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The Needles: Wandering a Wilderness of StoneThe Needles: Wandering a Wilderness of Stone

The Needles: Wandering a Wilderness of Stone

Canyonlands National Park | Friday – Sunday, March 6-8, 2026

Since I’ve already spent some time in both the Island in the Sky and The Maze districts of Canyonlands National Park this year, I figured this weekend would be the perfect opportunity for me to get back into The Needles so I could knock out all three districts by early March. It’s hard to believe that it’s already been an entire year since I was last in The Needles when Diane and I went backpacking into Chesler Park last March, so I was itching to get back! This time I didn’t really have any set destinations in mind when I left from work on Friday afternoon, I just knew that I wanted to wander off trail across some sandstone benches and through some canyons to see what I could find along the way. I was wanting to make it to the park before sunset since there had been winter storms across the Colorado Plateau all day and I was hoping to catch the storm clearing out at sunset.

CONTINUE READINGThe Needles: Wandering a Wilderness of Stone
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Rock Art of Nine Mile Canyon 2026Rock Art of Nine Mile Canyon 2026

Rock Art of Nine Mile Canyon 2026

Saturday & Sunday, February 21-22, 2026

Diane is very glad to almost be done with her Radiation Therapy, and she only has four treatments left this upcoming week, so we were looking for somewhere to get outside this weekend while still being able to take it easy. We decided that searching for rock art in Nine Mile Canyon would be a perfect activity for us and headed up there for our annual pilgrimage. We had actually been thinking about driving up to Nine Mile Canyon the previous weekend for my birthday, but I ended up staying home to work on my 4Runner so that it would be ready for a trip into The Maze later this month. We left home early on Saturday morning and spent the rest of the weekend revisiting sites in the canyon and finding some new ones along the way, too. Although it had snowed in the Grand Valley and all across Southern Utah on Friday, the storm seemed to have mostly missed Price and the surrounding area, so there was only a thin layer of snow on the ground higher up in the canyon and it was pretty dry the lower we went. These are some photos of what we saw this weekend.

CONTINUE READINGRock Art of Nine Mile Canyon 2026
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Upper No Thoroughfare CanyonUpper No Thoroughfare Canyon

Upper No Thoroughfare Canyon

Heart of the World | Tuesday, December 9, 2025

Well, here it is! This is my last hike in the Colorado National Monument for my Heart of the World project and I managed to finish them all up before the end of the year! To be honest, I did have some time when I could have completed this final hike in November, but I purposely waited until December so I could get in a hike during each month of the year, which wasn’t a goal when I initially started this project back on New Years Day, but it just kind of happened naturally and I decided to stick with it about halfway through the year. I guess that waiting until December was a little too late for this particular hike since the trail was covered with some snow in the shaded areas by now, but I figured that might be the case and brought along my microspikes. As much as I would have liked to have hiked the entire length of No Thoroughfare Canyon for this project, the days are just too short at this time of the year for me to squeeze that kind of hike in after work, plus the only section of an ‘official’ trail in Upper No Thoroughfare Canyon are the switchbacks at the very top, so I figured I would be good just hiking down the trail a few miles and then returning the same way.

CONTINUE READINGUpper No Thoroughfare Canyon
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Monument Canyon, Wedding Canyon & Kodels CanyonMonument Canyon & Wedding Canyon

Monument Canyon, Wedding Canyon & Kodels Canyon

Heart of the World | Saturday, March 15, 2025

After staying home early on Saturday morning so I could try to get a permit for Desolation Canyon at 8:00am and was successful, Diane and I hopped into the Jeep and started driving west towards Utah since we initially were planning to spend the rest of the day exploring Eagle Park within Arches National Park. However, as we were speeding along I-70 between Grand Junction and Fruita the clouds from the storm that had passed through the area overnight were clearing and the view over to the Colorado National Monument was looking very nice, so we decided to change up our plans and go hike the loop in Monument Canyon and Wedding Canyon instead.

CONTINUE READINGMonument Canyon, Wedding Canyon & Kodels Canyon
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Cedar Mesa Chronicles: Chapter 14Cedar Mesa Chronicles: Chapter 14

Cedar Mesa Chronicles: Chapter 14

Friday – Sunday, February 21-23, 2025

After returning home from northeastern Arizona on Monday, I decided to take it easier this weekend and return to the canyons of Cedar Mesa to walk a few sections of the canyons. While I was hoping to find a few new ruins and rock art sites along the way, I also took the time to return to a canyon I have hiked many times before so I could revisit some sites that I hadn’t been back to in over a decade and wanted to see again. The weather was very nice all weekend, perfect for hiking and camping, and I had a nice time walking in the canyons. These are some photos from my weekend on Cedar Mesa.

CONTINUE READINGCedar Mesa Chronicles: Chapter 14
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