Robert Aquinas McNally
@ramcnally.bsky.social
Writer finding & telling stories at the intersection of the human and the wild. Author most recently of CAST OUT OF EDEN: THE UNTOLD STORY OF JOHN MUIR, INDIGENOUS PEOPLES, AND THE AMERICAN WILDERNESS.
“When you’re alone, you can become part of nature and your humanity doesn’t get in the way. It’s almost like an out-of-body experience when suddenly you hear different sounds and you smell different smells and you’re actually part of this amazing tapestry of life.”
Jane Goodall, 2021.
Jane Goodall, 2021.
October 2, 2025 at 3:09 PM
“When you’re alone, you can become part of nature and your humanity doesn’t get in the way. It’s almost like an out-of-body experience when suddenly you hear different sounds and you smell different smells and you’re actually part of this amazing tapestry of life.”
Jane Goodall, 2021.
Jane Goodall, 2021.
This evening, 9/24/, 7 p.m., I'll be talking with poet and scholar Denise Low-Weso re: John Muir and Native resilience as part of her Indigenous Voices series at THE 222 art gallery in Healdsburg, Calif. For tickets, follow the link. And please join me!
the222.org/product/indi...
the222.org/product/indi...
September 25, 2025 at 4:06 PM
This evening, 9/24/, 7 p.m., I'll be talking with poet and scholar Denise Low-Weso re: John Muir and Native resilience as part of her Indigenous Voices series at THE 222 art gallery in Healdsburg, Calif. For tickets, follow the link. And please join me!
the222.org/product/indi...
the222.org/product/indi...
CAST OUT OF EDEN in Healdsburg, Calif., this Thursday evening, 7 p.m.
For full details about and tickets to this event in an amazing art space, please follow the link.
Hope to see you there!
the222.org/product/indi...
For full details about and tickets to this event in an amazing art space, please follow the link.
Hope to see you there!
the222.org/product/indi...
September 22, 2025 at 11:26 PM
CAST OUT OF EDEN in Healdsburg, Calif., this Thursday evening, 7 p.m.
For full details about and tickets to this event in an amazing art space, please follow the link.
Hope to see you there!
the222.org/product/indi...
For full details about and tickets to this event in an amazing art space, please follow the link.
Hope to see you there!
the222.org/product/indi...
CAST OUT OF EDEN is heading to Healdsburg, Calif.!
Thursday, 9/25,7–8:30 p.m., at THE 222, 222 Healdsburg Ave., in conversation with poet Denise Low (Lenape) about John Muir & Native resilience in her Indigenous Voices series. Order tickets via this link.
the222.org/product/indi...
Thursday, 9/25,7–8:30 p.m., at THE 222, 222 Healdsburg Ave., in conversation with poet Denise Low (Lenape) about John Muir & Native resilience in her Indigenous Voices series. Order tickets via this link.
the222.org/product/indi...
September 15, 2025 at 11:25 PM
CAST OUT OF EDEN is heading to Healdsburg, Calif.!
Thursday, 9/25,7–8:30 p.m., at THE 222, 222 Healdsburg Ave., in conversation with poet Denise Low (Lenape) about John Muir & Native resilience in her Indigenous Voices series. Order tickets via this link.
the222.org/product/indi...
Thursday, 9/25,7–8:30 p.m., at THE 222, 222 Healdsburg Ave., in conversation with poet Denise Low (Lenape) about John Muir & Native resilience in her Indigenous Voices series. Order tickets via this link.
the222.org/product/indi...
"Heading High with No Plan B," my latest on Substack, Iooks at how John Muir willingly took cold and hunger as the price to pay for exploring the Sierra Nevada. Have a read.
open.substack.com/pub/ramcnall...
open.substack.com/pub/ramcnall...
August 28, 2025 at 3:21 PM
"Heading High with No Plan B," my latest on Substack, Iooks at how John Muir willingly took cold and hunger as the price to pay for exploring the Sierra Nevada. Have a read.
open.substack.com/pub/ramcnall...
open.substack.com/pub/ramcnall...
This week it's about nature mysticism, something John Muir did well and which many of us share with him. Have a read and please leave a Comment on your own experiences of awe in the presence of the wild.
open.substack.com/pub/ramcnall...
open.substack.com/pub/ramcnall...
July 24, 2025 at 10:12 PM
This week it's about nature mysticism, something John Muir did well and which many of us share with him. Have a read and please leave a Comment on your own experiences of awe in the presence of the wild.
open.substack.com/pub/ramcnall...
open.substack.com/pub/ramcnall...
Read all about it, and what it means, in my latest Substack post. And please do subscribe; it's free.
