If you think you need to travel to the far reaches of Africa to experience sand dunes, you would be mistaken, but certainly not alone. If anything, our travels thus far have firmly cemented the notion that adventure and discovery can indeed take place in your own backyard. After a fantastic evening with our friend Joseph and his girlfriend, exploring bookstores downtown Denver and trying out new "hip" vegetarian dishes (seitan buffalo wings anyone?) we continued south towards Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, a relatively unknown area of geographic interest that only recently achieved national park status. Rising abruptly from the flats of San Luis Valley and tucked against the ridges of the Sangre de Cristo mountains, it is a relief to see them but their size deceives our sense of distance and it ... read more

Anthropology students are all inevitably subjected to a discussion on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs; how we must meet our physiological needs in order to feel the need for safety, love and, ultimately, self-actualization. Four years at a university and I had always assumed that contentedness and freedom could only come when self-actualization was achieved. Four weeks on the road and I realize now that there is nothing more freeing and exhilarating than having no more pressing thoughts other than where to lay our heads at night, and how to prepare whatever food we'll eat. Americans are always hung up on the concept of freedom--what it means, how we have so much of it, why it's just so great--and the word gets thrown around so much its true meaning becomes so obfuscated under the weight of platitudes ... read more

It hadn't occurred to me until recently that traveling can be a very competitive endeavor. Well, strike that. "Tourist"-ing can be very competitive. Traveling is supposed to be an enriching, relaxing experience, not a cut-throat treasure hunt. And yet I see this behavior in many of our fellow campers and, as much as it shames me to say so, sometimes catch myself acting a little this way myself. The common campfire at which the rangers present nightly talks seem to be the boasting grounds of the days spoils, comparing sightings of osprey, elk and the ever elusive moose. Just for the record, we havn't seen much, if any, of the larger mammalian wildlife in the park; we have been enjoying the simpler things nature has to offer, like the birds singing from the lodgepole pines around ... read more

One thing became clear while we were in the Black Hills - we need a new car battery. After having it die once before in Ontario, and almost again in remote forests of the South Dakota, we made it a top priority to get one at our next opportunity. So, that opportunity arriving in Spearfish, SD, we were put a little off our intended schedule and had some ground to cover. What was originally going to be an overnight at Devil’s Tower turned into a day trip, and since neither of us are rock climbers, we both agree that’s all we needed anyhow. Besides, even if we were climbers, there is a voluntary climbing ban on half the monument for the month of June in deference to Native American ceremonies, and a mandatory ban on the ... read more

A dramatic shift in the landscape from grassy plains to sharp, jagged spires which seem to rise out of nowhere announce our presence in the Badlands. With a name like 'the badlands' you would think of it as nothing more than a barren wasteland, but there is actually an abundance of flora and fauna if you keep your eyes peeled. The rains that came through last week caused the prickly-pear cacti to bloom and their yellow and red flowers dot the landscape, but now it's hot and dry. The previously muddy ground has now been baked by the sun and does not yield to our footprints. Before we do much exploring, we try to get a campsite at the free first-come, first-serve Sage Creek Campground. It's a bit of a drive from the main visitor area ... read more