"It is only in adventure that some people succeed in knowing themselves – In finding themselves". Andre Gides.
With my new work schedule giving me three days off in a row I headed up Friday ( yesterday) with dad to the cabin for a few hours. With a winter storm blowing in, it was windy at times, though still enjoyable. I set out for a walk around the property from the cabin, finding almost knee deep snow at times. Felt good to get out and stretch the legs. Hard to believe the last time I was up here was the summer solstice….
Here are some pics from the walk.
I headed out to the San Rafael Swell in Utah for a long weekend shortly after my birthday on the 4th of December. It’s been a while since i’ve camped on the birthday, so was nice to get out of town. Originally, I planned on laying low, and working through the rest of the year, but things at the courier job headed in a direction I didn’t like, so after finding out another job was lined up, I parted ways with the courier job ( a hard decision to make) and headed west to the Swell. Was a good recharge before starting the new job the next week.
Fun to know we’ve been exploring the area for some 15 years now.
Views from camp Saturday morning.
Always nice to see snow out in the desert.
Looking back towards camp.
A snowy camp.
The sinkhole.
Some good morning light on the cliffs above Black Dragon Canyon.
I-70 cutting through the San Rafael Reef.
Low clouds.
Cruising along the north eastern end of the San Rafael Reef.
Exploring a seldom traveled designated route, close to the reefs edge.
Morning views.
Daniel B Markofsky.
Some old uranium mines along the road.
Views of the San Rafael Reef.
More mines.
Love this 3rd gen.
Further along, heading towards Smith’s Cabin.
Daniel enjoying some Turkish Coffee.
A few buildings are still standing at Smith’s Cabin. Wayne and Betty Smith settled at this location, close to a natural spring after being married in 1933.
Exploring the coral behind the cabin.
Need to come back and hike Cottonwood Wash.
Along a seldom traveled section of road on the old railroad grade of the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad.
Repairing some of the washed out road. Photo credit: Daniel B Markofsky.
Of course doesn’t look as steep in the pics..
The road at times, seemed seldom traveled.
Some good views.
Another section of grade for the Denver & Rio Grande Western railroad. D&RGW moved ahead with this project in 1881, though it was never completed. A good amount of work had been completed on the grade, still visible today.
Old culvert.
We headed to the Wedge overlook on our way back to camp. On a previous visit, we spotted some newly weds getting there photos taken at the overlook. As we drove up to the parking area, I made the comment wondering if we’d see another couple getting their wedding photos taken. Sure enough, as we parked, a bride was running to the car in her wedding dress. Always good views at the Wedge overlook- Utah’s “Little Grand Canyonâ€.
San Rafael River flowing below.
Also had to make two stops in Buckhorn Wash. Fist at Matt Warner’s inscription. Matt Warner was an outlaw turned Justice of the Peace for Price, UT. He became friends with Butch Cassidy during there time in Telluride CO, participating in the Telluride bank robbery in June of 1889 with Butch Cassidy and Tom McCarty.
The second stop was at the Buckhorn Wash Rock art panel. An impressive display from the Barrier Canyon and Fremont style rock art. Unfortunately, by the time we got to the rock art panel, daylight was fading fast. Only managed to get a few from the phone. Well worth the visit.
End.
Headed out this past Friday for a quick trip out to the San Rafael Swell in UT. A fun quick weekend in the desert. A nice recharge before starting the next job. Will post more pics when I get to them. Always fun camping for the birthday.
Following along the old railroad grade of the D&RGW, slow going at times. Photo credit: Daniel B Markofsky.
Looking north, towards Mexican MT. En route to Black Dragon Canyon.
Well, after almost three years of employment with Quicksilver express courier here in Denver, CO, decided it was time to move on to something new. It was a tough call to make, as they were good to me while I was sick last year with Sepsis, and the Open Heart Surgery that came after.
But the last few months have been 11-13hr days five days a week, along with some changes that may have not been for the better. To be honest, I was burned out.
With the new gig, i’m going to focus on my photography and travels even more- it’s what I love to do and why I work. I’m excited to have a set known done time during the working days and three days off in a row. Come summer, this will be fantastic.
It’s always fun to get work published in “Toyota Trails”, A bi monthly magazine published by the “Toyota Land Cruiser Association” (or TLCA). Last time I wrote an article for Toyota Trails, was in the January/February 2013 issue, about our first trip up to the Upper Missouri River Breaks. The most current issue, November/December 2019, has my article about our return trip to Fable Valley, deep in the deserts of southwest Utah.
You can read the full article here: tlca.org
Another cover shot.
Fable Valley article.
Had to go and get the emission done on the 4runner this past weekend. Nice to get through it all in under 10 minutes. Had to be one of the quicker etest trips i’ve done in a while.
Between Sublette, NM and Antonito, CO, you can find a great network of dirt roads, allowing one to get up close and chase the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad. Sublette, NM, an old track maintenance town for the Denver Rio Grand and Western Railroad, was responsible for taking car of ten miles of narrow gauge rail.
This year, we managed to work down the dirt roads to get to Whiplash Curve. So named for the section of track that has to loop back on to itself a few times to make the climb/decent more manageable for the Steam Locomotive. It’s always a blast, chasing the train, getting photos of the train, then rushing ahead of the train to the next photo opp. We always try to beat the train to Sublette.
With the colder nights from the recent storm, ended up having to break out the extra layer for the zero degree sleeping bag.
The train doesn’t depart Antonito, CO until 10am. This gives us time to make our way to the intended start of the chase. Along with a lazy morning in camp
Mike in his new to him FJ60 ( my friend Marco previously owned it).
Dan Silbaugh leading the group.
