The northern terminus of my 2-week road trip in September 2016 was just south of the Canadian border, near Polebridge, Montana. I arrived with some unsettled fall weather, with a dusting of snow on the peaks, and more rain on the way. I was there to visit my friend, Cynthia Wolf, who was working as […]
Listening for owls in Montana Read More »
Day 2 of my big road trip from western Nevada to northern Montana then to southern Arizona began with a lovely hike in Lamoille Canyon, eastern Nevada. I then drove north through rolling hills toward Idaho, and without even realizing it, left the Great Basin and entered the Columbia River watershed. No longer in the
Listening to big water Read More »
In September, 2016, I set out on a long road trip, from Carson City to northern Montana, and back to southeastern Arizona. The trip took almost 2 weeks and covered more than 3,600 miles. It was a good test for both my little CR-V camper and my recording equipment, as I ran into a wide
Exploring Nevada’s alps: Lamoille Canyon Read More »
In early September, 2016, it was time to head back to my home in Arizona, after visiting my dad in northern Nevada for most of the summer. A friend working in Glacier National Park invited me to visit her, so I decided to make a big road trip out of it, traveling to eastern Nevada, eastern
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
In late June, 2016, I travelled through southern and eastern Utah, looking for good places to record wildlife and good places to hike. So after I left wolf country, I headed north. It was still hotter than blazes, so rather than seeking colorful sandstone, I was looking for cool, shady forests. I had recently re-read
Travels in southern Utah Read More »
The Chiricahua Mountains are one of the largest of the “Sky Island” ranges that separate the Sierra Madre of Mexico from the Rocky Mountains of the US and Canada. It is a rich, convoluted mountain range, and like most of the adjacent ranges, high in plant and animal diversity. These ranges are subject to frequent wildfires, and
Chiricahuas Revisited Read More »
With some writing projects behind me (or at least on someone else’s desk for a while), I finally have some time to get out and do some recording. In mid May, I headed south to Las Cienegas National Conservation Area, which is a lovely swatch of rolling grassland and riparian areas, only about 25 miles
Till the cows go home Read More »
Threading its way north from the mountains of northern Mexico, the San Pedro River meanders to the Gila River, then westward to join the Colorado River on its way back to Mexico. It is one of the few remaining undammed rivers (in the desert, they call any flowing water a “river”) in the US. It
San Pedro River–the thin fragile line Read More »
I visited Bosque del Apache wildlife refuge in early December, 2015. I had visited a couple of years ago, but was unsuccessful in getting many decent recordings (see Bosque del Apache). This time my goal was to get some recordings of the tens of thousands of Sandhill Cranes and Snow Geese that winter at the
The language of Sandhill Cranes Read More »
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 »
I recently returned to Arizona, after spending the entire summer in northern Nevada. My first stop on my way south was in the newly designated Basin and Range National Monument in southern Nevada. I spent the first night at a little campground on the Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge, which comprises a series of wetlands near
Seeking quiet in eastern Nevada Read More »
