2001: River Road in Big Bend National Park
10 years ago today, I traded in a weary Saturn for a brand new gold Mazda B3000 4WD truck with an extended cab. That truck carried me on many adventures across many western states. Days after I got her, I drove out to the Guadalupe Mountains and took the Williams Ranch Road. I intentionally drove her into an agave to put a scratch down one side, getting the inevitable over with.
2000: Williams Ranch Road in Guadalupe Mountains National Park
New Mexico. Arizona. Colorado. Wyoming. Montana. Idaho. Utah. And of course Big Bend. These were her favorite places.
2002: Canyonlands National Park
The grandest trip was a 17-day journey to Colorado, where high mountain passes, alpine shelf roads, and golden aspen trees awaited.
2003: Yankee Boy Basin
I sold her in September 2006 to take the reins of a Land Rover, which I didn’t keep for long. As I noted at the time, “The 89,137th mile was the hardest. To the sounds of Gary P. Nunn, Jerry Jeff Walker and others belting out “London Homesick Blues,” my aging girl carried me one last mile.”
2003: Stunner Pass Road
Our adventure began 10 years ago, and part of me wishes we had another coming up real soon.
The South Rim 