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My Ten Favorite Photos of 2020

Published January 5, 2021 by Randy Langstraat

To be honest, I really wasn’t planning on making a favorite photos list for last year since I didn’t feel very inspired for much of the year and didn’t feel like I took many good images anyways. However, there were a few photos that I didn’t want getting lost to time, especially from earlier in the year, so I decided to put together this list after all. Looking back through my photos I found that I had taken more shots I liked than I thought I had, so I guess it was a good exercise for me to go through.

Below you will find my top ten favorite photos from the year. You can click on each title to see the full trip report and please feel free to leave a comment below to let me know what you think about my selections this year. Here’s to a better 2021 for everyone!

If you are interested in checking out my favorite photos from previous years, you can follow these links to see them all:  [2019]  [2018]  [2017]  [2016]  [2015]  [2014]  [2013]  [2012]  [2011]

 

The Mountain Belle

 

San Rafael Reef Sunrise

 

Spectre of the Brocken

 

Sea Of Clouds

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My Ten Favorite Trip Reports of 2020

Published December 31, 2020 by Randy Langstraat

It’s the last day of the year, so I think now is a good time to look back and choose my ten favorite trip reports from 2020. Obviously, 2020 was a much different year for everyone which changed some of my plans earlier in the year, but overall I still managed to get a lot of great trips in! Looking back at the year it seems that I spent a lot of time in and around Canyonlands National Park, which is definitely reflected in the choices below. Click on the title to see the full trip report and enjoy!

If you are interested in checking out my favorite trip reports from previous years, you can find those here:  [2019]  [2018]  [2017]  [2016]  [2015]  [2014]  [2013]  [2012]  [2011]

 

Jerry and I headed down to the Mojave Desert in January to warm up from the cold of winter.

 

I had seen The Confluence of the Colorado and Green Rivers from both The Needles and The Maze, so it was finally time to see it from the Island in the Sky!

 

Our first time exploring Petrified Forest National Park was an amazing experience and we look forward to returning just as soon as we can!

 

The weather almost made us cancel this overnight trip, but thankfully we went ahead with it and got to backpack among the saguaros for the very first time.

 

If I had to pick only one canyon on the Colorado Plateau to call my favorite, I think Salt Creek might be the one, and we spent another couple of days with Jerry exploring the canyon this spring just before everything got shut down.

 

CONTINUE READINGMy Ten Favorite Trip Reports of 2020

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Year in Concerts 2020

Published December 31, 2020 by Randy Langstraat

This is the time of the year I usually make a post highlighting all of the amazing concerts we went to throughout the year, but this year is obviously going to be different since the COVID-19 pandemic shut down all concerts for the rest of the year starting in mid-March. Luckily, we did at least go to two concerts before that happened! I really hope shows can return again later in 2021!

 

These are the two concerts we went to before everything got shut down:

 

These were the concerts we had tickets to that got cancelled:

Bad Omens 2020

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Bag Night Challenge 2020

Published December 21, 2020 by Randy Langstraat

Bolam Pass Campsite

Since I am pretty sure that I’m now done camping for the rest of the year, I’ll go ahead and post up my total nights spent camping in 2020. While we had to cancel and change a number of our planned trips, especially in the spring, I am pretty happy that I still managed to get out and spend 70 nights under the stars! I’m hoping that 2021 will be a better year for everyone!

Photos from many of our campsites can be found here: Campsites of 2020

You can check out my previous years at the links below:

[2019]  [2018]  [2017]  [2016]  [2015]  [2014]  [2013]  [2012]

 

Total Bag Nights: 70

January 3 – 5|Mountain Belle|2 Nights
January 17 – 20|Mojave Desert|3 Nights
January 25 – 26|Behind The Rocks|1 Night
Jan 31 – Feb 2|White Crack|2 Nights
February 11 – 12|Aravaipa Canyon|1 Night
February 14 – 15|White Sands National Park|1 Night
Feb 29 – Mar 1|Jackass Benches|1 Night
March 6 – 8|Trachyte Creek|2 Nights
March 12 – 15|The Needles|3 Nights
March 27 – 29|Waterpocket Fold|2 Nights
April 3 – 5|Silveys Pocket & Paradox Valley|2 Nights
April 25 – 26|Mee Canyon|1 Night
May 1 – 2|Tomsich Butte|1 Night
May 8 – 10|Moody Creek & Silver Falls Creek|2 Nights
May 15 – 18|Woodenshoe Canyon|3 Nights
June 13 – 14|Hermits Rest|1 Night
July 3 – 4|Wall Lake|1 Night
July 10 – 12|Geyser Pass & La Sal Pass|2 Nights
July 18 – 19|Bolam Pass|1 Night
Jul 31 – Aug 1|The Meadows|1 Night
August 1 – 2|Black Mesa|1 Night
August 8 – 9|Middle Quartz Creek|1 Night
August 14 – 15|Rose Cabin|1 Night
August 16 – 17|Conundrum Hot Springs|1 Night
August 21 – 22|La Plata River|1 Night
August 22 – 23|Stony Pass|1 Night
August 29 – 30|Deer Park|1 Night
September 1 – 2|Pole Canyon|1 Night
September 2 – 3|White Mountains|1 Night
September 3 – 4|Kennedy Saddle|1 Night
September 4 – 5|Mount Irish Range|1 Night
September 11 – 12|Saltado Creek|1 Night
September 17 – 20|Meander Canyon|3 Nights
September 25 – 26|Little Giant Basin|1 Night
October 2 – 3|Between The Creeks|1 Night
October 3 – 5|Paria River & Sheep Creek|2 Nights
October 5 – 6|Deer Spring Point|1 Night
October 6 – 7|Fourmile Bench|1 Night
October 7 – 8|Paria River|1 Night
October 8 – 9|Cottonwood Creek|1 Night
October 9 – 10|Circle Cliffs|1 Night
October 17 – 19|White Rim Trail|2 Nights
October 23 – 25|Polly Mesa|2 Nights
October 30 – Nov 1|Hatch Point|2 Nights
November 6 – 7|Road Draw|1 Night
November 20 – 22|Indian Creek|2 Nights
November 26 – 29|Natural Bridges National Monument|3 Nights
December 5 – 6|Dead Horse Point Yurt|1 Night
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