I am wandering...

[thelonelycoder]

In case anyone's wondering what I do and why I seem absent from the forum: I am wandering.
I badly needed a timeout, a break from work, the daily grind and stress.
Therefore, I decided not to worry about anything at all during my timeout and enjoy the time as best as I can.

I'm about half way through my three months vacation in the region I always daydream aboout: The Southwest.

I am more than OK now. Moab, Utah.

Willis Creek, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, high above Bishop, CA.

 

[Twiglets]

Go for it !!!
Not a person on this site would begrudge you the time ...
Thank you for all your efforts to date, it is very much appreciated !!!

Well done for realising that you need to come first before the stress/strain got too much.
People who work in the IT world do have a tendency to 'over commit' their time ... I have seen too many people crack under the strain.

Eventually as you get older you realise that 'YOU' are important and your family needs you as well !!!

Enjoy your time away from it all, looks amazing from the pictures.

 

[^Tripper^]

Hope you have a great time!

Those places do look very lonely thou!

Lovely pics!

 

[visortgw]

In case anyone's wondering what I do and why I seem absent from the forum: I am wandering.
I badly needed a timeout, a break from work, the daily grind and stress.
Therefore, I decided not to worry about anything at all during my timeout and enjoy the time as best as I can.

I'm about half way through my three months vacation in the region I always daydream aboout: The Southwest.

I am more than OK now. Moab, Utah.

Willis Creek, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, high above Bishop, CA.

We were in Moab about this time a year ago. Our trip was (only) about a month from Bozeman MT (just above Yellowstone NP) to Las Vegas, hitting eleven NPs and nine state/local parks -- 4200 miles on rental Suburban.

 

[Untried3868]

Beautiful images. Thank you for sharing.

 

[dave14305]

In contrast, I get nervous when the Marriott hotel I stay at doesn’t have a concierge lounge…

 

[John Fitzgerald]

@thelonelycoder : Have you tried panning for gold? Stay away from the Uranium.

 

[John Fitzgerald]

In contrast, I get nervous when the Marriott hotel I stay at doesn’t have a concierge lounge…

Pampered much?

 

[thelonelycoder]

Hope you have a great time!

Those places do look very lonely thou!

Lovely pics!

A perfect match then
I love it that way. My handle was chosen wisely.

 

[Tarek Yag]

Good for you! Very beautiful views from the pictures, and feels so relaxing!
Waiting for your fresh return, have a good time!

 

[thelonelycoder]

@thelonelycoder : Have you tried panning for gold? Stay away from the Uranium.

I‘m looking but so far only the Hotels won.
I did win with the screwfinder, front driver side tire found one at a gas station.
From an experience level, today in Moab was the second flash flood I was right in the middle of.
The other one was some weeks ago in Twentynine Palms by Joshua Tree NP.

As long as nobody is hurt this is OK. It is awesome to see water do what formed a large part of this landscape.

 

[Quoc Huynh]

Have a wonderful trip and enjoy your time!

 

[Viktor Jaep]

I‘m looking but so far only the Hotels won.
I did win with the screwfinder, front driver side tire found one at a gas station.
From an experience level, today in Moab was the second flash flood I was right in the middle of.
The other one was some weeks ago in Twentynine Palms by Joshua Tree NP.

As long as nobody is hurt this is OK. It is awesome to see water do what formed a large part of this landscape.

Have you ever rented a Jeep out there in Moab to go explore some of the "rough country"?

 

[Tech9]

Exploring our planet and our history is one of the best ways to spend money. Breathtaking landscapes and traces of lost civilizations are my preferred go to places. Some places worth visiting before they disappear. I believe @thelonelycoder may like a lot a trip to Peru. Cusco and surrounding area offers world wonders like Saqsaywaman, Quelccaya Ice Cap, Machu Picchu, Vinicunca just to name a few, leaves many unanswered questions and life-long memories. Very challenging though, good health is mandatory with all safety measures. Rainbow Mountain is >5000m elevation, hard to breathe for tourists.

 

[Ripshod]

I am wandering

I was wondering

 

[thelonelycoder]

Have you ever rented a Jeep out there in Moab to go explore some of the "rough country"?

You mean like the Moab Rim (difficulty 8/10 I believe), Pritchett Canyon (a full 10/10), the complete Lockhardt Basin (6/10), Metal Masher (?) up by Gemini Bridges? Sure did all these and most of the other interesting ones. Some trails are closed now for revegetation.

I’d like to do Pritchett canyon again for the multiple Arches down that way, especially Pritchett Arch whose approach is still vividly on my mind some 20 years later.
For a longer time now some more hard and fun trails are off limits by the rental companies, including behind the Rocks area and Pritchett canyon.
They all have built in GPS tracking in their Jeeps, don’t even think about going near a trail on the blacklist - ahem denylist.

But these days I like the hiking more than the off roading. The Grand Cherokee I have does a pretty good job at bringing me to areas 98% of the other tourists can’t or don’t go. Walking a hundred steps on a trail or crosscountry weeds out the average tourist, so I hike mostly all alone, for hours and without seeing another soul.
I am the most happy then.

The easy jeep trails like the White rim road (did it about 10 times, once with a stock Suburban), Chicken Corners and down Shafer trail I simply do with the rental car, like the Grand Cherokee.