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Red River: Rock Art of the PalavayuRed River: Rock Art of the Palavayu

Red River: Rock Art of the Palavayu

Thursday – Saturday, February 5-7, 2026

After spending a few relaxing days at the bottom of the Grand Canyon at Phantom Ranch, I hiked out and stayed at a hotel in Flagstaff for one night before continuing on east across the colorful Painted Desert so I could spend a few more days searching for rock art sites in the Palavayu, including Petrified Forest National Park, before returning home late on Saturday evening. Over the past six years since our first visit to the Petrified Forest, this area has quickly become one of my favorite places to explore and I look forward to my annual visit each year! I spent the better part of the next three days hiking and searching for new rock art sites, but I also ended up revisiting a few places that I had been to before to see what I had missed the first time. These are just some photos of what I saw this time…

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Beyond The Swell: Last Chance to the South DesertBeyond The Swell: Last Chance to the South Desert

Beyond The Swell: Last Chance to the South Desert

Friday – Sunday, April 12-14, 2024

A few months ago I finally did something that I’ve been meaning to do for a long time when I signed up for a Swiftwater Rescue Training class that would be taking place on Monday and Tuesday along the Green River near Swaseys Beach at the mouth of Gray Canyon. Since I needed to be in Green River on Sunday night for the class, I figured this would be a good weekend to spend some quality time wandering around the fringes at the southwestern edge of the San Rafael Swell and into the adjacent Cathedral Valley District of Capitol Reef National Park. It feels like it’s been quite a while since I’ve spent much time out in this desolate area and I was looking forward to returning since there are plenty of new places I’ve wanted to explore with my Jeep and on foot, plus a few others that I’ve wanted to return to.

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The Painted Desert: Land of Light and ShadowThe Painted Desert: Land of Light and Shadow

The Painted Desert: Land of Light and Shadow

Homolovi State Park & Petrified Forest National Park
Saturday – Monday, January 13-15, 2024

For about a year now, Diane and I have been making pretty solid plans to spend most of the upcoming week in Grand Canyon National Park. Since we would be passing right through the Painted Desert on our way there, we were also looking forward to spending a couple of days in the Petrified Forest along the way. We certainly could never have predicted that after our first visit to Petrified Forest National Park in 2020 we would fall in love with exploring this amazing place and have now returned each year for the past five years. With so many places still left to explore in the park, we are hoping to keep the trend going well into the future!

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A Brief Stopover in Petrified Forest National ParkA Brief Stopover in Petrified Forest National Park

A Brief Stopover in Petrified Forest National Park

Arizona Winter Loop | Saturday & Sunday, January 28-29, 2023

We recently found out that Diane would have a little time off from her clinical rotations before going back at it in mid-February and then she would be pretty busy until her graduation in May, so we decided to load up the Jeep and head down to southern Arizona in search of some warmer temperatures for a week. One of my main goals this trip was to spend a couple days exploring the Sky Islands and Chiricahua National Monument in the southeastern corner of Arizona, but since it’s a long drive to get there we broke up the initial drive by spending a night at the Painted Desert Ranger Cabin near Petrified Forest National Park and did a little hiking while we were there. I just can’t pass up an opportunity to spend a little time hiking in the backcountry of that amazing park when we are nearby!

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Cedar Mesa Chronicles: Chapter 7Cedar Mesa Chronicles: Chapter 7

Cedar Mesa Chronicles: Chapter 7

Veterans Day Weekend | Thursday – Sunday, November 10-13, 2022

This year for the extended Veterans Day Weekend I was feeling the pull of the ancients to return to the canyons of Cedar Mesa. Even though I seem to have been neglecting this area for a while now, I decided it was time to follow. As usual, I left from work on Thursday afternoon, drove through Moab and then headed south across Dry Valley to Monticello and Blanding. From there, I made my way west through the Comb Ridge and then up onto Cedar Mesa where I found a spot to camp along the old Emigrant Trail. After a good night of sleep I spent the rest of the weekend exploring a couple of canyons on Cedar Mesa and even made a foray into Lower White Canyon, too.

CONTINUE READINGCedar Mesa Chronicles: Chapter 7
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