Columbia, Missouri

I got home Saturday night, June 13th. DaveTour 2009 is over. I drove 3165 miles and got as far away as St. George, Utah, (about 1400 miles from home). I was able to visit and hike in all five National Parks in that state and drive by various State Parks and National Monuments.

It was a great trip, if a bit short, and one I'm very happy I took.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the week: (The full set is here).  read more »

Denver, Colorado

Yesterday was quite the day. It started early hiking in Zion National Park and ended after a long drive in Denver at my friends' condo downtown.

As I was driving through the park Thursday evening I began to consider getting up early Friday morning and hiking to Angels Landing. I had attempted this hike in 2003 but had turned back before reaching the summit. The hike takes you 1485 feet from the canyon floor to the peak in two and a half miles and is considered by some to be the best hike in the Nation Park system. Certainly, by all accounts it is the best Zion has to offer.

There is an e-hike video on the Park Service website here.  read more »

St. George, Utah

This morning I left Torrey less than an hour after my last post and headed south on Utah 12 to Bryce Canyon National Park.

I drove through the Escalante region on my way there and got to drive on one of those narrow roads you only find in this part of the country.  read more »

Torrey, Utah

I hit the road yesterday morning and headed west to Capitol Reef National Park. I had been there once before in on DaveTour 2003 but hadn't been able to do any significant hiking.

I wanted to see about hiking in the park and I was hoping to revisit Cafe Diablo, a restaurant I had enjoyed immensely on that visit six years ago.

Capitol Reef in an amazing area and worth seeing.  read more »

Moab, Utah

Yesterday morning I got a bit of a late start. I decided to head up to Canyonlands National Park and see about several areas of the park I had not visited before. I spent the day touring around the Island in the Sky region of the park, mostly in the Upheaval Dome area, which was new to me.  read more »