The Adventures of Kinky Reggae: A Vagabond for Beauty

Bernie called me uptight. A. He was drinking B. He was very apologetic C. Compared to him, I am. It's true. It was this comment that compelled me to get naked in the Mancos River. And I realized he was right- being naked outside is very fun and freeing. And so this has become my new goal of this trip- as much nudity as possible. Not in a sordid way, more in a natural way. Kind of goes along with me not straightening my hair or wearing makeup or even my hoop earrings. The other day I saw one more national monument- El Morro. It's a permanent water source, and the rock around it has inscriptions from the 1600's. My favorite was a girl from a group traveling west in the 1850's- Miss A.F. Bailey. A.F. stands for America Francis. I grabbed lunch at this tamale place in Gallup that had the best homemade chips I have ever tasted. The owner was really nice and invited me back to do tequila shots with him. I headed for Flagstaff, where I'd be meeting Kristin fo

I visited three national monuments today, all of which were Indian ruins. My first stop was the elusive Yucca House NM. When I asked about it at Mesa Verde, the ranger was vague about what was there and wasn't sure exactly where it was located. The website said this spot is "not for the casual visitor." But that just made it more interesting to me. It's surrounded by private property, so you park next to someone's barn. Their dogs were barking at me as I passed through two rickety gates and carefully signed my name in the visitor register that was sharing a box with a hornet's nest. I followed a faint path through the desert to... nothing. There really was nothing to see there, as far as I could tell. From what I read on the website, it sounds like there are a few big mounds waiting to be excavated. Archaeologists know there's going to be tons of good stuff in there, but they just haven't gotten around to it in the past 94 years since it became a n

I am in full on hippie mode. I had a lazy day today. First, I discovered a waterfall down the road from last night's campsite and hiked down to it. Next, I had breakfast at the Absolute Bakery in Mancas, which was out of control awesome. Then, I did a scenic drive from my backcountry book that was rated a 1. I saw a sign for Box Canyon trail and thought that sounded cool, so I hiked a mile down into the canyon wearing jeans and flip flops and no bra. I went skinny dipping in the Mancos River and wished I had my soap with me so it could have been a bath... I am a dirty hippie. I think I may steal a shower at the Mesa Verde campground tomorrow. Their showers are free. Anyway, it was fun to just be totally naked in the woods and flaunt my pale, imperfect body in the sunlight. And the timing worked out perfectly, because about 5 minutes after I got dressed, I passed two other hikers and their dog. After my drive, I was tired and had a headache, so I found this campground nea

This morning I set off for Silverton, CO, armed with my new Backcountry Adventures book, ready to explore some ghost towns. My book has scenic drives on unpaved roads that are rated in difficulty from 1-10. Bernie has this book and has done many of the drives and recommended that I not try anything above a 3. Anything higher than that is meant for 4WD- Jeeps and hardcore trucks. I started off on the easy road to Animas Forks, the ghost town. I intended to take some of the side trips. There were two that started at the same point- one that was rated a 5, the other a 3. Well, I accidentally ended up on the 5, and it took me a while to realize it. I thought parts of it seemed pretty tricky, but had no other experience to compare it to. Then, the switchbacks started. And they were so tight, I could barely get around them. Finally, I hit one that was just too hard and knew I needed to go back. Turning around was terrifying. I was on the edge of this talus slope, and I had to keep gett

Tonight I am sunburned, bug-bitten, sore, dirty, and exhausted. And I know this sounds crazy, but it is the first day this trip has felt authentic. I don't know how else to explain it. Maybe it's because I'm on night 3 of camping, and I did a lot of hotels/staying with friends earlier in the trip. Either way, I'm feeling really good about things tonight. I left Mesa Verde this morning and came to Durango. My first stop was Doughworks for some awesome homemade doughnuts. Then I headed up into San Juan National Forest on a gravel road I read about in one of my new guidebooks. It was a beautiful drive, but I wanted to hike! I met these three guys on dirt bikes at the top of the mountain, and they told me where to find the Colorado Trail. "Have fun vagabonding!" they yelled as I pulled away. I had no map and no water and was not properly dressed for hiking. I figured I'd climb for about 30 minutes and then head down. But I have this problem, almost an illn

