Karen Denison is owner of Outspire Hiking and Snowshoeing guide service, a former biologist, and a shameless admirer of the outdoors.
Topic: At Home Outdoors
I've been a professional outdoor guide in the Santa Fe area since the 1990's after leaving a fifteen-year career as a laboratory biologist. It was a return, since I've been fascinated with the natural world from earliest childhood. In addition to leading hikes, I teach outdoor skills workshops through the Santa Fe Community College, various outdoor shops, and through my own company Outspire Hiking and Snowshoeing. My husband and I hike, ski, camp, canoe, backpack, snowshoe and fly fish. Our circle of friends includes climbers, mountain bikers, hunters, trail riders and rafters.
"At Home Outdoors" will be short posts on outdoor things to do, where to go, and the stuff that you might see along the way. Comments or suggestions are welcome!
May 17, 2012 at 12:01 PM
"There in the clump of dead grass and new sprouts was a carefully crafted and well-camouflaged nest..."
May 7, 2012 at 2:43 PM
"It is a sprawling annual plant in very dry, disturbed soils in New Mexico and Arizona"
April 25, 2012 at 12:45 PM
"Good trails don't just appear out of nowhere."
April 5, 2012 at 1:54 PM
"Junipers are tough plants, well adapted to this beautiful, arid place"
March 5, 2012 at 2:26 PM
Guest blogger Tim Michael
"...if 2012 is anything like 2011, we can expect strong and cold winds in March"
February 13, 2012 at 12:07 PM
"Please be courteous on your outing so that other folks can best enjoy theirs"
January 27, 2012 at 4:22 PM
"Here I share two sunrises over Santa Fe from this week"
January 12, 2012 at 12:07 PM
"...we came to the clear scene of the action: a larger clump of feathers, a fresh rectangular divot in the snow, a few tiny blood droplets..."
December 23, 2011 at 12:34 PM
Hiking, Skiing or Snowshoeing
Get Outdoors (Comfortably!) this Winter
"There's no reason to give up being outdoors just because winter is here"
December 13, 2011 at 3:28 PM
"...for me, black ravens against white snow and blue sky are emblematic of winter's arrival"
November 8, 2011 at 5:15 PM
Hiking in the Fall: Take Advantage of the Cool Weather
"I love New Mexico partly because there are always trails to hike regardless of season..."
October 21, 2011 at 3:02 PM
Tarantulas: Santa Fe’s Harbingers of Autumn
"...for me, it's the tarantulas that make it Fall..."
October 4, 2011 at 3:09 PM
Fall Clouds Throughout Santa Fe
"...it is a joy to watch the variety of cloud shapes traverse the blue, blue sky"
September 22, 2011 at 11:15 AM
2011 National Public Lands Day
"...plan on getting outside in the next couple of weekends. The weather's great!"
September 13, 2011 at 12:35 PM
"Known to its friends as Quaking Aspen, this is one of the most widespread species on the planet"
September 4, 2011 at 9:43 PM
A Little Local Color: Amanita Mushrooms
"This is the stereotypical "toadstool" that looks like it should have a garden gnome leaning against it..."
August 23, 2011 at 3:22 PM
Pull on Your Work Gloves: Maintaining Santa Fe’s Trails
"...volunteer groups are playing increasingly greater roles in recreational maintenance and restoration"
August 15, 2011 at 11:13 AM
Trail etiquette for dogs (and their people)
"Three times this summer I have been threatened or chased or bitten by unmannerly, loose dogs on trail..."
August 5, 2011 at 3:00 PM
Hike the Galisteo Basin Preserve
"There are currently 14 miles of public trails which ramble over ridges, through arroyos and over old ranch roads..."
August 1, 2011 at 3:46 PM
"But oh, how great to be back in the mountains!"
