Before I returned to university in the late ’90s, I was a carpentry contractor in the wonderful mountain town of Canmore, Alberta. One of the people I worked with was a French carpenter, Jean Daniel (JD) Recompsat. When I moved to Calgary to study, we fell out of touch. When he rode the Great Divide …
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument I slept out at Alamo Canyon campground, a ‘primitive’ camping area with just four sites. It was the first time in a while to be out under the stars. Magical. In the morning, I took my camera for a walk up the canyon. Inadvertently, my left hand brushed a cholla …
I finally escaped the clutches of Moab and headed south through Monument Valley to Flagstaff. After the magnificence and scale of the Canyonlands, Monument Valley always seems a little underwhelming to me. It is still a scenic drive, down Route 191. Pre-ski-season, hotel prices in Flagstaff were very reasonable (especially compared to the Sedona area, …
Riding I am not (yet) a mountain-biker. I’ve ridden maybe a dozen trails, all involving involuntary dismounts when the going got more than straightforward. But I’m keen to keep trying. My bike is built for adventure-touring. It’s steel-framed (read ‘heavy’) and has no suspension. It’s tough, and can be welded, if necessary, in just about …