Roads End Naturalist

Exploring the natural world as we wander at the end of the road


Author: Mike Dunn

  • Fourth of July Bearworks

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    May this intelligent animal always have a place. We need to better understand bears. ~Mike McIntosh Hope you had a good holiday weekend. Mine was special in many ways – good food, good friends, and a memorable trip to my favorite place in the East, Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge. It was a long day… Read more…

  • When Predators Become Prey

    If all mankind were to disappear, the world would regenerate back to the rich state of equilibrium that existed ten thousand years ago. If insects were to vanish, the environment would collapse into chaos. ~ E. O. Wilson Although my woods lack the charismatic fauna found in Yellowstone – wolves, elk, grizzlies – there is… Read more…

  • Cope-ing with Night Sounds

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    The spring breeding chorus also provides evening entertainment to re-affirm our connection with nature. ~Encyclopedia of Life on one of the benefits of Gray Treefrogs The rains over the weekend brought out an intense display of night sounds that could be heard through the closed windows and doors. Friends came over for dinner Saturday night… Read more…

  • The Power of Yellowstone

    Mindful of different ways of being, our awareness as a species shifts – We recognize the soul of the land as our own. ~Laurence S. Rockefeller Preserve, unattributed Back from Yellowstone, back from paradise. Thirteen days, some alone, some with my group, some with old friends. Why is it so special? Why do I long… Read more…

  • Beartooth Bound

    The beauty and charm of the wilderness are his for the asking, for the edges of the wilderness lie close beside the beaten roads of the present travel. ~Teddy Roosevelt There is never enough time. Though the days are incredibly long, I still feel the pressure to move, to see more, to drive to another… Read more…

  • Beyond Yellowstone

    The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, with Yellowstone at its core, is one of the largest nearly intact temperate-zone ecosystems on Earth. ~National Park Service Yellowstone National Park was established in 1872 primarily to protect the unique geological features of the region including almost half of the world’s active geysers. At that time, natural areas and wildlife… Read more…

  • Yellowstone Skies

    My group was tired last night so I  dropped them off at the lodging and then went back out to just spend some time alone in my special place. We spent the day in the geyser basins, a highlight of a visit to Yellowstone for almost everyone. But, everywhere we went it was crowded, so… Read more…

  • Faces of Yellowstone

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    There are so many people here this week. So many faces. Many are international visitors. I guess many are in Yellowstone for the first time. I realized how important faces are to us humans, how that is what we usually look at first in another person, and how it can often tell us so much.… Read more…

  • Babes in Paradise

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    This may not be what you expected if this came up in a Google search. My last post was about being back in Yellowstone… my paradise. It being early June, the park is full of babes… of the wildlife kind. I have seen many in my first couple of days, many too far away to… Read more…

  • Back in Paradise

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       A quick post from my favorite place. Arrived yesterday in Yellowstone. Surprisingly hot for this time of year here… 87° in Bozeman. But, the park continues to amaze.   Relatively little wildlife on my way in yesterday save for the usual bear jams near Roosevelt. But then late in the day… two wolves in Lamar… Read more…