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August 31, 2023
  • Posted 44 images taken during early August 2023 on our trip to Rocky Mountain National Park. We climbed to Shelf Lake in Glacier Gorge with amazing views to Long's Peak. Go to the linked post at  Exploring The Colorado Plateau Facebook page.
August 25, 2023
  • Posted 14 images taken on Sunday October 16, 2022 at Tower Rock two hours south of St. Louis on the Mississippi River. Due to low water levels in the Mississippi River in 2022 it was possible to walk over the river bed to Tower Rock from the rivers edge. The opportunity to walk to Tower Rock had not been possible since 1988 and there was huge interest by the public in the region to visit Tower Rock at this time. The access road to the park was so crowded we had to walk about a mile and a half to the Tower Rock just to find a train stopped due to an accident. The train had hit a car and was waiting for the investigators to arrive. We climbed thru the train on a platform and then down climbed steeply to the rivers edge on our approach to the cross-over point. As you can see from the images there were quite a few visitors. Go to the linked post at  Exploring The Colorado Plateau Facebook page.
August 22, 2023
  • Posted 19 images taken in November of 2016 at Monument Rocks 20 miles south of Oakley, Kansas. We arrived very early in the morning hoping for good morning light but it was overcast. However, the shots came out very well. Go to the linked post at  Exploring The Colorado Plateau Facebook page.
August 22, 2023
  • Posted 17 images taken in November of 2016 in Bryce Canyon National Park. Several of the images are taken from the end of the Park Road at Rainbow Point. This is one of the great National Park on this planet. Go to the linked post at  Exploring The Colorado Plateau Facebook page.
August 16, 2023
  • Posted 21 images taken in November of 2016 in Arches National Park. The images are of our approximately 2 mile one way hike from the trailhead to Double "O" Arch. The route takes you past Landscape Arch which is a destination in and of itself. Landscape Arch should be visited as soon as possible because I do not believe it will exist much longer. In 2004 a large section on the underside of the Arch broke away leaving a very thin version of it's former self. After Landscape Arch the trail gets more intersting climbing and traversing huge sandstone fines until you reach Double "O" Arch. Go to the linked post at  Exploring The Colorado Plateau Facebook page.
July 27, 2023
  • Posted 38 images taken on September 17, 2022 in Badlands National Park. We started in the early morning around 7:30 am at the east end of the park and continued shooting till 12:30 pm while traveling westbound. The light was great in the morning and later the heavy cloud cover blanketed the badlands in cloud shadows. Go to the linked post at  Exploring The Colorado Plateau Facebook page.
July 11, 2023
  • Posted 14 images taken on March 23, 2022 in Chaco Canyon National Historic Park. This was a brief visit and we focused on Casa Rinconada and Pueblo del Arroyo. This visit was combined with Angel Peak Scenic Area. Casa Rinconada is I believe the largest kiva in the United States and even an 11mm lens cannot capture its circumference. Go to the linked post at  Exploring The Colorado Plateau Facebook page.
July 4, 2023
  • Posted 19 images taken on March 23, 2022 at the Angel Peak Scenic Area in northwestern New Mexico 30 miles south of Farmington. This is an under-rated location, managed by the BLM that is actually pretty amazing. The canyon formed by the drainage is 700 feet deep and is a combination of sedementary rock and sandstone. This Scenic Area has a Grand Canyon like appearance. Go to the linked post at  Exploring The Colorado Plateau Facebook page.
June 4, 2023
  • Posted 25 images taken on March 22 and March 23, 2022 in the Ahe Sli She Pah Wilderness area in New Mexico in our effort to track down the "King of Wing". Panoramic shots taken of amazing storm clouds from a 35 mph wind storm in the area on March 22 at the Trailhead. This is a good little adventure that will require a satellite based GPS unit to find. Go to the linked post at  Exploring The Colorado Plateau Facebook page.
May 29, 2023
  • Posted 17 images taken on March 22 and March 25, 2022 at the Bisti De Na Zin Wilderness area in New Mexico after finding the Bisti Dragon Eggs. We planned to find the Dragon Eggs in the morning and return to the area later in the day for sunset shots. Weather reports indicated high winds and they were not kidding. We returned around 4 PM to 35 mph winds. It was simply impossible to walk in this wind with camera gear. We decided to find the trailhead to King of Wing and return to Farmington for a evening meal. Go to the linked post at  Exploring The Colorado Plateau Facebook page.
April 28, 2022
  • Posted 21 images of our bushwack thru Bisti De Na Zin Wilderness in New Mexico to find the Bisti Dragon Eggs on March 22, 2022. We had a satellite based GPS unit but still had to bushwack to find the site. The light is not the best but this was a scouting effort to find the location so we could return at sunset. Go to the linked post at the Exploring The Colorado Plateau Facebook page.
April 24, 2022
  • Posted 18 images of our visit to Roxbourgh State Park southwest of Denver on the morning of March 19, 2022. This park exhibits the same Ancestral Rockies tilted sandstone as Red Rocks Amphitheatre that is farther north. Go to the linked post at the Exploring The Colorado Plateau Facebook page.
April 11, 2022
  • Posted 20 images of a couple of Railroad Passenger Cars decommissioned and repurposed as agricultural buildings on the High Plains. Go to the linked post at the Exploring The Colorado Plateau Facebook page.
