He Knew He Was Right

What, another post about New Hampshire moose? Nope, this is a quick one about other places where I’ve seen these critters. I watched this pair of bull moose relaxing in a field for about 90 minutes one afternoon while in Yellowstone National Park in 1996. I waited for the light to improve, I waited for them to pose a little better, but it stayed sunny and warm, and they just weren't particularly active… I observed this bull and cow pair meandering in Gros Morne National Park, Newfoundland, in May of 1997. The bull was growing a new set of antlers and ambled near me … And I recall being in the dining car on the Alaska Railroad in 2003, watching this guy bolting from us. They do move rather quickly when in stride… No doubt, future travel will present me with opportunities to see more moose. Nonetheless, I still fondly recall those trips to northern New Hampshire, where the main objective to see one was met.

Seeing moose on my first trip to northern New Hampshire didn’t make me think “ok, been there, done that”. No, I wanted to go back. The whole trip was my speed—the camping, the hiking, the fresh air, the scenery in general, the practicing of outdoor photography skills, and, of course those magnificent animals. Aside from the moose, the other things mentioned were doable nearby. What triggered my fascination with moose, though, escapes me. After seeing so much wildlife on trips through the Rockies, I suppose the bull moose did become something of a checklist item. A common misconception pegged me a “Northern Exposure” fan, but my only Hollywood association with moose is that great scene from “Shoot to Kill”, when Sidney Poitier’s city-dwelling character opens his cabin door and finds one at the entrance. Outdoor and wildlife photography magazines and books certainly featured captivating pictures of these beasts, and I think were prime motivators in that I was eager to replicate some of t...

More time than usual has transpired since my last post. Two new ones are written, but I don’t have the accompanying pictures ready and so am holding off on them. However, my friend Paul’s post inspired me to dig into my fairly massive 1990s travel tome, which is mostly unshared as I figure out what to do with it. Snipping bits out to post here is one thing I’ve considered… By 1993, I had been to most of the U.S. National Parks along the Rockies at least once. These ventures out west afforded me the chance to see ample wildlife: bear, buffalo, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, etc. The one thing I was eager to see but hadn’t, though, was the largest of the North American even-toed ungulates-- Alces alces , or, more simply, the moose. I don’t know when my fascination with moose started, but by this point in the early 90s I was determined to see one. Then a New York Times travel section article on a prime moose viewing area just outside of Pittsburg, New Hampshire, was handed to me. That’s ...

The rhododendron is the one shrub that has probably interested me longer than any other, largely because of a huge one we had in the backyard of the old family home. For most, its appeal is the flowers that bloom in May, but I think I liked it more as a winter shrub and indicator of cold weather temperatures. Evergreens in general provide some signs of life when all other plants are bare of such evidence, but there is something fascinating about the way the leaves of rhodies start to curl up to let you know that it is cold outside, or really twist up to let you know it is very cold. Their appeal to me increased as I got into photography, and noticed several frequently recurring shots in photography magazines that I wanted to duplicate. One was of a moose standing in or near a lake with a mountain backdrop, another was white birch trees ablaze with golden foliage in late autumn, and the other was the rhodies under a canopy of monstrous trees in the Redwood National Forest. I’m still try...