As luck would have it, I arrived in Saguaro National Park right after a March rainy spell. The Sonoran Desert was alive and thriving, and the saguaro were extraordinary. Each seemed to be thinking its own thoughts—present but private, attendant but uninvolved. The Tohono O’odham people consider saguaro to be friends and respected members of […]

“Here, take a look,” whispered Ricardo. Peeking through the lens, I was six years old again. There was the bird I had been yearning to see, a quetzal as resplendent as I had read about—a vivid dream from my distant past. He sat on a tree branch, preening his feathers, cocking his head and looking […]

Glacier National Park is one of the last, virtually pristine wilderness areas left in the Lower 48 states. The rugged peaks, forested valleys, and alpine meadows offer refuge to a diversity of flora and fauna found in few other locales. To experience it, I choose to leave the roads behind, step onto the trails, and […]