James Tesmer – Page 3 – James + Vincent

Utah Vacation

We Are Not In The Desert Anymore

Leaving the desert and dryness of southern California and Nevada was tough with the looming snowstorm ahead of me. But I had a very special somebody waiting to be picked up from the Salt Lake City airport so onward I went. Time for a vacation away from my vacation.

I found a campsite next to a supposed lake. Visibility was too long when I parked so I had no idea of my surroundings. Once the snow settled in the morning, it made for quite a beautiful view.

Tracy Aviary

This place was a lot cooler than I was expecting. Kim heard of the Tracy Aviary from somewhere and it was a perfect afternoon activity for the two of us. It was fairly void of people due to it being winter which was great. If you are a bird lover this is a must see if you are in the Salt Lake CIty area.

Utah Natural History Museum

Do you think museums are cool? I think museums are cool. The Utah Natural History museum is set up in a very cool manner, going through the eras as you walk through. Of course we might have taken it backwards but that just meant we were going back in time.

Also I was quite distracted by playing a Pokemon Go event that lasted all day.

Park City Olympic Park

The last stop on this vacation was Park City and the Olympic Park from the 2002 Olympics. I completely forgot this even existed here until we arrived and it was neat seeing the slopes still in use. Kim is a huge Olympics fan so getting see the history here through her eyes really made for a memorable day.

by James Tesmer

Joshua Tree National Park

On my way into the park I noticed on Instagram that a few travel friends were passing through the Mojave desert. I am so happy I reached out asking about their plans since they were on their way to Joshua Tree! We even did the movie-esque thing where we arrived at the trailhead parking lot at the same time from opposite directions and waved as we parked. Jordan and Ethan, you two are awesome.

In the evening I decided to finally make my trek out for my first backpacking adventure. Most nights were too cold to allow it with my current gear setup, but this night it was going to drop to a balmy 40F.

Most of my time in this park felt all over the place. I did a lot little short hikes around the touristy locations on my first day in the park. For my second full day in the park I decided to get a couple long hikes in. I hiked the loop around the Lost Horse Mine Trail. There was an old mine, but I think the horse is still lost.

I finished the evening with an incredible sunset. It was an accident but I stumbled upon the best viewing location at Key’s View.

I’m including this album here since I don’t know where else to put it. After leaving Joshua Tree I headed back to Las Vegas near my favorite van spot there and met a fun group of people. This week included Settlers of Catan and hosting people inside my van for homemade pasta (I didn’t make the pasta and yes it was delicious).

by James Tesmer

Death Valley National Park

I grew up being obsessed with this place. Elementary school James would read books with how exotic and extreme it can be and marveled that people actually survived here. My feint memory included sand dunes, no plants anywhere, and smooth wind carved rocks.

While the memory didn’t quite line up with the reality, I think this place is absolutely incredible. Its one of the few places I’ve been to where it is possible to get a glimpse of true wilderness.

My first day in was a little bit a sight seeing. Of course I reached the lowest point I’ve been to on the journey so far, Bad Water Basin at 282 feet below see level.

There was a strong recommendation to catch the sunrise at Dante’s Peak. It is not the tallest place in the park, but quite near it. I forced myself awake and drove through the very dark morning to get to the peak in time. It was INCREDIBLE. Despite one vehicle who arrived mid sunrise and left their lights shining on me with the engine running…

The longer hike I did was a total accident. After the sunrise I noticed a couple groups of people start up the hill and I assumed it was just a pretty overlook from a higher vantage point. So I followed. And followed some more. It turned into a 10 mile out and back to Mount Perry! It was a ridge hike that gave fantastic views down into the Valley.

When I left the park I took these photos of what I thought was outrageous gas prices. Future me is writing this laughing to what was coming in the summer.

by James Tesmer

Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area

Its funny to me that I previously parked here a few weeks ago and didn’t know this place existed. I guess I was more focused on working and not falling behind on general life tasks that I didn’t reach out and seek places nearby.

This first step into the conservation area was my way of reaching.

I picked out a trail for my second day but ended up getting started way too late in the day. Coupled with my poor sleep I’ve been getting due to sleeping next to a busy road I ended up only making it halfway up the mountain. This does give me something to achieve for the next time I’m in the area.

My last hike in the area was much more reasonable than my previous choice. I picked a 6+ mile out and back along the Calico Hills. It seemed like a popular trail to take but I really wanted to get a full eyeful of all the pretty red rocks.

by James Tesmer

Zion National Park

Established 1919 - 15th National Park

Visited Jan 29th-30th, 2022

This will be my personal experience and blog portion of this post.

by James Tesmer

Wupakti National Monument

2022.01.27

This was established in xxx as the xxx park in the county. Its known for blah blah blah.

This will be my personal experience and blog portion of this post.

by James Tesmer

Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument

Sunset Crator Volcano National Monument

2022.01.27

This was established in xxx as the xxx park in the county. Its known for blah blah blah.

This will be my personal experience and blog portion of this post.

by James Tesmer

Petrified Forest National Park

2022.01.26

This was established in xxx as the xxx park in the county. Its known for blah blah blah.

This will be my personal experience and blog portion of this post.

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by James Tesmer

Time Between Places

Time In Between The Major Things

Around this part of the journey something occurred to me that I found unexpected and hard to handle. The time in between stopping at major landmarks was becoming very hard for me to handle.

A Journey to Mount Lemmon

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My First Harvest Host

Let’s continue the theme of things unexpected. I’ve heard of the service ‘Harvest Host’ countless times before starting van life. The premise is simple — A business will let you stay overnight in their parking lot with the assumption that your stop there will mean you buy something from them. The most traditional example would be a brewery where you’d get a free place to park your vehicle for the cost of beer and burger, something I’d buy for myself anyways.

This harvest host was nothing like that. Instead it was just some guy’s house — Rich Winters. This ended up being one of the most social places I’ve been at this entire month which was very much needed. I ended up staying free for the exchange of a drone flyover and timelapse of the surrounding mountainside.

Next time I’m getting a beer and a burger.