On Twitter it's apparent that reviewing one's photos for the year is all the rage.  I consider myself a non-conformist but I kind of like the idea. This is true even if the exercise is nothing more than an oppportunity to review my travels and tribulations for the last 12 months.  For me, it's easy to do that and one of the reasons that I started this website.  I enjoy sharing the beauty of the West and looking at my photos will be an enjoyable activity.  I am not, however, inclined to pick my "favorite" 12 photos.  While ranking is cool I think that activity might make my head explode.  Maybe next year...

This was my first year traveling with my little travel trailer, a fiberglass egg, called, "El Correcaminos".  It is quite different than sleeping in a tent or the back of my truck.  In fact, it's so dang convenient that the first few months I traveled with it I'd get in the cozy little space and just want to stay there.  This rather defeats the idea of getting a trailer which is to enjoy the great outdoors.  I suppose it's natural though, when in a safe cocoon, to want to stay there.  However, get out we did!  

Here are my some of my favorite photos from my trips this year.  I started the year using JPEG and a Nikon D3300, editing using the Nikon software, and finished the year making RAW images with a Nikon D750 and editing them in Lightroom.  

The first photos are from Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument last January. 

For my birthday, the last one of my FIFTIES, Lupe and I took Banjo to Point Mugu. 

My next stop in the little trailer was Death Valley.  I'd been there before but never during a "super bloom" or for so long.  It was a good trip. 

In March I visited my Bay Area family.  The last 6 years have been challenging for me in many ways but Lisa, Kara and Steve have always been there for me.  How I love them...  The photo below is of Lisa, Kara and their Dad, Jack.  Jack is maybe, just maybe, the coolest guy I've ever known. 

In March Lupe and I went to Arizona.  We spent time in the Superstitions and out at Organ Pipe.  We had a wonderful time.  Lupe is the perfect traveling partner. 

In late March Banjo and I spent a few days at the other-worldly Red Rock Canyon north of Los Angeles.  It's a really cool place and reminded me of Utah or Abiquiu, NM. 

In April, I headed out to Utah.  I was able to spend time at Zion, Bryce, Escalante State Park and Kodachrome State Park.  Magnificent. 

In May I spent some time in Joshua Tree and at San Onofre Beach. 

In June I was able to visit the newest National Park, Pinnacles, with my remarkable daughter Lilly and her friend Kennedy.  Pinnacles is becoming a favorite as it is (relatively) uncrowded and sits in the heart of the scenic part of Central California.  I'll be back next March for some spring photography in "Steinbeck Country". 

Lupe and I had to forego a planned trip to Glacier but we managed to spend a wonderful week in Lassen Volcanic National Park.  When we returned we decided to establish an annual family and friends trip up there and 2017 will be our inaugural event.  

In August my friend Marty and I spent a week at Gaviota State Beach and on the Central Coast of California north of Santa Barbara. 

The next "big trip" I took was way up the Northern California coast to Redwoods National Park and then I spent another few days near Brookings, Oregon at Harris Beach State Park

In October I visited my thoughtful and smart and long lost friend Eric Flaherty and took a short trip to Oak Creek Canyon in Arizona. 

In November I visited the wonderful Mojave.  I love it out there...

In December I took a very short trip to a local campground, Casper's Wilderness Park, and my truck began to have mechanical problems.  I had to cancel my Anza Borrego trip and deal with having the truck in the shop 3 times in a two week period.  Since I was convinced that my troubles with the truck were only beginning we bought a new Toyota Tacoma which will bring less worry to my travels in the next couple of years.

This, then, wraps up my short review of the year's travels.  I'm hard at work planning for 2017.  I do hope each of you who read this have a magnificent holiday season and that next year is one of the best of your lives.  

I finally got my pictures up of Big Bend National Park.  In many ways it represents the Southwest like no other place based on its' sheer size and varied topography.  I had a fantastic trip.  The weather was perfect and the people, everywhere I went, friendly and kind (with a notable exception of a surly Border Patrol Agent who seemingly wanted to know the entire story of my life since since birth).

There is absolutely no doubt that I will be returning to Big Bend in the next year or so.  Did you know that it has 3 major areas to explore?  The desert, river, and mountains all are encompassed by the Park Boundaries.  The Chisos Mountains, in fact, are the only mountain range in America to be completely within the boundaries of a Park.  I'm told it has the darkest skies anywhere in the United States too and I believe it.  What a show the starts put on every night!  Please enjoy the pictures.

I've been asked about purchasing some of my pictures and, of course, you can do that.  It's flattering as I'm not much of a photographer but I do get out to some cool places, don't I? I'll be establishing a "store" on this website for that very purpose in the future but, for now, please just use the contact page if you have interest along those lines.

