Category Archives: Photography

Shoshone Lake Paddle Trip Report: Yellowstone National Park, September 2025

Posted on January 29, 2026 by williamjcobb

So last Spring when I was arranging a week-long kayaking trip on Shoshone Lake in Yellowstone National Park I read a number of Trip Reports, on various blogs and backcountry-travel sites. They were helpful. Some of them were kooky, such … Continue reading →

Posted in Photography, Shoshone Lake, The West, Yellowstone National Park backcountry trips, Yellowstone National Park kayaking, Yellowstone wildlife | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Our “White Lotus,” Or Life as a Set-Jetter

Posted on January 20, 2026 by williamjcobb

So last year my family got the itch to take an unplanned springtime beach vacation. Long story short: We had nothing booked, and only a vague notion of where we might want to go. Florida is nice enough, sure, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Andaman Sea, HBO's The White Lotus, Photography, Prestige TV, Set-Jetting, Thailand Adventures, Uncategorized, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

On Sleeping With Dogs

Posted on January 17, 2026 by williamjcobb

So I sleep with dogs. (You got a problem with that?) Actually that should be “dog,” singular, a particularly cantankerous Beagle-Terrier mutt named Swishy. Although in my head I think “dogs,” plural, because Swish is not the first dog I’ve … Continue reading →

Posted in Love of Dogs, Photography, Sleeping With Pets, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Bobcats Not in Bad Decline: CivilWarLand Is Here, and Bobcats Are Invading

Posted on January 9, 2026 by williamjcobb

So my title today is a nod to my writer-friend’s excellent book of stories, George Saunders’s CivilWarLand in Bad Decline (of which I have a rare first edition). With all the ICE chaos and MAGA mayhem it’s a relief to … Continue reading →

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Gunfire in the Aspens: the Realities of Cabin Life in the Rockies, With an Appreciative Nod to Walter Kirn in the New York Times

Posted on September 16, 2015 by williamjcobb

So I read today’s piece by Walter Kirn in the New York Times about cabin life and its status as an eddy of the American Dream (“Cabins, the New American Dream,” found here) with some amusement and recognition: I live … Continue reading →

Posted in Bears, Birding, books, books/film, Horror Films, Owls, Photography, Politics, The West | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Rafting the Green River & Digging for Trilobites: What We Do in the West

Posted on July 19, 2013 by williamjcobb

So I haven’t been blogging for a while because I’ve been manning the oars of a white water (well, sometimes brown, green, or just a little frothy) raft in central Utah, the 84-mile stretch of the Green River from Sand … Continue reading →

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Review of Kent Wascom's "The Blood of Heaven," Plus a Mission Debrief

Posted on June 24, 2013 by williamjcobb

So my review of Kent Wascom’s impressive debut novel, The Blood of Heaven, appears today in the Dallas Morning News, here. It’s a rollicking book, and I have to say I keep thinking of that Hatfields & McCoys miniseries whenever … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Climate Change, Cormac McCarthy, Photography, The West, Weird Weather | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Life Over Tech in Santa Fe and Beyond

Posted on June 5, 2013 by williamjcobb

So it seems I haven’t had a minute to blog in the last couple weeks, mainly from being too busy with “real” life—as opposed to the virtual world we often live in these days—in a visit to Santa Fe, New … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, books, Photography, The West | Tagged , | Leave a comment

On "Medicated Barbies" & (a World) Not Safe for Facebook, Plus Tanning Moms and Pirates

Posted on March 8, 2013 by williamjcobb

So I’ve become a (sometimes reluctant, but who isn’t?) user of Facebook—or that infection otherwise known as “social media”—though I’m pretty intermittent, maintaining some self-discipline to only log on when I have the time (yeah, right). I told a friend … Continue reading →

Posted in Photography, Social Networking, Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Review of Kevin Grauke's "Shadows of Men," Plus a Northern Harrier To Boot

Posted on December 19, 2012 by williamjcobb

So last Sunday my review of Kevin Grauke’s debut collection of short stories, Shadows of Men, appeared in the Dallas Morning News, here. It’s an excellent book—at times funny, at times touching, and pretty much hits the nail on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Birding, books, Photography, The West, writing | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment