Davidson Woods

August 13, 2013 - South Mountain
Anne and Chuck submitted on January 16, 1970
Whew! I have made no recent posts despite enjoying a fabulous tour of the Black Hills, Badlands, Yellowstone, and Teton Mountains area. Mostly that was because many of our stops were in remote areas without such amenities as cell phone, Internet, or even electric service. Internet service, where we had it was sketchy. At Yellowstone we could read e-mails but not send them. At the Tetons the server cut us off after 30 minutes and would allow access again only after 12 hours. Then we were hiking or sleeping. So, I didn’t prepare much. Now,
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BLOG TITLEBLOG CONTENTWhew!  I have made no recent posts despite enjoying a fabulous tour of the Black Hills, Badlands, Yellowstone, and Teton Mountains area.  Mostly that was because many of our stops were in remote areas without such amenities as cell phone, Internet, or even electric service.  Internet service, where we had it was sketchy.  At Yellowstone we could read e-mails but not send them.  At the Tetons the server cut us off after 30 minutes and would allow access again only after 12 hours.  Then we were hiking or sleeping.  So, I didn’t prepare much.  Now, I don’t want to cobble together my notes.  Instead, I offer a brief summary. We gave a sigh of relief after the excellent wedding.  Elley and Adam reported a fine honeymoon visit to Sardinia.  We made the hard drive in the little car from here to Cheyenne in three days.  The RV shop there said the steps on our rig had been repaired but the battery was dead.  “Oh,” I said dumbly.  I started the engine with the house battery and expected the truck battery to be fine.  But, no charge came and I popped the hood.  There I found the battery disconnected.  The shop had done that and had forgotten.  I hooked it back up and all was well.  The next morning we drove to Rapid City.  The Black Hills and the White River Badlands are close to Rapid City.  The first location sports a couple of small national parks and the Mt. Rushmore Memorial.  The last was built as a tourist draw and has been marvelously successful.  It is oversized and unfinished, but the portrait of Washington is wonderful and the colossus has made the mountain sacred not only to the Sioux Indians but to Americans in general.  We enjoyed a day there. We also toured Jewel Cave National Park and Custer State Park within the Black Hills.  These mountains are a simple blister in the earth’s crust (of unknown cause).  A lump of old granite floated up causing a bulge in younger sedimentary rocks above it.  Erosion has cut through and formed a roughly circular mountain range with upwardly folded ridges of the younger rock making circles around a cluster of peaks of old granite in the center.  The range makes its own weather and cultivates a mountain forest surrounded by “short grass prairie” or desert.  The dark pines gave rise to the name, “black hills.”  We encountered our first free range bison in the Black Hills. We enjoyed one day in the Badlands National Park and it was a rainy one.  That gave us wonderful light and coolness in a place that can be drab and hot.  We walked among grand erosional features and watched tourists watching wild sheep.  We also stopped at the famous Wall Drugstore mall and took a cup of their nickel coffee. Our stay was only five days, not enough really.  We spent one in town because one of the tires on our rig threw its tread on the drive from Cheyenne.  The auto club service changed the tire and we bought a new one in Rapid City.  While there we visited the geology museum at the South Dakota Museum of Mines and Technology.  There we found a fine collection of rocks and fossils.  The school itself is benefiting from the grand boom in mining that is enriching the Rocky Mountain region.  We enjoyed seeing that as much as we enjoyed seeing the housing developments under construction at Cheyenne.  Oil is still more valuable than gas.  Gas is enriching our fair state but not as much as oil is Wyoming.  Still, I’m not complaining.  Thank God for fracking.  