July 17, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Read all about it, and what it means, in my latest Substack post. And please do subscribe; it's free.
This snake did surprise me. Which in a way was the point.
Read all about it in my latest Substack post.
Read all about it in my latest Substack post.
July 10, 2025 at 3:49 PM
This snake did surprise me. Which in a way was the point.
Read all about it in my latest Substack post.
Read all about it in my latest Substack post.
One of the best things about being a nature & outdoors writer is the chance to meet the neighbors, often unexpectedly.
Here's today's: a Northern Pacific rattlesnake in Mt. Diablo SP outside Clayton, Calif. Never rattled, not once.
Often the best encounters are the ones you don't expect.
Here's today's: a Northern Pacific rattlesnake in Mt. Diablo SP outside Clayton, Calif. Never rattled, not once.
Often the best encounters are the ones you don't expect.
July 2, 2025 at 10:16 PM
One of the best things about being a nature & outdoors writer is the chance to meet the neighbors, often unexpectedly.
Here's today's: a Northern Pacific rattlesnake in Mt. Diablo SP outside Clayton, Calif. Never rattled, not once.
Often the best encounters are the ones you don't expect.
Here's today's: a Northern Pacific rattlesnake in Mt. Diablo SP outside Clayton, Calif. Never rattled, not once.
Often the best encounters are the ones you don't expect.
This evening, 6/23, 6 p.m., CAST OUT OF EDEN & I will be the guests of Malcolm Margolin and his California Institute for Community, Arts, & Nature at the David Brower Center, 2150 Allston Way, Berkeley, CA. Seating limited, so RSVP to Clare Greensfelder at claire@californiaican.org. See you there!
June 23, 2025 at 6:49 PM
This evening, 6/23, 6 p.m., CAST OUT OF EDEN & I will be the guests of Malcolm Margolin and his California Institute for Community, Arts, & Nature at the David Brower Center, 2150 Allston Way, Berkeley, CA. Seating limited, so RSVP to Clare Greensfelder at claire@californiaican.org. See you there!
There's a twisted strategy behind Trump 2.0's assault on the national parks. It begins with breaking the most popular of the nation's public assets.
Read all about it in my latest Substack post, "DOGE-ing the national Parks: First, Break Them."
Read all about it in my latest Substack post, "DOGE-ing the national Parks: First, Break Them."
June 5, 2025 at 3:53 PM
There's a twisted strategy behind Trump 2.0's assault on the national parks. It begins with breaking the most popular of the nation's public assets.
Read all about it in my latest Substack post, "DOGE-ing the national Parks: First, Break Them."
Read all about it in my latest Substack post, "DOGE-ing the national Parks: First, Break Them."
CAST OUT OF EDEN comes to Berkeley, CA, Monday, June 9, 6 p.m., at the David Brower Center, 2150 Allston Way at Oxford. Sponsored by Malcolm Margolin's California Institute for Community, Arts, & Nature. Limited seating; please RSVP to claire@californiaican.org. Hope to see you there!
May 31, 2025 at 4:40 PM
CAST OUT OF EDEN comes to Berkeley, CA, Monday, June 9, 6 p.m., at the David Brower Center, 2150 Allston Way at Oxford. Sponsored by Malcolm Margolin's California Institute for Community, Arts, & Nature. Limited seating; please RSVP to claire@californiaican.org. Hope to see you there!
What happens to the earth if only some places are worth saving? Read all about it in my latest Substack post.
May 15, 2025 at 2:29 PM
What happens to the earth if only some places are worth saving? Read all about it in my latest Substack post.
A key reason why John Muir, like other industrial agriculturalists in California, made major money from their operations was cut-rate field hands from China.
Read all about it in my latest Substack post.
Read all about it in my latest Substack post.
May 1, 2025 at 3:33 PM
A key reason why John Muir, like other industrial agriculturalists in California, made major money from their operations was cut-rate field hands from China.
Read all about it in my latest Substack post.
Read all about it in my latest Substack post.
The John Muir National Historic Site in Martinez, CA, celebrates Earth Day and Muir’s birthday on Saturday 10–4. Music, food vendors, exhibits, tours of Muir’s mansion home and orchards, and Muir re-enactors. Easy parking and shuttle service, and it’s all free.
www.nps.gov/jomu/planyou...
www.nps.gov/jomu/planyou...
April 23, 2025 at 3:12 PM
The John Muir National Historic Site in Martinez, CA, celebrates Earth Day and Muir’s birthday on Saturday 10–4. Music, food vendors, exhibits, tours of Muir’s mansion home and orchards, and Muir re-enactors. Easy parking and shuttle service, and it’s all free.
www.nps.gov/jomu/planyou...
www.nps.gov/jomu/planyou...
