June 30, 2008

Meet the Press in Grand Teton National Park

Filed under: Outdoors — Mike @ 2:04 am

Interesting location with Brokaw. They discuss wether Obama can win in the west.

Another segment about energy issues in the west with the Wyoming and Colorado governors:

June 29, 2008

Plunging pickup sales prompt Big 3 to change

Filed under: Outdoors — Mike @ 2:35 pm

Toyota got in front of it. Honda got in front of it. The Big Three waited until the last second when massive profits on huge SUV/pickup markups failed before even showing concern.

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“We need to get in front of it,” Mike DiGiovanni, GM’s executive director of global market and industry analysis, recalls saying. “If you wait too long on it, the pain would get a lot worse.”

Why didn’t automakers move sooner?
While both companies say they took quick action, critics wonder why they didn’t make more fuel-efficient vehicles sooner. After all, there were many signs that gas prices would do nothing but rise.

McCain: I ‘Don’t See How It Matters’ That I Don’t Know The Price Of Gas

Filed under: Outdoors — Mike @ 2:19 pm

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WICKSOL: When was the last time you pumped your own gas and how much did it cost?

MCCAIN: Oh, I don’t remember. Now there’s Secret Service protection. But I’ve done it for many, many years. I don’t recall and frankly, I don’t see how it matters.

I’ve had hundreds and hundreds of town hall meetings, many as short a time ago as yesterday. I communicate with the people and they communicate with me very effectively.

June 28, 2008

The last refuge of the wolverine

Filed under: Images, Outdoors — Mike @ 5:35 pm


High in the Northern Rockies, the wolverine still haunts the wild ground. In this case, it’s the isolated Crazy Mountains island range in Montana. It’s always an amazing experience for this flatlander to drive for hundreds of miles through corn fields to encounter landscape like this, with peaks rising 7,000 feet over the plains. Even more ethereal is the nature of the island range, unto itself with old growth forest, crashing waterfalls and scenic lakes - all surrounded by a sea of prarie. The range is home to black bears, mountain goats, elk, golden eagles and various other wildlife, all in this self contained unit of splendor. Truly a jarring and majestic change from the flat, road-riddled midwest. Click on the image for the full view.

Dolphins stranded in New Jersey river (video)

Filed under: Outdoors — Mike @ 5:10 pm

New Mexico: Two wolves released in Gila wilderness

Filed under: Outdoors — Mike @ 5:09 pm

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The wolf program’s Interagency Field Team hopes the pair’s offspring will increase genetic diversity in the wild Mexican wolf population.

California: Senate bill clears to expand wilderness

Filed under: Outdoors — Mike @ 5:08 pm

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(SACRAMENTO, CA) The State Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Water passed a bill authored by Assemblymember Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa) that directs the state to assess the suitability of specific state roadless lands in Northern California for wilderness designation.

Tennessee: Great Smoky Mountain National Park gets $1 million from Toyota to get kids interested

Filed under: Outdoors — Mike @ 5:05 pm

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NATIONAL PARK - Cocooned in their homes with the comforts of computers, video games, iPods and other technology around them, too many of today’s kids miss out on the thrill of discovering the cocoon of a real butterfly or moth. But, with a $1 million grant from Toyota, officials of Great Smoky Mountains National Park are planning to bring about a metamorphosis.

Montana: On the road again with Felicite McDonald

Filed under: Outdoors — Mike @ 5:02 pm

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Only days earlier, Glacier National Park’s superintendent had asked Flathead Agency Superintendent Charles Coe to arrange for drummers and dancers from the Flathead Reservation to participate in the dedication of Going-to-the-Sun Road. Parts of what was now Glacier, after all, had for centuries been a part of the territory of the Kootenai and Pend d’Oreille people.

Bison injures boy posing for photos at Yellowstone

Filed under: Outdoors — Mike @ 5:00 pm

Not very bright on the part of the parents.

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Park officials say the boy was posing with family members within a couple of feet of the mature bull bison.