Think what our heating bills would be otherwise. From the Black Hills we drove directly to just north of Yellowstone.  My sister, Laurie, flew into Bozeman MT.  We picked her up and spent one night at nearby Livingston and then drove into the park and to the campground near Mammoth Hot Springs.  We had no reservations there and planned on a mid-morning arrival.  Our site enjoyed a great view of Mt. Everts.  I had directed Laurie to maintain an Eastern Time schedule upon her arrival in the Mountain Time Zone.  She agreed to a four a.m. wake-up and an eight p.m. bedtime.  This schedule gave us two benefits.  We beat the heat associated with the intense high altitude sunshine in the afternoons and we beat the crowds that developed at all of the prime attractions in mid-mornings.  One day we pulled out of the Norris Geyser Basin at Noon to find a mile-long line of cars waiting for parking spaces.  We had arrived at 8 a.m. and had taken a great parking space.  We were almost alone on the trails and found a crowd only upon our return to the visitor center.  We also probably had the best space in the lot at the Old Faithful visitor center and were among a dozen people who gazed at the 6:40 a.m. eruption of the most famous geyser in the world.  We saw it erupt three more times before we finished our day there in early afternoon.  We had walked more than six miles and were dog tired but had seen the eruption of at least four major geysers and many smaller ones.  What a spectacle!  The park offered many adventures.  We were once stuck on the road in a canyon by a herd of buffalo that were migrating through it on the same road.  With cars trying to go in both directions there was some snorting and jostling to get through.  I finally found a pull-off and parked.  One does not want to piss off a bison.  Margaret can testify to that! We encountered buffalo jams and tourist jams in the park.  We became jaded after two weeks in Yellowstone.  Every day we would encounter a first day tourist, who upon finding their first buffalo would park the car in the middle of the road (in violation of park rules) and get out to stalk it for a photograph.  Cars stopped for buffalo created unnecessary delays for everyone.  The buffalo would occasionally stop on the roads and jam up the traffic.  A ranger coached us on a slow approach and a tap of the horn to push them off the road.  I followed his advice but never used the horn.  And when a buffalo simply stopped, so to would I.  But mostly, I could, to the amazement of first day tourists, push through the moving herds.  Still, at least once a day in Yellowstone one is stopped for many minutes by the massive herds of buffalo.  I had last visited Yellowstone in 1967 and can’t remember seeing a single buffalo then. And, there were the elk.  A never fading vision is of elk grazing while  lying down on lawns in the town at Mammoth Hot Springs.  Employees of the concessionaires gently encouraged them with words to move.  They needed shotguns loaded with salt, but that would probably be banned by silly park rules.  Instead, the animals are tolerated and put tourists at risk of injury. I had not seen a single grizzly on my last visit to Yellowstone.  On this one we encountered bear almost every day.  Partly the sightings were because of our early schedule and caused me to reconsider it a couple of times.  Anne and I, and a bear had a surprise encounter only once on a hike, but that was more than enough.  I had the bear spray out of the holster, armed, and aimed before the brute finished sizing us up, considered its options, and moved off at a jog.  Then it turned and walked back past us.  We waited a few more minutes to make sure it was alone before continuing down the trail.  Although I enjoy seeing grizzly, I prefer being in country that does not have them.  Probably the only animal on this continent that is a worse hazard is the polar bear.  Grizzly seem only kill you when you irritate them.  Polar bears will kill you to see if you’re tasty.  Laurie was interested in seeing the mammals and commented on our not seeing wolf and moose.  We worked hard at the wolf but kept missing them.  There are a couple of famous wolf observation sites in the park.  