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Peanut butter: proving evolution is fake since 1897

It all seems so obvious now—the answer has been on aisle 7 of the grocery store all along! Of course, evolution doesn’t explain the origin of life and, given the events of last year, the video producers chose a rather unfortunate example. But hey, thanks for the chuckle.

Restore a native grassland and an historic trail this weekend

There are two great volunteer opportunities this week in National Conservation Lands here in Arizona. If you have some time, please consider getting involved. Check out the Volunteers for Outdoor Arizona to register. Las Cienegas NCA Road Closure and Restoration Weekend Feb 19 – Feb 21 Experience a lush desert grassland just an hour southeast … Read more

My Aunt Lucy turns 102 this week

My Aunt Lucy is turning 102 next week. Ok, so she’s technically my great-aunt or cousin twice removed or something, but we all just call her Aunt Lucy. She’s one of the sweetest and most energetic people you could meet, and I really wish I could be there to celebrate the occasion with her. She … Read more

A short guide to park passes

When someone hears about my national park quest, they often ask me if I’ve visited a particular place that they have enjoyed. As often as not, the location they mention is not part of the National Park System. That’s not particularly surprising. There are a wide variety of land management agencies at the national, state, … Read more

Roundup of our Bayou roadtrip

I belatedly realized that I hadn’t posted a summary of our Bayou roadtrip yet. Well, here it is. We drove 4,106 miles through 5 states in 11 days to see 11 parks, plus spend New Years Eve in the French Quarter of New Orleans. In doing so, we finished off the states of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, … Read more

pronghorn

State parks I’ve visited

On the heels of news of more state park closures, I figured I should out myself as a mediocre park visitor. The truth is, despite being a native Arizonan, I’ve only visited about half of our state parks. In my defense, I’m not a boater and have thus avoided water-related parks, and my national park … Read more

Martin Luther King Jr National Historic Site

After our wedding, Kim and I took a roadtrip across the South to visit a bunch of national parks as part of our quest. I commented last month that one of the benefits of our quest was that it brought us to see some really cool places that we otherwise wouldn’t have. One of those … Read more

A successful birthday for Agua Fria National Monument

I’ve previously mentioned last week’s 10-year anniversary celebration of Agua Fria National Monument (and the National Landscape Conservation System), so I thought I should post an update on how it went. I spoke with the BLM yesterday and the event wildly surpassed our estimates. We had projected about 500 attendees, but were surprised when more … Read more

Just breathe….

It’s not quite what I expected, but I’ve enjoyed the new Pearl Jam album Backspacer. In particular, I’ve found myself gravitating to the song Just Breathe. Without Vedder’s distinctive voice, you probably wouldn’t guess it was a Pearl Jam song – even if it does have an Into the Wild feel to it. It’s just … Read more