September 28, 2021
  • Posted 33 images of our visit to "The Diamond Inn" in Gray Summit, Missouri on old Route 66. "The Diamond Inn" was converted to a Travelodge late in it's history and closed sometime after 2016. The "Diamond Inn" and "The Diamonds Restaurant" had a fabled history on Route 66.  "The Diamond Inn" was a part of the relocated "The Diamonds Restuarant" complex constructed in 1969.   Before 1969 the original "The Diamonds Restuarant" was located two miles farther west on Route 66 in Villa Ridge, MO and establised in 1927.   Go to the linked post at the Exploring The Colorado Plateau Facebook page.
  • See this link on the Lost Tables web page for a history of "The Diamonds Restuarant", a Route 66 legend.
May 27, 2021
  • Posted 27 images of our climb to the summit of 12,152 foot high Courthouse Mountain near Ouray, Colorado in July of 2018. This is a steep route but entirely doable and would be a good first summit for persons who want to prepare for the Colorado 14neers.   Go to the linked post at the Exploring The Colorado Plateau Facebook page.
May 26, 2021
  • Posted 14 images of the Mountain Top Mine Dormatory Ruins taken in Governor Basin on our trip in July of 2018 to the San Juan Mountains of western Colorado. If you want to see this building standing you better hurry up and visit because it is about ready to collapse. The owner will do nothing or allow anything to be done to save this structure. I have argued that the State of Colorado should take ownership of the building only and save it but apparently that is not going to happen.  Go to the linked post at the Exploring The Colorado Plateau Facebook page. If you want to see what this building looked like in 2009 see this Photo Gallery
May 19, 2021
  • Posted 16 images from our trip in July of 2018 to the San Juan Mountains of western Colorado. Images are from the forest service road the climbs from Yankee Boy Basin up to Governor Basin.  Go to the linked post at the Exploring The Colorado Plateau Facebook page.
May 30, 2020
  • Revised the Weather Page from Weather Underground "weather stickers" to linked images from The Colorado Plateau.  Weather Underground no longer supports the "weather stickers" since their sale to The Weather Channel. We have linked from images to the twelve areas that basically cover The Colorado Plateau. The links are still referencing Weather Underground pages because they show sunrise and sunset times. The images are from top left to bottom right as follows; South Rim of Grand Canyon at Desert View, Agathla Peak near Keyanta, AZ, Petrified log in Petrified National Park, Capitol Peak near Glenwood Springs, Black Canyon from the North Rim of Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Cliff Palace in Mesa Verde National Park, Winter storm along the Sandia Crest, Shiprock at sunrise on Navajo Lands, La Ventana Arch at sunset in El Malpais National Monument, Double "O" Arch in Arches National Park, The Wedge along the San Rafael River on BLM Lands, West Rim Trail in Zion National Park. 
May 21, 2020
  • Posted 40 images from our trip in late October 2019 to the Oregon Coast. Images are from Chetco Point, Arch Rock Overlook, Pistol River Beach and Secret Beach.  Go to the linked post at the Exploring The Colorado Plateau Facebook page.
May 5, 2020
  • Posted 15 images from our effort to discover the Escal Volcano (Cosmic Ashtray) in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in May of 2012.  Go to the linked post at the Exploring The Colorado Plateau Facebook page.
January 16, 2020
  • Posted 31 images of our hike to the Lewis Mine near Telluride, Colorado in October of 2015.  Go to the linked post at the Exploring The Colorado Plateau Facebook page.
October 3, 2019
  • Posted 27 images of our West Rim Trail Hike in Zion National Park, Utah during or visit in October of 2017. Go to the linked post at the Exploring The Colorado Plateau Facebook page.
August 17, 2019
  • Posted 33 images of our visit in October of 2017 to Jacob Hamblin Arch in Coyote Gulch, Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, Utah. Go to the linked post at the Exploring The Colorado Plateau Facebook page.
July 28, 2019
  • Posted 21 images of our visit in June of 2016 to Crested Butte, Colorado during their yearly wildflower festival. Go to the linked post at the Exploring The Colorado Plateau Facebook page.
July 16, 2019
  • Posted 22 images of our visit to Fults Prairie Nature Preserve near Fults, IL on July 14, 2019 to the Facebook page. Due to weather coming in from Tropical Storm Barry we had some interesting light and a great sunset. Go to the linked post at the Exploring The Colorado Plateau Facebook page.
July 13, 2019
  • Posted 18 images to the Facebook page of our visit in November of 2016 to the Vermillion Cliffs National Monument in Arizona. Go to the linked post at the Exploring The Colorado Plateau Facebook page.
  • Posted 27 images to the Facebook page of our July 7, 2019 visit to the Shaw Nature Reserve of Missouri Botanical Gardens in Gray Summit, MO. Go to the linked post at the Exploring The Colorado Plateau Facebook page.
  • Posted 17 images to the Facebook page of our visit to Castlewood State Park near Balwin, MO in March of 2019. Go to the linked post at the Exploring The Colorado Plateau Facebook page.
