Michael Janke

Chasing Fresh Air and Sunshine

  • Home…

    After a fast blast across the plains, we’re back home in Minnesota. Sights & Scenery All of the places we visited on this trip were new to us: The San Rafael Swell, Colorado National Monument and the Unaweep Tabeguache Scenic Byway were the highlights of the trip. We’ll go back for those someday. The Salt…

  • Colorado National Monument

    Colorado National Monument

    “I came here last year and found these canyons, and they feel like the heart of the world to me. I’m going to stay and build trails and promote this place, because it should be a national park.” John Otto, 1907 A hundred-odd years ago, some guy named John Otto thought this place was special…

  • Fall Colors, Hanging Flumes, Highway 141

    Fall Colors, Hanging Flumes, Highway 141

    We spent the night at Ridgeway State Park with the intent of driving Colorado highway 141 (the Unaweep-Tabeguache Scenic Byway) up to the Colorado National Monument near Grand Junction. I’d heard that highway was a worthwhile scenic drive and wanted to check it out. Worth it. From the campground near Ridgeway we crossed over on…

  • Deep, Steep and Narrow – The Black Canyon of the Gunnison

    Deep, Steep and Narrow – The Black Canyon of the Gunnison

    Another impressive sight – this time a deep, narrow and rugged canyon in central Colorado. It’s a couple thousand feet deep, yet in places it’s only a quarter mile wide at the top and less than a hundred feet wide at the bottom. Many of the canyon walls seem to be near vertical. The Black…

  • The Swell Swell

    The Swell Swell

    Interstate 70 bisects the San Rafael Swell, a spectacular geologic feature in central Utah. We’ve been to Capitol Reef and parts of Escalante National Monument, but this is the first time that we’ve driven I-70 through the Swell. Fascinating and beautiful. There are rest areas and viewpoints along the Interstate so you can absorb the…

  • The Great (Smokey) Basin

    The Great (Smokey) Basin

    The Great Basin covers most of Nevada and parts of Utah, Oregon Idaho and California. It’s unique because none of the water that flows into the basin ends up in an ocean. It sinks into the ground, flows into lakes, or evaporates – leaving flat, featureless dry and salty lake beds between the many mountains.…

Anarchy Arizona Badlands Campervan Camping Colorado Crossfit Electrical Italy Louisiana Minnesota Modifications New Mexico North Dakota RNC Society Solar South Carolina South Dakota Technology Travel Utah Vanlife Weather Wildlife Wyoming