Essays
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The vitality of language
A mother introduces her newly adopted child to the birds at a raptor rehabilitation center and teaches her their names.
by Melissa Hart , Apr 27, 2009 -
Why I ride the Greyhound
Every passenger aboard a bus becomes a citizen of the world, contemplating the Western landscape as it passes by.
by Brian Kevin , Apr 17, 2009 -
The Universe on Blacktop
A Colorado family finds satisfaction -- and cash -- in scavenging metal for recycling.
by Laura Pritchett , Mar 17, 2009 -
Crown of horns
Unexpected encounters with an injured bull elk and a couple of teenage boys lead a writer to consider the meaning of fatherhood.
by Craig Childs , Mar 02, 2009 -
The call of the tame
Jack London devoted much of his short life to what we would now call sustainable agriculture on his beloved Beauty Ranch in California.
by Anne Trubek, Feb 20, 2009 -
Carrying your own load
Sharon Levy’s friends, Kerby and Irene, lived off the grid in Northern California and taught her a lot about life.
by Sharon Levy , Feb 06, 2009 -
The fine art of bureaucracy
Forty years ago, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation commissioned 40 artists to document -- and glorify -- its dam and reservoir sites.
by Paul Lindholdt, Jan 14, 2009 -
For the love of stuff
A decision to buy a new car spurs thoughts of a beat-up, rusty old Datsun station wagon.
by Jeffrey A. Lockwood, Dec 23, 2008 -
Change we could believe in
How to fix the West by consolidating land agencies and charging people to build in Stupid Zones.
by Ed Quillen, Dec 22, 2008 -
Trashing the earth, and the truth
Hal Herring relates the ugly story of how the Bush administration used its influence to try to kill a story about the impacts of energy development.
by Hal Herring, Dec 22, 2008 -
A word in favor of rootlessness
The author of Rogue River Journal muses on the power of place.
by John Daniel, Dec 19, 2008 -
Methow Homecoming
A man contemplates his relationship with a landscape that he is always loving and leaving.
by Christopher Solomon, Dec 12, 2008 -
Real work
The joys – and hardships – of outdoor physical work take a toll.
by Ana Maria Spagna, Nov 27, 2008 -
Welcome to hard times
Ed Quillen finds a silver lining behind the current economic clouds.
by Ed Quillen , Nov 17, 2008 -
The Doc is in
Rural folks find common ground at a vet's office in Western Colorado.
by Michelle Nijhuis, JT Thomas, Nov 14, 2008 -
Let it mellow
Melissa Hart remembers her eccentric, independent great-grandmother, who taught her about reuse and recycling long before it was fashionable.
by Melissa Hart, Nov 10, 2008 -
Mayberry and Peyton Place
Public policy has ravaged America's small towns, despite lip service by some politicians.
by Ed Quillen, Nov 07, 2008 -
Midnight in Montana
Dorothee Kocks tingles with joy after a night spent listening to a live jazz sextet in a northwestern Montana mining town.
by Dorothee E. Kocks, Oct 27, 2008 -
Religion, politics and culture
When religion tries to dominate culture and politics, it hurts all three, as seen in the battle over the rights of gay Americans.
by Jonathan Thompson , Oct 23, 2008 -
Bear necessities
Seth Cohen describes a close encounter with a grizzly – and an even closer encounter with grizzly-strength pepper spray.
by Seth T. Cohen, Oct 13, 2008
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