One, the Lamar Valley in the north end of the park is a fair drive from Mammoth Springs.  We made one early morning drive there, but that was where we were driven off the road by the herd of buffalo in the canyon.  Then, when we finally arrived at the lookout and got out of the car, a grizzly jumped out of the river and put us right back into the car.  No wolves that day. We moved our camp to the middle of the park, at Fishing Bridge, which was close to the Hayden Valley, another miles long prairie hosting an abundance of large game animals.  There we found another group of wolf watchers.  We enjoyed talking with them but could not quite appreciate the joys of spending one’s entire vacation sitting at a lookout waiting for views through a telescope of wolves two miles away.  We would stop early, on our way out or late on our return to camp.  They would tell us that wolves appeared just before our arrival or just after our last departure.  I would tell them the names of the birds in the trees.  Anne and I never saw wolves there, but one morning Laurie dropped us off for a hike to the summit of Mt. Washburn and returned to the Hayden Valley lookout.  There she enjoyed a distant view of a wolf lying down among the sage brush. Anne and I, meanwhile, enjoyed a close view of a grouse putting on a full-blown performance for a hen.  He spread his tail, blew up his pouches, and cooed softly.  She demurred so we did not enjoy any x-rated birding.  Reaching the summit while conversing with a couple of Maine hikers we enjoyed a view, I kid you not, of the entire length and width of the park and the Tetons too.  We could even see the lookout where Laurie was watching the wolves.  We could not find a moose for Laurie.  Even though Anne and I were going on to the Tetons for a week after Yellowstone, we made a one day trip there with her both for a close look at this magnificent range and a better opportunity for moose.  We enjoyed looking up at le Gran Teton (the great tit) but found no moose.  Anne and I would, of course, find moose later during our stay there after her departure.  The next day, we drove Laurie out of the park to the town of West Yellowstone.  There we stocked up on groceries and went out to dinner.  Then we left her at the visitor center where she would get her shuttle ride back to Bozeman.  We returned for our last night in Yellowstone. Our move was a small one to the Coulter Bay campground in Grand Teton National Park.  There we did a lot of walking including one grand hike to a pass on the ridge of the Teton Range.  The Tetons are much “birdier” than Yellowstone, and that made me very happy.  The dominant thrush of the Tetons is the Swainson’s Thrush, a bird that is not regular in places I regularly visit.  So, for our week in the Tetons we daily relished in the unfamiliar song of this thrush.  That was happy because each of the thrushes has its own peculiar song, and each of their songs are among the loveliest of bird songs. Most folks visit the Tetons to see the mountains, and we enjoyed them too.  I dare say that the Teton range is the iconic range of the Rockies even though it can be argued they are not part of the Rockies.  More on that some other time.  Our week there went by too quickly especially because we had to return home quickly.  Anne had agreed to work for two weeks in Gettysburg at the beginning of this month.  So we pulled out of the Tetons and arrived home four days later.  Our Western adventure had started at the end of April when we drove to western Kansas to bird there.  It was interrupted by our return for Elley’s wedding in June but continued until the end of July.  Now we have chores and two weeks of paid work for Anne.  We’re going to Melissa’s wedding this weekend.  A garage is under construction  as I write.  I need to take a photograph.  Two walls have gone up this morning.  .  .  Bummer.  Three walls are up.  I had hoped to photograph one being raised but was too busy writing this. Our next outing will be the September hike of the Appalachian Trail.  This will be a two week walk that will include the finish of the some 2200 miles of that path.
