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The map

A scroll through the trip.

Three years and a winding line west then south then back. Click any stop to read about it.

5campsites
5trailheads
2eats
12stops total
2026 · April

Buffalo Gap, SD

Great Plains · SD

Campsite
Trail
Eat
Stop
  1. 2026 · April · SDGreat Plains

    Buffalo Gap, SD

    Free BLM camping fifteen miles outside Badlands. Pronghorn and a wind that doesn't quit.

    Read the entry →
  2. 2026 · April · SDGreat Plains

    Notch Trail

    Short, exposed, with a log ladder. The Badlands' best half-hour.

  3. 2026 · April · SDGreat Plains

    Wall Drug stop

    Five-cent coffee, free ice water, and every road sign you've seen for the last 200 miles.

  4. 2026 · March · NMSouthwest

    Buckhorn

    Forest Service site at 7,200 ft. Aspens and quiet for free.

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  5. 2026 · March · NMSouthwest

    Argentina Canyon

    Five-mile loop through aspens in the Sacramento Mountains.

  6. 2026 · March · UTSouthwest

    Valley of the Gods

    Twenty miles of red dirt, no signs, no fees. Pick your butte.

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  7. 2026 · March · UTSouthwest

    Goosenecks

    Five-minute walk to an overlook of the San Juan River carving back on itself.

  8. 2025 · October · UTSouthwest

    Indian Creek

    BLM climbers' campground south of Canyonlands Needles. Six-Shooter at the door.

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  9. 2025 · October · UTSouthwest

    Chesler Park

    All-day loop through The Needles. Bring water, bring snacks, bring a friend.

  10. 2025 · September · WYMountain West

    Colter Bay

    Big NP campground with showers and lakeshore. Half the crowds after Labor Day.

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  11. 2025 · September · WYMountain West

    Hermitage Point

    Nine-mile lakeshore loop. Moose at dawn, beavers at dusk.

  12. 2025 · September · WYMountain West

    Dornan's Pizza

    Pizza, beer, and the entire Teton range from the patio.