“Back to the Basics” Luckenbach Texas

We had traveled east for days across the arid deserts of California, Arizona, New Mexico and western Texas doing our best to stay just ahead of distant rain squalls, thankfully only experiencing them in our rear view mirrors. Our primary mission – to escape the waves of flash flood producing storms drenching the western states by driving to […]

Lost In A Mecca Hills Maze

Rain clouds were forming as we hiked up a 2′ wide canyon with 300′ walls on either side consisting of soft mud, we were deep inside flash flood country. If it started to rain hard we would have to run to stay ahead of a wall of water…. a flash flood. But the pups were […]

Summiting Chiriaco

As we sit around the campfire basking in the light of the full moon we stare into the distance and watch the seemingly never ending river of lights that is Interstate 10. We are alone in the desert again. We have been camped at this site for two weeks now…. basically in the middle of nowhere. […]

The Golden Rolling Hills Of Southern California

We continue to camp in my mom’s beautiful backyard in Thousand Oaks, California while my sister Jeanelle and Denise help with her recovery, daily physical therapy and overall well being. When you are almost 95 years young it takes a little longer to recover and she continues to improve, she’s a tough cookie. My duties […]

Exploring California’s Southern Coast

Whenever we visit Southern California we really enjoy exploring the hundreds of miles of backroads that wind through its coastal mountains. California’s southern coastline is a very unique environment indeed. It is an area of starkly contrasting landscapes ranging from rugged coastal mountains, world-famous beaches, rustic canyons, golden rolling hills, rich topsoil filled agricultural plains and of course […]

South Bound & Down

The title of this post refers to the direction we are traveling and the fact that the gas pedal is to the floor or all the way “down”….. as we are on a mission. We have decided to depart Alaska early this fall as my 94 year mom has been having health issues. She lives […]

A Basecamp Summer

These ARE the good old days! Since returning to Alaska and our home in Denali, we have reverted back to a more rooted lifestyle. Instead of roaming the western USA for months at a time we have enjoyed being in one place for a while and in many ways it has been an exceptional summer. Daily […]

Dreaming Deschutes

“It has always been my private conviction that any man who pits his intelligence against a fish and loses has it coming.” – John Steinbeck As the Gone With The Dogs troupe passed through central Oregon in April (remember here) we spent time at Fort Motsko with friends Mark and Phyllis. At that time Mark […]

Gone With The Dogs 2015 Video Review

We have decided to compile all of our 2015 videos into one post in case you missed one or just want to view them again. We are working on the 2016 list now. These videos were originally embedded within the posts that corresponded to our travel locations at the time. The links below start with the more recent versions […]

2000 Light Years From Home

After 6 months on the road we find ourselves on the final leg of our winter sojourn. Crossing the US/Canadian border at Sumas we drive north into British Columbia thus leaving “the lower 48” behind. We have just over 2000 miles to basecamp. Traveling home to Alaska in early spring can be a lonely trip. There […]

Oregon Coasting

Once again the Pacific Ocean calls to us and so we must go. It is now early April and after reviewing our calendar and the extended forecast we come to the conclusion there is just enough time to visit the coast once more before turning towards home. Unfortunately this means we must leave the luxury and comfort of Fort […]

On To Oregon

As we continue our journey home to Alaska, we sadly leave sunny California and our friends along the central coast but…. the good news is we are moving On to Oregon to visit more friends. As we cruise up Interstate 5 into northern California it feels good to be back in the mountains again. We make a brief stop […]

No Place Like Home

There is no place like home. We have just spent almost 4 wonderful weeks boondocking in my folk’s backyard and as usual we have had great weather and lots of fun! Due to recent rains the hills are green, the lawns need mowing again, the orchids are blooming, the trees are leafing out, the drought is […]

Alive In Death Valley

We found ourselves driving towards something we had never witnessed before….a desert flower Super Bloom! Last winter we wandered through some of the most parched and arid landscapes on earth so it was great news to hear that an exceptionally strong El Nino was forecasted for the southwest this winter. As we now know the predicted wet […]

Breezin’ Along The Big Sur

I found it hard to keep my eyes on the centerline as we drove along the most scenic coastal road in California, Big Sur’s Highway 1. After leaving the Trona Pinnacles (see our last post) we quickly crossed the San Joaquin valley and spent the night in the Carrizo Plains National Monument. The park […]

The Pinnacles Of Trona

A 30 mph crosswind was hitting us directly out of the Eastern High Sierra as we headed south along highway 395, travel was slow going. Again it was our good fortune to be traveling with our Alaskan friends, Brad and Brenda. This being their first time camping remotely in the open desert we decide to visit an area that […]

