A relatively dry winter season, followed by late-season rainstorms, has slowed the emergence of wildflower blooms at Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area in California.

A year ago the Burnett Oil Company sent 33-ton “vibroseis” trucks into parts of Big Cypress National Preserve in Florida to see if recoverable oil reserves could be located beneath the preserve’s landscape. The second year of fieldwork is being launched any day now. But questions remain about how that work is being conducted.

Nestled among the sagebrush along the western edge of the Wild and Scenic Snake River in Grand Teton National Park sits the second-oldest and best-known dude ranch in Jackson Hole—the Bar BC Dude Ranch. During its peak years, the Bar BC provided guests with an authentic cowboy experience while entertaining them in the evening with costume parties, original plays, and literary discussions. Today the site is a treasured destination and is very meaningful to generations of visitors.

A few years back during a vacation in Belize, my wife and I went out birding, hoping to catch a glimpse of a Scarlet macaw. And that's about all we got, a glimpse, of those large, magnificent, raucous birds. If you find yourself in Arizona this summer, stop by Tuzigoot National Monument on the last Sunday of the month and you'll be able to see one of these birds up close, and learn about their long history in the Southwest.