July 5, 2019
  • The "Weather Stickers" on the Weather Page are not showing with the exception of Quemado, New Mexico. I have no explanation for this and apparently other web sites that are using the Weather Underground "Weather Stickers" are having the same problem. You can still use the space where the widget should appear and simply click to go to the city indicated in the footnote below (ignore the "No Data" indication). Weather Underground was sold in 2014 to The Weather Channel and has been undergoing a variety of synergies typical of corporate takeovers. I suspect the "Weather Stickers" are now an historic footnote to The Weather Underground. I may have to simply use an image as a link to the city indicated in the footnote if there is no resolution to the "Weather Stickers".
July 4, 2019
  • Posted a video on the Videos Page. of a complete through-hike of the PCT by "Dixie". This is a long video but well worth a full or partial viewing. I believe this video may be the best available production of a PCT thru hike out there! PCT Thru-Hike
June 23, 2019
  • Posted 26 images of great fall color in cottonwood trees to the Facebook page of our visit to Long Canyon in Utah October of 2017. Go to the linked post at the Exploring The Colorado Plateau Facebook page.
June 17, 2019
  • Posted 11 images to the Facebook page of our visit to a New Mexico Badlands in October of 2015. Go to the linked post at the Exploring The Colorado Plateau Facebook page.
  • Posted 15 images to the Facebook page of our visit to the Placer Gulch Stamp Mill in July of 2016. Go to the linked post at the Exploring The Colorado Plateau Facebook page.
  • Posted 13 images to the Facebook page of a visit to the renovated Gateway Arch May of 2018. Go to the linked post at the Exploring The Colorado Plateau Facebook page.
May 27, 2019
  • Posted 21 images to the Facebook page of our hike, downclimb, traverse and river crossing to Stevens Arch high above the confluence of Coyote Gulch and the Escalante River on November 23, 2016. Stevens Arch is in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and one of the largest arches on the planet at 220 feet wide by 160 feet high. The trailhead is located at the end of Forty-Mile Ridge Road accessed by a 40 mile drive on the very rough and washboard Hole-in-the-Rock Road. We left Escalante, Utah at 7 am and arrived at the trailhead around 10:15 am. The trail starts out descending around 150 feet through a dune field and continues for another mile and a half over solid rock to "Crack-in-the-Wall". The posted images pick up the route from "Crack-in-the-Wall" and although this is a challenging route it is well worth the effort. Go to the linked post at the Exploring The Colorado Plateau Facebook page.
May 23, 2019
  • Posted over 40 images to our Facebook page of our hike to the Old 100 Boarding House north of Silverton, CO on July 17, 2016. The Old 100 Boarding House sits high on the south face of Galena Mountain at 12,315 feet. The trail starts from a forest service road at 11,800 feet and ultimately climbs to 12,650 feet in a little over a mile and a half putting you about 350 feet almost directly above the Boarding House. The trail then becomes a steep downclimb in a scree filled coular that requires consideration. If you take your time and pick your way and are not uncomfortable with exposure you can do this downclimb. This was a very exciting, very narrow goat trail with great views and wildflowers and highly recommended if you are fit. Go to the linked post at the Exploring The Colorado Plateau Facebook page.
May 12, 2019
  • Have not posted for a while due to a very interesting last half of 2018 and beginning of 2019.
  • First; I tried to solve my slide show program and made good progress but did not solve.
  • Second; Deb my "X", who I was good friends with (she only lives 2 miles away), informs me on her birthday 5/27 that she has stage 4 pancreatic cancer - 6 months to 2 years life expectancy. Deb had always been as healthy as a horse.
  • Third; on June 22, 2018 I have a nightmarish anaphylactic alergic reaction to something around 2 AM in the morning. I swear I almost died. I have never had any alergies in my life. Daughter (Pharmacist) said I should get an epipen. All summer 2018 I kept having nasty alergic reactions, not as bad as June 22, but bad, horrible rashes and welts all over places I will not describe. Finally, on September 20 around 11:30 PM my tongue starts itching. I had gone to bed but got up to see if I could tell if it was swelling. It was only swelling on one half and kind of off color. I had read that a swelling tongue is not a good sign, so I got dressed and drove myself to St. Johns Hospital Emergency Room. By the time I got to the hospital my tongue had swollen so much it filled my entire mouth cavity and I could not talk. They understood what the problem was immediately and very quickly put me on an IV of Benedryl and steroids. After around three hours my tongue had gone back down to mostly normal. The docs kept me overnight in ER and then put me in a patient room for observation for anther 24 hours. My first time for any kind of treatment in a hospital in my life. They gave me perscription for an epipen and set me up with appointment to have my blood tested for Alpha Gal allergy (Lone Start Tick Alergy). I told docs that I go out with my son pretty much every weekend and do some hiking and take a few photos. Doc said they were seeing more cases of Alpha Gal allergy in St. Louis area. Get blood test results back on Oct 12, 2018 and am stongly positive for Alpha Gal allergy. This basically means that I cannot eat any red meat - nothing with fur - only feathers and fins - not jello or gummy bears. Can self heal in 6 months to 5 years.
  • Fourth; on top of the allergy thing poor Deb is not doing well with the kemo therapy and basially stops in late September, 2018. They are now telling us she only has two weeks to two months. Obviously, we only want to hear the two month part. October 15, 2018 I am told Deb has only 1 or 2 days at most. I visited with her a couple of weeks before and we both shed some tears. I ordered some flowers with a note for the next day and she passed that day. I am not certain she saw the flowers but I will pretend she did.
