Brett Anderson's Blog

This morning, I took a tour of the Hemingway House in Key West, FL. I have deeply enjoyed reading and re-reading many of Hemingway’s works. It was meaningful to see his writing studio and learn that it was the room in which he completed Green Hills of Africa, Death in the Afternoon, To Have and Have Not, Snows of Kilimanjaro, and For Whom the Bell Tolls.

I began reading as an adult in 2011. In this self-motivated pursuit, I went on to read more in one year read more than in the previous five...

In May, we had short trips to Damascus for Trail Days and also to the outer banks for a wedding.

Southwest Virginia is a gorgeous place and there was a solid list of places I wanted to return to on the 5 day trip.

We left on a Thursday and made it to The Homeplace in Catawba, Va for an all you can eat family style dinner of fried chicken, roast beef, pulled pork and sides. If you are ever in Roanoke or thru-hiking the AT or are even just passing through the area on 81, look this restaurant up...

May 1st to May 5th
Denver to Virginia

After dropping Sara off for her Hawaii flight, Beans and I were making a more direct route across the country. Our initial few weeks on the road had averaged 144 miles per day. During the 5 days with just Beans and I, we wound up driving an average of 394 miles per day.

A few hours out of Denver, I turned off the freeway onto dirt highways to head towards one of few points of interest I could find. As sunset approached, I made it to the “Kansas Badlands”...

April 23rd – May 1st
Denver, Boulder, and Rocky Mountain National Park

When I landed back in Denver, we drove straight up to Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP).

Moraine Park Campground is at 8,160’ and stays open through the winter on a first come first serve basis.

There were lots of elk.

I took sunrise hikes.

On the way to Cub Lake, this little pond was very reflective.

Since we were here during the week, we headed down into Estes Park during the day for WiFi to work. We drove furthe...

April 22st
White River National Forest – Denver
Waypoints: White River National Forest, Aspen, Glenwood Canyon, Loveland Pass, Eisenhower Tunnel, Johnson Tunnel, Denver
Miles hiked: 2.1
Miles driven: 383.9
Break camp:  24 min
Make camp:  37 min
Camp type:  Hotel
Camp cost: $151

I woke and fed Beans.

I then headed up the unplowed forest road for a walk.

There were lots of tracks, none from humans.

There was a spot where several birds had walked to the edge of the road and taken flight...

April 21st
Moab – White River National Forest
Waypoints: Moab, UT-128, Grand Junction, White River National Forest
Miles hiked: 0
Miles driven: 286.1
Break camp:  27 min
Make camp:  22 min
Camp type:  Dispersed camping with no services
Camp cost: $0

We left south out of Moab and made it to Hole N the Rock.

We were originally headed towards La Sal Mountains but headed back towards Moab for an alternate route.

We took UT-128 along the Colorado River.

After meeting back up with I-70, we cru...

April 20th
Moab – Moab
Waypoints: Moab, Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park
Miles hiked: 6.9
Miles driven: 141.0
Break camp:  34 min
Make camp:  11 min
Camp type:  Developed campground with water and showers
Camp cost: $33.25

Sara and Beans worked from a coffee shop while I went back into Arches for a 6 mile hike from the Devils Garden Trailhead. The first stop was Landscape Arch.

The number of people dwindled as you ventured beyond that major attraction.

I stopped by Partitio...

April 19th
Moab – Moab
Waypoints: Moab, Arches National Park 
Miles hiked: 1.6
Miles driven: 55.5
Break camp:  58 min
Make camp:  16 min
Camp type:  Developed campground with water and showers
Camp cost: $33.25

We woke and had a morning work session before heading to Arches National Park. Sara dropped me at one side of the Park Avenue trail and picked me up on the other end.

We then checked out Balanced Rock.

The large camera battery was dying, and I went to change it with the spare that...

April 17th
Salt Lake City – Moab
Waypoints: Salt Lake City, Summit Park, Moab
Miles hiked: 2.4
Miles driven: 265.1
Break camp:  30 min
Make camp:  52 min
Camp type:  Developed campground with water and showers
Camp cost: $33.25

We slept in a bit, worked, and packed up. We headed up to Summit Park for a lunch time walk with our friend and the dogs.

After a quick pit stop for a new air filter, we headed towards Moab. We had a quick stop at the Horse Canyon scenic rest area as the afternoon wor...

April 17th
Silver Island BLM Lands – Salt Lake City
Waypoints: Silver Island BLM Lands, Bonneville Salt Flats, Salt Lake City
Miles hiked: 2.9
Miles driven: 130.5
Break camp:  25 min
Make camp: 30 min
Camp type:  Hotel
Camp cost: $85

We fed beans indoors on the shelf.

I had a nice 1.4 mile sunrise walk with brisk winds.

We packed up and headed the few miles to the Bonneville Salt Flats, where the wind was whipping.

Sara ran back to the car.

We drove out onto the dry flats for more of a...