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Moose Hunting and the Weight of Hope
It’s midnight and I’m driving over Cameron Pass with my dad in the passenger seat. Moose archery season opens in five hours. This is the moment...
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Colors of Colorado: Photos from a September Road Trip
Autumn photos from a van trip through Buena Vista, Crested Butte, Ouray, Silverton, and Mesa Verde National Park
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Yellowstone NP: The Current State of Bear Affairs
While visiting Yellowstone National Park at the end of May, my parents and I spent at least half of our time watching the wildlife. While many of these animals mostly reside in Yellowstone these days, at one point the entire stretch of the Rocky Mountains sported all these animals. Some still do, such as elk, deer, and big horn sheep,…
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Where the Buffalo Roam–Some Thoughts on Yellowstone NP
National Parks remind me that once the whole west was as starkly beautiful and untouched by exploitation. But no longer. Yellowstone reminds me how, then and now, control is everything. Not harmony. Control. In 1872, the land of Yellowstone NP didn't have to be protected from Native American tribes who had called it home for centuries. It only needed to…
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Yellowstone NP: Cruising the Crater of a Super Volcano
Much of Yellowstone National Park is a super volcano worthy of end of the world sci-fi movies, but my favorite part was the previously-not-known-to-me Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and the wildlife watching. The snow is two feet deep in places and nonexistent in others. Rivers bulge at the seams, and some valleys flood entirely, calm waters mirroring the trees…
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Seek and Ye Shall Find (Antlers)
So, I went antler hunting. Yes, that's a thing. Male elk, deer, and moose lose their antlers every spring, and people go looking for them. Like a giant Easter Egg hunt, except a lot more uncertain and a lot heavier load if you find some.
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Awestruck in the Arctic: an Aurora Borealis Gallery
From the first human who tipped their head back to watch the fierce and brilliant otherworldly lights, there have been myths to explain the phenomenon of the aurora borealis. The stories of the aurora are wide and varied, but each suggests something greater than ourselves, greater than humanity. And I felt that, head tipped back, breath misting the air. I…
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The Last Nine People (and One Dog) on Earth
On Wednesday the 5th of April, I woke up at Yellow Dog Lodge in the Northwest Territories as one of the last people on earth. Only a few miles away from the quaint, off-the-grid lodge and cabin complex where we resided, the world as I knew it cut off, dropped away. Frankly, it just ended, like the edge of a…
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The Wonder of the Aurora at Yellow Dog Lodge
Fifteen minutes after midnight, I am napping in an armchair and Mom and Mason are sprawled on the coach. Then Gordon pokes his head in and says the magic words: "I see the aurora." We leap from our seats (literally) and pull on layer after layer of clothes. It's about 10 degrees outside, so I'm tugging on my gloves and…
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Colorful Camden: Sea Winds, Mountain Views, and Lobstah!
The last stop on our weeklong trip to Maine was the coastal town of Camden, Maine. We rolled into Camden after a long day of driving through inland Maine. We were too hungry to park at our hotel and walk, so we drove downtown. It was dark, but we could smell the sea off to our left and see the…
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To the Main! –Heading Inland like the Fishermen of Old
My parents and I greatly enjoyed our time in Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park, and I would return in a heart beat to climb the Iron Ladder Trails and explore along the rocky coast like kid explorers again. However, there is so much more of Maine to see, so we departed from Bar Harbor early one morning--and headed to…
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I love ME…I mean Maine!
After a busy month of work, hunting, and visitors, my parents and I jetted off to enjoy the easternmost state in the Union. We choose Maine because none of us had been before, and the idea of rugged coastlines, mountainous forests, and stunning fall foliage sounded like an excellent way to spend a week. Even as the plane circled the…
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Waiting on Wapiti: a Lifetime Hunt for a Bull Elk
When every one else is getting ready for Pumpkin Spice lattes and scarves, my family welcomes fall in a different way. September is archery hunting season. Being part of a hunting family includes some oddities. For example, the first time I ate a steak at a restaurant when I was 10, I leaned over and told my mom the meat…
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4 Days in New York City During Covid
Day 1: All the Busy, Bustling(?) Tourist Spots Covid is good a for a few things. One of them being LESS PEOPLE. Even on the streets of New York City. Masks were required on the subway and in a few buildings, but we mostly enjoyed the perks of the Covid rather than the downsides. We started out our first afternoon…
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