At the start of the chase. Waiting for the Antonito train.
Dan spotted some track from 1901.
#488.
#488 making it’s way up Whiplash Curve.
To get to this point, #488 had to make a big loop to help lighten the load of the climb.
The engineer kindly posed #488 for us by letting off some steam.
Dan and Nancy. The chase begins:)!
Mike and his FJ60 wait for the next photo opp.
A fun stretch to chase the train:).
#488 coming into Sublette, NM.
We opted to stage the trucks here so not to block views of the old town while passengers look on from the train.
When coming from Antonito, CO, the train stops at Sublette, NM to take on water for the next stage to Osier, NM, as well as a maintenance check.
Lunch time for the crew.
Group shot at Sublette, NM after #488 left. Brian rode along in Mikes Fj60.
End
64 miles of narrow gauge bliss- remnants from the days of the Denver Rio Grande and Western Railroad- lie between the towns of Chama, NM and Antonito, CO. Whatever town you ride the train from ( we always catch the bus to Chama, and ride the train back to Antonito), you’ll cross the CO/NM state line 11 times and pass through a variety of terrain. The aspens in the Chama valley are some of the best i’ve seen to date.
Though cold mornings ( it was ten degrees in Antonito the morning before I arrived), we had a perfect fall day for the train ride. The aspens would have been at there peak, had it not been for the hard freeze that the area received a few days before we arrived… An always enjoyable run with the Rising Sun 4×4 club.
More info on the Cumbres and Toltec.
Morning sunrise over camp.
Camp.
Always one of my favorite views. Looking east to the Sangre De Christo Mountains and the San Luis Valley.
Mt. Blanca.
Warmth.
Mogote Peak
Morning Shadows.
Camp. The RV took our usual spot.
Mike and Brian.
Dan and Nancy sleeping in the back of Dan’s 80series instead of the tent thanks to the cold nights.
Kurts ready for the train ride!
Home.
Double header out of Chama.
Making our way though the Chama Valley.
Making our way through the Chama Valley.
Double Header goodness as we climb towards Windy Point.
Views from the Parlor Car. Blowing of Steam as we enter the Los Pinos Valley.
Below Cumbres Pass and further into the Los Pinos Valley. Lunch is close.
Rio de Los Pinos River.
A 130 ft high trestle just outside Oiser, NM.
Working hard to Osier.
Coming into Osier, NM. Our friends Brian and Mike would be waiting for us there ( they took the back roads to get to Osier).
#488 close ups. Could spend all day photographing trains.
Tolotec Gorge, Just after lunch.
Wonder who KG was…
Looking back towards Osier,NM.
A gerat stretch through the aspens.
Antonito MT in the distance.
In the San Luis Valley making our way towards Antonito, CO
Night time fun at Sublette, NM. Our camp is just above the old track maint. town.
Home sweet home. My friend Brian’s camp set up.
End.
Deadwood, SD. After wheeling all the previous day just to get to Spearfish, SD, it was a half hour drive on pavement to Deadwood. I planned for this night. But didn’t expect the wild night that ensued….
The gange parked on the north side of downtown Deadwood.
Chase and his compact car parking….
Kids in a candy store. That had six beers on tap…
They were closed.
We planned to camp the whole week..
Around Deadwood.
Matt is ready.
Feel this was the theme for the trip…
Recommend the mild.
At the original bar where Wild Bill got shot.
At the new #10 bar. Chase dragged us to a casino. We dragged Chase back to this Barr..
The crew for this year:).
Live music from a local Kansas band. There dad played with them:)
Don’t remember taking this pic. Seems we had the whole dance floor with us. The lady kept asking for a 20$ after dancing with use. Nope.
Deadwood at 2am.
Deadwood the next morning
Lead SD and the Homestake mine. Deepest open pit mine in the world.
Graves of Wild Bill and Calamity Jane.
Making our way south.
Mt. Rushmore.
Mind the highway below, but last sunset for the trip
Crazy Horse in the distamce.
End.
After an enjoyable evening camping along Sand Creek, we made out way further into the Black Hills. Original thoughts had us heading to Deadwood, SD via dirt roads, but the 15″ of snow that Deadwood just received put a damper on things. Once off the mountain and on a more main artery, we headed for Spearfish, stopping at the local brewery for some beer and food.
We woke to blue skies at our camp along Sand Creek, south of Beulah, WY, a mile or so into what’s known as the “Grand Canyon of Sand Creek”.
Sand Creek. Spotted a river Otter swimming through the river.
The day started out so perfect:).
Making our way further south into the Grand Canyon of Sand Creek.
As we made our way south, the snow continued to get deeper. We also came onto a lot of fallen trees. Stopped to clear this one of the road, as people were already going around it.
Still making progress.
We turned onto Surprise Gulch with the thought of getting around Tinton, SD for camp. But the snow just kept getting deeper..
About the point where we started making fresh tracks.
Progress started to slow at this point.
Shawn C.
Matt Ralston.
Matt Farr.
Daniel Linn.
Stuck again. My friend Shawn was stuck just below me. With the group focused on getting him out, I set to get myself out. Tracks definitely came in handy!
Back to making slow progress.
Started to get some views as we climbed in elevation.
Finally made it to the top of the long hill climb.
Land Cruisers in there natural habitat:). From this point, we were only a mile or sow from a major artery, but it seemed to take us forever to get out of this spot.
The snow starting to set in, along with the evening.
Matt Farr winching himself out again.
Finally back on a more traveled road and making progress towards Spearfish, SD.
It seemed like everything cleared up once we were off that Surprise Gulch road. The skies, roads and weather turned as we headed towards Spearfish, SD. I couldn’t pass up this view.
End.