Next up is back to the Land of Enchantment with my esposa hermosa.  I'm planning on one more Joshua Tree trip and then heading to the Santa Ynez Mountains in  May.

I hope you're well and getting ready for summer!

Peace.

I've been home almost a week and, funny enough, I'm itching to get back on the road.  I know that the good weather months are dwindling and that soon it will be cold- my traveling and camping nemesis.  I have a trip planned to Utah in less than two weeks and then the wait for the twins begins in earnest and I'll probably stay pretty close to home.  

One of the most enjoyable activities  of the winter months is planning the next year's travel.  So far, I plan on two trips to Organ Pipe NM this winter.  After 11 long years the monument is now fully open again which is exciting to say the least.  I can now explore some places I've been itching to see for awhile but were closed due to the US Border Patrol's activities.  

Have you read, "The Devil's Highway" by Luis Urrea? The setting is Organ Pipe- it's a tragic story and my views on immigration were only solidified by reading it.  I know it's a complex issue but we MUST find a more humane way of dealing with those desperately poor people from Mexico who simply want a better life in the USA (as did all our relatives- except the indigenous).  I have lots of deeply passionate thoughts about these issues and, perhaps, in future, I'll devote an entire blog to what I believe the problems are (and there are many - starting with the government of Mexico and US policy) and how we might go about creating a better world for our brothers and sisters from the south.   If you have an interest in these matters please read Urrea, or "Border Patrol Nation" by Todd Miller.  Or read anything that Charles Bowden has written on the Border problems. 

If you know me, at all, you know I love all things Southwest- by extension- I love Mexico and the Mexican culture.  It's everywhere you go in the Southwest and it's one of the major reasons I love it here.  

Back to my plans for next year- so Organ Pipe is on big time.  I'm also going to spend some time at Anza Borrego near Little Blair Valley doing some boondocking near a dry lake bed.  Last year when I was there I was mesmerized by the solitude and stark beauty of the place.  The problem was that it's at 3000 feet elevation, it was during a cold snap, and when I awoke it was 21 degrees F. WAY too cold.  This fall/winter I'm hoping to go when it's a bit warmer.  Of course, I'll also figure out a time to go to my beloved Joshua Tree NP.

In March I'm heading to Big Bend National Park in Southern Texas along the mighty Rio Grande.  This is a trip that I've been wanting to do since my 20's and I'm finally going to make it happen.  That trip will include stops in Arizona and New Mexico and may include a stop at Palo Duro Canyon and Guadalupe NP. April is a wonderful month to explore the coastal mountains near Santa Barbara and Big Sur and I'll backpack then.  I love to travel in May because the weather is warming and the crowds are at a minimum.  I will probably be in Taos and Santa Fe then.  In June I'll head to the Sierras again.  July is "Lupe and Lilly time" and we are still in the process of deciding.  I'm considering two options for August - either Flathead Lake and Glacier NP in Montana or a Northern Cascades trip in Washington. 

This last trip was really spectacular and I'm strongly considering heading back to the Four Corners in Utah and Colorado in September.  I'm still, as I sit here at home, staggered by the scenery I saw in Colorado on this last trip.

My next trip, leaving on October 6, includes a visit with my very best friend from high school, Kevin D. , and still one of the best people I've ever known (or ever will know).  He went to college in Utah and then got a job there and so our visits have been sporadic (at best) over the years.  I'm hoping that changes in the next few years as we both move into the retirement phase of our lives.  As I told him recently- one of us is still working (him) and one of us is a hobo (me) so his schedule will dictate things for awhile.  Luckily he's free on the weekend of Oct. 11 and I get to hang with him on this trip.  Knowing Kev he's explored most of that beautiful country up there and I'll be the beneficiary of his knowledge.

Here's my Utah tentative itinerary:

10/6 Navajo National Monument
10/7 Arches NP
10/8 Arches NP
10/9 Arches NP
10/10 Canyonlands NP
10/11 Visiting with Kevin near Vernal, UT
10/12 Goblin SP
10/13 Goblin SP
10/14 Capitol Reef NP
10/15 Kodachrome SP
10/16 Home

Looks amazing doesn't it?  Arches NP remains my favorite.  Before I read Ed Abbey I visited it and had an OBE (out of body experience)- after I read, "Desert Solitaire" I understood why.  I probably feel more "at home" in Arches than any other place on earth. There is no place like the Red Rock Country of the Colorado Plateau.  Being there fulfills my heart's desire.  I'll look forward to sharing pictures on my return as always.  

Thanks for reading this.   I hope all is well in your life and that you too are planning your next adventure.  I'll look forward to writing again soon and sharing about another one of my new passions- playing guitar.

Peace.