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June 27, 2013 - South Mountain: Winding down from Wedding
Anne and Chuck submitted on January 16, 1970
The wedding was a great success. Our daughter gladly walked barefoot from the barn to the ceremony. A few pebbles between the steps and the lush grass stung her feet, but she grinned (or grimaced) as we strode forth. Just one of many images from the grand event. Much work and treasure were cast to provide the desired program. I smiled looking at the interior of the barn after the tables were set and thought perhaps it was worth it. Certainly the setting was lovely. So too was the outdoor “chapel” assembled from lashed branches and cut ye
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BLOG TITLEBLOG CONTENTThe wedding was a great success.  Our daughter gladly walked barefoot from the barn to the ceremony.  A few pebbles between the steps and the lush grass stung her feet, but she grinned (or grimaced) as we strode forth.  Just one of many images from the grand event.  Much work and treasure were cast to provide the desired program.  I smiled looking at the interior of the barn after the tables were set and thought perhaps it was worth it.  Certainly the setting was lovely.  So too was the outdoor “chapel” assembled from lashed branches and cut yew.  Anne and I brought the bride from Schenectady.  The wedding party was assembled and largely seated as we turned into Mabee Farm.  I had planned my approach to the back of the barn.  The bridal party would assemble within that structure before walking from the front to the rear of the crowd.  A figure appeared along the drive; it was Patty.  She waved to us and pointed to the parking lot on the left.  I ignored her direction and continued straight to her right.  She pointed repeatedly until I opened the window and she recognized me.  I continued on course passing close to the front of the barn before turning hard to starboard to loop around it.  As I turned, who do we see but sir Adam walking on an intersecting course.  Elley shrieked, stooped, and tried to cover herself.  Adam, aware of his sin, turned away.  We shot past and around the barn.  There the caterer was working franticly.  We found a place to park and extricated ourselves from the car.  I asked if the car would be a problem for them there and was told no.  The staff cheered the bride and resumed their duties. The bride and groom were lovely and their “minister” spoke eloquently of the couple.  Vows were exchanged.  The weather was warm and muggy but no thunderstorm nor even a shower interfered with the outdoor ceremony.  Children were party of the ceremony and their linear and circular ramblings entertained all.  We hosts wandered about meeting guests and thanking them for coming.  Gradually the group moved into the barn for the wonderful smoked whole hog and other vittles as well as wine and champaign.  The party had begun. Much later I was surprised and shocked to notice that night had fallen.  I looked at my watch to see that it was ten o’clock.  Dancing continued but the event was drawing to a close.  We began breaking down the decorations as the guests departed.  We were supposed to be out by 11 and were.  There was much help from family members, and we left by that time.  We drove the bride and groom to Albany where they spent the night in a lovely B&B.  We arrived back at Douglas Road after midnight to find friends of the couple sipping wine in the kitchen.  We shared their company briefly and retreated to bed with a glass of wine.  A wonderful day was over. On Sunday was a brunch for the bridal couple and for James celebrating a birthday and a graduation.  Craig had pulled much of the leftover pork and prepared a wonderful barbecue.  Anne and Therese had produced wonderful quiche.  There were also bagels and other foods.  My mother joined Norb and Mary on Cathy’s porch.  Hosts and guests mingled.  Many cooled off in the pool.  The weather was sultry and warm, but no rain interrupted the festivities.  It was a grand summer Sunday. The party ended in the afternoon, but we stayed through supper before taking my mother to motel.  We spent the night with her and returned to Pennsylvania on Monday.  On Tuesday we went with her to medical appointments and made plans for the week.  On Wednesday we started wrapping up chores and packing for our return west.  We did the same on Thursday and visited Gettysburg and Chambersburg to shop.  This morning we birded along the Appalachian Trail to find a few eastern birds that we had not yet seen this year.  There we enjoyed the song of the Veery and the sight of a hooded warbler.  We encountered one, Crazy Horse, at the shelter.  This rugged looking backpacker from Tennessee was exploring the trail in the Keystone State.  We jogged with our neighbors each morning since our return.  Tomorrow we go to Anne’s old partner’s retirement party.  With his departure both founders of the practice are gone.  That is a bit sad, but the business provided a livelihood for them and many others and now continues in new hands. On Sunday we begin our drive to Cheyenne to resume our western adventure.