  • Fifth; we have to address Deb's funeral. I posted some images of Deb from the past on Facebook and sort of got into posting which I had never really done since signing up in 2010.
  • Sixth, had to do my 2019 taxes that I do myself and the company I am working with merged with another company and we are on again off again as to whether we are going to move to a new location. Ultimately we did move in middle of February 2019.
  • Seventh; I also figure out in April 2019 that I definetively have some version of acid reflux. Start a one month detox program - No coffee, red wine, alcohol and only foods with a PH of 5 or higher. After I finish detoxing in another week I can have only one cup of coffee per day and hopefully at least one glass of red wine. Potato or corn based vodka and tequila are ok with a PH over 5. Doing a cold turkey on coffee is not easy but I am now much better in that regard now and can swallow my food pretty much normally.
  • Eighth; A variety of other distractions that I am not going to get into.
  • I believe that I am getting thru all of this and want to catch back up with the web page. I have a lot of images to put up and need to catch up with the trip reports. I think I am four trips behind.
July 29, 2018
  • Quick Trip to western Colorado to explore Yankee Boy and Governor Basin near Ouray and climb Courthouse Mountain near Ridgway. On the way we stopped at Columbus Park Ramen in Kansas City and stayed in Topeka, KS. We left Topeka around 9 am the next day, stopped in Denver at Crema Coffee House on Larimer Street for a late lunch, endured a 2 hour drive time from West Colfax in Denver metro to Eisenhower Tunnel, stopped in Montrose for a late meal and arrived the next day at 1:30 am in Ridgeway - a long drive. The stretch of I-70 west of Denver to Eisehower Tunnel is becoming a really bad scene - simply too much traffic for the road to handle - particularly at 5PM on a Friday in the summer months. Stayed in Ridgway at Chipeta Solar Springs and Resort - very good. To Yankee Boy Basin the next morning by 11 am and found some mining equipment ruins. On into Governor Basin to the Mountain Top Mine ruins. Good dinner at Eatery 66 in Ridgway and relaxed at Chipeta reminder of day preping gear for Courthouse Mountain climb. Arrived Courthouse Mountain the next morning and hit the trail at 10:30 am. This trail starts steep and only gets steeper with a short flat ridgeline walk in the middle part. We dropped our packs just past the flat portion and carried water, probar and cameras with rain jackets. Really great views to Courthouse Tower once you reach the connecting saddle to the mountain. Topped out at 2 pm with great views in 360 degrees. The weather was coming in on us to the south so we did not stay on top long. Lucky we got down to treeline when we were hit multilple times with rain and hale all the way back to the trailhead. We had checked out of Chipeta when we left to climb Courthouse Mountain. On to Ouray to the Matterhorn Inn for our final night in the area. Meal and a good draft at Ouray Brewery and back to Matterhorn to recover from what was a very real hike/climb on Courthouse Mountain. Left Ouray after complimentary breakfast at Timberline Cafe and basically drove all day to Hays, KS. Arrived Hays at 9:30 pm Central Time. Had a late meal at Appleby's in Hays and turned in. Left Hays around 9 am. Checked out an abandoned farmstead in Kansas on the way back and stopped at Roost Cafe in downtown Lawerene when we could not find the Starbucks. Arrived back St. Louis around 7:pm - a good little trip - tired.
June 10, 2018
  • We are having technical code difficulties with our slide show presentations on the Photo Galleries page. The problem with the slideshow software is that our web host has upgraded to a newer version of "php" and the site code is an older version with some now depricated code. We are working through this issue and soon will have the the problem resolved. The newer version of "php" is an improvement in speed and efficiency. Hopefully, you appreciate the fact that we do not sell 1/3 to 1/2 of our site to advertisers and have no pop-ups to annoy site visitations. We also use no javascript on this site other than the slideshow program which does use a combination of "php" and "javascript" to read the contents of the photo gallery directory. The Photo Gallery page is still available and provides good size images with captions. There are also hundreds of images available in the Trip Reports page that we will be updating in the future. May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds - Edward Abbey.
October 12, 2017
April 12, 2017
  • Updated several videos on the Videos Page.  Enjoy.

    Video #38 - Valley of Fire State Park, NV.
    Video #30 - Arches National Park, UT.
    Video #20 - Shiprock, New Mexico.
    Video #18 - Little Wild Horse Canyon.
    Video #17 - Petrified Forest National Park, AZ.
    Video # 9 - Betakin Ruins, Navajo National Monument AZ.
    Video # 8 - Yant Flat, Utah.
    Video # 7 - Havasui Falls, Arizona.
    Video # 6 - Mesa Arch, Canylands National Park, UT.
    Video #5 - Canyonlands National Park, UT.
    Video #4 - Maze District, Canyonlands National Park, UT.
    Video #3 - South Kaibab to Bright Angel Trail - Grand Canyon National Park, AZ.
    Video #2 - Bryce Canyon National Park, UT.
December 26, 2016
  • Added two new links in the Colorado Plateau section of the Links Page.

  • The Hayduke Trail.  This is a new 800 plus mile Trail within the Colorado Plateau that starts in Arches National Park, traverses generally south southwest to the Grand Canyon National Park and finishes northwest in Zion National Park. The trail is more a backcountry route than a trail - it is not marked and is seriously tough.

