Mohave Camping

This place was so great that my wife, Ryanne Sebern, made me promise not to disclose the exact location.  Our hidden paradise was just north of Laughlin, on the way to Las Vegas.  It was Mohave camping at is best.

Here is Ryanne hauling our gear into the desert wilderness.

We wanted to give the boys a "back packing" experience, so we hiked about a quarter mile in from the road.  Our secluded camp was tucked in among some granite domes.    

Orin and I are heading  back to camp, after a bit of exploring.

Orin peaking out of a hueco cave.

The granite domes had weathered, hueco caves that were fun to explore.  

Peaking out of hueco cave, with Orin.

How to make great camp coffee!

We like to start our mornings right.  Fresh Brewed Coffee.

This pottery was found in a shaded hueco.

While out hiking, we found a bunch of pottery and many lithos sites.

This piece of fossilized palm wood showed signs of being worked.

Our afternoons were spent napping and playing cards in the shade.

All play makes for tired boys.

Of course, you have to have cold beer.  Hauling a Canyon Cooler a quarter mile to camp is way worth it. 

Eagan and I found these neat water catchments, that were built high up in the rocks.

The rock was fun and easy to climb.

These globemallows were glowing with back-light.

Everywhere you looked, the wild flowers were exploding with colors.

Ryanne Sebern, backcountry kid-carrier, at your service.          

This post is sponsored by Canyon Coffee

This weeks featured product is the 

MELITTA READY-SET-JOE single cup coffee brewer

Check out this How-to video:

Get your 

MELITTA READY-SET-JOE -single cup coffee brewer

For only

$6 (shipping included)

-or-

MELITTA READY-SET-JOE -single cup coffee brewer 

*with travel mug*

For only

$15 (shipping included)

Coffee Making with Paria River water -A How To Video

This was the last day, of a four-day backpacking trip through the Paria River.  We had five strong hikers with us.  What a fun trip. 

Bob Cheese show us how to brew up some excellent Press-Bot coffee, in a Nalgene Bottle.  

A Trip To An Oregon Shipwreck

While on a family trip to Oregon, we took a trip to the Coast to see the famous Peter Iredale shipwreck.  I remember seeing it, as a kid.  So, I was really interested to find out what it looks like after forty years.

On our way to the coast, we stopped off at the Jewell Meadows Elk Sanctuary.  The boys had a blast seeing all the big, antlered bull elk.

Eagan Ford spends some time sitting on a fence rail watching the elk go by.

While at the elk sanctuary I noticed this super tiny mushroom, growing on a mossy tree.  The mushroom cap was approximately 2 mm wide.

Micro Mushroom

What a rarity to have a sunny day on the Oregon Coast.  Here is a view to the south.

Looking down the beach.  Sunny days, Hurray!!!

Queen of the Mountain

My beautiful wife, Ryanne Sebern, climbs to the top of a nearby sand dune.

Here is our first view of the Peter Iredale shipwreck.

Remnants of a once mighty ship, the Peter Iredale.  Foundered off the Oregon Coast.

Here is a perspective picture to show just how big this ship was.

The Peter Iredale, bow to stern

Vintage picture of the Peter Iredale, shortly after the wreck.

This post is sponsered by Canyon Coffee

Helping the world create a better cup of coffee

Home of the Press-Bot Coffee Press 

*IT BREWS IN A NALGENE BOTTLE*

Our featured product this week is the Space Saver Mug

  The Space Saver Mug lovingly nests around your Nalgene Bottle.  This mug is lightweight and durable.  You can cook with it, too!  For the Minimalist Backpacker, the Space Saver Mug is all you need for your backcountry adventures.

The Space Saver is a must have and a is a total no-brainer at this price

Get yours for only $15

Remember,,, Domestic Shipping is always FREE at http://canyoncoffee.us/

Early flowers on Utah Flats -Grand Canyon National Park

 I found this first bloom of the Beavertail Prickly Pear hidden by the Mormon Tea.  We were climbing up the Bonsai Route, out of the Bright Angel Campground.

Opuntia basilaris, the beavertail cactus or beavertail pricklypear, is a cactus species found in southwest United States. It occurs mostly in the Mojave Desert, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, and Colorado Deserts, and also in the Colorado Plateau and northwest Mexico; it ranges through the Grand Canyon and Colorado River region to southern Utah, and in western Arizona, regions along the Lower Colorado River Valley. The Beavertail Cactus is a medium-sized to small prickly pear cactus, depending on variety, growing to about 60 cm tall. A single plant may consist of hundreds of fleshy, flattened pads. These are more or less blue-gray, depending on variety, growing to a length of 14 cm and are maximum 10 cm wide and 1 to 1.5 cm thick. They are typically spineless, but have instead many small barbed bristles, called glochids, that easily penetrate the skin. The pink to rose colored flowers are most common; however, a rare variety of white and even yellow flowers also exist. Opuntia basilaris bloom from spring to early summer.
Here is a new flower, to me.  It is the Desert Anemone, or Windflower.  We saw these beauties while hiking the red, slickrock sandstone of Utah Flats.