When I was in fourth grade, we learned about Mesa Verde in Social Studies. I was fascinated by these people who built their homes in the side of cliffs. I really wanted to visit this place. This weekend, that finally happened! I left Bernie in Phoenix to take care of some business, then headed up former Route 666 to have some adventures in Colorado. (I was a little nervous about the drive, since there are lots of stories of mysterious happenings on that highway, and Rachel filled my head with stories of black-eyed demon children before I left. But it turns out the biggest concern on that road is drunk Indians.) I camped here last night, then spent the day exploring the park. The three main things I did were the Step House over on the Wetherill mesa, the Spruce Tree House, and the Balcony House tour. I chose that tour because it is supposed to be the most adventurous, with ladder climbing and moki steps and tunnels you crawl through. It wasn't until after I arrived for the tour

Our trip began with Bernie getting tired of dealing with tedious tasks and saying, "Let's just go somewhere right now." He grabbed his maps and some stuff, his dog hopped in the backseat, and we were off. He had a destination in mind, but I had no clue where. We took the 60 east past Globe, then headed toward San Carlos on the Apache reservation. We left the pavement behind after San Carlos, and the scenery was gorgeous. (I feel like I really need to learn some more synonyms for "beautiful" and "amazing." I need more ways to describe the awesomeness of what I'm seeing.) Along this road, we saw a spring with water so clean you could drink it straight from the source. It was such a surprise to come around a corner in the desert to a grassy area with a white bridge over a creek! We rocked out to Michael Jackson. We explored an abandoned house and left our mark among the grafitti: Bern and Bram. We saw a wild black mustang. And when it got too la

Not gonna lie, today was not the best day. When I woke up, I had to pee really bad. And the bathroom was really far from my campsite. And the campsites at Craters of the Moon offer little to no privacy. (There is a picture below of my view from my campsite.) The only option I could see was to pee behind my car. As I was squatting, a lady walked by on the path with her dog. She looked right at me and said hello. Seriously? Could she have at least pretended not to see me?? I realized that it was the same lady who walked by staring last night as I was doing my Oklahoma car wash. I don't see what was so fascinating about watching me scrub my armpits with Wet Wipes... I did two hikes this morning for a total of four miles. The hikes were very pretty, and it was interesting to see all the volcanic features. I definitely did not expect to see pahoehoe lava in Idaho! I was also surprised to see a rainbow of wildflowers growing between the rocks. But four miles was enough. I decided t

I began my day with a five mile hike to Fairy Falls. I was on the trail by 7:30, which was great because I was mostly alone. The hike begins with a walk around this basin full of crazy stuff. (I forget all the technical names.) It looks like people have little campfires going everywhere. Something that made me laugh at Yellowstone were all the signs warning you about the dangers of going off trail. I want to answer those signs and be like, "Hey! You don't have to tell me twice!" This place looks like your typical idyllic mountain scene, then out of nowhere, there is steam coming out of the ground, or a bubbling mud pot, or a geyser. It actually seems kind of absurd. I would be scared to step anywhere off trail! In fact, I see so many people out fishing, and I'd even be scared to do that! Because all of that weird mineral water is flowing into the water not far from where they're fishing! Fairy Falls was very pretty. My next stop was Old Faithful, which was a

When you have an anxiety disorder, it's difficult to just relax and enjoy yourself. I used to hear phrases like "Be still," "Be present," or "Be in the moment," and I didn't fully comprehend what they meant. Tonight I realized that this is just one more thing I love about these trips I take. I am sitting here in an alpine meadow a short walk away from my campsite, and I am fully present. The sun is setting, the Gibbon River is rushing by (I love rivers in the mountains; the water is always in a hurry, like it has miles to go before it sleeps), I hear at least five different bird songs, and some type of insect that looks kind of like a bumblebee is flitting from plant to plant. I never feel this peaceful in everyday life. The mountains are magic. Another thing I love about camping is how it changes my sleep cycle. I go to bed not long after the sun sets and am up not long after the sun rises. Today I set my alarm for 6:15 and was up at 6:00. My g

This morning I woke up with one thing on my mind- a donut from Wall Drug. Kristin may be right... I must be a foodie, because all I remember about my trip to Wall Drug as a 10 year-old is the really great donut I had there. My memory proved to be accurate; they have freshly made donuts that are pretty good. A little greasy, but much better then Dunkin. I set out to find Minuteman Missile NHS, which was not an easy task. It was not well marked and is basically just a trailer next to a gas station. You can drive out and see a missile, but I skipped that. Despite its humble headquarters, I learned something new about our nation's history. I had no idea we had a huge arsenal of missiles hidden in the hills of South Dakota. The idea was that, if Russia attacked, we could launch those suckers up over the North Pole and take out Moscow in less than 30 minutes. This site is right next to the Badlands. I had planned on hiking and camping there, but when I arrived, it was extremely windy