  • Carrot Quinn.  Carrot has completed the PCT twice and the CDT.  She completed The Hayduke Trail in May of this year.  She writes a blog along the way, publishing when possible.  Carrot is not afraid to share and has a very entertaining writing style.  Highly recommend her Hayduke Trail 2016 blog/trip report.
November 18, 2016
July 13, 2016
June 9, 2016
  • Added three trip reports to the Trip Reports page.
    Trip to Colorado and New Mexico in October 2015.
    Trip to Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refug & Arabia Steamboat Museum in Kansas City area in March 2015.
    Trip to Moab, Utah and Arches National Park in November 2014.
    Will add photos soon.
June 3, 2016
  • Updated and added several Web Cams to the Web Cams Page. The National Parks Service has updated all of its web pages and revised the links to many Web Cams. We updated the links and added (7) new web cams in the "Colorado Plateau" section of the web page. We removed the "High Uintas Wilderness" webcam because the Ashley National Forest is no longer providing this web cam to the public although the NF web site indicates that it is still operational.
    A view to "Grizzly Ridge" in Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP.
    A view from the "Entrance Station" in Arches NP.
    A view from "Saddlerock Visitor Center" in The Colorado National Monument.
    A view to"Spruce Tree House" in Mesa Verde NP.
    A view from "Hite Overlook" in Glen Canyon NRA.
    A view from "Paria Overlook"in Glen Canyon NRA.
    A view to"Inscription Rock"in El Morro NM, New Mexico.
October 9, 2015
March 13, 2015
December 19, 2014
September 13, 2014
  • Added two new links in the Colorado Plateau section of the Links Page
  • Travels with the Blonde Coyote - A very active site in Wordpress format with great photos and trip reports.  Based out of New Mexico, traveling the country, living on the road from a teardrop trailer - as cool as it gets.
  • ADVENTR.CO - Another very active site in Wordpress format with more great photos and trip reports.  Based out of Grand Junction, Colorado and primarily focused on Colorado but including a lot of great material on the Colorado Plateau.
August 21, 2014
June 25, 2014
June 12, 2014
  • Performed more maintenance on the site. All links to photo galleries in the trip reports are in the new format developed in 2013. There are 735 photo galleries linked from the trip reports. Approximately, one third were revised last year. It only took 24 plus more hours to finish the update. This is an example of how all appear.
June 3, 2014
May 26, 2014
February 1, 2014
December 14, 2013
  • Added a new link to the Colorado Plateau section of the Links Page titled Wilderness, UT  This is a newer site devoted to exploring and documenting the natural wonder that is the great state Utah
  • Corrected a few intra-site links at the bottom of the mileage tables: on the Denver Mileage Page.
May 19, 2013
May 12, 2013
  • Added two Mileage Pages: Grand Junction, and Durango.  Grand Junction provides distance and time to Durango, CO.  Durango provides distance and time to Keyanta, AZ, Walsenburg, CO and Grand Junction, CO.
  • Added three routes to the Denver Mileage Page.
  • Revised the format of the bottom navigation for all of the mileage pages.
  • Added two items to the Colorado Plateau FAQ Page - "What is The Grand Staircase" & "What is The Laramide Orogeny".
April 24, 2013
April 3, 2013
March 31, 2013
  • Added a couple of paragraphs of commentary on the 10 year anniversary of this sites presence on the Internet to the About the Site page.  We include a preview of the 2014 EXPLORING THE COLORADO PLATEAU Calendar Cover in the commentary.  We also revised the About the Site page format to preview changes that we will make to all of the main pages on the site.
March 14, 2013
March 13, 2013
February 26, 2013
February 24, 2013
  • Added Photo Gallery Forty-Four to the Photo Galleries Page. The gallery contains 30 images one of which is panoramic.  The photos in this gallery are taken from the entry point of The Joint Trail through the exit point.
February 21, 2013
  • Added Photo Gallery Forty-Three to the Photo Galleries Page. The gallery contains 51 images six of which are panoramic. The photos in this gallery were taken from along the 5 mile hike from the trailhead of the Chessler Park Trail to the entry point of The Joint Trail and the 2 mile return back across Chessler Park.
December 18, 2012
  • Revised the code and format of (192) separate linked pages and (781) images on the Trip Reports Outlines from 2009 and back.  All linked pages on the Trip Reports now have the same format and appearance as the photo galleries and are much improved.  All code on this site now meets the W3C DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional code format.
December 1, 2012
November 28, 2012
November 24, 2012
November 17, 2012
  • Added 190 plus images to the May 2012 Trip Report to the San Rafael Swell, Capitol Reef National Park, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Cedar Breaks National Monument and Zion National Park, all in Utah.
October 4, 2012
September 10, 2012
September 4, 2012
August 24, 2012
August 19, 2012
July 4, 2012
  • Time flys - Have not posted to the site in a few months. Took a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park in October of 2011, a trip to northern New Mexico, northeastern Arizona and southwest Utah in November of 2011 and a trip to Hanksville, Utah, Capitol Reef National Park, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Cedar Breaks National Monument and Zion National Park in May of 2012. We did the Subway - top to bottom - from Russell Gulch thru the Subway and out the Left Fork of North Creek at Zion National Park. Will post trip reports and images soon.
