February 17, 2015
by David Ryan
1 Comment

Wandering Into Plan B

This past Saturday the dogs and I drove north to check out a tract of backcountry public land that we hadn’t visited in a couple of years. With the recent warm weather, we were hoping that the dirt road leading to our destination would be dry enough to drive.

When we reached the dirt road, we found it to be drivable but not in good shape. We made the turn and continued driving. In less than a mile we reached a patch of mud. Rather than risk getting stuck we turned around. We probably could have made it through that particular patch of mud, but we had no idea if it was the last patch of mud or the first of many. And it certainly wasn’t important enough to find out.

As you can see, the road was not in perfect condition.

As you can see, the road was not in perfect condition.

Here's where we turned back. With plenty of nearby snow waiting to melt, this section most likely would have had more mud later in the day!

Here’s where we turned back. With plenty of nearby snow waiting to melt, this section most likely would have had more mud later in the day!

We took the path of least resistance and moved on to Plan B. All we needed was for a Plan B to reveal itself to us. Continue Reading →

February 13, 2015
by David Ryan
0 comments

Nice Article about Wandering in the Sierra Vista Herald

Sierra Vista is a city of over 40,000 people just outside the gates of Fort Huachuca in southeast Arizona. It is about 30 miles from Bisbee and the Herald is its daily newspaper. Last Sunday the Herald ran an interesting article on wandering, “Author wanders through a simple life.” Click Here if you would like to read the article.

I have also added several upcoming events in the Events Tab of this website. Check them out to see if any are of interest.

Thanks,

David Ryan

January 26, 2015
by David Ryan
2 Comments

Wandering Into Great Silence

A few years ago I saw the movie Into Great Silence. It was about a monastery in the French Alps where the monks only speak when they take their weekly walks outside the walls of the monastery. The movie had no voiceover narrative or soundtrack. It just followed the monks as they moved through the day picking up the sounds of doors creaking and of soft footsteps walking through the cloister. It was a remarkable display of peacefulness.

This past Sunday, the dogs and I drove out to the backcountry about 50 miles southwest of Albuquerque to walk through a tract of BLM land. Our plan was to check out a specific area, but when we started walking it was so quiet and wonderful that we ditched the plan and just walked.

The only sounds were the cheep, cheep, cheeps of small birds, the occasional flapping of wings, and the once in a while scurrying of a startled rabbit. There was some snow on the ground and a bit of mud. But not so muddy that it would suck your boots off. There was just enough moisture on the ground to soften the soil so that the sound of our footsteps was muffled.

We walked to a mesa top, and there we could walk for miles without interruption. The only motorized access to the mesa top is through a locked gate. And with no cattle running on top, there was no reason for a rancher to be there. And with the locked gate there was no way for gun enthusiasts, hunters, or off road vehicles to come on top to disturb the quiet.

Looking northwest from the mesa top toward Mount Taylor.

Looking northwest from the mesa top toward Mount Taylor.

Continue Reading →