Somewhere in America (videos)

 

Puckerbrush is a historical or alternate nickname associated with Mill City, Nevada, an unincorporated community located in Pershing County along Interstate 80.

• Origins: Mill City originally began as a mining and milling camp back in the 1860s. Over the years, the location gained the affectionate or quirky local nickname "Puckerbrush"—popularized in part by travelers and truckers (such as the Burns Brothers) due to its remote, middle-of-nowhere desert feel.

• Location: It sits right off I-80, not far from places like Lovelock and Winnemucca, and is often remembered by road-trippers as a fun piece of roadside Americana lore just for the sake of saying you've passed through "Puckerbrush, Nevada".

The Great Salt Lake area west of Salt Lake City, Utah, is home to major salt evaporation operations run by two of the world's largest salt manufacturers: Morton Salt and Cargill Salt. Both companies utilize solar evaporation ponds along the shores of the lake to harvest mineral-rich salt for industrial, agricultural, water treatment, and deicing applications.

Morton Salt operates a major production facility in Grantsville, Utah, located along the southern shore of the Great Salt Lake.

• Operations: Uses vast open-air ponds where water from the lake is evaporated by sun and wind, leaving behind thick layers of crystallized salt to be harvested and processed.

• Products: Produces water softening salt pellets, agricultural salt blocks, and industrial grade salts distributed throughout North America.

• Location: Situated near Interstate 80 in Grantsville, making it a prominent landmark for travelers driving through the Tooele Valley area.

• Operations: Draws briny water directly from the lake into expansive shallow ponds, relying on natural evaporation to harvest pure sodium chloride.

• Products: Processes bulk rock salt for highway deicing, industrial process salt, and water treatment salts.

• Economic & Environmental Role: Represents a key industrial contribution to the local regional economy while operating under Utah environmental guidelines for Great Salt Lake mineral extraction.

Salt flats near SLC

 

Petroglyphs !

 

The Sego Canyon Rock Art Site (located just north of Interstate 70 near Thompson Springs, Utah) is one of the most unique and heavily studied archaeological locations in the American Southwest. Often described as an outdoor timeline or gallery, the canyon walls feature distinct, overlapping works created by three completely separate cultures spanning several thousand years.

The site is broken down into three main artistic styles:

1. The Barrier Canyon Style (Pictographs - Painted)

• Time Period: Roughly 6,000 B.C. to 100 B.C. (Archaic hunter-gatherers)

• The Look: These are the oldest images on the walls and arguably the most striking. They are pictographs (painted onto the rock using red ochre and other natural earth pigments) rather than carved. They feature large, eerie, "ghost-like" anthropomorphic (human-like) figures.

• Key Features: The figures are often life-sized or larger, completely limbless or lacking arms/legs, and possess haunting, hollowed-out or "bug-eyed" empty eyes. Some figures display antennae, elaborate headdresses, or hold snakes and ceremonial staffs. Because of their strange, otherworldly appearance, they have been the subject of intense speculation and fascination.

2. The Fremont Culture (Petroglyphs - Carved/Pecked)

• Time Period: Roughly A.D. 600 to A.D. 1250

• The Look: The Fremont were a pre-Columbian, maize-cultivating agricultural people contemporary with the Ancestral Puebloans (Anasazi) of the Four Corners region. Their artwork is pecked or carved deeply into the sandstone.

• Key Features: Fremont panels typically feature trapezoidal-bodied human figures, often decorated with intricate geometric necklaces, waistbands, earrings, and square-shaped shoulders. You will also see depictions of bighorn sheep, animals, and abstract symbols. In many spots, Fremont carvings are visibly superimposed directly over the older, painted Barrier Canyon figures, providing clear archaeological evidence of which came first.

3. The Ute Culture (Petroglyphs - Carved/Pecked)

• Time Period: A.D. 1300 to the historic era

• The Look: Representing the more recent Indigenous inhabitants of the area, the Ute panels introduced major historical shifts into the canyon’s visual record.

• Key Features: Ute petroglyphs frequently depict figures riding horses (signaling the post-Spanish introduction of horses to the region in the 1500s), elaborate hunting scenes, shields, and warrior motifs.

Dinosaur Tracks ! (video)

 

relatively small (takes about 15 minutes to see)

Mill Canyon Dinosaur Tracksite

• What it is: A very visitor-friendly site featuring an accessible boardwalk and interpretive panels showcasing tracks from at least eight different types of dinosaurs, plus fossilized bones and a crocodile resting trace.

