5 Kid-Friendly Yellowstone Hikes
We started taking our kids out on Yellowstone's trails when they were tiny, as in four, eight, and fifteen months tiny. They went from being carried to toddling to running ahead and we went from being the pack animals who carried them to trying to keep up. These...
Postcard from Yellowstone: Roosevelt Arch
Once upon a time, I worked in Yellowstone—at the Old Faithful Inn Gift Shop, where I spent part of each day restoring the great wall of postcards. These days, the postcard wall is smaller, which makes me sad. Postcards are more than souvenirs. They’re a way of looking...
Notable & Noteworthy: Spring
March is a quiet month in Yellowstone, not because there's nothing happening but because all but one road is closed and there is little human hubbub. April ... that's a different story. Still, these are two months during which I have not seen the park. What I know ...
Writing Tools I Use
Writing involves more than writing. The writing life involves a lot of reading and observing. Most of my writing is done at my desk, and I occasionally get to spend a few happy hours writing outside in Yellowstone. These are a few of the go-to items I use for...
Postcard from Yellowstone: Bobby Socks Trees
Once upon a time, I worked in Yellowstone—at the Old Faithful Inn Gift Shop, where I spent part of each day restoring the great wall of postcards. These days, the postcard wall is smaller, which makes me sad. Postcards are more than souvenirs. They’re a way of looking...
My 5 Favorite Yellowstone Stops
After a summer of working in Yellowstone and four decades of annual visits to the park, a trip to Yellowstone feels like going home. This is at once a blessing and a curse. With so many places to revisit, check in on, and catch up with, it’s hard to branch out to new...
Hiking Gear We Use
I know of a few winter hikers. For most of us, though, hiking is an activity left to the more temperate seasons. With spring upon us, I wanted to share some things we're gathering for the coming hiking season. Hiking/Trekking Poles: In terms of stability and speed,...
Postcard from Yellowstone | Clear Lake
Once upon a time, I worked in Yellowstone—at the Old Faithful Inn Gift Shop, where I spent part of each day restoring the great wall of postcards. These days, the postcard wall is smaller, which makes me sad. Postcards are more than souvenirs. They’re a way of looking...
Notable & Noteworhty: Winter
I've visited Yellowstone in January and February, and found it to be both a delightful wonderland and a frigid, forbidding, unforgiving landscape. We snowmobiled when my parents, brother, and I visited in my teens. Even bundled in the best snowmobile attire the 1980s...
Camping Gear We Actually Use 2026
We had a rare but not unheard-of March blizzard last weekend. My husband used the time to prepare our camping gear for the coming season. Here’s a collection of stuff we actually use when we head out west. Eating & Drinking At the campsite, we use an...
Postcard from Yellowstone: Mallard Lake
Postcards. They're more than a souvenir. More than a way to say Thinking of you! or Wish you were here! They're a way of seeing and sharing. Small by design, a postcard from Yellowstone can capture a moment. In that spirit, for you: A postcard from Yellowstone Hi...
Postcard from Yellowstone: Great Fountain
Once upon a time, I worked in Yellowstone National Park. It was 1987--just shy of forty years ago. Numbers are not my first language, so this is always something of a shock. I digress. Specifically, I worked at the Old Faithful Inn Gift Shop, where I invested a good...
2025 Gift Guide
It's that time of year. We're searching for ideas for that special something for that special someone. Last year, one of my author-friends asked me to pair my book with a gift idea for her readers. This year, I asked some of my nature-writing friends to do the same....
Lesson from Yellowstone: From Old Faithful to Everyday Life
I have a love-hate relationship with paper. I’ve never met a notebook, or a post-it note, or a planner I didn’t like. At the same time, I have no idea how to manage the mountains of paper that find their way into my home. Because my husband is efficient,...
Pause • Ponder • Press on














