Multi-hop Wireless Mesh Networks are becoming a popular alternative to extending the typical Wireless Local Area Networks we use today. Mesh networks have the advantage of low-cost, incremental and ease of deployment, and reconfigurability. In this talk we will discuss about our ongoing effort on a wide area deployment of wireless mesh network at the Quail Ridge Wildlife Natural Reserve. Quail Ridge boasts 2,000 acres of untouched wilderness on a peninsula of Lake Berryessa, California. In deploying a wireless mesh network at Quail Ridge, we seek to assist ecological research in the area for local and remote monitoring, as well as provide a platform for wireless mesh networks research in the future. We will also discuss our research on multi-channel, multi-radio mesh networks, heterogeneous meshes, and all the experiences learnt from the real-world deployment of the Quail Ridge Wireless Mesh Network.