Entries about camp

overview / intro

We took a trip to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park in central Colorado - the steepest, deepest, narrowest canyon in the world, according to the park rangers. It's one of the least visited parks, but also one of the dark skies park where there is minimal light pollution so at night you can see the stars of the galaxy amazingly.

After a few days of working remote in the nearby city of Montrose, we stayed at the campsite with friends for the whole weekend. It was nice to get in hikes, do some biking, view the canyon and river.

Afterwards we went to see family in the Salida and Poncha Springs area. With some more remote work, we also had the time to bike along the Arkansas River around Buena Vista. Right after we got back to Denver, we also packed up the bags again to fly to Iowa to see more family.

Our Stops:

• Montrose, Colorado
• Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
• Salida, Poncha Springs, Buena Vista, Colorado

Pictures

see more on Facebook Murk Travels recent photos

It was amazing how different the canyon could look at different times of the day, from different angles or viewpoints, from higher or lower on hikes, or when the sky and sun changed how much light was shining.

Links

MurkTravels Youtube - videos of my more current trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Vimeo - videos of my past trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Facebook page - pictures, posts, and regular updates
MurkTravels Facebook photo albums
MurkTravels Instagram - my attempt at artistic travel images
MurkTravels Travel Map - all the places that I've been and the things that I've seen

Looking Back

2021:
Well, the pandemic continued. And I got cabin fever just sitting around in the US, so found ways to travel as usual.
The big news was that I left the boring bank job and moved to Peru to live for a while.

Well, here's the quick review:

Activities

Things that happened in 2021:

Big Travels

• winter festivities in Colorado - January
• Taos and Sante Fe, New Mexico - May
• Mexico - June
• West Coast Road Trip - California and Oregon - July
• Maldives beach resort - August
• Lima & Ica & Huacachina, Peru - September
• Tingo Maria, Peru - October
• Sacred Valley, Peru - November
• Cusco, Peru - November
• Machu Picchu - November

Challenges
Didn't get to do any 14er hikes, or trail runs, or any new crazy challenges this year. But I got to enjoy snorkeling in the Indian Ocean in the Maldives, hiking around Machu Picchu in Peru, and visiting more US National Parks. I count that as a win.

Events & other activities

• bought an investment house in Des Moines - May
• races: none
• continued with volleyball, biking, running, walking, hiking, SUP
• Prudence turned 4 - August
• move to Lima, Peru - September
• concerts: local Peru rock band in Lima - October

previous year reviews:

• 2020
• 2019
• 2018
• 2017

Links

MurkTravels Vimeo - videos of my trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Youtube - videos of my trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Facebook page - pictures, posts, and regular updates
MurkTravels Facebook photo albums
MurkTravels Instagram - my attempt at artistic travel images
MurkTravels Travel Map - all the places that I've been and the things that I've seen

Looking Back

2020:
Well, that was an interesting year.
There was some things that were new and crazy like the pandemic and my truck getting stolen and totaled. Meanwhile other things stayed the same just like any other year with camping, hiking, biking, running, volleyball, moving, and road trips.

Most activities this year was somehow affected by COVID related news, including working remotely for 41 weeks of the year. I had several concerts, events, and international travel cancelled. The trips would have been to Italy, Croatia, Austria, Canada, and the Cayman Islands.

However that allowed me to take more US based trips. I was able to check out a lot of National Parks included Rocky Mountain, Colorado Monument, Dinosaur Monument, Arches, Yellowstone, and Grand Tetons. Plus had the time to see a lot of family, friends, and enjoy hobbies (all at a distance of course).

Well, here's the review:

Activities

Things that happened in 2020:

Big Travels

• Egypt - February
• Israel - January
• North Macedonia - December
• Turkey - November

Quick Trips

• Arches National Park & Moab, Utah - June
• Ashley National Forest, Utah - May
• Crested Butte, Colorado - September
• Colorado Hiking - April
• Colorado Monument and Dinosaur Monument, Colorado - May
• Grand Tetons National Park, Wyoming - August
• Iowa - May and October
• Leadville and Lake Turquoise camping, Colorado - July
• Long Beach visit, California - June
• Montana camping - August
• Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming - August

Challenges

• 14er hike - Elbert
• 14er hike - Sherman
• 14er hike and FKKT - Shavano and Tabeguache
• Ultra run - Rocky Mountain Continental Divide Trail Loop

Events & other activities

• moved to downtown Denver - February
• had 4Runner stolen, along with all my camping and outdoor gear, to be found a week later totaled and trashed by drug addicts - August
• concerts: none
• races: none
• volleyball, biking, running, walking, hiking
• Denver Travel Show
• Prudence turned 3 - August

previous year reviews:

• 2019
• 2018
• 2017

Pictures

see more on Facebook Murk Travels albums

Links

MurkTravels Vimeo - videos of my trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Youtube - videos of my trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Facebook page - pictures, posts, and regular updates
MurkTravels Facebook photo albums
MurkTravels Instagram - my attempt at artistic travel images
MurkTravels Travel Map - all the places that I've been and the things that I've seen

overview / intro

It was photogenic !
Yeah, I have about 1000 pictures of the lake and Teton mountains. Pretty much every stop or corner you take, it's a cool photo.

