In far northeastern California lies a remote range of mountains known as the Warner Mountains. More than 90 miles long, they hug the California-Nevada border, and just cross into Oregon east of Lakeview. The peaks at the southern end approach 10,000 ft, while those in the north only rise to a little over 8,000 ft. […]
Exploring the Warner Mountains Read More »
Although I’ve never lived on the coast, like many people, ocean shores hold a magnetic attraction for me. Whether it’s calm waves lapping on the sand, powerful waves crashing in the rocks, or exploring tide pools, I feel a need to visit the coast from time to time. So the coast was my ultimate goal
Listening to ocean waves Read More »
This summer has been unbelievable in the amount of smoke, even in areas distant from the wildfires in California, Nevada, and the Pacific Northwest. In northern Nevada, rather than the rare smoky day, a day better than “moderate” air quality was something to celebrate. During much of July and August, the air quality never got
Escaping the smoke Read More »
Winter has finally arrived in northern Nevada, with colder temperatures and a few snowflakes, although not enough to get us out of a severe “snow drought.” Last week, temperatures were pushing 70 degrees F, causing the plants to start budding, and a notable increase in singing by the local house finches and Eurasian collared-doves. My
Summertime Dreaming Read More »
The Jarbidge Mountain area, in far northeastern Nevada, is considered one of the most remote areas in the lower 48. So naturally, I wanted to check it out, but was a little intimidated by some skirmishes between local ranchers and federal land managers. So when Lang Elliot, in the midst of his sound recording tour
In early July, I took a break from the moving/packing/cleaning routine that has occupied much of this year to meet up again with Lang Elliot for some sound recording in northern Nevada, Montana, and Wyoming. I’ll present many of those recordings over the next few months, but now I wanted to present what was, for
The Great Basin is a rough, corrugated landscape of rugged mountain ranges separated by desert flats. Although each one differs a bit, most of the valley bottoms are decorated with bursage, big sage, and salt flats. When the glaciers melted at the end of the Pleistocene, these basin were filled with large lakes, primarily Lake
Days nine and ten of my Fall 2016 border-to-border road trip Following my lovely but damp night spent along the Grey’s River in Wyoming, I headed south on scenic highway 89, then across the dusty plains to Green River. From there I headed south along the western flank of Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area. The
The beaches of ol’ Flaming Gorge Read More »
Day 8 of my border-to-border road trip. After leaving Red Rocks National Wildlife Refuge, I headed east to Yellowstone. With all the wet weather and cooler temperatures, I thought some of the crowds might have stayed away but boy, was I wrong. In spite of the weather and being in the middle of the week,
Osprey on the Grey’s River Read More »
I had the good fortune in mid-July of this last summer to visit the Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge in far northwestern Nevada. Along with it’s sister refuge, Oregon’s Hart Mountain Refuge, it preserves a wonderful chunk of Great Basin habitat. Wide, open volcanic mesas and corrugated drainages stretch to the horizon. It is an important
It’s been a pretty good winter in northern Nevada. Lots of snow in the Sierras, and just enough cold to make you long for summer. El Nino, so far, has meant that northern California and northern Nevada have been seeing a lot of snow, rain, and cloudy weather. I spent late December and early January
Lake Tahoe holds a special place in my heart. As a teenager, I swam in its frigid waters, cross-country skied on it’s slopes, spent a night or two sleeping on its beaches, backpacked it’s wilderness, and even spent a couple of summers working in a state park on its northern shores. I’ve marveled at its
The changing soundscapes of Lake Tahoe Read More »