September 20, 2011
  • Added a link to six Web Cams documenting the removal of the Glines Canyon and Elwha Dams from the Elwha River system to the Web Cams Page. The Elwha River restoration on the Olympic Penninsula in Washington State is the largest dam removal project to date in the United States and the World. This dam removal effort, beginning in 1992, is a testament to the perseverance of the Klallam People and The Olympic National Park in the restoration of the Elwha River.  If you want to understand the issue of Dams in this country read the authoritive history of dam buiding in the United States "Cadillac Desert" by Marc Rieser. You will never think of dams in the same way.
September 9,2011
  • Added the option to view Photo Gallery Forty, Photo Gallery Forty-one and Gallery One in Photo Gallery Forty-two as a slideshow.  The link to the slideshow is located between the Photo Gallery title and top of the first image. The slideshow is full screen and autrotates.  If a thumbnail image is selected it will be displayed full sceen and the rotation will stop. To restart the rotation "refresh" the screen - the rotation will restart from the beginning.  If the slideshow fails to start or is not highlighting the first  thumbnail simply refresh the screen to restart.  To return to the Photo Gallery close the slideshow browser tab, select the Photo Gallery browser tab or select the browser return arrow.  Will add this option to all of the latter Photo Galleries as soon as possible.
September 6, 2011
  • Added the option to view Photo Gallery Thirty-nine as a "slideshow".  The link to the slideshow is located between the Photo Gallery title and top of the first image. The slideshow is full screen and autrotates.  If a thumbnail image is selected it will be displayed full sceen and the rotation will stop. To restart the rotation "refresh" the screen - the rotation will restart from the beginning.  To return to the Photo Gallery close the slideshow browser tab, select the Photo Gallery browser tab or select the browser return arrow.  Will add this option to all of the later Photo Galleries as soon as possible.
August 29, 2011
August 26, 2011
  • Added the 2012 Calendar Cover and Back Cover to the Calendar Page.
  • The 2012 calendar cover image was taken looking north in Chessler Park from near the Joint Trial to the
    middle section of Cedar Mesa Sandstone spires in the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park.
August 25, 2011
  • Added Photo Gallery Forty-two. Photo Gallery Forty-two will be a photo gallery within the main Photo Gallery.  The intent is to provide a locaton for miscellaneous photos that do not necessarily relate to the West or The Colorado Plateau.  The first photo gallery within 42 is of the Armour Meatpacking Plant Ruins in East St. Louis , Illinois.  This is a large 70 plus images gallery including images taken in 2008, 2009 and 2010.
  •  (Will add additional Photo Galleries to 42 as soon as possible.)
February 28, 2011
  • Added Trip Report Outline for November 2010 Trip to the Needles Distric of Canyonlands National Park.
  •  (Will add additional  images as soon as possible.)
September 23, 2010
September 20, 2010
  • Revised El Camino del Ray to a longer and High Def version of this wild little traverse.
September 17, 2010
  • Upgraded several hyperlinks in the Federal Recreation Areas section.
September 14, 2010
paypal
  • The 2011 Calendar is printed and available for purchase.   We have added a "Buy Now" button
    on the Home Page and the Calendar Page developed by Paypal.   The button provides safe
    access to a shopping cart for purchase of the calendar via Master Card, Visa, Discover, American Express, Bank Debit Cards and Paypal.   The Calendar is $12.95 & shipping is free in the USA.
  • Added a Buy Calendar Page to the site. This page provides a "Buy Now" button along with images of the Front Cover, Back Cover, February, July and August images and date blocks. The "Buy Calendar" page will be added to the Navigation Bar.
July 13, 2010
July 8, 2010
  • Added a Videos Page to the site and adjusted the Navigation bar.  There are twenty-five videos on the page.  The Southern Utah Vacation video in the list actually contains four videos and is hightly recommended.
July 3, 2010
June 26, 2010
June 21, 2010
June 19, 2010
June 3, 2010
May 28, 2010
May 15, 2010
May 12, 2010
  • Revised the appearance of the About the Site Page Rebuilt the page links and navigation bars.
    Used CSS code to provide the HTML framework for the updates.
May 10, 2010
  • Revised the appearance of the Mileage Page including the Denver, Glenwood Springs & Moab pages.
    Rebuilt the page links and navigation bars and corrected errors in the tables.
    Used CSS code to provide the HTML framework for the updates.
April 17, 2010
  • Revised the appearance of the Web Cams Page. Rebuilt the page links and navigation bars.
    Used CSS code to provide the HTML framework for the updates.
December 27, 2009
  • Revised the appearance of the Links Page and the What's New Page. Rebuilt the page links and navigation bars. 
    Used CSS code to provide the HTML framework for the updates.
December 23, 2009
  • Revised the appearance of the Trip Reports Page. Rebuilt the page links and navigation bars.
    Used CSS code to provide the HTML framework for the updates.
December 18, 2009
  • Revised the appearance of the Calendar Page and the Photo Galleries Page. Rebuilt the page links and navigation bars.
    Used CSS code to provide the HTML framework for the updates.
December 16, 2009
  • Revised the appearance of the Home Page. Rebuilt the page links and navigation bars.
    Used CSS code to provide the HTML framework for the updates.
