Roads End Naturalist

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

Author: Mike Dunn

  • The Youth of Summer

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    And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer. ~F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby Things have been relatively quiet on the trail cameras the past month. No… Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • The Long Road Home

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    I only achieve simplicity with enormous effort. ~Clarice Lispector This is the final post about our trip in May. After leaving South Dakota, we headed for another favorite – the Sandhills of Nebraska and the Samuel R. McKelvie National Forest (still seems surprising to find a national forest in the sandhills!). We had camped in… Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • South Dakota, a New Favorite

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    It looks a bit like the inside of a cave that has been turned inside out and warmed by the sun. ~Stefanie Payne After our quiet stay in Medicine Bow NF, we were going to drive to the Badlands of South Dakota, but a new brown sign made us do a slight detour. Melissa charted… Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • A Ribbon of Green in the Desert

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    If the earth is a mother, then rivers are her veins. ~Amit Kalantri After Bear River, we knew it was time to point the truck eastward and start the long trek home (but with plenty of stops still). We charted a course for Medicine Bow National Forest in Wyoming where we had camped on previous… Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • Dinosaurs and Birds

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    Birds are the last of the dinosaurs. Tiny velociraptors with wings. Devouring defenseless wiggly things and, and nuts, and fish, and, and other birds. ~Neil Gaiman Picking up again on our May road trip…after Denver, we headed to Dinosaur National Monument in Colorado and Utah, a huge national monument at over 210,000 acres (and a… Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • Brown Signs and Birds

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    Wherever you meet this sign, respect it. It means that the land behind the sign has been dedicated by the American people to preserving, for themselves and their children, as much of our native wildlife as can be retained along with our modern civilization. ~Rachel Carson on our national wildlife refuges (referring to their logo… Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • Trail Cam Tales

    I am the hawk and there’s blood in my feathers, but time is still turning they soon will be dry. And all those who see me and all who believe in me, share in the freedom I feel when I fly. ~John Denver Melissa and I were gone on another truck camping adventure for a… Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • Springtime in the Woods

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    The world’s favorite season is the spring. All things seem possible in May. ~Edwin Way Teale The trail cameras have been sort of slow lately, mainly capturing the usual suspects of deer, squirrels, and raccoons. They have also seen a few birds including an Ovenbird and a Wood Thrush gathering nesting material. There have been two… Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • May Days

    I’ve got sunshine on a cloudy day. When it’s cold outside, I’ve got the month of May. ~Smokey Robinson May is chasing April as my favorite month of the year…and it’s a close race. Though we have been really busy here, things are happening that keep bringing my attention back to the marvels of the… Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • Flashes of Red

    I want to create red in a world that often appears black and white. ~Terry Tempest Williams Another gray day here in the woods, but the plants I put in the ground yesterday are appreciating it. Looking out the window, I can see spots of color in the yard – the blooms of Coreopsis, some… Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn