San Rafael Swell Backpack

I went on a backpack with friends in the San Rafael Swell in south-central Utah. "The Swell" is an area of uplifted, eroded sandstone, with steep-walled canyons, slots, mesas and buttes. It's less than 4 hours from SLC and a fun place to explore. Ayla had a lot of work to catch up on and chose to stay home.

The start of the hike into Spring Canyon along Mexican Mountain Road.

Harvey, Susanne, Beth and Rich, the other campers taking a break on the Mexican Mtn. airstrip. It was built for oil exploration and now used by local pilots comfortable landing on a gravel runway.

Windsock sponsored by Chevron.

Ancient petroglyph can be found on a rock near the airstrip.


Our campsite was near the junction of the North and South forks of Spring Canyon. This was the rock formation above our tents.


An arch formed by a piece of the cliff that had fallen and gotten stuck.


Another shot of the arch from halfway up a "trail" that went from the canyon floor to the top of the mesa.


Harvey triumphantly summiting the mesa.


Enjoying the views from the top of the mesa.


We scrambled down through the boulder-strewn Horsethief Canyon. Yes, it was named for the route that stolen horses were taken on.


Harvey and Susanne back at camp.


A last look up Spring Canyon as we hiked out on Sunday.


The plane boss, the plane!


Beth by the San Rafael River.

The following are more petroglyphs along Buckhorn wash. They have been painstaking restored to remove traces of grafitti, bullet holes and other vandalism.

New Orleans

Ayla and I took our first trip to New Orleans in October. It was only a quick weekend vacation but we saw lots of sights in the French Quarter and ate, as New Orleans is known for, some excellent food.

St. Louis Cathedral in Jackson Square.


















A cast iron "Corn Fence", a sign that you were wealthy in the 1800's
















A pretty typical French Quarter storefront














Ayla in front of an 18th century security system

Ayla in the Voodoo Museum.



















An ornate costume on display in the Mardi Gras Museum


















Fats Domino's piano which was recovered from his house in the Lower Nith Ward, one of the most heavily damaged areas from Hurricane Katrina












One of the highlights was seeing The Tragically Hip at The House of Blues, a significantly smaller venue than anything they play in Canada.










Ayla and I on Bourbon Street at night. As you can see, New Orleans has no laws barring carrying open containers of alcohol. The only rule is that any drink has to be in a plastic cup, no glass allowed.

Nothing to see here

Move along and take that camera with you.

Rock vs. Knee

The rock won.



The kneecap is fractured. Looks like someone's snowboarding season is over.

New Year's Day Tour

On New Years Day, I went on a backcountry tour near Alta with Jeff Johnson and Dwight Curry. We started skinning up from Alta to Cardiff Pass. From there we dropped into Cardiac Bowl on some OK snow. Then came a long skin up to Cardiac Pass. The view was worth the effort but the snow was very wind hammered to the trip down into the bowl left something to be desired. We then made our way back to Cardiff Pass with a short detour into the bowl. The run back to the car was over some very sketchy sun-baked crud. Not an epic day of Wasatch powder but fun nonetheless.

The start of the trip up to Cardiff Pass. Jeff in yellow, Dwight in black.

Surveying possible routes from Cardiff Pass.


The bottom of Cardiac bowl


From Cardiac Pass looking down into Cardiac Bowl and the less-than-stellar snow.


Jeff and Dwight living out their Eiger Sanction dreams and trying to summit Mt. Superior.


Panaorama from Cardiac Pass looking into Mill B South Fork and the Salt Lake Valley (covered in a winter inversion).

Ricky's sense of snow

The furballs got to experience snow for the first time.


They've also been meeting the neighbours.

Where we spent our vacation Pt. II

More photos of our trip to Washington state

Seattle at dusk from the roof of our hotel

We popped up to Vancouver and went for a hike with my Mom to Grey Rocks in Deep Cove

Ayla at Deception Pass St. Park

Ayla on the ferry between Whidby Island and Port Townsend

View north from Hurricane Ridge in Olymic Nattional Park

Ayla on the Hoh river

Spruce sapling in the Hoh valley rain forest (wettest place in the lower 48 states)

Kelp on Rialto beach on the Olympic peninsula


Sunset at Ruby beach on the Olympic peninsula

Mt. Ranier

Ayla and Mt. Ranier

Ayla by the Reflecting Lake with Mt. Ranier (of course)