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Away from the Grind

Break “away from the grind”, on the trail, into the wild. Our site contains info and photos to invite you to wander into some of the wonders of the American West.

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Recent Posts

needles_utah

Spring Break in the Needles

The Cheyenne, Wyoming winter can needle a person. You know the feeling. Caged and cramped, it seems like everything and everybody is poking and jabbing, random acts of accupuncture. “Give me a break!” Consider a spring break to Utah’s Needles, the southeastern district of Canyonlands National Park. These skyward pinnacles of red rock won’t needle [...]

skiorsnowshoe

Snowshoe or Ski In Cabins

Just imagine. Before turning in you step outside. The cold is bracing, refreshing. Listening intently, you quiet your breath. There isn’t a sound, just the faint stir of wind in snow laden pines. As eyes adjust to the night the sky becomes alive, rivers coursing through the pulsating glow of the Milky Way. Orion hovers above, [...]

chasm-lake

Chasm Lake

She told me she wanted one more hike before the snow flew. She wanted to take her friend who wasn’t sold on outdoor excursions. Her criteria were tough:  * A destination so stunning, so gorgeous, so interesting, so grand as to be beyond words * A trailhead within two hours drive of Cheyenne, Wyoming * [...]

northfork

North Fork Little Laramie River, Medicine Bow National Forest

North Fork Trail, hiked July 4, 2011. The deep snows of the past winter have delayed entry to the highest of the high country this summer. This mid-level trail opens a way to the snow’s gift: a bounty of wildflowers. On the eastern side of the Snowy Range, the trail, for most of its four and a [...]

turtlerock

Turtle Rock Trail at Vedauwoo

The trail circling Turtle Rock at Vedauwoo is undoubtedly the most popular trail in the Cheyenne, WY, area. And for good reason. It’s close, easy and fascinating in its mix of geological artistry and biological wonder. On any given weekend throughout the spring, summer and fall it’s thrumming with college age kids, seniors and young [...]

hewlettgulch

Hewlett Gulch

The word “gulch” brings up scenes from a cartoon. A dry desolate wash, replete with a bleached cow skeleton, where (gulp!) our intrepid hero Goofy is about to be dry-gulched by a gang of stubble-faced villains. Not an inviting picture. And nothing like Hewlett Gulch.  Hewlett is an inviting ramble up a pleasant creek, a little [...]