After retiring from the National Park Service following a 36-year career—one that took me to many of our nation’s crown jewels, including Yellowstone, Rocky Mountain, Mount Rainier, Joshua Tree, Pinnacles, Bighorn Canyon, and Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks—I set out in search of a new kind of adventure: one found on two wheels.
Traveling light, camping along the way, and taking the backroads whenever possible, I chased wildness across Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Montana, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and California.
This is one of those journeys: In Pursuit of Wildness: Pinnacles National Park.
“The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.”
— John Muir
"I’m on historic US Route 66 heading east for a small village nestled next to the Rio Grande in New Mexico called La Joya. Each year, I make this journey across the wild west, past little communities and towns with interesting names: Newberry Springs, Oatman, Cool Springs, Valentine, Peach Springs, Twin Arrows, Two Guns. They sound like names from old Western movies.
The map tells me that it’s about 1,100 miles from my home in Three Rivers, CA, to La Joya, but I rarely follow the straight lines..."
 |
My trusty, 2019 Indian Springfield. |
