Category Archives: Culture

Happy 100th Birthday, National Park Service!

Posted on August 25, 2016 by Jeremy Sell

Today the United States National Park Service (NPS) turned 100 years old.  Although our oldest parks have their roots in the 1870s, it was in 1916 that the Organic Act created a centralized, coherent agency within the Department of the Interior to … Continue reading →

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Seeking Solitude at Great Basin National Park

Posted on June 10, 2016 by Jeremy Sell

Great Basin National Park is located in east-central Nevada and is one of our country’s least-known and least-visited parks. Back in 2013 my wife, her friend and I drove a few hours north of Las Vegas to get a taste of what this remote … Continue reading →

Posted in Botany, Culture, Ecology, Entomology, General, Geology, National Parks, Vertebrate Zoology | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The Great Salt Lake, Utah

Posted on May 28, 2016 by Jeremy Sell

Beyond the Great Lakes that surround my native Michigan, the next largest lake in the United States is the Great Salt Lake in northern Utah. Although the lakes of both states share similarly impressive surface areas they are incredibly different in … Continue reading →

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Elk of the Cataloochee Valley

Posted on May 7, 2016 by Jeremy Sell

When most people think of elk (Artiodactyla: Cervidae: Cervus canadensis) they probably think of them as residents of the American west. From Colorado to Washington they live in large numbers, especially in protected areas like Rocky Mountain National Park, Grand Teton National … Continue reading →

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Obligatory St. Patrick’s Day Post

Posted on March 17, 2016 by Jeremy Sell

I’m not remotely Irish (mostly French and German) but I can always get behind a little cultural festivity. In the spirit of St. Patrick’s Day, here are a few nature photos for the holiday courtesy of recent visits to Olympic National Park and Yellowstone … Continue reading →

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Three Days in the Pyrenees of Spain: Part 4

Posted on March 12, 2016 by Jeremy Sell

Earlier on day three our trip up to Parque Nacional de Ordesa y Monte Perdido was kind of a bust, but we did see some cool things along the way. With half a day left we set out to find some more cool … Continue reading →

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Three Days in the Pyrenees of Spain: Part 3

Posted on March 10, 2016 by Jeremy Sell

Re-energized from our day of relaxation in the peaceful Pyrenees, my wife and I spent day three further exploring the mountainous countryside of northern Spain. From our hotel near Janovas we drove west and north on N-260 toward Parque Nacional de Ordesa … Continue reading →

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Three Days in the Pyrenees of Spain: Part 2

Posted on March 8, 2016 by Jeremy Sell

After a long first day getting to our destination in the Pyrenees Mountains of northern Spain, my wife and I were ready spend the second day relaxing. Thirteen hours of flying and then four hours of driving, while exciting at … Continue reading →

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Three Days in the Pyrenees of Spain: Part 1

Posted on March 6, 2016 by Jeremy Sell

Late last summer my wife and I headed to Spain for a few days. She had previously visited France and Italy and knew a thing or two about Europe, but this was my first trip to the continent. At my urging … Continue reading →

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Stuff I’m Reading: “A Passion for Nature: The Life of John Muir” by Donald Worster

Posted on February 26, 2016 by Jeremy Sell

“Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul alike.”  — The Yosemite by John Muir (1912) Widely regarded as one of the first … Continue reading →

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Acadia National Park

Posted on February 19, 2016 by Jeremy Sell

Known to the native Wabanaki people for millennia and then battled over by European colonial forces for almost 200 years, Maine’s remote and serene Mount Desert Island didn’t enter widespread American awareness until the late 1800s. Although the inhabitants have changed over … Continue reading →

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This is cool you should watch it: “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea”

Posted on January 14, 2016 by Jeremy Sell

From the founding of the United States until well into the nineteenth century, words like “expansion,” “settlement,” and “development” were at the core of the American psyche. Laws ranging from the Northwest Ordinance to the Homestead Acts encouraged the people to expand across the continent, … Continue reading →

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Evolving Thoughts on Exploring the World

Posted on January 10, 2016 by Jeremy Sell

When I was a kid growing up in Michigan I loved spending hours staring at maps and globes and memorizing geography facts. In the sixth grade I came in third place in a geography bee against seventh- and eighth-graders. But … Continue reading →

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2015 Countdown: 20 Favorite Wildlife Photos

Posted on December 30, 2015 by Jeremy Sell

I have to admit, I think 2014 was the high-water mark of my wildlife photography. A diverse array of amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals that best-represent North America adorned that post, and it was one of my proudest achievements. While … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Ecology, Entomology, Environment, General, Invertebrate Zoology, National Parks, Vertebrate Zoology | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Random Plant: Bigleaf Maple

Posted on December 22, 2015 by Jeremy Sell

Although I’ve seen bigleaf maples (Acer macrophyllum, Aceraceae) a number of times in the Pacific Northwest, it was their fallen leaves on my past trip that really caught my attention. Littering the ground east of Portland, Oregon they decorated the landscape with their … Continue reading →

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Long time no see…

Posted on December 16, 2015 by Jeremy Sell

I realize it has been about four months since I last posted here. That was not intentional. Life and work became overwhelming and this blog fell by the wayside. It’s not that I don’t love doing this, it’s just that … Continue reading →

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Pepper wishes you a happy National Mutt Day

Posted on August 1, 2015 by Jeremy Sell

July 31 is National Mutt Day, celebrated “to raise awareness of the plight of mixed breed dogs in shelters around the nation and to educate the public about the sea of mixed breed dogs that desperately await new homes. Mixed … Continue reading →

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Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument

Posted on June 22, 2015 by Jeremy Sell

Located in southwestern Arizona, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument preserves one of the most impressive, remote, and dangerous areas of the Sonoran Desert. Covering 517 square miles (1338 square km) along the Mexican border, the park and its people protect a variety of … Continue reading →

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I lichen this to a human skull

Posted on June 4, 2015 by Jeremy Sell

Lichens are common composite organisms that can be found in many diverse areas, including the most inhospitable environments on earth. The approximately 15,000 described species inhabit everything from lush forests to deserts to arctic tundra, exploiting resources wherever possible. Lichens … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Ecology, Fungi, General, Organism Interactions | Tagged | 1 Comment

Gray whales

Posted on May 18, 2015 by Jeremy Sell

Gray whales (Cetacea: Eschrichtiidae: Eschrichtius robustus) were once abundant throughout coastal waters of the northern Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Although hunted on a small scale for their oil, meat, and blubber for thousands of years, intensive commercial whaling in the late nineteenth century nearly … Continue reading →

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