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The great retirement escape
  • Anne Archambault
  • Nathaniel Stott
  • Anne Archambault
  • Nathaniel Stott

The great retirement escape

Nate just retired and there’s an eclipse coming up - so here we go! Read more
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  • The great retirement escape

    Guadalupe Mountains National Park

    April 21, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    After Carlsbad, We spent two days in Guadalupe National Park. The first afternoon we hiked up the Devil's Hall Trail, a wash trail that takes you to a narrow slot and a bedrock bottom. The next day we hiked Guadalupe Peak, the highest peak in Texas at 8740ft.Read more

  • The great retirement escape

    Chiricahua National Monument

    Apr 25–27, 2024 in the United States ⋅ 🌬 19 °C

    We did a couple of short hikes when we first arrived but then hiked the “Big Loop” including the “Heart of Rocks”loop and Inspiration Point on our second day. Chiricahua is a very cool and surreal place to explore!Read more

  • The great retirement escape

    Titan Missile Museum

    April 27, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Tucson was once home to an Air Force air wing responsible for operating a set of nuclear ballistic missile silos. The Titan Missile Museum has taken over the silo and preserved the place as it was decommissioned. The 45 minute tour takes you through the history and operation. Anne was even selected as the watch commander and ran a mock launch.Read more

  • The great retirement escape

    A day in Saguaro National Park

    April 28, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    A two nights and a full day in Saguaro West National Park. We hiked the King Canyon/Wasson Peak loop. Cactus's were in full bloom up the trail and it was interesting to see how elevation and aspect changed both the type of cactus seen as well as bloom. Bonus offtrail hike to Amole peak, which had lots of stuff trying to impale us. Finished the day at Gates Pass for sunset with 300 of our best friends 🙂Read more

  • The great retirement escape

    Mt Ajo - Organ Pipe National Monument

    May 1, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    We set our sights on a climb of Mt Ajo (4783 ft) in Organ Pipe National Monument. It's the highest peak in the monument and it connects with a popular loop of Estes Canyon and the Bull Pasture. The trail to Bull Pasture continues and turns into a rough trail that ascends steeply up to gain the top of a rock band. It's harder and steeper than I expected, but the views over the valley below were awesome. The peak had a couple false summits before revealing the true summit with a radio station on top.

    A great day in the mountains!    Read more

  • The great retirement escape

    Paria Canyon and Buckskin Gulch

    May 5, 2024 in the United States ⋅ 🌬 18 °C

    Anne and I did a two day hike of the Paria Canyon and Buckskin Gulch. The original plan had been to hike from Wire Pass to Lee's Ferry, a 4-5 day hike. But based on conditions and timing, we changed it to an overnight going the opposite direction. The hike started wet, which we'd prepared for by bringing waterproof socks. The first day was about 8 miles to the confluence of the Paria river and Buckskin Gulch where we camped on a bench that provided safety from and potential flash floods. On the second day we hiked almost 14 miles up Buckskin Gulch to Wire Pass, where I hitchhiked back to the White House trailhead to pick up the car.

    The hike was beautiful and mostly through dramatic and narrow slot canyon.    Read more

  • The great retirement escape

    Exhaust Work

    May 7, 2024 in the United States ⋅ 🌬 21 °C

    We've had a couple small incidents on the road. In Organ Pipe we blew a fitting on the air compressor that we fixed in Phoenix. Last week I noticed that the exhaust pipe had shifted and was directly against the steel bumper, which is melting the bumper.Read more

  • The great retirement escape

    Glen Canyon Dam

    May 7, 2024 in the United States ⋅ 🌬 25 °C

    A quick stop at the Glen Canyon Dam to see the visitors center, take some pictures, and repack the van after our backpacking trip. Water level is obviously low, but still well above dead pool.

  • The great retirement escape

    Putting the recovery gear to work

    May 8, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    We meet a guy on the road to White Pocket who managed to get his Tacoma stuck on a rock. One wheel was completely off the ground and his transfer case was resting on a larger boulder. I was able to use my air jack to lift him of the rock so he could back up and free himself.

    A valuable set of lessons all around. I was happy to gain some experience without getting my own van stuck.    Read more

  • The great retirement escape

    White Pocket - Peak Climb

    May 9, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    White Pocket had a summit listed in Peakbagger, and we'd heard the top of the mountain had very cool formations for another visitor, so Anne and I went for a hike.

    Unfortunately, getting to the summit required walking a route that had too much exposure for my comfort, so we turned around. But the formation was indeed very interesting with bonus sand dunes up high in a small cirque.Read more

  • The great retirement escape

    White Pocket

    May 9, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    We've wanted to visit White Pocket for years. Unlike the Wave, a White Pocket does not require permits. But it's also hard to get to; the road requires a capable 4x4 vehicle with high clearance. The sad on the last part of the road is soft and the ruts are deep, as one poor driver of a rented Nissan Rogue found out.

    So the Sprinter was our ticket into White Pocket and we were not disappointed! We walked around the formation for hours looking at all the cool formations.    Read more

  • The great retirement escape

    Alstrom Point

    May 10, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    The person at the BLM station suggested Alstrom Point as a relatively unknown but awesome place to visit. She was certainly right. The road is mostly in great shape, easily passable by most vehicles. But the last 2 miles or so are very rough and require high clearance, 4wd and good route finding through the rocks and obstacles.Read more