My husband and I thought we were getting to the end of our parenting time, having two adult children and only one remaining 17-year-old at home. We recently had our first camping trip by ourselves in 22 years. Our autistic teenager took the big step of staying home by himself overnight. It was a BIG deal! In our lives, big changes start with a phone call from social services. That has been a constant since the year 1997 when we became foster parents in North Dakota. The sweet voice on the line asks “Will you flip your life upside down and take this child that has been mistreated, abused, negle ..read more

My best bear story ever I arrived at my new duty station at the North end of the Blue Ridge Parkway near Shenandoah National Park transferring from the South end closest to Great Smokies Mountain National Park. Ranger Smith wanted to show me my new District that morning. He still is and was a nice guy, having a classic clean-cut ranger look. I was sure he was in 1000 visitor vacation photos. The problem with bears In the District I just left we often had bear trouble, those poor bears just wanted to do what bears like best… eat and eat some more. I was curious and asked, do you have any t ..read more

Fall temperatures, moisture, and harvesting this week Arkansas River October 1, 2022 Fremont County, Elevation 5331 Weather today: forecast is for a high of 77 cool degrees, and 60% chance of rain showers this afternoon. The blazing heat of summer has passed. I woke up early on this Saturday morning. It is still and quiet in the house but the birds are raising a ruckus of noise at the chicken coup. The wild birds and our two old chickens love to eat the scratch thrown on the ground. A neighborhood raccoon has been visiting at night and eating the chicken feed. Fortunately the town bear has sta ..read more

Great Smoky Mountains, Standing Rock Overlook by Robert StephensFall Leaves Are Calling I know it is such a big country folks and there are lots of fantastic places to see the changing leaf colors. I am sharing my very favorite places to see the colors of fall. But of course, there are another hundred thousand places to go. My advice is to get out there wherever you are and find your favorite place this year. Share a picture for me to post and make a memory. Check out this great national map of leaf color predictions to help you make your plans https://smokymountains.com/fall-foliage-map/. The ..read more

Top Ten Tip’s From Your Ranger Before You Go Adventure in the Wild Areas #1 – Check the weather https://www.weather.gov/. Prepare for heat, cold, rain, snow that could all happen in the same day. If it looks extreme DON’T GO! Our new climate change driven weather events can be EXTREME and UNPREDICTABLE. #2 – Absolutely go to the park website https://www.nps.gov/index.htm, or area websites for latest information look at Alerts, Cautions such as road, trail, campground, visitor center, etc. closures. #3 – Check for fire and smoke information https://fire.airnow.gov/ in the area you are visiting ..read more

The Life of a Retired Ranger September 7, 2022 Fremont County, Colorado Elevation: 5,331 feet Weather: forecast is sunny & hot, high of 98 degrees F, low of 62 degrees. Humidity 15% First Year Retirement Garden is Paying Off Sunny and hot again and again! Crazy hot for September it is more evidence of climate change. I decided to freeze the grape juice from the freshly harvested grapes. I will make jelly, with all that hot steamy boiling water, when it finally cools off. My first retirement backyard garden harvest has been incredible this year. I think it must be I have a better attitude t ..read more

What’s Happening Ranger: It’s Harvest Season August 30, 2022  Fremont County, Colorado Elevation: 5,331 feet Weather: forecast is sunny, high of 90 degrees F, low of 61 degrees. Humidity 42% I woke to the sound of geese in flight today. A harbinger of the changing season. That honking tells you summer is almost over and it’s time to prepare for winter weather in southern Colorado. The harvest of all those beautiful apples, plums, grapes, and peaches that finally ripened!  Of course, what follows is the hot work, break out the Ball jars, and the biggest saucepans, and preserve that sw ..read more

So I broke my foot and decided to write a blog Foot in the air for 4 weeks! I have loved nature for as long as I can remember. I took many rolls and rolls of film (it was the ’60-’70s kids) of just mountains, streams, and flowers – few people. This bugged my mother, sorry Mom. I loved to sleep in the backyard just a sleeping bag thrown on the ground in our suburban neighborhood in Greensboro, NC. I collected rocks and insects that I displayed in the backyard grill because it offered great ready-made shelving! This bugged my father, sorry Dad. My love of nature soon became a 30-year government ..read more