Tag Archives: hiking

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

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

Newfoundland, Part 2

Posted on July 20, 2022 by rivertoprambles

The Tablelands at Gros Morne National Park (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), north of Corner Brook (see map), are dry red-rock formations uplifted from the Earth’s mantle. The natural mineral, periditite, is poisonous for most vegetation, with a few exceptions. … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged birding, boating, camping, fishing, Gros Morne NP, hiking, nature, Newfoundland, photograpy, Pissing Mare Falls, Tablelands, travel, writing | 15 Comments

Newfoundland, Part 1

Posted on July 17, 2022 by rivertoprambles

The long drive north from Rhode Island to the Nova Scotia ferry crossing was a difficult journey for a guy with upcoming back surgery, but the overall trip was wonderful. With my wife and my daughter catching up on sleep … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged birding, Canada, dining, fishing, Gros Morne N.P., hiking, nature, Newfoundland, puffins, Tablelands, travel | 27 Comments

Winter on the Genesee

Posted on January 17, 2022 by rivertoprambles

Creak of beech bough, crack of ice. No eagle sharp-eyed for a fish, no wild duck drifting on the flow. So, what is here? The trout are unobtainable, the sun glimmers faintly in the canopy, the promise of a snowstorm … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Catskill Mountains, Genesee River, hiking, meditation, poetry, skunk cabbage, snowstorm, Theodore Gordon, trout flies, writing | 33 Comments

A Burnin’ Barrel Monologue

Posted on November 9, 2021 by rivertoprambles

“I remember when it wasn’t so easy getting there. We didn’t have a nice road along the crik. Had to come up out of Cross Fork, or else hike down along the Hogback on that path… what’s it called, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged autumn, climate change, drinking, fishing, folklore, hiking, monologues, nature, Pennsylvania Wilds, photography, poetry, trout/salmon, writing | 12 Comments

Cloud Forest/ Coffee House (Costa Rica #4)

Posted on September 17, 2021 by rivertoprambles

[For this fourth and final post directly relating to a recent trip to Costa Rica, I’m departing from a previous chronological narrative and incorporating a thematic approach including cloud-forest hikes and patio meditations. I hope that you’ve enjoyed the tour….] … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged biodiversity, birding, cloud forest, Costa Rica #4, hiking, hummingbirds, Monteverde, nature, Santa Elena, travel, writing | 22 Comments