December 6, 2009
December 3, 2009
December 2, 2009
November 11, 2009
  • Added the I-80 Corridor westbound from it's intersection with I-25 in Cheyenne, WY to Salt Lake City, UT
    were it meets I-15 to the Mileage Page.
November 10, 2009
  • Added the I-15 Corridor southbound from it's intersection with I-70 to Las Vegas, NV and
    on to Barstow, CA were it meets I-40.
  • Added the I-15 Corridor northbound from it's intersection with I-70 to Salt Lake City, UT where it meets I-80 and
    on to Butte, Montana where it meets I-90.
  • Added the I-17 Corridor northbound from it's intersection with I-10 in Phoenix, AZ to Flagstaff, AZ where it meets I-40.
  • Added additional stop points on the entire length of the I-70 Corridor.
  • Added additional stop points on the entire length of the I-44/40 Corridor.
    (all to the Mileage Page.)
November 3, 2009
  • Added the I-25 Corridor northbound from Denver thru Cheyenne, WY to Casper, and
    on to Buffalo, WY where it meets I -90 to the Mileage Page.
November 1, 2009
  • Added theI-25 Corridor southbound from Denver thru Santa Fe, NM, Albuquerque and
    on to Las Cruces where it meets I -10 to the Mileage Page.
September 7, 2009
July 6, 2009
March 31, 2009
  • Added Trip Report Outline for December/January 2009 Trip to White Sands N.M.,
    Chiricahua N.M., Saguaro N.P. and Vermilion Cliffs N.M.
    (Will add images as soon as possible)
February 14, 2009
  • Updated About the Site Page. Will add Images and Trip Report Outline for December/January 2009 Trip to
    White Sands N.M., Chiricahua N.M., Saguaro N.P. and Vermilion Cliffs N.M.
November 30, 2008
October 21, 2008
October 20, 2008
  • The 2009 Calendar is now available at retail stores in Colorado.
    We plan to add a shopping cart for the calendar on this site within the next month.
October 1, 2008
September 24, 2008
September 21, 2008
August 5, 2008
August 1, 2008
July 15, 2008
July 11, 2008
July 8, 2008
July 6, 2008
July 1, 2008
March 23, 2008
  • Added several images including a few large panoramic images of February 2008 trip to Colorado Plateau
    on trip reports page(more images to follow).
March 9, 2008
  • Added outline of February 2008 trip to Colorado Plateau on trip reportspage (images to follow).
January 20, 2008
  • Added a link to "Archmillennium" in Colorado Plateau section of Links Page. This Guilain Debossen's site
    based out of France.  Guilain is an explorer/author who has a very good photo database of Colorado Plateau arches.
  • Added a link to "Joe's Guide to Zion National Park" in the Colorado Plateau section of Links Page.  Joe is a photographer
    who has explored much of this great park. The site has a rating system for hiking/canyoneering
    routes, maps and great photos with route descriptions.
  • Removed one of my favorite linked sites "Exploring the Great Basin."
    The site has been down without explanation.  If anybody knows the status of the site please email.
  • Added (8) web cams to Web Cams Page.
January 12, 2008
  • Added Web Cams Page to the site from the Colorado Plateau region. This page is meant to verify
    information from this site's Weather Page.
October 7, 2007
  • Added "Water Issues" section on Links Page w/ 8 links. Water issues particularly impact the West
    and will continue to be major problem.
  • Added "Miscellaneous" section on Links Page w/ 5 links.
  • Included my son's web page "Eric Ridge" in this section. (figurative painter).
  • Added a link to "Google Earth" in the "Maps" section of the Links Page (Google Earth is not the Internet Google
    map site but a separate free downloadable program.)
  • Added two new route descriptions from Moab, Utah on the Moab Mileage Page.  Both new routes
    are from Moab to Zion National Park via different roads.
June 11, 2007
May 28, 2007
December 28, 2006
  • Added 60 images to October 2006 trip to Colorado Plateau on trip reports page (more images to follow).
October 24, 2006
  • Added outline of October 2006 trip to Colorado Plateau on trip reports page (images to follow).
September 5, 2006
  • Added Photo Gallery Thirty-six to the Photo Galleries page. This photo gallery displays (40) images from Nevada
    and the eastern Sierra Nevada region of California including Lunar Crater, The Ancient Bristlecone Forest,
    The Alabama Hills & Mono Lake.
August 19, 2006
  • Added 2007 Calendar Brochure link to the Home Page. It will be available soon at Calendars.com
    or contact your local bookstore. Printed in the U.S.A. Distributed by Books West - Boulder, CO.
July 23, 2006
  • Added Travel Mileage Page This page contains mileage and travel times from point to point along a variety of routes
    to and within the Colorado Plateau region.  Hyperlinks within the main page link to additional travel routes.
    (More routes will be added)
July 16, 2006
July 10, 2006
July 8, 2006
July 1, 2006
June 26, 2006
  • Added a link to Rex Headd's Adventure Lives in the Mountaineering Section of the Links Page.
    This is a newer site with some great content. Highly recommend the movie clip of the Gannet Peak Climb.
    This very well produced movie will show you just how great the scenery is in the Wind River Range.
June 17, 2006
  • Added Color Landforms of the United States to the Maps Section.
    This is a free site that contains shaded relief maps of all 50 states.page.
    The site also has several other maps of state related information
    (i.e. 1895 maps of all 50 states & county maps of all 50 states & others).
