May 25th

I've come to a decision about my immediate future so it's time to head back to reality. Although I didn't arrive at some great revelation, nor did anyone hand me a golden ticket, (a preposterous dream) I did seem to reground myself. I know my quest isn't over but necessity and rationality require me to go back to work. With that realization the most efficient, rewarding and monetarily advantageous thing for me to do is parasail Lake Tahoe. Not my final destination at all, but a springboard, or maybe more of a lifeline, to continue the quest. A two and a half month stop on my journey.

So I'm heading back west. It's Tuesday, 7am and I'm leaving Crested Butte headed back to Moab. Looking forward to some camping and mountain biking. I have to be in Tahoe for a wedding on Saturday so I'm gonna retrace my steps a little and take HWY 50 all the way. I'm gonna try and maximize the last three days of this trip with things a really want to do. Moab and the parks around there sounds like a perfect start.

May 21st...

The 128 runs along the banks of the mighty Colorado. It's like getting to drive in a junior size replica of the Grand Canyon (which is still huge). I recommend this drive to everyone. This is another place I would love to come back to. I told river I'd be there today so he took the day off. Otherwise I would've stayed a little longer. So onward to Colorado. After the canyon the road winds through some flatter land with tons of small sand hills and big boulders. There were dirt bike tracks everywhere and it was easy to see why. This is a perfect place to ride. Next stop Grand Junction, CO for gas.

The drive continued with the views and serenity I've grown accustomed to. Although not quite as grand as Eastern Utah, Colorado is similar, and everything is getting greener. I stopped in Grand Junction for some gas and a hot cup of coffee. On HWY 50 again, heading south on my way to Montrose, CO. After Grand Junction I start to see snow covered peaks. The Rocky Mts. Unlike the city's name I just left, they are grand. Giant sharp peaks covered in snow, just like a postcard. The truck doesn't really like the big mountain terrain of Colorado but it's still charging.

I'm more accustomed to this landscape so it wasn't as intriguing to me, although still beautiful. I found myself trying to get through the steep, winding mountain roads to reach my destination. I arrive in Gunnison CO. around noon'ish, call Riv, and make the 40 min. drive up 135 to Crested Butte. Driving in to C.B. gives an instant feeling of entering a ski town. Classic small town in a valley surrounded by huge mountains. Similar to a Squaw Valley, with bigger mountains. The look and feel of of the place reminds me of Tahoe.

As I pull up to the house, Riv meets me outside with his classic "What's up Buck" and "You ready to go golfin'?" He's a member at a local course somehow. I don't know how he does it, but it's how he's always been. And as he's my best golfing buddy, I must oblige him. Off to Dos Rios Country Club.

Leaving Kanab...

So, I spent a week in Kanab. A very cool trip to see some dinosaur tracks, a couple 9 hole rounds of golf and one more day on the four wheelers ended my stint. I had a good visit with the Jackson's, but the quest must go on.

It's May 20th, my 36th birthday, and I'm off to what will end up to be one of the best days of the trip. I took HWY 89 N to HWY 12 E. This was hands down the prettiest road I've ever been on. 12 starts off with Brice Canyon National Park. I didn't go in in to the park but just driving through the area was really cool. I'm not going to try and explain this highways beauty in words because I won't be able to. The pictures I took don't even do it justice. After Bryce I entered the Dixie National Forest, then the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument.

One the most amazing parts of this drive is a stretch of road in between the towns of Escalante and Boulder. Like I said, it's too magnificent or majestic to describe, it's just something you have to see for yourself. At one point the road is on top of a spine that is literally the width of the road and no guard rails. Just awesome.

About 40 miles after Boulder, 12 hits HWY 24. I'm heading East toward HWY 70 and Moab. I didn't think I would see anything as special as what I'd just been through but a few miles later I entered Capital Reef National Park. Driving though CRNP reminds me of a big, red, Yosemite. The road follows the Fremont River for a while and with the mix of that and the huge red rock, I couldn't stop taking pictures. For some reason I thought Cody would really like this place. I definitely want to come back, camp for a few days. Coming out of the park, HWY 24 climbs N.E. into a classic high desert open valley. It's about 7:30pm and I want to get to Moab to camp so I hit the 70 E and then the 191 S.

I get to Moab just before 9pm. I wanted to camp in Arches National Park but the only campground is deep into the park and it's getting dark. I got a camping map and saw that there are spots along the Colorado River on HWY 128 E, which was my planned route to Riv's house, so I headed that way. The fist campground was full. Then the second and the third. I wasn't going to miss anymore of the canyon drive in the dark, so I just parked in front of someones campsite and planned to leave early in the am. Slept in the back of the truck for 5 hrs, woke up at dawn, again in awe.

more pics on facebook, Utah folder

May 14th

Woke up at Joe and Bobbie's house. It's good to see them, they're good friends.

