Twenty years ago my good friend Paul Haertel gave me an old Chestnut canoe, made in Canada.  After many years, Paul and his wife Margo were leaving Alaska.  He had been a role model for me: the first superintendent of the newly created Lake Clark National Park, (likely… Read full post »

This morning I hung a hummingbird feeder on my porch.  

 

The house I bought is on the edge of a newer development in Ridgway, a small town, formerly a railroad stop and ranching community.  The original "True Grit" was filmed here.  But my house is just north… Read full post »

My last full day in Santa Barbara, and Nori had arranged for us to go on a hike with her hiking club, a wonderful group of friends whom she wanted me to meet.  Steven Sharpe, General Director of Opera Santa Barbara had organized the outing and arranged for… Read full post »

There are hundreds of fine bicycle tours through California wine country.  Some are organized; some, like ours are spur of the moment, seat of the pants tours.  Nori suggested riding the roads from Solvang to Los Olivos, so we squeezed our bikes into the back of her Volvo… Read full post »

Nori has a beautiful home in Santa Barbara where she spends the "Mud Months in the spring and fall each year.  I had been invited to visit, and when I mentioned it to my daughter Daphne, she said she would be in Los Angeles the previous few days… Read full post »

Having moved from Alaska to Colorado, I had dreamed of longer and more frequent bike rides.  The tiny town of Ridgway, where my new home sits, is an old ranching and mining community of about 800 people.  The town has changed considerably in the past few years, becoming a Mecca for… Read full post »

 

Having recently moved to Ouray County, Colorado, I stopped in to see my friends Jim and Angela Friday afternoon: “We’re going rock climbing up Taylor Canyon,” Jim said, looking through ‘Gunnison Rock’, the local climbing guidebook.  “Lots of reall
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Saturday, my friend Nori and I drove out of the rain in Ouray and Ridgway heading for sunnier climes: The Black Canyon of the Gunnison river, just east of Montrose, Colorado, appeared to be warm and sunny.  It was a fine goal.  I flashed my Golden Age Passport… Read full post »

   

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THE GREAT BOOK LIST

Since I was a young boy, I have kept a list of the books I've read in a red three-ring binder where the scraps of various kinds of paper, written with a variety of pencils and pens are preserved.  Amazingly, I had… Read full post »

Shiprock 

Spring break, March 18-20, 1962 (or was it 1961? I'm getting old) my friends Milt Hokanson,Dave Wood and I loaded my little Jeep and drove from Salt Lake City to Shiprock, NM to climb the famous 1,700-foot high volcanic plug.  I had read Jack Kerouac's "On… Read full post »

It's a rare treat to climb with Renny Jackson. And even rarer to climb with Catherine. Now, there is a third member: Jane. This October we arranged to meet in Indian Creek, best crack climbing in the world.

Renny and I go… Read full post »

Mystery attends the Anasazi peoples who lived in the Four Corners area from about 700 AD until they suddenly left in the 1300's AD. Who were they? Why did they leave? Were they killed, or did they migrate? Where did they go and what has… Read full post »

It seemed like a great alternative to dying.  The morning started great.  We drove 50 miles from Indian Creek to climb the Unbalanced Rock in Arches National Park.  After climbing seventy feet up a wide crack without finding  a single spot to place any climbing gear to… Read full post »

Hamburger Rock, a flat rock perched in the middle of the Indian Creek plain, is a Mecca for climbers, campers, and off-road vehicle enthusiasts. Its dust-bowl campground with the vast panorama of sandstone cliffs and and
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There are two "Six Shooters" in Indian Creek, the North and the South. They dominate the horizon for 30 miles in every direction, making them an irresistible goal for a rock climber.

I was enjoying the morning eating a leisurely breakfast at the campground. A car… Read full post »

"Ralph, I met this French woman, Marthe, in Yosemite this week; I told her I'd teach her to climb cracks in Indian Creek. She's suppose to be there this weekend, and she'll be looking
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Ouray, Colorado, snug in the middle of the San Juan mountains of southwestern Colorado, has become my winter home for the past six years. I migrate down from Anchorage, Alaska, each fall to my friends' home where I store all my winter climbing gear. Ouray, where… Read full post »

The candy-apple red bike caught my eye. Thor, Sarah, and I were walking up the street through Truckee, California, to meet Garry and Linda at "Burger Me", our favorite watering hole. Although there are millions of motorcycles, and some very cool ones, I couldn't help… Read full post »

"A good pickup is a thing of beauty and a joy forever." John Keats

At one time I drove a pink Cadillac, but it disappeared to the Kidney Foundation. Renting a car for every road trip has cost me a ton of cash. So!/…

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In the mid-1950's my uncle, Bill Hurst, whom we called "Dee" by his middle initial to distinguish him from his father, grandfather, and son, was a forest ranger on the east side of the Uintah Mountains of eastern Utah.  I and my sister Judy spent part of those/…

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Fresh Mexican cuisine is my favorite.  Cafe Rio on 33rd South in Salt Lake City is the consummate fast food bar.  They have all the traditional Mexican dishes: burritos, enchiladas, tostadas, and it's along the lines of many fresh taco restaurants.  You walk in, get in the/…

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Pete and Connie are the coolest folks. Pete is a gentleman, scholar, father, husband, author, mountaineer, and was the senior Jenny Lake Ranger when I first worked in the Tetons. Connie comes from an old Jackson Hole family and worked for the/…

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A trip to Portland, Oregon, is a gastronomic adventure. My son Thor and wife Sarah live there, and on each visit for the past seven years they have taken me to a new restaurant. Every one has been excellent, or as Thor says, 'If they/…

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Our father, Ralph Lee Tingey, M.D., the patriarch of our clan, died June 6, 2003. Our mother, Margaret Anne Hurst Tingey, went to live with our sister, Judy, on the north shore of Lake Tahoe. Judy and husband Grant are saints to/…

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