    There are also some good map related links.
  • Reluctantly removed Chris Wetherill's Mountaineering Page from the Mountaineering Section.
    Chris's page has totally morphed into something other than a mountaineering site.
    Chris's page was a great resource on Colorado fourteener and thirteener climbs.
May 30, 2006
April 23, 2006
February 27, 2006
January 22, 2006
  • Added "Colorado Plateau Weather Page."  This page contains continuously updating weather stickers
    for a selection of cities/towns on The Colorado Plateau. The stickers are updated and provided by the
    "Weather Underground" website. Each sticker indicates Time, Temperature and Sunrise, Sunset, Moon Rise,
    and Moon Set. Stickers are provided for three cities/towns from each of the four states; Arizona, Colorado,
    New Mexico, Utah, that make up The Colorado Plateau.
    The intent of the page is to give an overall weather picture of region.
November 20, 2005
  • Added "Colorado Plateau FAQ" . This page contains a description / definition of The Colorado Plateau.
    Also includes a series of lists of National Parks, National Monuments, National Recreation Areas,
    Navajo Tribal Parks and National Forests on The Colorado Plateau.
    (Additional lists will be added)
September 17, 2005
September 14, 2005
September 3, 2005
August 30, 2005
August 28, 2005
  • Added outline of August 2005 trip to Colorado on Trip Reports Page. Photos and more to follow.
July 23, 2005
  • Added Historic Bridges of the Midwest to the links page in the News/Information section.
    This is a great site if you have any interest whatsoever in steel bridges.
    Steel bridges throughout the U.S. are being razed & replaced with typical sole-less DOT "ugly concrete eyesore bridges" (U.C.E.B.s) at a rapid rate.
July 16, 2005
June 13, 2005
June 12, 2005
  • Added Photo Gallery Thirty-ThreeNew Mexico - Jemez Falls, Upper & Lower Frijoles Falls,
    El Morro N.M., El Malpais, N.M., Capulin N.M. & more.
May 21, 2005
May 19, 2005
  • Added Photo Gallery Thirty-Two - Petrified Forest National Park, AZ - Chapel of the Holy Cross, Sedona ,AZ
    - Tuzigoot Nat. Mon., AZ - Montezuma Nat. Mon., AZ
May 18, 2005
  • Added Peakbagger.com - to the links page under "Mountaineering".
    This site contains a huge database of information on mountain ranges and peaks worldwide.
May 17, 2005
April 18, 2005
March 26, 2005
January 24, 2005
December 16, 2004
December 11, 2004
  • Added outline of November Trip to Trip Reports page.
  • Added Climb-Utah to links page.  (This is an excellent site w/ great information)
November 7, 2004
November 6, 2004
October 30, 2004
October 24, 2004
  • Finally after a lot of difficulty the 2005 calendar is in print10/21/04 - it looks great.
    Added (15) wilderness links to links page and reformatted several pages on the site.
    . Updated "Calendars.com" link in "About the Calendar" to point to 2005 calendar.
October 20, 2004
  • Added several new links and revised the format of the Links Page.
October 10, 2004
  • Added "About the Site"  page to the Home Page.
    Split the Photo Galleries & Links pages out because Home Page was too large.
October 9, 2004
  • Added "Utah Scenic" to the links section.  The site has great Utah related links.
October 1, 2004
September 7, 2004
August 28, 2004
  • Added "Photo Gallery Twenty-Seven" - Angel's Landing in Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park
    and Landscape Arch in Arches National Park.
August 27, 2004
August 23, 2004
August 22, 2004
August 12, 2004
August 3, 2004
July 31, 2004
  • Added "Photo Gallery Twenty-four" - Upper Antelope Canyon near Page, Arizona.
  • Added image hyperlinks to "July 2004 Photo Trip" report.
July 17, 2004
June 14, 2004
April 7, 2004
April 2, 2004
March 31, 2004
  • Added outline of Trip to Lower Rock Creek near Ironton, MO.
    Added a couple of Toroweap Point images to "Photo Gallery Seven"
March 28, 2004
March 20, 2004
March 15, 2004
March 7, 2004
March 6, 2004
March 1, 2004
February 18, 2004
February 8, 2004
February 1, 2004
January 26, 2004
January 18, 2004
January 16, 2004
January 10, 2004
December 20, 2003
November 30, 2003;
November 16, 2003
November 12, 2003
  • Added "SummitPost" graphic to links area & figured out how to position correctly on web page.
November 11, 2003
October 26, 2003
October 3, 2003
September 20, 2003
September 1, 2003
August 25, 2003
August 24, 2003
August 23, 2003
August 3, 2003
  • Revised "2004 Calendar Brochure" format
August 2, 2003
July 28, 2003
July 27, 2003
July 26, 2003
June 27, 2003
June 23, 2003
June 21, 2003
June 19, 2003
June 18, 2003
June 11, 2003
June 9, 2003
June 8, 2003
June 7, 2003
June 4, 2003
June 3, 2003
May 15, 2003
May 8, 2003
  • Created & added "Do not feed the wildlife" image.
May 6, 2003
  • Added 2004 Calendar brochure.
April 20, 2003
  • Added several new links.
April 11, 2003
April 10, 2003
  • Added several new links.
March 31, 2003
  • Published site to Internet.

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