One day we spent on the water, doing both on a paddle board and a kayak.
Another day we spent chasing wildlife and doing a tour of photography spots.
And yet another day we spent hiking into a canyon between mountains within the range.

All of those were unique experiences and I highly recommend checking out the Tetons national park.

Recommend:

• Snake River - SUP, kayak, or raft
• Jackson Lake & Jenny Lake
• Cascade Canyon hike
• Photography and wildlife tour

Trip Map

Pictures

see more on Facebook Murk Travels albums
USA Utah album

Links

MurkTravels Vimeo - videos of my trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Youtube - videos of my trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Facebook page - pictures, posts, and regular updates
MurkTravels Facebook photo albums
MurkTravels Instagram - my attempt at artistic travel images
MurkTravels Travel Map - all the places that I've been and the things that I've seen

overview / intro

It was diverse !

This park has so many crazy sights to behold. There's the typical nature views of valleys, hills, forests, rivers, and lakes. But then there is the wildlife spotting with chances to see wolves, elk, bison, bears, birds, fish, and more. You can also see crazy rock formations, canyons with massive waterfalls (twice the height of Niagara), and huge open meadows. And of course, the highlights are the hot spring, geysers, mud pots, and all the colorful metals and organisms in the water around the vents.

We got lucky and we able to get one of the last campsites with only a few weeks before our trip. Normally, you need to plan and reserve them 5-6 months in advance. We pretty much only were there to cook meals and sleep, but though the campgrounds were very well run. We saw an elk grazing a few feet away one night.

Our first day including checking out West Yellowstone in Montana. After entering the park, we did part of the southwestern loop. This includes the Upper, Mid, and Lower geyser basin areas. All of them are must see experiences, and include the typical stop to see Old Faithful. I was surprised at how much activity there is in that small part of the park; we must have seen 100+ bubbling hot springs and geysers. We couldn't go any farther since a wildfire closed part of the road. So after that we had an hour drive across the middle of the park to our campsite at Bridge Bay.

The second day included sites along the south east loop. We started with the grand canyon of the Yellowstone river with multiple waterfall viewings. Then on to Mud Volcano area, Yellowstone Lake, and the west thumb Geyser area. That was a full day, so back to camp for an early night. And the next day we woke up at 4am to drive south out of the park and onto Grand Teton national park, where you have to arrive early to get first come first serve camping sites.

Recommend:
Pretty much everything in the park amazed me and would recommend it all.

• Upper Geyser Basin, including Old Faithful and all the trails around it
• Mid Geyser Basin, including the Grand Prismatic spring
• Lower Geyser Basin, including the separate driving loop with Firehole Lake
• Grand Canyon of Yellowstone River
• Upper Falls & Lower Falls viewpoints
• Yellowstone Lake
• West Thumb Geyser area
• Mud Volcano

Trip Map

Pictures

see more on Facebook Murk Travels albums
USA Wyoming album

Links

MurkTravels Vimeo - videos of my trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Youtube - videos of my trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Facebook page - pictures, posts, and regular updates
MurkTravels Facebook photo albums
MurkTravels Instagram - my attempt at artistic travel images
MurkTravels Travel Map - all the places that I've been and the things that I've seen

overview / intro

Spent a weekend camping in Montana, before heading into Wyoming for a national parks tour through Yellowstone and Tetons.
We just relaxed so much, we only took a few pictures of us when we were out on the paddle boards.

Pictures

see more on Facebook Murk Travels albums
USA Montana album

Links

MurkTravels Vimeo - videos of my trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Youtube - videos of my trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Facebook page - pictures, posts, and regular updates
MurkTravels Facebook photo albums
MurkTravels Instagram - my attempt at artistic travel images
MurkTravels Travel Map - all the places that I've been and the things that I've seen

overview / intro

A week of camping is always fun. When it's out in the mountains right by a lake, then it's even better.
We headed out near Turquoise Lake near Leadville, Colorado. During our time there we biked, hiked, and did some paddling in the lake.

Pictures

see more on Facebook Murk Travels albums
USA Colorado album

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Links

MurkTravels Vimeo - videos of my trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Youtube - videos of my trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Facebook page - pictures, posts, and regular updates
MurkTravels Facebook photo albums
MurkTravels Instagram - my attempt at artistic travel images
MurkTravels Travel Map - all the places that I've been and the things that I've seen