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May 27, 2013 - Impressions of Colorado
Anne and Chuck submitted on January 16, 1970
Colorado is a well regarded state and certainly a popular one attracting many newcomers. It’s charms include some vibrant cities and fabulous recreational activities in the dramatic Rocky Mountains that cross its north-south central region. Often we forget that Colorado has three regions, High Plains, Rocky Mountains, and Plateau. We also forget that although precipitation in parts of the mountains are significant, and provide a rich supply of of water, Colorado is largely a desert state. The high plains are and were historically considered desert. Today
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BLOG TITLEBLOG CONTENTColorado is a well regarded state and certainly a popular one attracting many newcomers.  It’s charms include some vibrant cities and fabulous recreational activities in the dramatic Rocky Mountains that cross its north-south central region.  Often we forget that Colorado has three regions, High Plains, Rocky Mountains, and Plateau.  We also forget that although precipitation in parts of the mountains are significant, and provide a rich supply of of water, Colorado is largely a desert state.  The high plains are and were historically considered desert.  Today they are classified as short grass prairie but regardless of the name remain unsuited for farming except for widespread application of irrigation.  The Plateau Region is also largely desert and made productive by irrigation.  Even much of the Mountains Region is arid by Eastern standards and the low humidity takes a toll on the uninitiated.  So too does the altitude.  The lowest point in the state is at an elevation of 3,300 feet.  Towns situate at over 10,000 feet can literally sicken visitors.  We are visiting at what is, hopefully, the end of a drought period.  Low rainfall makes for good touring, but wilted vegetation is dull and silly “conservation measures” are a nuisance.  Our car is filthy at the end of a tow between camping areas.  The last step of camp setup is to wash the car.  The wash takes all of three gallons of water (less than a single flush for most toilets) yet is prohibited in many places.  Usually, I set up camp and wash the car before reading the rules.  The state is rich in mineral resources and continues to utilize them.  Farms sport oil wells and windmills.  Hard minerals are mined across the mineral belt within the Rocky Mountain Ranges.  Certainly neglect and accidents have caused chronic and acute pollution events, but the population seems to understand that the wealth generated enormously exceeds the nuisances.  I imagine most chuckle at reports of the “horrors of fracking” for natural gas.  I don’t chuckle and am aghast at mindless opposition to a process that has revolutionized the production of petroleum products and has enormously enriched all of us.  Probably without it the cost of heating our homes would be three times what it is now.  How many of us could afford that? Many Coloradans are rural residents farming, mining, or serving tourists in remote areas.  They work hard and long and their law enforcement is the rifle in the closet.  Ironically, “liberal Colorado” has recently passed a “tough gun law” that will be a nuisance.  We will see if the law persists or is pushed back.  Tolerant Coloradans may simply shake their heads and manage despite it. Colorado also recently passed a law essentially legalizing marijuana.  That law better fits the attitude of live and let live residents than the gun law.  Perhaps it will set in motion relief from the darkness of drug prohibition and the gun crimes caused by that.  Have you sent your letter to Congress asking for the elimination of the federal law against the drug? We began this tour just after the terrible explosion at the fertilizer plant in Texas.  We noticed and discussed the appearance of mills and associated tanks of anhydrous ammonia and fertilizer at many of the small towns.  We laughed listening to a Diane Rehm show on NPR where she and panelists were shocked that there is no federal fertilizer inspection agency.  These folks seem to have no concept of balance.  Yes, there will be the occasional accident, but that does not mean we need new regulations.  Where there is fertilizer there will be explosions with or without regulations and regulators.  The people most concerned with safety are the owners and operators who will be destroyed by explosions.  But one must expect a government radio station to argue for more government. A common sight in this region is the circular irrigated farming field.  Some of these are 600 yards in diameter.  From the air they appear as green circles.  On the ground one can barely make out the curve because it is so large.  One does see the enormous wheeled rack that extends the radius of the circle from a central well.  Some mechanism powers the rack to make its rotation over the field.  Wonderfully creative! Dairy production is very different in the West than in the East.  We are used to seeing dairy cattle ranched.  Here cattle are farmed in feedlots; fed hay that is grown on irrigated ground.  The horrid appearance and seemingly unhealthy aspects of the feedlots are enough to discourage the consumption of milk.  I may understand the efficiencies of the practice in this climate, but don’t appreciate it. We are camped near Cheyenne WY this evening.  I post from the Cheyenne Library, large and lovely, a few yards from the capitol.  Tomorrow we dry dock “Harley” and begin the drive home in our car.  The new Focus was serviced today; already has covered 10,000 miles.  What a joy is the automobile.  We are blessed to have them in this age.
