A Twelfth Anniversary Adventure for Abby and Richard “Running towards the setting sun Wading through the time and tide We don’t have to turn around Under an endless sky…” ~Balligomingo The Road West Among our adventures on the road west was dinner in Albuquerque with friends Greg and Terry Smith. I hiked and made pictures with…

A Road Trip West Walnut Canyon at Midday, Grand Canyon at Sunset Without a concrete itinerary, I kept my eyes and mind open to possible hiking and photography opportunities. When I saw signs for Walnut Canyon National Monument near Flagstaff, I recalled all the times I told myself I would visit it the next time…

A Tenth Anniversary Vacation for Abby and Richard The Drive West: Haboob, Hat and Hoodie Abby and I packed our Chihuahuas, Max and Sierra, and the rest of our travel gear in her truck and headed west toward our first destination, Santa Fe, New Mexico, on a trip to Moab, Utah, where we got married…

Photographers Find and Photograph the American West The Road West Up early, my wife Abby and I shared our traditional send-off breakfast. I drove to Midwest City, Oklahoma, where I picked up Daily Oklahoman photographer Jim Beckel. Despite being ten minutes early, I found him with his bags, camping gear, food and cameras already on…

A Hiking Trip to One of America’s Most Remote Locations “There’s a place That’s far beyond this time and space When each of us comes face to face with something more…” ~Alan Parsons Project For many years I have been photographing Canyonlands National Park in southern Utah. On many of those occasions I visited The…

Photographers Explore the West Drive to Farmington, New Mexico Unending, excellent conversation with my guest on this trip, fellow photographer Robert “R. E.” Stinson, who was so excited to be on the road shooting that his camera was in his hands more or less the whole time. We also made stops at the famous leaning…

A Sixth Anniversary Vacation for Abby and Richard Driving to New Mexico, and the long route to Moab Abby and I drove to Santa Fe, New Mexico at a leisurely pace with our Chihuahuas, Max and Sierra, in our new Nissan Frontier 4WD pickup, which travels well and comfortably. We drove from Santa Fe to Moab,…

Slipping into the Backcountry in Search of Surprises Driving 14 Hours from Byng, Oklahoma to Monticello, Utah I had a nice breakfast with Abby, a tradition of ours, then hit the road. I only stopped to shoot a few items. I talked to some good friends on the phone, listened to satellite radio, and called…

A Fifth Anniversary Vacation for Abby and Richard Driving from home in Ada to Farmington, New Mexico My wife Abby and I find that this drive, which we have made many times both alone and together, is never boring. Among other things, it represents the path to adventure. The road itself is mostly interstate highway,…

The Farther You Get from the Trail Head, the Fewer People Will Shatter Your Silence Arches National Park and Castle Valley I drove a tiring but trouble-free route from our home in Oklahoma to Monticello, Utah, and was up before dawn the next morning. Michael was good enough to lend me his Honda Element all-wheel-drive,…

Finding Peace in the High Country Driving West, then Waiting for a Repair Due to a broken heater hose, I spent an extra day in Moriarty, New Mexico, waiting for a part to come from Albuquerque. By the end of my second day, I was in Page, Arizona late for the night. Glen Canyon Dam,…

Every Journey Starts with the First Step Driving from Byng, Oklahoma to Blanding, Utah I spent the day on the road. I stopped and shot lots of fun stuff, but I didn’t do any hiking, since my plan was to drive straight through to Blanding, Utah, which took about 15 hours. Blanding to the San…

A Third Anniversary Vacation for Abby and Richard Driving to Farmington, New Mexico We loaded the car with me, Abby and the Chihuahuas Max and Sierra, and all our stuff, and headed west to Farmington, New Mexico. It was a fairly routine drive, with a couple of thunderstorms on our route, and a wildly windy…

A Second Anniversary Vacation for Abby and Richard Driving to Monticello, Utah For our second anniversary, Abby and I gathered our dogs, Chihuahuas Sierra and Max, for a trip to Utah. Our driving day, straight through to Monticello, Utah, was about 16 hours, but we had fun, and the dogs did just fine in our…

A Summertime Hiking Trip Driving from Ada, Oklahoma to Monticello, Utah I’ve made this drive on a few other occasions, but never in June during maximum daylight. This allowed me to shoot more along my route. Chesler Park Trail at Canyonlands National Park and Butler Wash I started at the Elephant Hill trail head in…

Sometimes You Have to Lose Yourself to Find Yourself Driving to Farmington, New Mexico I drove to my usual first night stop, Farmington, New Mexico. Generally speaking, this 11-hour drive is beautiful and interesting, but uses divided highways, so it is more of a utility drive. With radio and CDs, plus frequent phone calls to…

A First Anniversary Vacation for Abby and Richard The Road to Santa Fe We drove from Ada, Oklahoma to Santa Fe, New Mexico,  making a stop at our favorite rest area in the Texas panhandle, which we visited on our first vacation together, The High Road, in 2003. We usually refer to it as “our” rest area….

A March 2005 Hiking and Camping Adventure My time on the road was uneventful. I made a few nice images. I stopped for night in Farmington, New Mexico. I was up early in Farmington after the long drive from Oklahoma the day before. I was at Shiprock by 8 a.m. I tried several rutted, rough…

Abby and Richard Get Married Abby and I discussed many options for when and where to get married, and we finally decided on a very special and beautiful place, Delicate Arch in Arches National Park, near Moab, Utah. Abby’s parents got married on October 12, and since early autumn seemed like a perfect time for…

Two Old Friends Find the Road West Driving to Farmington, New Mexico Up early, I drove to Norman, Oklahoma, to pick up my guest for this trip, my long-time friend Michael Zeiler. We made two or three good images, and, except for worthless restaurant service, had a pretty decent travel day. Michael’s Honda Element was well-suited to…

Exploring the Mysterious Home of Ancient People The Road from Oklahoma to Chaco Canyon I drove to Norman, Oklahoma and loaded in David Martin‘s Saturn. We got an early start. As usual, we drove through gloomy weather until we hit the New Mexico border, where the clouds parted. Forecasts for our destination indicated a slight chance…

A July 2003 Road Trip for Abby and Richard This was my first vacation with Abby Milligan, who was destined to become my wife. We got the name for this trip from the Third Eye Blind song Crystal Baller. We had a tape of Third Eye hits and listened to it over and over, singing…

Three Friends Take a Road Trip to the Desert This was my first trip to southern Utah, one I wanted to make for years. With David Martin, who hiked with me at Chaco a year earlier, and Jamie Harrel, who had never been hiking in the desert, we set out on November 2, 2002. Driving…

This Wild Place Calls Us Home Since my visit to Chaco Canyon in 2000, I have been drawn to that place, and the mystery that it holds. Something about its remote, elegant, lonely beauty calls to me, but I cannot explain what or why. From almost the day I left in 2000, I had wondered about…

A Summer Backpacking Trip to Colorado Portions of the Mount Evans Wilderness Area of central Colorado burned in the 1960s, leaving an eery landscape and fascinating weathering patterns on the trunks of the trees in the burned areas. I stayed in Idaho Springs, Colorado for a couple of days to acclimate, then drove to the…