Sky Rock, Rosetta Stone, 13 Moons

Dont miss our last video Recently we visited a friend living in the Owens Valley hamlet of Bishop, California. They offered to take us just north of town into the Volcanic Tablelands to view ancient petroglyphs. We quickly excepted. The Bureau of Land Management describes the Volcanic Tablelands as a vast volcanic landscape that was formed over 700,000 […]

Alone In The Alabama Hills

Early one morning while camped along the Colorado River just north of Blythe, Arizona, we decided to check the weather forecast. There it was, a forecasted mid-February heat wave affecting the entire west coast of North America. We immediately changed our plans and instead of heading south towards Kofa and Yuma, where the temps were to be over 90, […]

The Primordial Mud Volcanoes Of Morton Bay

Every once in while you come across a place that affords a glimpse of what life on earth might have looked and felt like during prehistoric times. Recently we spent time just outside the town of Niland, California along the shores of the Salton Sea. In this post I visit the spectacularly active Morton Bay […]

Camped 234 Feet Below Sea Level

Recently we visited the Salton Sea in Southern California. For two weeks we camped and explored along its shores at 234 feet below sea level. We learned a lot. The deepest point of the sea is 5 feet higher than the lowest point of Death Valley. The salt content of the Salton Sea is greater than […]

Trainspotting Along Sidewinder Road

We love trains, I especially love being around them. My folks first introduced me to trains in the little town of Guadalupe, Calif. while we lived in Santa Maria in the early 1950’s. Since then whenever I am near railroad tracks or hear the distant rumble of a train my pulse quickens. In the last […]

Return To Joshua Tree

It has been many full moons since Denise and I last visited Joshua Tree National Park. Recently we returned. Having lived in Southern California in the 1960’s and 70’s, my brother Sam and I have a long history of visiting this high desert mecca. My family has considered this park their weekend playground since […]

camped within sight of nowhere

We are camped in the middle of nowhere and are very happy about it. As we stare out over the vast Arizona desert we can see nothing but open space and open sky. Our camp is situated just east of Vicksburg, AZ near the massive Bouse dry wash along the slopes of the Harcuvar mountains. We have […]

In Search Of Red Earth

Over the years we have spent many a winter wandering the deserts of the American Southwest and Baja. When it comes to stimulating and visually stunning desert topography there is nothing quite like sighting a distant pile of large vibrant red boulders sticking up out of the sand. Canyonlands National Park has majestic tall red cliffs, […]

Erosion In Its’ Finest Form

Driving south out of Salt lake City we find ourselves stopping for the evening in the little town of Green River. At first it was just a place to sleep but then….. we find an oasis. You would never guess as you drive into town from the hot dry surrounding desert that you are driving […]

Bears, Bison And Boiling Water

After losing ourselves in Waterton-Glacier National Park for a while we eventually followed our noses and the moderate weather into southern Montana. But we did have a worthy goal in mind…visit our friends the Habeckers near Bozeman. Tom and Donna spent their careers working for the National Park Service in many different parks and are now […]

All The Time In The World

Wandering Around Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park After many hours of driving south across Alberta’s beautiful prairies we finally arrive just north of the US/Canadian Border and enter a stunning region of blue lakes and jagged peaks know as Waterton Lakes National Park. A Brief History Of The Area Waterton Lakes National Park is located in the […]

A Drive Through The Canadian Rockies

Traveling through the Canadian Rockies by car has to be one of the most awe inspiring drives in North America. From the front seat of your Mercedes you can view spectacular peaks, glaciers and rivers up close and personal. The Icefields Parkway begins in Jasper and ends in Banff and is 144 miles of mind blowing scenery. […]

Thanksgiving In The Rockies

It is Thanksgiving and we are in the Rockies! That’s the Canadian Thanksgiving and we are in the Canadian Rockies In Case You Were Wondering: Thanksgiving (French: Action de grâce), or Thanksgiving Day (Jour de l’action de grâce) is also an annual Canadian holiday, occurring on the second Monday in October, which celebrates the harvest […]

DRIVE SOUTH

We are parked in front of a Fairbanks grocery store and it is snowing hard!! Thus begins our travels south for the winter. We are in Fairbanks stocking up on supplies and having the Caboose’s front end aligned before we start down the Alaska Hwy. We have now winterized our home, kissed the cat goodbye, […]

Summers End

Yes summer has come and gone in the Alaska Range. Our summers are typically filled with a combination of sunshine and rain, warm but not too hot temperatures Generally we spend our time BBQing, eating out, visiting with friends, wrenching on the fleet, hiking with big dogs and then in a quick 3 months it is all over. […]

The Alaska Range Turns Green

The month of May typically is one of our seasonal transition months, the Alaska Range slowly turns from brown to green and summer begins. The rivers are now open and free of ice, the eagles are back and fishing the rivers, the cow moose are having their babies and the bears are lurking around looking for the […]

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