Rock Plodder

Federal lands need the public’s help, retired National Park ranger says • North Dakota Monitor Public lands advocate Walt Dabney joined a group of North Dakota conservationists in the Badlands on Sunday to see how federal funding cuts are affecting public lands in the state — and how members of...

Federal Lands Need the Public's Help:

northdakotamonitor.com/2025/10/13/f...

#parkchat

Green bunchberries with one pinkish flower

White mushrooms and moss on reddish rotting stump.

White berries on an otherwise bare shrub, mountain stream in the background.

Green moss with two tiny brown mushrooms.

Some low elevation forest scenes:
bunchberries, I'm going to guess oyster mushrooms, & never did figure out these white-ish blue berries. All kinds of moss on everything

White clouds in a clear blue sky over a mountain reflected in wetland pools

View from the Big 4 area, Mt Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest on a clear October afternoon.

YouTube video by owen reiser LISTERS: A Glimpse Into Extreme Birdwatching

And, if you like birds but haven't seen this, you really should watch:

youtu.be/zl-wAqplQAo?...

New Documentary Shows The Colorado River’s Beauty — And Its Potential Peril The new nature documentary "The American Southwest" spotlights what stands to be lost if we can’t learn how to live with nature instead of trying to tame it.

Putting on the To Watch list:

Quannah ChasingHorse Says The Colorado River’s Survival Is About More Than Water
www.huffpost.com/entry/americ...

I guess this fall it's all humpies everywhere.

Pink Salmon cruising around riffles in the Snohomish River, Wa doing pink Salmon stuff.

Nobel Prize winner was hiking in Yellowstone with phone set to airplane mode. He'll keep doing it for work-life balance | Fortune Fred Ramsdell had to drive to a Montana hotel to connect to Wi-Fi. He didn't speak with the Nobel committee to get their congratulations until midnight.

Just seemed like the kind of news story we need: make time to get outside, shut off the modern world. It will catch up with you later .

Nobel Prize winner was hiking in Yellowstone with phone set to airplane mode. He'll keep doing it for work-life balance | Fortune share.google/0Yn1wznyXo4l...

I guess that's what happened with cheap moonshine, when they used radiators as stills. #parkchat

Yeah, people should pass a test that they are ready for the elements & the understanding that as long as they can walk, they can easily walk back around the lake as needed. #parkchat

A12 Sorry, had to step out -
The #Parkchat Book Club is reading "Confluence" by Zak Podmore, an excellent book about the authors connections with western rivers. We meet over Zoom the 3rd Tuesday of the month. Contact @ocparkbuilder.bsky.social for details. Join us!

Kudzu is so bad! It's eating the NC forests #parkchat

A9 Watching the Elwha River dam removal & restoration in Olympic National Park has been amazing. The changes took out a favorite family campground my kids grew up with but that was a very small price to pay for significant improvements to the habitat #parkchat

That's awesome! #parkchat

A8 I was able to visit Yellowstone both before the fires and after, in 2006 & more recently. The fires were so bad, but the forests were not healthy before. I think time, wolves & especially beaver activity has made the park much healthier #parkchat

Yes, great questions tonight! #parkchat

Same - I can't even get the like button to work right away #parkchat

I really like Widforss Trail along the GC North Rim, wandering away from a crowded visitor area to solitude, taking you through a ponderosa Pine forest w views of the canyon nearby. Not sure how it did with the fires #parkchat

Antifreeze? Guess they will be ready for winter #parkchat

At Grand Tetons once there was a fox on the trail who just stayed, didn't run off. I was not sure if it was just looking for a handout or sick (rabies?). Sad either way. #parkchat

Also less buggy at those times? #parkchat

Yes, the old lodges are well built and part of the history of the park. Still sad about the loss of the North Rim Grand Canyon Lodge to fire this summer, even if all I ever did there was stop in for a few minutes. #parkchat

Sun on waterfall

A3 Prob my favorite waterfall is Linville Falls along the Blue Ridge Parkway I practically grew up with it, but 😥 no photos.
Crabtree Falls, not far down the Pkwy is a close 2nd #parkchat

A2 I'll watch Yellowstone Lake any day #parkchat

A1 Early and very late & when the weather is not as comfy as it could be #parkchat

Hope she escapes ok! #parkchat

Bluesky has seemed a little buggy today #parkchat

Hi Checking in from the greater Seattle area, enjoying maybe the last dry day of early fall with fresh grilled bratwurst. Here for some geyser chat! #parkchat

Quote post a pic of a National Park.

Sunset over the Grand Canyon, looking west from Fire Point, Grand Canyon National Park, North Rim - about 20 miles west of where the North Rim Lodge once stood.
#FindYourPark #ParkChat #allpubliclandsmatter

OMG thanks! I managed to forget about New Water Year Day - it's right up there with the Solstice & Equinoxes! (also, nice chart!)