Anemone tuberosa (desert anemone or tuber anemone) is a herbaceous plant species in the genus Anemone and family Ranunculaceae. Plants grow 10 to 30, sometimes 40 cm tall, from a woody-like tuber shaped like a caudex. Plants with 1 to 3 basal leaves that are 1 or 2 times ternate. The basal leaves few with long petioles and deeply 3-parted with leaflets lacking stems or rarely with a stalk. Plants flowering early to late spring with the flowers composed of 8 to 10 sepals normally white or pink colored, 10 to 14 mm long. The plants produce one peduncle with one solitary flower or 2-5 flowered cymes. Fruits in heads fusiform in shape, with 7-20 cm long pedicels. Fruits called achenes measure 2.5-3.5 mm long and 2-2.5 mm wide with a rounded outline and flat in shape, densely woolly, not winged also with straight 1.5 mm long breaks.

Anemone tuberosa is native to south central western North America mostly in Nevada and New Mexico and Northern Mexico but also west to California and East to Texas. This spring flowering plant is found on rocky slopes and along stream banks. Anemone tuberosa is part of a species complex that includes 6 to 9 species native from south western and central USA to South America For the most part all produce tubers or caudex-like tubers.

The always lovely Milk Vetch.  I really liked the course pink sand as the backdrop for this picture.  It shone like little desert jewels, a nice contrast to the purple flower.

Astragalus is a large genus of about 3,000 species of herbs and small shrubs, belonging to the legume family Fabaceae and the subfamily Faboideae. It is the largest genus of plants in terms of described species.^[1] The genus is native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Common names include milkvetch (most species), locoweed(in North America, some species)^[2] and goat's-thorn (A. gummifer, A. tragacanthus). Some pale-flowered vetches are similar in appearance, but vetches are more vine-like

This post is sponsored by Canyon Coffee  

"Helping the World make a Better Cup of Coffee"

Check out our Melitta-Ready-Set-Joe/ 

Only $6

(includes FREE SHIPPING)

Melitta-Ready-Set-Joe/

This pour-over cone is incredibly light-weight and easy to use

Makes great camp coffee super fast!!

(INCLUDES UNBLEACHED BIODEGRADABLE FILTERS)

Bonsai Route to Utah Flats -Grand Canyon National Park

On a recent backpacking trip to Phantom Ranch (Grand Canyon National Park), my lovely wife, Ryanne, suggested we make a day-hike up the Bonsai Route. 

Our goal was to explore the Utah Flats area.

A bird's eye view of Phantom Ranch

Hiking up the Bonsai Route, looking down at Bright Angel Campground

Taking a break at the hard shade ledge.  Angel's Gate in the distance

Looking up at Piano Alley, from the saddle.

Looking down through Piano Alley.  The Colorado River looks so small from here.

Grand Canyon selfie taken on Utah Flats.

Here is a sweet little point that I found.  Maybe you will find it, too.

You can see the Clear Creek Trail, on the left, and the South Kaibab Trail, on the right.  In between is the Colorado River.

They call it Utah Flats because the barren, red rock landscape resembles some Utah Canyons.  Zoroaster Temple peaks over the shoulder of Sumner Butte, seen here across the Bright Angel Canyon.  


This post is sponsored by:

Canyon Coffee

"helping the world create a better cup of coffee"

Press-Bot Gift Pack includes:  Press-Bot Coffee Press, 32 oz Nalgene Bottle, and Canyon Coozy

Condors in the Grand Canyon National Park_South Kaibab Trail

This California Condor was spotted soaring over the Grand Canyon

Condors reach a wingspan of 9.5 feet wide, the largest bird in North America

Look up to the sky while hiking or backpacking the South Kaibab Trail

The California Condor is found only in Arizona and California

This post is sponsored by The Press-Bot Coffee Press

Find out more about the Press-Bot at http://canyoncoffee.us/

  

The Life of Brian blog is sponsered by:

Canyon Coffee LLC

Home of the Press-Bot Coffee Press

The Press-Bot Coffee Press is the only press that brews in a Nalgene Bottle.  The Press-Bot is perfect for making excellent coffee while backpacking, camping, travelling, work, commuting, anywhere you want to be.

You can learn more about the Press-Bot at www.canyoncoffee.us