were these people? How did they survive in such harsh environments? Why did the leave? I’ve read several books on the subject, and the Anasazi are one of the reasons I love the area so much.

After our visit, we headed north to Moab, Utah. My brother would love this place because most consider it the ‘Jeep capital of the world’. The earthy brown slick rock is the perfect place to ‘rock crawl’ and test the limits of man’s machines. However, we weren’t there to ‘rock crawl’, but rather to visit another great treasure, Arches National Park. Edward Abbey’s ‘Desert Solitaire’ first inspired me to visit this magnificent landscape in 2004. There’s no doubt why he loved it so much. Arches has over 2000 natural sandstone arches covering 119 square miles. We awoke to light snow falling, but that didn’t deter us from making it to the park. Fortunately it didn’t last long and we got to enjoy the rest of the day, albeit cold, with clear skies.

At this point, we were the farthest away from home on our trip. Time to head back. We had one last stop in northern New Mexico before concluding our vacation. I’ve heard of this place before, but never got a chance to make it out there. Chaco Culture National Historic Park is the cultural center to the ancestral Pueblo people. Gigantic pueblo ruins, petroglyphs, and the famous Sun Dagger, a celestial calendar of the ancient ones. I could spend weeks here; unfortunately we had about 5 hours. I’m going to have to come again to truly appreciate this awesome area and all it has to offer. If you intend on making the journey to Chaco Canyon, I highly advise a 4-wheel drive vehicle for the 13 miles of unpaved road leading into the park. You’ve been warned!

Well, that about does it. Our trip in a nutshell. What would a vacation be without any pictures you ask? Never fear, we have plenty of those(300 to be exact). I’ll be uploading them in groups as soon as I can. Hopefully, I’ll have most of them up by Christmas. Cheers!

Jennifer and I took a little vacation time down in Big Bend last week. The place is simply amazing. We spent three days at the park, which was far too little time to spend down there. On Friday I proposed to Jennifer down in Santa Elena Canyon, and what do you know? She said YES! So now we’re officially engaged! We haven’t set a date yet, but I’ll definitely post one when we do. We’ve also got some great pictures from the trip that I will put up later this week.

I had to go to New Jersey for a business trip last week and my company opted for the “low cost” airline ticket. The only problem was that I wasn’t flying to New Jersey, I was flying to La Guardia Airport which is in New York on the opposite side of Manhattan. I landed, grabbed my bags, picked up my rental car and crossed my fingers in hopes of reaching New Jersey. It was around midnight when I started and snow began to lightly fall. Needless to say I got lost and it ended up taking 3 hours just to get to the hotel. It sucked. On my trip back to the airport a few days later, I decided to take the quickest route from New Jersey to La Guardia through lower Manhattan. Miraculously, I made the trip in about 90 minutes with time to spare. It was an eye-opening experience, one in which I don’t intend to repeat any time in the near future. Overall the trip went well and I welcomed good ol’ Dallas traffic with open arms..

Jen and I decided to take a semi-spontaneous weekend camping excursion to Queen Wilhelmina State Park in Arkansas. The park lies on Arkansas’ second highest mountain and has been dubbed the Castle in the Sky by the many visitors over the years. In order to get to the park, we drove along the Talimena Scenic Drive which is sprinkled with grand views and vistas that were absolutely breathtaking. To be completely honest, I had no idea that this part of the country was so beautiful and I felt as though I was in Colorado on more than one occasion. Once we got there, we setup camp and did a couple of small hikes in and around the park, took some photos, and lounged around the Lodge to admire the spectacular view. Overall, it was a great weekend and we recommend you check it out if ever in the eastern Arkansas area. Check out the photos.

What an awesome time this year, even better than the last! Jen and I enjoyed seeing everyone and we want to give a big thanks to Carter for letting us crash at his pad throughout the weekend. We rode our bikes to the festival everyday, which turned out to be a nice luxury for our weary feet at the end of the day. Overall, the weather was excellent. It wasn’t too hot and it even rained a few times which cooled things off. The bands were great this year, some highlights being The Kings of Leon, What Made Milwaukee Famous, Gomez, Ween, Ben Kweller, and Tom Petty to name a few. Carter’s annual “Bloody Mary Morning” party went off without a hitch. It was good to so many old friends in one spot. I’ve also added some pictures from the show into my Photos section. Enjoy, and hope to see you guys next year..

Been a busy week. Just moved to my new position at work, and I’ve hadn’t had much time to post. It’s been hot as hell outside and I’m really ready for summer to be over here in Texas. Anyhow, Jen and I are going to go see Alex Jones new movie (Terror Storm) tomorrow night at Lakewood Theatre right here in Dallas. He’s going to speak afterwords, along with Jim Marrs, then there will be a little late night music. Should be an interesting and exciting event.

Austin City Limits Music Festival is right around the corner. Been scoping the lineup and checking out bands that I would like to go hear. The Raconteurs, Kings of Leon, Willie Nelson, and Tom Petty will be there to name a few. It’s always a good time, and I’m looking forward to meeting up with the Austin gang for a great weekend of fun. Speaking of bands, Wilco is going to be in Texas at the beginning of October and they’ll be playing in Fort Worth on the 12th. Tickets go on sale tomorrow and of course I’ll be buying a pair..

Headed down to Austin this past weekend with Jen. Floated the river with some friends on Saturday and did a little bit of shopping on Sunday. Overall, it was a great time. I love Austin. Can’t wait to come back for ACL in September.