Walk The Parks Store

I know. I know. There are so many other parks to explore. But I had to do it. And I had to go big. What’s on tap? A long backpacking trip, of course! Had a ton of fun exploring the rim today!


I’ve been shooting a bunch of time lapses, and it’s cool because they take time (duh!). But what that means is I get to hang out somewhere for a pretty long amount of time, much longer than I normally would. This is cool!

So windy on the highway today. My little tiny baby car was getting blown all around!

It was super windy when I woke up in the amazing Martian land that is Petrified Forest National Park. I explored a bit, but ended up heading back to my car pretty early. It’s a bit weird having the car, but I’m really really enjoying the contrast between the front country and backcountry in the parks so far.

A quote overheard at the Fresno Canyon today at a shuttle bus stop: “you know, we all have been waiting for several busses and we’re in line.” “Yeah? Well, I don’t care”

Haha! The...

Wow, what a day! I slept in as late as I could, and ended up leaving camp at 7:30. First up, drive, drive, drive! Not bad though. Under 4 hours through Ute reservation in New Mexico then into Arizona and a brand new National Park! Petrified Forest!

This place is beautiful. The painted desert and petrified wood are so colorful, making a hugely dramatic landscape.

And! Free backcountry permits! Yay! I talked to the woman at the front desk and she recommended the southern district, so why not? That way I could explore the park all day, then start my overnight trip fairly late in the afternoon. A late start is definitely usually what you’d want to do, but here it’s ideal! Why? Well, there’s no water or even trails, for starters, lol. You’ve just got to be over a mile from your car and the road. Done!

This park is interesting because they close the whole thing every night! Why? People steal the petrified wood! I’m sure I’m guilty of this sometimes too, but humans are crazy. W...

Slept ok last night, just not enough. Went to bed after 11, and woke up before 6. The birds were chirping loud and proud, and plentifully at that point, so there was no hope of going back to sleep. Oh well, packed up and was on the road before 7.

Today’s destination: Mesa Verde National Park. Drive was about 3 hours. And mostly beautiful passing through Ridgway and Telluride and over Lizard Head Pass. So fun!

Mesa Verde is a unique park. There are many restrictions: no backpacking, no off trail travel, so self exploration of the ancestral puebloan dwellings. But, that just shows where we are at in our modern age. We think we’re so advanced, but realistically we, as a whole, can’t handle coming somewhere like Mesa Verde and being careful and respectful to al of the amazing ruins, so they must be heavily regulated... interesting.

I really like that there’s so much uncertainty surrounding the people who used to dwell here. Why did they choose to live here? Why did they build their...

So exciting! The adventure has begun! At any beginning (or continuation) of something big there are feelings of nervousness, excitement, and the unknown. Today was certainly that way for me! Last minute packing and cleaning was in order and then boom, out the door!

I decided last night that since I was passing 2 parks on the way to my first “new” National Park, I need to stop. Just for a night anyway. So, with that in mind, off I drove to Black Canyon National Park in CO.

Beautiful day for a drive, the Crystal River Valley never disappoints!

Coolest things about today? No fee to enter or to camp inside the park. Sure, there’s now water, my campsite is mainly covered in snow, and it’ll be in the 20s tonight, but those are just minor details if you’re prepared.

This is sure to be a bit of a lonesome solo journey, but I’m excited to interact with people I meet in different parks.

The main park road is closed for cross country skiing and snowboarding, but the road is completely snow...

What is Walk The Parks doing now?  Great question!  After 500 amazing days, which is still crazy for me to type, I decided the best thing to do for the winter was to work and save money for the next leg of Walk The Parks!

When is the next leg of Walk the Parks?  I have a plane ticket on April 15, 2019 to fly from Denver,CO  to Palm Springs, CA.  I'll then be maneuvering my way to Joshua Tree National Park where I get to start hiking again!  So extremely excited about this.  What's the plan? you can check it out at walktheparks.com/route but it basically involves connecting Joshua Tree to the Pacific Crest Trail to the Bigfoot Trail to the Pacific Northwest Trail.  

What have I been doing? Trying to save money as best I can, stay in shape, and work on Walk The Parks stuff, of course.

I wrote a book! Walk The Parks: First 500 Days is currently available at walktheparks.com/shop

I love the book, I'm so happy to share photos and stories in a 10 x 10 inch format. I'd lo...