Mid-December Delights and Mysteries on the WNWR Hiking and Bicycling Trail
I visited the Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge Visitors Center and Observation Building on December 19, 2025. See my Post on welcoming the sandhill cranes (https://stevejonesgbh.com/2026/01/27/theyre-back-sandhill-cranes-return-to-alabamas-wheeler-national-wildlife-refuge/). I then hiked the refuge’s nearby Hiking and Bicycling Trail, a 5.5-mile trek south through woodland, agricultural fields, and waterfowl impoundments, and along the Flint Creek arm of Lake Wheeler. […]
Mid-December Saunter on Monte Sano Oak Park Trail
I co-led a North Alabama Land Trust Nature Hike on December 13, 2025, at Monte Sano Nature Preserve. I had never trekked the Oak Park Trail, which climbs ~300 feet up the north side of Monte Sano Mountain, returning via a counterclockwise circuit to the trailhead. Like so many of my first-time treks, I didn’t […]
Squeezing a 90-Minute Woodland Saunter into Four Hours!
I co-led a University of Alabama in Huntsville OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute) Nature Hike on Saturday, March 28, 2026, with fellow retired forester Chris Stuhlinger. Chris led the way; I swept, bringing up the rear behind our 15 seasoned hikers (we’re predominantly retirees). We departed from the Kensington Trailhead on the North Alabama Land […]
Mid-December Above Ground Exploration at Cathedral Caverns State Park
I published a photo essay of my July 2020 Cathedral Caverns tour on October 20, 2020: https://stevejonesgbh.com/2020/10/01/wonder-below-ground-cathedral-caverns-state-park/. I pledged a subsequent visit to explore the park’s surface trails, not knowing that 5.5 years would elapse before my December 11, 2025, four-hour venture with Hannah Hembree, Park Naturalist for Cathedral and Rickwood Caverns State Parks, Amber […]
Brief-Form Post #55: Auburn University’s College of Forestry, Wildlife, and Environment Crooked Oaks Nature Resort
I am pleased to add the 55th of my GBH Brief-Form Posts (Less than five minutes to read!) to my website. I don’t want my enthusiasm for thoroughness and detail to discourage readers. So, I will occasionally publish these brief Posts. Arriving in Auburn on the evening of November 13, 2026, fellow retired forester (and […]
Thanksgiving Eve Fungi Encounters at Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge
Mushroom Potpourri I ventured into the bottomland hardwood forest south of HGH Road, east of Jolly B. Road, on the Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge, Limestone County, Alabama, on the morning of Thanksgiving Eve, 2025. A chilly post-frontal breeze blew from the north-northwest under cloudless, cerulean skies. I hoped recent rains would bless me with […]
Re-Visiting Auburn University’s Louise Kreher Forest Ecology Preserve and Nature Center
Arriving in Auburn on the evening of November 13, 2026, fellow retired forester (and Auburn University forestry graduate) Chris Stuhlinger, my grandson Jack (18), and I visited Auburn University’s College of Forestry, Wildlife, and Environment’s (CFWE) Kreher Forest Ecology Preserve and Nature Center. I invite you to join us as we tour this fabulous education […]
Early December Nature Explorations along The Natchez Trace Parkway
On Wednesday, December 3, 2025, Judy and I made our first visit to the Natchez Trace Parkway, entering north of the Tennessee River in Alabama near Rock Spring (Mile Post 330) and exiting at the Meriwether Lewis Memorial (Post ~385) in Tennessee. The casual 55-mile journey served as a teaser for the entire 444-mile Parkway […]
Mid-November 25-Year Return to Alabama’s Chewacla State Park
Having arrived in Auburn, Alabama on Thursday evening November 13, 2026, fellow retired forester (and Auburn University forestry graduate) Chris Stuhlinger, my grandson Jack (18), and I visited the College of Forestry, Wildlife, and Environment’s (CFWE) Kreher Forest Ecology Preserve and Nature Center, spent all day Friday at sundry engagements on AU’s campus, and hiked […]
Brief-Form Post #54: Second Autumn Afternoon Near the Lodge and Cabins at AL’s DeSoto State Park!
I attended an Alabama State Parks Foundation Board morning meeting on Thursday, November 6, 2026, at the DeSoto State Park Lodge. I had hiked extensively at the park the previous afternoon. Following the board session, I hiked the Chalet Trail from the Lodge and circuited the nearby cabins area. I am seldom disappointed by the […]
Crispy-Leafed Early Autumn at Leebrook Park in Pennsylvania’s Franklin Park Borough
Judy and I visited our son, Matt, and his family in late September 2025, at their home in Butler County, Pennsylvania, 20 miles north of Pittsburgh. We explored several parks and natural areas, including Leebrook Park, located in Franklin Park Borough, Allegheny County. Come along with Matt, Judy, Hannah, Nate, and me as we view […]