River Dreams

Grand Tetons from a Barker Ewing raft- Snake River float trips

Along the lazy, tranquil, rushing, surging river,Dense hatches of gnats and mayfliesBriefly cloud the banks and darken the skies.For feeding fish, they’re a life giver. Below the rippled surface, rocks lurk near.They never move, yet break the flowOf dividing currents, some fast some slow,The river tells me, place the oars here. Logjams and sweepers, hazards…

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Slowing Down

bob cat - Jackson Hole wildlife

I’ll admit it: I’m slowing down a bit. I’m well past my youth – so far past it, in fact, that I’m knocking on the door of my 60’s. I occasionally experience some angst when I look in the mirror and struggle to match the middle-aged fellow looking back at me with the image of…

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Friendship on the River

thrush perched on a branch - jackson hole wildlife

Late last June, I embarked on a midday trip with some friends on our glorious Snake River. The river was flowing fast due to the ongoing effects of the late spring runoff. Jn just the first 4 miles of the trip, we had seen Bald Eagles, Mule Deer, Red-tail Hawks, Mergansers, Ravens, Geese, and some…

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The Name in the Hyphen

Verne Huser, the first Barker-Ewing river guide

Barker-Ewing has been around since 1967 and has a name in the hyphen. Our first hired guide was Verne Huser, who liked to say that he was the “hyphen” in the name. He and his family worked with us for a few years and then he moved on to year-round” jobs before returning for a…

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Learning from a Nuthatch

learning from a nuthatch

Another delightful holiday season is wrapping up, and family and friends are hunkered down in anticipation of the cold days of midwinter and I am learning from a Nuthatch. The winter solstice brought an end to short dark days and started our slow climb towards summer. Here in Bozeman, north of Yellowstone National Park, the…

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The Last Day of Summer

I just saw the last day of summer. I know what you’re thinking: it’s the Equinox – so didn’t we all just see it? That’s true, but if you work outdoors like I do, you don’t need a calendar to tell you when the seasons change. You just have to read the signs. Over the…

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