A rush this morning in Mitchell Canyon on Mt. Diablo: the front paw print of a cougar. The pen, which is just over 5" long, shows this to be one big print from one big cougar, likely a male. First concrete evidence I've found of cougars on the mountain. Total rush!
March 15, 2025 at 7:57 PM
A rush this morning in Mitchell Canyon on Mt. Diablo: the front paw print of a cougar. The pen, which is just over 5" long, shows this to be one big print from one big cougar, likely a male. First concrete evidence I've found of cougars on the mountain. Total rush!
Protect California's kids from Trump and the GOP's cruel and deadly MediCal cuts. Call your House member today and say NO!
February 27, 2025 at 5:50 PM
Protect California's kids from Trump and the GOP's cruel and deadly MediCal cuts. Call your House member today and say NO!
C. Hart Merriam took the only known photo of Muir in the company of Native Californians. How’d that happen?
Read all about it in my latest Substack post, open.substack.com/pub/ramcnall...
Read all about it in my latest Substack post, open.substack.com/pub/ramcnall...
January 30, 2025 at 4:05 PM
C. Hart Merriam took the only known photo of Muir in the company of Native Californians. How’d that happen?
Read all about it in my latest Substack post, open.substack.com/pub/ramcnall...
Read all about it in my latest Substack post, open.substack.com/pub/ramcnall...
Today 5 p.m., I'll be talking about John Muir and CAST OUT OF EDEN with the Martinez Rotary Club. Good location: Muir made a sizeable fortune as a local businessman and spent his later life in Martinez. Martinez Campbell Theater, 636 Ward St. in downtown Martinez, CA. Free and open to all.
January 8, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Today 5 p.m., I'll be talking about John Muir and CAST OUT OF EDEN with the Martinez Rotary Club. Good location: Muir made a sizeable fortune as a local businessman and spent his later life in Martinez. Martinez Campbell Theater, 636 Ward St. in downtown Martinez, CA. Free and open to all.
CAST OUT OF EDEN heads next to Martinez, Calif., where I'll be talking to the Martinez Rotary Club at their 5 p.m. meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 8, at the Martinez Campbell Theater, 636 Ward St. Free & open to all, no advance registration required.
@univnebpress.bsky.social @rasekora.bsky.social
@univnebpress.bsky.social @rasekora.bsky.social
January 3, 2025 at 8:08 PM
CAST OUT OF EDEN heads next to Martinez, Calif., where I'll be talking to the Martinez Rotary Club at their 5 p.m. meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 8, at the Martinez Campbell Theater, 636 Ward St. Free & open to all, no advance registration required.
@univnebpress.bsky.social @rasekora.bsky.social
@univnebpress.bsky.social @rasekora.bsky.social
Big deal: CAST OUT OF EDEN, my Substack newsletter, has passed the 100-subscribers milestone! Check it out. Newsy, weekly, & free.
@mfraterrigo.bsky.social @univnebpress.bsky.social @rasekora.bsky.social @katyacengel.bsky.social
ramcnally.substack.com/publish/home
@mfraterrigo.bsky.social @univnebpress.bsky.social @rasekora.bsky.social @katyacengel.bsky.social
ramcnally.substack.com/publish/home
December 16, 2024 at 9:41 PM
Big deal: CAST OUT OF EDEN, my Substack newsletter, has passed the 100-subscribers milestone! Check it out. Newsy, weekly, & free.
@mfraterrigo.bsky.social @univnebpress.bsky.social @rasekora.bsky.social @katyacengel.bsky.social
ramcnally.substack.com/publish/home
@mfraterrigo.bsky.social @univnebpress.bsky.social @rasekora.bsky.social @katyacengel.bsky.social
ramcnally.substack.com/publish/home
Snow egret hunting at Heather Farms Park, Walnut Creek, Calif. Pure avian elegance.
December 10, 2024 at 1:05 AM
Snow egret hunting at Heather Farms Park, Walnut Creek, Calif. Pure avian elegance.
The South Dakota governor, whose killing of a hunting dog cost her nomination as Trump’s VP, is banned from all her state’s reservations. Now she brings her sense of "the enemy within" to the Homeland Security Dept.
Read all about it in my latest Substack post.
substack.com/home/post/p-...
Read all about it in my latest Substack post.
substack.com/home/post/p-...
November 21, 2024 at 4:25 PM
The South Dakota governor, whose killing of a hunting dog cost her nomination as Trump’s VP, is banned from all her state’s reservations. Now she brings her sense of "the enemy within" to the Homeland Security Dept.
Read all about it in my latest Substack post.
substack.com/home/post/p-...
Read all about it in my latest Substack post.
substack.com/home/post/p-...