• Location: About 15 miles north of Moab off US-191

Trains ! (video)

 

Pyramid Lake near Reno NV (video)

 

Colorado's beautiful National Monument (videos, 2026)

Colorado National Monument is a stunning, dramatic expanse of high desert landscape located in western Colorado, just outside the cities of Grand Junction and Fruita. Established in 1911, it preserves a dramatic slice of the grand Colorado Plateau.

Key features and characteristics of the monument include:

• Dramatic Landscape & Geology: The park is characterized by sheer-walled canyons, deep gorges, and towering red-rock monoliths carved by millions of years of erosion from wind, water, and frost. Its brilliant colors come from thick layers of ancient stone—most notably the vibrant orange and red Wingate Sandstone and the lighter Entrada Sandstone, often streaked with dark desert varnish.

• Rim Rock Drive: The crown jewel of the park is this 23-mile scenic road. Hugging the sheer edges of the canyon rims, it features multiple tunnels blasted through solid rock and numerous overlooks providing sweeping vistas of the grand valleys and canyons below.

• Iconic Formations: The monument is famous for its striking rock sculptures, including Independence Monument (a massive standalone monolith that rises hundreds of feet from the canyon floor), the Coke Ovens, and Window Rock.

• Flora and Fauna: Despite its arid appearance, the park supports pinyon pine and Utah juniper forests, sagebrush, and striking desert cacti. It is home to desert bighorn sheep, mule deer, coyotes, golden eagles, and a variety of reptiles.

• Recreation: In addition to driving Rim Rock Drive, visitors explore the area via hiking trails ranging from short rim walks (like Otto's Trail) to deeper canyon descents (like the Monument Canyon Trail). Rock climbing is also popular on the massive sandstone towers, and the park features the popular Saddlehorn Campground perched right on the canyon edge.

 Rock climbing in Colorado National Monument offers a unique and world-class desert tower experience, very similar in style to nearby Moab or Indian Creek. The park features striking red-rock sandstone spires, splitter cracks, and sheer canyon walls that draw climbers from all over.

Key aspects of rock climbing in the monument include:

• The Star Attraction (Independence Monument): The absolute crown jewel of climbing here is Independence Monument, a massive 450-foot standalone monolith rising straight out of Monument Canyon.

• Otto’s Route: The most famous route on Independence Monument is Otto’s Route (rated around 5.8+ or 5.9). It was originally established by the monument's founder, John Otto, in the early 20th century (historically involving hand-drilled holes and piped steps). Today, it’s a classic multi-pitch desert adventure that scales the tower in about four or five pitches, culminating in breathtaking 360-degree exposure at the summit.

• Traditional (Trad) Climbing Style: Most routes in the park require traditional climbing techniques using gear (cams and nuts) placed in cracks rather than sport bolts, as strict regulations protect the fragile rock.

• Strict Preservation Regulations: Because the Wingate and Entrada sandstone can be delicate, the National Park Service enforces strict rules. No new permanent hardware or power drills may be used, physical alteration of the rock (like chipping holds) is strictly prohibited, and climbing chalk must match the natural color of the stone. There are also seasonal closures on certain formations to protect nesting peregrine falcons and other raptors.

some interesting elk along the highway towards Moab Utah (video, 2026

 

Moab Utah (video, 2026)

 

Deer at Salida (CO) library (Oct 2026, video)

 

Beautiful Colorado Aspens (Oct 2026) (video)

 

Colorado Springs (Olympic Museum) (video)

 

Rocky Ford CO (videos, 2026)

 Rocky Ford, Colorado, best known as the "Melon Capital of the World".

Key Facts About Rocky Ford, Colorado

• Location: Situated in Otero County in southeastern Colorado, along U.S. Route 50 in the Arkansas River Valley. It is about 50 miles east of Pueblo.
  
  
• Famous Produce: The town is world-renowned for its sweet cantaloupes and watermelons, grown using irrigation from the Arkansas River.
  
  
• Watermelon Day: Every August, the city hosts the Arkansas Valley Fair, which features "Watermelon Day"—a tradition started in 1878 by town founder George Swink, where thousands of free watermelons are given out to attendees.
  
  
• Local Identity: Reflecting its agricultural heritage, the local high school mascot is the "Meloneer"—a muscular melon.
  
  

Other Uses of "Rocky Ford"

• Geographic Feature: Named originally after a shallow, rocky spot where wagons could ford the Arkansas River.
  
  
• Towns in Other States: There are smaller unincorporated communities named Rocky Ford in states like Georgia, North Carolina, and Oklahoma.