Utah Adventure Journal

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“What are you looking at?” My wife, Louise asked.  “CFS,” I replied. “Ahhhh. What’s CFS?” She inquired.  â€œCubic feet per second of course” I stated with a smirk.   “Oh, okay but….What?”   Our conversation wasn’t going well.  Louise had no idea what I was doing and/or referencing as she watched me stare at a line […]

Overlanding—the latest buzzword in the outdoor world.  Don’t believe me? Notice all the roof top tents atop vehicles.  Notice the vehicles outfitted with roof racks, extra fuel cans, awnings, and other gear attached to them.  Overlanding is all over social media, as well.  But, what does overlanding mean?  And, how to do it?  Lucky for you and me, Utah presents perfect […]

After exiting Interstate 70, the Land Cruiser immediately touched dirt.  “Where is the entrance to Capitol Reef?”  My wife, Louise asked.  Yep, Utah’s National Parks are stunning and undeniably increasingly popular. However, Capitol Reef is one of the least visited national parks. “We’ll travel south a few miles and then enter the park.”  I replied.   The […]

It was late.  Late in terms of bedtime. “Dad, where’s Maddie?” Lilly asked. “We’ll find her shortly.” I responded. Lilly asked in a sweet, “I want something,” voice.  “Can we have a campfire once we get there?” “It’s already past your bedtime.  Once we get there, we’ll setup the tent and get some rest.” “Mommy, won’t find […]

  “Morning, Ed.  Hey, what are you doing this weekend?”  I inquired over the phone. “Nothing, what’s up?”  Ed responded. “You want to head to Cedar City to mountain bike?” “Cedar City?  Mountain biking?  I didn’t know Cedar City had any riding. Mike, we live in Park City.  There’s a ton of biking here.” “I […]

“I’ll fly over the landing strip to scope it out.”   “That?  It’s a dirt road!” I pointed to the weed-filled, unmaintained dirt road. “Looks good.  Let’s land.” Who was I to argue?  I had zero control over the situation at hand.  I had to trust my friend and pilot Nadim to safely land his […]

In my Dad’s Land Cruiser, I exited I-70 and turned onto Highway 24, heading south, my spring break adventure about to start. I had just flown home from graduate school to visit my parents and to seek a little rest and relaxation in canyon country. It had been a while. Schooling in the Midwest has […]

“Hey, Mike, what’s up?” my brother Rob asked. “You want to head to the desert this weekend?” I inquired over the phone. “The weather looks ideal.” We both began to pack. Some trips are well planned; others are spur of the moment breaks from reality. This was one of those trips.   The fall desert […]

“It’s magic hour!” I yelled to Sam cruising behind me. The western light bounced off the enormous sandstone walls as the road at the base snaked its way high above the San Juan River. On the horizon we spotted distant views of towers and spires of Monument Valley. Our group of desert wanderers spent eight […]

  Day ten of our desert jaunt, and I felt somewhat exhausted. I slowly sipped my coffee while I packed to go boating. It wasn’t making much sense at the time. We had spent the previous nine days hiking, canyoneering, and ruin-hunting all over the deserts of Utah and Arizona. Now, we were boating? I […]

Can Adventure Sports and Travel Change You? November 2015   Tyson scrambles around for his air pressure gauge trying to deflate his tires by 20 pounds.  We turn off Highway 24 and onto one of my favorite roads in Utah—The Maze Road—a road that takes the desert traveler to some of the “best” in Utah: […]

  A Fall Escape to the Beauty of Canyon Country   Seeing the sign that reads “I-70 one mile ahead” caught my attention. What? We were already down to Interstate 70? My wife, Louise, and I had literally driven south on Highway 6 to the goods of canyon country a 100 times or so before. […]