Field Notes — June 2026

A person in a sun hat standing among tall white corn lilies in a meadow

The climate at RMBL has always been variable, but this year is breaking records with new extremes in precipitation and temperature. billy barr measured record-late rain last fall, record-low snowfall for the winter, record-early snowmelt, and many new daily high temperatures this winter. …

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Alumni Stories – June 2026

A vintage photo of a person in a straw hat standing on a high alpine pass with rolling snow-patched green tundra and clouds.

Like many undergraduates who spent time at RMBL, my experience there was largely the result of chance, youthful ambition, and a sense of adventure. I spent the summer of 1997 at RMBL, between my junior and senior years of college. …

Science Stories – June 2026

Two researchers in field clothing sit on a green alpine slope examining wildflowers, one wearing a leather hat.

Three years ago, during a residency at the Design Museum in London, design researcher Eliza Collin was developing a new project about olfactory evolution and looking for scientists studying how climate change affects the scent of flowers. …

Director’s Letter — June 2026

A meadow of yellow mule's ears wildflowers above a broad green valley

There is something magical about the beginning of summer at RMBL. As the snow slowly recedes from the mountainsides, the first glacier lilies emerge through the thawing ground, signaling the arrival of a new field season in Gothic. Soon after, the hillsides and meadows begin bursting with countless other alpine wildflowers …

Staff Spotlight – June 2026

A smiling older man in a brimmed hat takes a selfie with bright green aspens and dark conifers behind him.

For more than a decade, Rick Reavis has helped connect visitors to the science, ecology, and wildflowers of the Gunnison Valley through RMBL’s Visitor Center and Gothic Store and Interpretive Wildflower Tours. …

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