Category: Trip report
-
Lounging in the Lowcountry
I have heard it said that an inoculation to the sights and smells of the Carolina lowcountry is an almost irreversible antidote to the charms of other landscapes. ~Pat Conroy I recently made a leisurely trip to the Lowcountry of South Carolina. Lowcountry generally refers to the lands along the coast from Charleston to the Read more…
Written by
-
To the Sea
Salmon abound in great quantities at certain seasons of the year, when the water in every direction seems to be filled with them… ~James Alden, U.S. Coast Survey, 1853, describing the waters around San Juan Island After camping and hiking in Olympic National Park, the next leg of the journey was by ferry, to San Read more…
Written by
-
A Park Made for Hiking
Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt. ~John Muir I just returned from a wonderful trip to the Pacific Northwest where I had two main goals – visit Olympic National Park, and try to see Orca Whales. The first part of the trip was to the Read more…
Written by
-
Growing Up Green
Green is the prime color of the world, and that from which its loveliness arises. ~Pedro Calderon de la Barca Just finished a very wet weekend with a wonderful family from the Netherlands down at Pocosin Lakes and Alligator River National Wildlife refuges. Since it was raining most of Friday afternoon, I didn’t even take Read more…
Written by
-
Eye of Newt
Eye of newt, and toe of frog, Wool of bat, and tongue of dog, Adder’s fork, and blind worm’s sting, Lizard’s leg, and owlet’s wing, For a charm of powerful trouble, Like a hell-broth boil and bubble. Double, double, toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble. ~William Shakespeare I went camping last weekend with Read more…
Written by
-
Scrambled Eggs
The name “raccoon” is drawn from the Algonquian term “arakun” and roughly translates to “he who scratches with his hands”. ~Samuel I. Zevelof, in Raccoons: A Natural History Between the Bobcat and the Black Bear cubs the other day, I had another interesting wildlife encounter. Most of the dusty miles of gravel roads at Alligator Read more…
Written by
-
Yellowstone Reflections
This place, this Yellowstone, comes in through the nostrils, swims into the blood, to alter your very constitution, leaving the familiar skin a sage-scented facade for the wildness running beneath. ~Liz Hinman, a teacher that participated in a Yellowstone Educators of Excellence Institute It usually takes me awhile to readjust after returning from Yellowstone. As Read more…
Written by
-
Bison Babies
I hear the soft inquiring grunts of the cows as they talk to their calves, and the gentle grunt in return as the calf answers, “Here I am”. ~Wes Olson, in Portraits of the Bison If there is an iconic animal of Yellowstone, it has to be the Bison. And spring is a great time Read more…
Written by
-
Wings Over Yellowstone
Walk in wild places, and you are sure to see, and hear, birds, if nothing else. I am betting that many visitors to Yellowstone pay the birds little notice. It is, after all, the big mammals that draw most of the attention – the bears, the wolves, Elk, Bison, Moose, and Pronghorn. Some of the Read more…
Written by
-
Badger Business
Badger hates society, and invitations, and dinner, and all that sort of thing. ~Kenneth Grahame, in Wind in the Willows Badgers are a solitary lot, except during the mating season, or when females are raising their young. So, last year in Yellowstone, I was thrilled when I saw more badgers than I have ever seen Read more…
Written by
Roads End Naturalist 