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May 12, 2013 - Grand Lake, Colorado
Anne and Chuck submitted on January 16, 1970
Arrived here at 8,050 feet elevation this afternoon to find greening willows and snow banks. The forecast is good and the Front Range is fabulous and completely snow covered across the eastern skyline.

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BLOG TITLEBLOG CONTENTArrived here at 8,050 feet elevation this afternoon to find greening willows and snow banks.  The forecast is good and the Front Range is fabulous and completely snow covered across the eastern skyline.  Yesterday we made a short drive from Montrose to a campground along the Colorado River just east of Grand Junction.  Then in the late afternoon we drove up a glorious winding canyon lined with red walls of the peculiar Mesa Verde sandstone, honey-combed with pockets and forming occasional shallow caves with flat floors high on their walls.  Further south the Anasazi Indians built towns within such caves, using the isolation provided by the cliffs for defense. The sky was clear and the temperature 81 degrees F. when we left the river.  The road took us up into the Grand Mesa and eventually out of the canyon and upon it.  We climbed and climbed from the sagebrush desert into pinyon and juniper woodland, then through groves of bare aspen, and finally through forests of spruce and firs.  There several feet of snow carpeted the forest.  Reaching the elevation of 10,000 feet we began logging stopping places in our GPS unit so we could find them in the dark.  We made a walk and found only a few rugged birds giving their spring song.  Among them were the cosmopolitan American Robin and the spritish Ruby-crowned Kinglet.  Then we drove down a plowed side road and uncovered an open lodge.  There was a two person staff there for mud season, but that meant we could leave our supper of sandwiches in the cooler and enjoy bowls of hot chili and a brew.  We chatted with our hosts about owls. Then we left at dusk to begin our rounds.  We parked at the first location and waited for the stars to come out.  We nodded and listened to robins chuckle.  Then I heard a short series of soft hoots and my mind sharpened to listen to a second series.  I shook Anne and we left the car but heard no more rounds there.  But, at our third stop a Boreal Owl exclaimed its presence repeatedly and we cheered and kissed.  Another bird down.  We hoped for a view but didn’t get it.  The bird became quiet again.  Too late in the season for it to bother to approach a potential rival.  The temperature was now 32 degrees and I drove carefully to avoid black ice and fallen rocks on the road.  Still, we returned to camp at eleven o’clock.  Past our bed time certainly, but not by much.  Today was a longer drive from the western plateau section of Colorado to the heart of the Rockies.  I-70 is a magical highway with stacked opposing lanes winding alongside the Colorado River.  We have followed it almost to its source.  More Colorado magic to come.
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May 6, 2013 - Gunnison CO
Anne and Chuck submitted on January 16, 1970
It is late-afternoon and we sit in the RV after laundering. It is 41 degrees and remarkably raining lightly on this sagebrush desert at 7,700 feet. We returned from a morning of touring to grocery shop in Gunnison and do chores here before moving to Montrose tomorrow.

