Category: Trip report
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A Good Way to End a Day
I like to remember that it is wild country that gives rise to wild animals; and that the marvelous specificity of wild animals reminds us to wake up, to let our senses be inflamed by every scent and sound and sight and taste and touch of the world. I like to remember that we are… Read more…
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A Foggy Start
After the incredible experience with the Snowy Owl at Hatteras last week, I waited in line for an hour and a half for the emergency ferry to get off the island. Bright and early the next day, I headed to Lake Mattamuskeet, always an incredible place to experience the first light of a new day.… Read more…
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The Many Faces of Hedwig
The crow wished everything was black, the owl, that everything was white. ~William Blake Those of you that know me probably know I had to look up the name of Harry Potter’s pet Snowy Owl, just to be sure I used it correctly in the title. Oh well, at least I am trying to fit… Read more…
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Snow on the Beach
I have never been one of “those” people…you know who I mean, the bird chasers. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy birds, love to watch them, photograph them, and learn about them. But the idea of dropping everything and heading out to see a rare bird was not in my repertoire…until now. My young birder… Read more…
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Vines Bearing Grapes
As I mentioned in my last post, I had to leave Cades Cove about noon, and was wondering if my bear mojo was failing me and I would be skunked for bears on this trip (you may recall I am a big fan of bears and enjoy observing them). But, a couple of miles outside… Read more…
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Cades Cove
Cades Cove is a 6800 acre valley on the Tennessee side of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It is probably the most visited area of the park and the Smokies are the most visited national park in the United States with more than 9 million visitors each year (Grand Canyon is second with about 4… Read more…
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Elk and Islands in the Sky
I had an outing this weekend with a great group of folks in Cataloochee Valley and up on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Our goals were to observe the elk during the mating season ritual called the rut and experience the beauty of the mountains during the fall leaf season. I’d say mission accomplished on both.… Read more…
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A CROWDers Pleaser
The past several days II have been on the road in the mountains of North Carolina. I had a program on Saturday at Stone Mountain State Park and had a great hike across the large granite dome for which the park is named. The park was packed with campers and hikers taking advantage of the… Read more…
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Dolly Sods
The mountains are calling and I must go. John Muir For my birthday a couple of weeks ago, I decided to revisit one of the most beautiful places I have been in the East, Dolly Sods Wilderness in West Virginia. Many years ago I had read about this unique highlands area and had wanted to… Read more…
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The Encounter
“The soul is the same in all living creatures, although the body of each is different.” Hippocrates I take a break from the caterpillar posts to share a truly incredible moment with you. A friend and I traveled east over the weekend to search for caterpillars for the upcoming museum event I have mentioned in… Read more…
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Roads End Naturalist 