Author Archives: rivertoprambles

About rivertoprambles

Welcome to Rivertop Rambles. This is my blog about the headwaters country-far afield or close to home. I've been a fly-fisher, birder, and naturalist for most of my adult life. I've also written poetry and natural history books for thirty years. In Rambles I will mostly reflect on the backcountry of my Allegheny foothills in the northern tier of Pennsylvania and the southern tier of New York State. Sometimes I'll write about the wilderness in distant states, or of the wild places in the human soul. Other times I'll just reflect on the domestic life outdoors. In any case, I hope you enjoy. Let's ramble!

Tarantula, Rainbow, Mesquite Night

Posted on March 11, 2023 by rivertoprambles

This post is basically a photo album of our winter break near Big Bend National Park in southwestern Texas. This is the fourth and final post about our visit, a reflection of family time enjoyed in the desert environs of … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Big Bend National Park, desert, family, hiking, mountains, nature, photography, Terlingua, Texas, travel, writing | 15 Comments

Boquillas and Beyond

Posted on January 29, 2023 by rivertoprambles

[For this third installment of my Big Bend series, all photos, again, by Brent & Alyssa Franklin.] Start the day with coffee on the patio, with wren and quail and thrasher stepping near, with three dawn coyotes hunting leisurely in … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Big Bend, Boquillas, burros, donkey, hiking, Mexico, poverty, R.L. Stevenson, Rio Grande, Santa Elena Canyon, travel, writing | 11 Comments

Two Hikes, Terlingua

Posted on January 14, 2023 by rivertoprambles

For this second post of my Big Bend National Park series, all photos are by Brent Franklin or Alyssa Franklin and accepted here with thanks. It’s been said that to really know the world of your environment, you’ve first got … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged backcountry, Big Bend, canyons, Chisos Mountains, entry, hiking, landscapes, Lost Mine, Pour-off, rockslide, Southwest Airlines, travel, wild nature | 16 Comments

Islands of the Sky (Big Bend)

Posted on January 6, 2023 by rivertoprambles

The Chisos Mountains in Big Bend National Park have been described as “sky islands surrounded by desert.” I’ve had an opportunity to delve into those remote volcanic isles, to note their varying temperatures and moisture levels, from the Rio Grande, … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Big Bend National Park, Chihuahuan Desert, Chisos Mountains, exploration, hiking, Islands of the sky, Mexico, poetry, Rio Grande, Texas, travel, wild nature, writing | 10 Comments

No Room to Gripe

Posted on December 2, 2022 by rivertoprambles

Responding to my previous post about removal of the Klamath River dams, a friend of Rivertop Rambles, Tio Stib, responded favorably to the prospect of environmental change and also reminisced about his angling in the Klamath region. One of Tio’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Allegheny River, fishing, nature, Oregon, rainbow trout, Sand & Sage, Spring Creek, The Trails Beyond, travel, Western River Cycle, Williamson River, writing | 25 Comments

The Klamath Cheer

Posted on November 18, 2022 by rivertoprambles

I’ve seen the Klamath River but have never had the chance to fish it (yet). I remembered it recently when the good news filtered through abominable stews of economic, political, and environmental turmoil. Four dams on northern California’s Klamath River … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged dam removal, endangered salmon, energy, environment, FERC, fishing, good news, Klamath Falls, Klamath River, nature, river restoration, writing | 22 Comments

Golden Brown

Posted on October 28, 2022 by rivertoprambles

There were golden days this autumn, brilliant afternoons delightful for occasions on the trail or on the stream. I tried to make the most of them, getting outside when I could, and trying to fit some angling time into a … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged autumn, brown trout, Finger Lakes, fly-fishing, landscapes, nature, photos, rainbow trout, river days, writing | 17 Comments

More Than Fish That We Are After

Posted on October 19, 2022 by rivertoprambles

I’ve returned to fly-fishing the local rivers and smaller streams, my first solo outings on the water in quite some time. These were modest outings, casting bamboo and smaller graphite rods, catching and releasing a few nice browns that rose … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged autumn, fishing, fly-fishing, nature, poetry, prose, streamers, Thoreau, trout, writing | 19 Comments

Crazylegs

Posted on October 12, 2022 by rivertoprambles

Flipping through the pages of my old literary magazines, I recently found a piece that I had written long ago and had published in a Philadelphia magazine called LaZer (1994). I’d completely forgotten about this personal reflection from my youthful … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged bar talk, Crazylegs, fiction, human nature, local history, poetry, realism, short story, writing | 14 Comments

A Diminished Thing

Posted on September 23, 2022 by rivertoprambles

On the last full day of summer, I experienced a somewhat inspirational event. It was a simple event but one that I could not have known earlier this year, prior to surgery on my spine in August. My brother and … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged birding, camping, hiking, Loyalsock Creek, poetry, Robert Frost, The Oven Bird, Time, World's End State Park, writing | 18 Comments