While much of nature operates in silence, the wilderness exudes a multitude of sounds from the sweet songs of endless species of birds, to the coyote’s wail, the elk’s bugle, the wind through the canopy of trees, the tumultuous crashing of a waterfall, the crack of thunder as lightning splits the sky . . .   These […]

In March and April each year kids aged 15 to 18 are applying for positions with the Youth Conservation Corps (YCC).  They will send their applications to the location they would like to work and wait.  After the enrollment period ends,  the Park Service, Forest Service and other participating agencies will randomly select the participants at […]

Beyond snorkeling and SCUBA diving, most of us have limited ability to explore underwater.  Even given these skills, we are still limited by depth and the amount of time that we can stay under water at one time.  A select few have access to submersible vehicles and can extend this a bit more, but serious […]

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) takes care of what some consider to be the  land of the western U.S. that no one wanted.  The land isn’t usually of National Park caliber and typically doesn’t have enough forest to be managed as a National Forest.  Still, the BLM manages almost 250 million acres of pubic lands. The BLM […]

O.A.R.S. recently released a video that they call 100 Years, A National Park Love Letter.  It puts the words of Theodore Roosevelt over video of some of the greatest natural places in the U.S. Roosevelt Said   The Video Teddy Roosevelt Theodore “TR” Roosevelt (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919) was an American statesman, author, explorer, […]

Yosemite National Park offers a wide range of outdoor adventures, but something rare to see is the firefall. The Real Firefall It was the summer of 1962 when I first visited Yosemite National Park.  A highlight of the visit was the firefall.  Every summer evening a crew would start a large fire high above Curry Village at […]

Those of us that enjoy bicycling typically have a regimen that involves a loop ride outside our door or a mountain adventure for an afternoon or a day.   Some of us even get into cross country adventures and other long distance tours.  Not Heinz Stücke.  At age 22 the tool maker from Hövelhof, Germany, decided that he would rather […]

Skijoring is simply cross country skiing with a motive force to help move you along.  The word comes from the Norwegian skikjøring meaning ski driving.  You are basically on skis driving along with the help of your engine. Skijoring With Your Dog While skijoring can be done with horses or even a motor vehicle, many people enjoy […]

Love Song to the Earth is a song and video that was presented to the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris in December of 2015.  Representatives from 190 countries were there to see the premiere.  It features performances by Sean Paul, Sir Paul McCartney, Jon Bon Jovi, Sheryl Crow, Fergie, Colbie Caillat, Natasha Bedingfield, Leona Lewis, Johnny Rzeznik, […]

If you are snowbound in the winter, it’s time to get out and go camping!  Today,  I’d like to share with you a couple videos that give a realistic view of what you can expect when snowshoeing and winter camping in the wilderness. Sioux Hustler Trail In these videos a character called Shug takes us along as […]