Author Archives: westerner54

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About westerner54

Hello. I'm Cindy, and I love to hike, bike and explore the outdoors - particularly the western U.S.

Ghost Signs, Ghost Town, and a Snowshoe to a Sad Cemetery

Posted on February 20, 2012 by westerner54

Today we headed for the ghost town of Elkhorn so that we could snowshoe to the  old Elkhorn cemetery, which is on a hilltop about a mile outside of town.  The nearest town to Elkhorn is Boulder, Montana, a little town … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure, Hiking, Montana, Nature, Outdoors, Photography, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Posted on February 16, 2012 by westerner54

Originally posted on View from the Lookout:
View from Suntop Lookout A few weeks ago, I wrote about the first time my youngest daughter spent a night at a fire lookout. With fall, approaching it was time for the second…

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Sahara Spring: Southern Tunisia

Posted on February 16, 2012 by westerner54

It’s a 7 hour drive from Tunis to Tozeur, Tunisia.    And if you take a bus, and not the shared vans called louages in Tunisia, the trip is actually quite pleasant.   Tozeur is an ancient town in southern Tunisia, and was really … Continue reading →

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Garnet, Montana: Ghost Encounters of the Old Kind

Posted on February 7, 2012 by westerner54

January, 2010.   Trudging up the steep and icy Forest Service road that leads to the ghost town of Garnet.   Cold feet, cold hands, runny nose.  Beautiful scenery, but still…cold feet, cold hands, runny nose.    To distract myself,  I think about Emily Thomas, who … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure, Camping, Hiking, Montana, Nature, Outdoors, Photography, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Grand Gulch, Cedar Mesa, Utah

Posted on February 1, 2012 by westerner54

February.  Time to plan some desert hikes, because right now the trails from my back door are looking a little dicey.  (Dicey: a combination of dumb and icy?) Grand Gulch Primitive Area, in southeastern Utah, is an ideal spring destination.  Sunny, warm days, water … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure, Camping, Hiking, Nature, Outdoors, Photography, Southwest hikes, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Winter Tracks

Posted on January 29, 2012 by westerner54
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What do ya know – these things intersect!

Posted on January 27, 2012 by westerner54

Venn diagrams kind of annoy me.  I mean, I get the concept – the idea of the intersection between two separate sets – but doesn’t it seem like we get a bit carried away with the need to put everything … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure, Hiking, Montana, Nature, Photography, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Yellowstone in Winter: Let Sleeping Grizzlies Lie

Posted on January 24, 2012 by westerner54

I’ve never come upon a grizzly bear while hiking in the backcountry, and that’s just fine with me.    I’ve backpacked  a time or two in grizzly country, but never in Yellowstone or Glacier.  I just know that I’d be wide-eyed … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure, Camping, Hiking, Montana, Nature, Photography, Travel, Yellowstone | Tagged , , , , , | 135 Comments

Looking for the Procession Panel: Treasure Hunt in Canyon Country

Posted on January 9, 2012 by westerner54

I’m sure you can go on-line and find some pretty precise directions to the Anasazi petroglyphs called the Procession Panel, but we’re part of the group of stubborn hikers who like to pretend that we’ve found these cool ancient sites all on … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure, Camping, Hiking, Nature, Outdoors, Photography, Southwest hikes, Travel | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Ranger Cabin + Caviar + Cosmopolitans = the perfect winter solstice

Posted on December 24, 2011 by westerner54

One of the charms of Montana is that we can live in town, but decide on the spur of the moment to rent a ranger station for the night, pack up, and be at the trailhead in a couple of … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure, Camping, Food, Hiking, Montana, Nature, Outdoors, Photography, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments