Outside adventures

Hiking, fishing, ice fishing, and builds in the woods. National parks, ice-fishing trips, and bigger photo galleries from time outside.

18 national parks so far, with more on the list.
Ice fishing in a pop-up shelter: heaters, auger, holes in the ice, and rainbow trout.
Open-water fishing too, including bass in New Hampshire.

Hiking & national parks

I spend a lot of time swimming, biking, hiking, and roller blading. These shots are from Monument Valley and Delicate Arch in Arches National Park, Utah.

Bastion in a cowboy hat and sheriff badge at a railing, with Monument Valley buttes behind him under a blue sky. — **Monument Valley** overlook.

Delicate Arch in Arches National Park, a massive sandstone arch with people at its base for scale. — Classic view of **Delicate Arch**, Arches National Park, Utah.

Bastion sitting on red sandstone, looking toward Delicate Arch in the distance at Arches National Park. — Same hike: me on the sandstone **looking at Delicate Arch**.

Ice fishing

When the lakes freeze, we set up the shelter, drill holes, run the heaters, and wait for flags and bites. Here’s the setup on the ice, inside the tent, and a few fish I was happy to hold up.

Our pop-up shelter on the ice: snow, trees in the distance, and the door cracked open.
Inside the shanty: auger, heaters, rod over the hole, and snow on the floor.
Two holes, rods on stands, and a heater keeping the tent warm.
Chillin’ in the camp chair between bites.
Rainbow trout through the ice, right before we packed up.

Open-water fishing

When it’s not ice season, I still fish whenever I can: trips to New Hampshire for bass, and cleaning trout back in the kitchen after a good day.

Largemouth bass from New Hampshire.
Cleaning a rainbow trout at home after an ice-fishing trip.

Teepee I built

I put this together with poles and canvas out in the woods. It’s big enough to hang out in, and we can build a safe fire in a stone ring when we want it cozy inside.

A canvas teepee in a leaf-strewn clearing among bare trees, with Bastion in a plaid shirt and red sneakers in the foreground. — Outside: poles and canvas in a clearing, with leaves all over the ground.

Inside the teepee: a campfire in a ring of river rocks, canvas walls, and Bastion on a green camping cot giving a peace sign. — Inside: fire pit, cots, and a good spot to warm up.