Roads End Naturalist

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


Category: Trip report

  • How To Love This World

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    Last weekend we took a long awaited canoe-camping trip to Shoshone Lake in the southern part of Yellowstone. It’s touted as the largest backcountry lake in the lower 48 states. It can only be reached by foot or non-motorized boat. We chose that route: a paddle across Lewis Lake then up the three mile long… Read more…

  • Exploring the Beartooth Mountains

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    We finally escaped to the Beartooths for some camping and wildlife-watching after three busy months of unpacking and family visits. Read more…

  • The Soul of the Land

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    The experience of twelve educators in Yellowstone reflects transformation through nature, friendship, and learning, capturing moments of wildlife and connection that resonate deeply within each participant. Read more…

  • Sharing Yellowstone

    Because in the end, you won’t remember the time you spent in the office or mowing your lawn. ~Jack Kerouac Two years ago we started planning a summer vacation trip to Yellowstone with Melissa’s brother’s family. Melissa made reservations over a year ago and we planned on dong a trip itinerary similar to what we… Read more…

  • Early Adventures: Melissa’s Take

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    Mike gets up much earlier than me, and that’s his blogging time. By the time I’m ready to face the world, he’s already shared our adventures! However, with a bit more time on my hands these days, I’m looking forward to contributing more to the blog. Here’s my take on some of our early adventures… Read more…

  • Swampin’ Again

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    Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day. ~Winnie the Pooh Well, if you didn’t know it before, you will know it now…swamps are Melissa’s (and my) favorite places to camp in North Carolina. And one swamp in particular, the “Amazon of North Carolina”, the massive swamps along the Roanoke… Read more…

  • Song of the Swamp

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    If prisons, freight trains, swamps, and gators don’t get ya to write songs, y’ain’t got no business writin’ songs. ~Ronnie Van Zant As part of our “farewell tour”, we drove up to Merchants Millpond State Park last weekend. When I was working with state parks, I fell in love with that place and its amazing… Read more…

  • Grand Finale

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    The song is ended, but the melody lingers on. ~Irving Berlin After leading my last group over a week ago, we decided to make one more trip to Pungo last Friday (it appears letting go truly is hard to do!). Our friend, Meghan, was with us and we decided to do a day trip for… Read more…

  • A Kaleidoscope of Butterflies

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    On many trips I’ve led, especially ones where we see large groups of wildlife, someone asks about the collective noun for whatever species we’re observing. Whether it’s a romp of otters or a symphony of swans, it’s always fun to look that up and/or make it up (because “symphony” is not the legit collective noun… Read more…

  • My Last Group

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    Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened. ~Dr. Seuss Last weekend, I had the privilege of co-leading a group of folks to two of my favorite NC places, the Pungo Unit of Pocosin Lakes NWR and Mattamuskeet NWR. It was for a program sponsored by the NC Botanical Garden and New Hope Bird… Read more…