10 Things a National Park Can Do For You
August 25, 2016
They’re not just pretty, they’re helpful. Here’s what they’ve done for me. … More 10 Things a National Park Can Do For You
Category: Place
Dear Humidity…
July 25, 2016
Dear Humidity, I have a love-hate relationship with you, deeply (and much to my surprise) influenced toward the “love” side of things by the long, hot summer walks I used to take all over DC. Sometimes, I even miss you. Sometimes. Today I have a short piece about those steamy DC ambles on the City Creatures … More Dear Humidity…
What is it about Yellowstone?
May 27, 2016
Happy Memorial Day weekend (almost)! This is the weekend I used to spend driving west to check in for my summer job at Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone. In honor of all the summer travel days ahead, I thought I’d share a few words from my Yellowstone manuscript. What is it about Yellowstone? Friends and … More What is it about Yellowstone?
Montana: The Ron Swanson of States
September 10, 2014
Montana author William Kittredge was the first to call it the last best place. John Steinbeck wrote, “I am in love with Montana. For other states I have admiration, respect, recognition, even some affection, but with Montana it is love, and it’s difficult to analyze love when you’re in it.” For my part, I’d like … More Montana: The Ron Swanson of States
Spring is your acid belly
April 26, 2014
In Defense of Sardines: Happy 101st Birthday, Great Aunt Mary
April 22, 2014
The things my great Aunt Mary credits for her 101 years are love, laughter, humor, blueberries, and sardines (two cans a month). She was born on this day in 1913 to Slovenian immigrant parents in the Iron Range town of Chisholm, Minnesota. Her youngest brother, Frank, was my father’s father—Grandpa Koshere. I recently visited her … More In Defense of Sardines: Happy 101st Birthday, Great Aunt Mary
Questions I Have for Whales
March 15, 2014
I recently went on a wildlife tour from San Diego to view gray whales. Every year, gray whales swim one of the world’s longest marine mammal migrations: from 5-6,000 miles, each way, between their summer feeding grounds north of the Aleutian Islands and the warm lagoons of Baja California. At this transition time of the season, in … More Questions I Have for Whales
What I Wore to the Packers Game
January 7, 2014
Torso Layer 1: Merino wool hiking t-shirt with zip-up collar to seal off my neck: the one snagged by various tree branches and stained brown with blood from mosquitoes that bit me on Shoshone Lake in Yellowstone six years ago. This one has been with me through thick and thin; you gotta trust the layer closest … More What I Wore to the Packers Game
Great American Road Trip 2013: A Story in Lists
September 26, 2013
I am back in the Midwest after a long post-DC road trip from Wisconsin to Montana to Oregon to California to New Mexico and back home. Because you can’t quite write a single thing about such a diverse trip, I decided to try to share the story of my trip in lists. I’m hoping this … More Great American Road Trip 2013: A Story in Lists
On My Last Day in Montana
September 3, 2013
On my last day in Montana, I reached a sheep ranch outside the town of Roundup. A friend–a Wisconsin native, Montana transplant like me–had been working and living there for the season. I played with Akbash puppies and entered the pen of orphan lambs, called bums. They suckled my fingers and chewed the belt loops … More On My Last Day in Montana
