Michael W. Leach 
Grizzlies On My Mind 
Essays of Adventure, Love, and Heartache from Yellowstone Country

What is it about Yellowstone National Park that draws millions of visitors from all over the world? If you’ve visited Yellowstone, you should already know the answer. If you’ve never visited—or you have, but still don’t know the answer—Michael Leach explains it to you in his book of essays, ‘Grizzlies on My Mind.’ Leach is a Yellowstone insider with unmatched passion for this nation’s first national park. At the age of twenty-two, Leach’s dream of becoming a Yellowstone ranger came true. It wasn’t long before he’d earned the nickname ‘Rev’ for his powerful Yellowstone ‘sermons.’

In ‘Grizzlies on My Mind, ‘ Leach shares his love for Yellowstone—its landscapes and wildlife, especially its iconic bison and grizzlies—as he tells tales that will delight anyone interested in the national park system, wildlife and wild landscapes, rivers and adventure. Heartwarming and heartbreaking stories of human lives lost, efforts to save a black bear cub, a famous wolf who helped Leach through some dark personal days, the unique and oftentimes humorous Yellowstone ‘culture, ‘ backpacking trips that nearly ended in disaster, and Leach’s spiritual journey with his Assiniboine-Gros Ventre ‘brother’ fill the pages—and the reader’s heart.

If you’ve never been charged by an elk, traveled solo at dawn across Yellowstone’s frigid interior (working your way slowly through a herd of peaceful bison in the process), or lain awake in a backcountry tent, listening for the spine-tingling breaths of a curious grizzly—but you crave such experiences, ‘Grizzlies on My Mind’ is the book for you.

Table of Content

Contents
Foreword, by Nathan Varley
Introduction
1 Grizzlies on My Mind
2 Medicine Warrior
3 The Journeyman, 253M
4 Winter Adventures
5 Life Returns to Yellowstone
6 Mammoth Madness
7 Ranger Field Journal: A Sampling
8 Wild Entrapment
9 Christmas in Yellowstone
10 Ode to #6
11 The Story of the Kestrel
12 Bitterroot Paint
13 Only in Yellowstone
14 Hello Again, Old Faithful
15 The Hills Are Alive
16 American White Pelican
17 Summer Love Letter
18 Fall Is in the Air
19 Yellowstone’s Gym Culture
20 Winter’s Loosening Grip
21 The Fading Light of Summer
22 Closing Out the Season
23 Bison and Bigotry
24 Teasing Seasons
25 Chaos, Wind, and Harlequins
26 Respect for Señor Blanco
27 Song of the Yellow Bellied
28 Bliss Pass
29 Hoodoo Equinox Storm
Acknowledgments

About the author

Michael W. Leach is a former Bear Education Ranger in Yellowstone National Park and has written numerous pieces for regional publications, including Yellowstone Discovery, Outside Bozeman, Distinctly Montana, New West, and Wyoming Wildlife. Known for his innovative and passionate approach, Michael brings a contemporary style to the nature genre through his rich and heartfelt prose while connecting readers with the raw power of wild places like Yellowstone. He lives in Bozeman, Montana.