Wild About Utah

Minnesota, in the Dakota language (mnisota or mní sóta) translates to “sky-tinted water.” A year ago, my alarm blared in the pitch-darkness of the bunkhouse at Packsack Canoe Trips on the edge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. 5 AM comes fast. I turned off the alarm, swung my legs out of my sleeping …

Continue reading "The Land of 10,000 Lakes"

When one has the opportunity to experience the grandeur of the Milky Way, witness a shooting star, or identify a new constellation, such moments can spark curiosity, a sense of awe, and provide memories that last a lifetime. These experiences, however, do depend on a night sky where the view of the cosmos remains unobstructed …

Continue reading "Every day needs a night"

When I started teaching at Preston High School, one of the first books my English class read was The Diary of Anne Frank. I remember asking the class if they had any family stories of their own to share about those war years. A young woman raised her hand and said her grandparents had a …

Continue reading "Cache Valley Sugar Beets and German POWs"

Earth Day, Earth Week, and my preferred, Earth Year. Let’s pretend to join the Artimus 11 crew for a wild 300,000 mile journey to the dark side of the moon for an Earth rise. Suddenly a soul piercing view appears and with it, in a brief second, we are transformed into a profound Earth lover. …

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As an educator focused on outdoor experiential learning, I’m always looking for ways to integrate nature’s aesthetic beauty into my teaching. Aldo Leopold wrote, “Our ability to perceive quality in nature begins, as in art, with the pretty. It expands through successive stages of the beautiful to values as yet uncaptured by language.” This quote …

Continue reading "Nature and Art"

Today’s story is in both English and Spanish, to hear the Spanish translation tune in Wednesday evening at 9 or online at UPR.org When you think about what a bee needs to live, you probably think of flowers and a big hive. Bees do need flowers, and some live in a hive, but many bees …

Continue reading "Leafy Bee Nests"

La historia de hoy está en inglés y en español. Para escuchar la traducción al español: la noche del miércoles a las 9 pm o en línea en UPR.org Cuando piensas en lo que una abeja necesita para vivir, probablemente piensas en flores y en una gran colmena. Las abejas sí necesitan flores, y algunas …

Continue reading "Nidos de abejas y hojas"

A few weeks ago, I met someone who mentioned she used to be involved in chariot racing. “Chariots?” I asked. “Like in ancient Roman days?” “Sort of.” she said. She explained how today’s chariot racing in the Intermountain West involves two horses pulling a small aluminum chariot with the driver standing in the cart. She …

Continue reading "A Day at the Chariot Races"

One of the lesser-known natural, and underappreciated, areas in our state is found 32 miles south of Vernal in eastern Utah: the Ouray National Wildlife Refuge. My wife and I visited last July, hoping to see bird species we don’t find in other parts of the state. We enjoyed the birding, but what made the …

Continue reading "A Long Winter’s Nap"

The magic of fire! The magic of trillions of highly excited electrons giving us heat, light, comfort, and excitement- seen in the dancing eyes of my grandchildren. My high school chemistry students were all pyromaniacs. “Mr. Greene, are we going to burn something today?” a common refrain as they entered the classroom. A community fire …

Continue reading "The Magic of Fire!"