This Land Is Your Land
- On November 20, 2015
- By Randall Tate
- In Desert, Dogs, Traveling, Wilderness
0
The open road holds much allure. Adventure, new experiences and wild places await. It promises to cross a few more places off the bucket list, but that hope quickly fades as new destinations are discovered.
This road trip was something out of Woody Guthrie’s tattered journal. Wheat clouds waved. Dust clouds rolled. We followed that ribbon of highway from Minnesota to Texas to California. We plied pristine waters, wandered redwood forests and felt the sand of diamond deserts. Time on the road is never time wasted. Thankfully, the list only gets longer.
Jimmy Breakfast, Boundary Waters Canoe Area, Minnesota
Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico
Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas
White Sands National Monument, New Mexico
White Sands National Monument, New Mexico
Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, California
Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, California
Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, California
Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, California
Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, California
Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, California
Beautiful Destruction
- On October 16, 2014
- By Randall Tate
- In Canyoneering, Desert, Hiking, Wilderness
- 1
Canyonlands National Park, Utah
Canyon country is a battlefield. It is an apocalyptic arena where nature fights an endless war, destroying the old and creating the new. The weapons are all powerful; wind, sun and water thrash relentlessly against any surface they contact. Uncountable tons of sand, rock and soil are vanquished from the high lands, becoming refugees and starting new lives in the valleys and plains far below. The land will never be the same. And that is exactly the point.
When the sounds and distractions of our daily lives fade away and we let ourselves slip into the desert wilderness that calls to our souls, a transformation takes place. We notice the textures, the smells and the vibrations emanating from every molecule, slamming into our now awakened mind. Our bodies adjust to scorching sunshine, penetrating cold, blood thirsty spines and uneven ground in this new world. Your shoes suddenly grip slopes that would have seemed impossibly steep just days before. Undulations in canyon walls appear, showing the way out, or the way in. Water becomes the highest priority.
As we let go and embrace the changes in our mind, body and soul, we experience what the destruction means and the opportunity that it creates.
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah
Mr. Ben, Canyon Explorer – Zion National Park, Utah
Ace’s Front Yard
- On April 30, 2013
- By Randall Tate
- In Camping, Canyoneering, Desert, Hiking, Wilderness
- 0
Ace’s front yard is big, really big. It’s so vast that you need a backpack, camping gear, two weeks of food, a map and a compass just to cross it. The entire yard is close to 2 million acres so walking out into it without a plan is not the brightest of ideas. We spent a few days trekking through it with him, his “dawg” Genghis and some other friends. We never even came close to the other side.
Water is everything in the desert
Nature’s artistry at work
Man Meets Dog.
- On June 08, 2011
- By Randall Tate
- In Camping, Desert, Hiking, Uncategorized
- 0
You know those couples that can’t ever be apart? They never leave eachother’s side. They exercise together, they use the bathroom at the same time and they even work together. After a while, you realize that you never actually see one without the other.
Well I know one those couples. It’s Ace Kvale and Genghis Khan. I’m not sure who is more dependent on the other. Neither one ever makes a move alone. I’m sure Ace likes to think that he has Genghis trained, but it’s definitely the other way around. I’ve never seen a dog that can deliver guilt to its owner so effectively. I mean what other dog gets their human to carry a down vest, sleeping bag and pad into the backcountry for them? Lucky dog.
The Blood Oath
- On May 04, 2011
- By Randall Tate
- In Canyoneering, Desert, Hiking, Uncategorized
- 0
Some places are worth keeping a secret. Southern Utah is one of them. Here’s a few images of places that Ace, Genghis and I have explored in the past few months.
It’s All About The People You’re With
- On April 01, 2011
- By Randall Tate
- In Desert, Traveling
- 0
“The journey is the destination”. We’ve all heard it. I think I first read it on one of those demotivational posters hanging in my dentist’s office. I don’t know if I agree. I think it meant to say “Roadtrips are as American as apple pie. Go on one.”
My first real taste of the road came via a 1990 Toyota Camry that took me from Minneapolis to Niagara Falls and back in 1999. Gas was $.99 a gallon and the 2000 mile roundtrip only put a $50 dent in my sophomore wallet. I stopped in South Bend and walked around Notre Dame in the dark. I’m not sure why. I think I had just seen Rudy and thought maybe he would still be walking the grounds.
In Westfield, New York I visited the Mogen David distillery where my friend worked. I walked in and he was bent over cleaning up broken glass underneath one of the machines that pumped out thousands of gallons of Hawaiian Blue MD 20/20 every day. He didn’t mind that by working there he was contributing to the disorderly conduct and downward spiral of thousands of American bums.
The road between my house in Como and that distillery wasn’t particularly enlightening, but I did learn that people in Indiana fully support the sale of fireworks and that tolls are expensive. I didn’t return home thinking that it was all about the journey. Instead, I learned that solo road trips are dreadful and that it’s really all about the people you’re with.
Mountain Biking in Moab
- On December 19, 2008
- By Randall Tate
- In Desert, Mountain Biking
- 0
Grand Canyon
- On November 18, 2008
- By Randall Tate
- In Desert, Hiking, Trips
- 0
Jimmy, Jen and I spent three nights hiking in the Grand Canyon. It was immense.
Indian Creek
- On November 02, 2008
- By Randall Tate
- In Desert, Rock Climbing
- 0
Ace showing off his stuff
Ringo
- On September 10, 2008
- By Randall Tate
- In Desert, Stories
- 0
A couple weeks ago, apple’s started mysteriously moving around the kitchen at night. We hatched a plan to catch the varmint and after baiting him with a can of tuna fish and some peanut butter, discovered that it was Ringo, a very cool little ringtail cat. We took his relocation upon ourselves and drove him out to a canyon just outside of town and set him free.
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