Joe recommended we take the 4 wheelers out, go see some of the local natural beauty. We took the 500 hp Polaris quads to Kanab Creek. Went across the creek a couple of times, got muddy, I got stuck. Had to use the winch to get out. Came out of the creek to the base of a plateau where we saw some petroglyphs, cool stuff. Continued up HWY 89 to a place called Hog Canyon. All dirt trails/roads, perfect for quads. Followed some trails up a mountain to a place that overlooked the city of Kanab. The Plateaus are crazy because they go straight down. They're not like other mountains, it's 800 ft of sheer cliff. The town directly beneath us was a cool feeling but the view went on forever, we could see as far as the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. The natural beauty of the land around here is really breathtaking. Makes me want to agree with the Mormons when they call this area 'Gods country'. We rode for a couple of hours and were having a great time until a thunderstorm came in. Lightning, thunder, rain, snow, hail, it was a storm with a lot of attitude. We decided we needed to get off the top of the mountain when we saw lightning and heard thunder almost simultaneously. Riding as fast as we could to lower elevations, we got pummeled by hail and rain. We made to the bottom (soaked) where we found some sun and had a nice ride back to the house. Some food and a shower capped off a really good day.

So my immediate thoughts were; I can see how the American dream works for people. Work 9-5, buy a house, get your recreational 'things' in this case 4 wheelers, and take 'em out on the weekends with friends and family. Stable, reliable, comfortable, fun. I've always been looking for the next adventure and didn't want to be held down by people, a mortgage, car payments or toy payments. That's the trade off I guess. People tell me they're jealous of my lifestyle and where I've been, what I've seen. But truth be told, today I was the one who was jealous. I'm sure the old adage that 'the grass is always greener' is a factor in all this. I think that's what makes it so hard for me to pick a direction. So far the only thing I know about myself is that I want the freedom to do whatever I want, whenever I want. Selfish, maybe. Irrational, for sure. Short of winning the lottery, that seems impossible. I guess I should buy some more tickets.



for more pictures go to my facebook page.

May 12th

I'm heading out HWY 50. Never been out there before. Someone told me 'it's like you're driving on the moon'. Sounds like a good place to start.

Bought some hiking boots, a pocket knife, and a headlamp courtesy of my dad for my birthday. I usually boycott wall-mart, but went there for one thing I knew they had that I needed, a large scale Rand-McNally U.S. atlas. Only $10.95. I needed it, my hands were tied.

Turns out HWY 50 is really a visually stunning drive. Yes there is nothing out there for miles and miles but that is what makes it so special. To add to the natural beauty of the terrain, the storm created this contrast of dark rain/snow storms with sunlit cumulus thunderheads above them. Mountain tops were covered with snow and storm clouds while the valleys and the high clouds were lit up. It was like I was driving in a 600 mile long Ansel Adams photograph.

I set the cruise control at 60 (the speed limit is 75), wanted to take my time and just soak it all in. I tried to dig deep and make the answers to my quest a priority. There were some sparks of new light, but most of it is stuff I've known for years, and still gives me the same 'pick any direction you want, you can do it' answer. What I need from this quest is the direction. I'm writing down my attributes and passions, things I want out of life, things I can and can't live with. Hopefully I can fit all these jigsaw pieces together.

I planned on staying the night at the Great Basin National Park, but when I got to Baker (5,300 ft) around 7 pm it was freezing. The first campground in GBNP is about five miles away and more than 2,000 ft higher. Looking up in to the snow storm at the top, I didn't feel like my ill equipped, summer vision quest set up was up to the challenge. I decided to keep driving down HWY 21 in to Utah. About 10 miles out of Baker I found a dirt road, pulled off and drove a ways in to the desert. Made camp by this little lake at the bottom of the mountains that make up the GBNP.

Don't know where to tomorrow. I feel myself wanting to get to the comfort of Joe Jackson's house, but it scares me too because comfort doesn't promote change and change is what I need. Although this trip has started off amazing, I still have my concerns. Am I just taking a vacation? Am I just making myself feel better by driving away from my problems? I hope not. I guess I'll find out at some point.

Day 1... Kind of

Vision quest for me is taking the time for myself to try and figure out who I am and what will make me happy.

May 11th:

Leaving Nevada City, CA in close to blizzard conditions, I start my quest. First stop Tiffs house, Reno, NV. Starting my vision quest with a 'road closed', snow drive, across HWY 80 to see my ex-girlfriend sounds suspect, I know. For some reason I felt I needed to see her and get the comfort/approval to make this a successful journey. I don't know why. Maybe it's like holding your childhood blanket, or maybe I knew she would be brutally honest with me. Either way I felt it was something I needed to do.

After our cordial greetings and half ass'd catch up of our personal lives, I told her what I was doing. She was excited for me and proceeded to offer some of her future garage sale items for my trip. All turned out to be very useful.

Then I met her roommates who seemed to be interested in my quest. We talked about vision quests and my goals. After a few hours of talking I asked them to write down, anonymously, what they thought my attributes were or what they thought I'd be good at. Even though they didn't know me well, everyone has a first impression and I'm on a quest, so all the info I can get I'll take. I put these folded pieces of paper in an envelope (which I will ask many more people to do) to be opened at the end of my journey.

Next I'm onto HWY 50 East, no time limit, no idea where I'll stay, but I'm excited to start. Just me and the road for miles. I'm making my way to a good friends house in southern Utah. Hopeful for some positive feelings and/or good advise.

First things first...

Before I start, I need to thank the people who made this vision quest possible for me. In no particular order and all equally important. My dad, my mom, and my brother. My family who has always believed in me and is always there to help me when I'm in need. Thank you for the support, in all ways, and Cody for the truck, vision quest would've been a lot harder on foot. Also Tiff, thanks for all the goods. You sent me off with some much needed items and in the right frame of mind. I also want to give a special mention to the 'Joseph Smith' of vision questing, Beau Anderson. Keep at 'em Beau...