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BLOG TITLEBLOG CONTENTIt is late-afternoon and we sit in the RV after laundering.  It is 41 degrees and remarkably raining lightly on this sagebrush desert at 7,700 feet.  We returned from a morning of touring to grocery shop in Gunnison and do chores here before moving to Montrose tomorrow. This morning we drove into the Elk Mountains north of Gunnison and enjoyed fine scenery displaying dramatic geology but few birds.  Stopping at the Granite Campground we found a pair of American Dipper feeding and gathering nesting material along an ice fringed stream.  Then a Golden Eagle appeared soaring in steady circles at the top of the canyon.  We sat in the car for lunch as it began raining and sleeting.  After that we retreated to lower elevations. On Saturday, we bagged our Gunnison Sage-grouse at the Waunita lek east of Gunnison.  The experience was satisfactory, but somewhat frustrating.  We are late in the season and the males quit displaying an left well before sunrise.  We could just see that they were sage grouse when they flew into the sagebrush and vanished.  We would wish for a better view, but at least we can add the species to our life-list. We did not do so well with the Boreal Owl.  We enjoyed a lovely drive south into the volcanic San Juan Mountains taking in vistas of striking Mt. Umcompahgre and the giant landslide that slid a substantial portion of Mesa Seca down the valley and across the stream about 850 years ago.  Today a large lake remains formed by this sudden geologic formation.  In places the earth is still moving slowly along and rippling the highway.  We will make more late night ventures in search of owls and have much more of Colorado to see.  The weather could be rough this week.  This storm may sit here for a few days.  Our move will take us to a lower elevation and provide a bit more warmth.  Here we have not connected to the water faucet fearing the hose would freeze.  Instead we draw water from the on-board tank.  A beauty of RV’ing is that one can be so self contained.  Amazing is how few resources are used.  Our tank holds 30 gallons and easily provides three days of water.  Try getting by on 10 gallons of water a day at home some time!
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May 4, 2013 - Near Gunnison CO
Anne and Chuck submitted on January 16, 1970
Greetings from near Gunnison, Colorado. We are camped overlooking the Blue Mesa Reservoir and sagebrush covered hills and snow covered mountains in the background. The temperature is now 70 degrees F. but it went down to 16 on our first night here. A forty degree temperature swing is common here.

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BLOG TITLEBLOG CONTENTGreetings from near Gunnison, Colorado.  We are camped overlooking the Blue Mesa Reservoir and sagebrush covered hills and snow covered mountains in the background.    The temperature is now 70 degrees F. but it went down to 16 on our first night here.  A forty degree temperature swing is common here. We left Lamar just after the storm passed.  I swept snow from the roll-up covers of the slide outs as Anne reeled them in.  We rolled west and I wondered what we would encounter at Monarch Pass in the afternoon.  The wind was brisk and cold.  We had hoped to enjoy a long view of Pikes Peak, but it never appeared.  The morning was unsettled and bands of clouds passed overhead.  We could see snow showers dropping out of them, but no precipitation reached the ground.  Our elevation reached more than four thousand feet before the decent to the base of the Rockies.  The explanation for this drop is interesting.  In shattering the resident rock, the thrusting of the emerging mountains provided easier ground for the rivers to cut.  So the streams formed along the edge of the mountains and eroded the nearby plains more quickly than the more distant land to the east.  So, one looses elevation approaching the mountains.  We read the roadside geology book as we rolled (thanks Tony and Margaret) and watched for the peaks.  Eventually we saw them.  The sky mostly cleared except for the sector that surrounded Pikes Peak.  We never saw it.  We did see the snow covered Wet Mountains rising southwest of Pueblo and later the mighty peaks of the Sawatch Range.  While in the plains Anne drove the rig for a few hours.  Enough to keep her in practice in case I am unable to perform that duty.  Our new setup with the new Ford Focus dinghy seems to be working well.  The fancy “Brake Buddy” that brakes the car with the motorhome is a nuisance, probably adds little to safety, but makes us legal in some places.  I drove us across the continental divide at Monarch’s Pass (11,312 feet elevation) in the afternoon.  Our RV, “Harley”, pulled the new and slightly heavier dinghy up the ridge without complaint.  Having heard reports of this crossing but not knowing it from experience, I dropped into second gear immediately after going over the top.  The descent looked steep and the sign reported a steep grade for nine miles.  Usually the rig requires no braking in second gear, but it did there.  Not a lot, or heavy braking, but still regular light applications to maintain an easy speed and modest r.p.m.’s.  Nine miles later I relaxed, believing the balance of the trip would be smooth.  It was.  We enjoyed fabulous scenery across the high dry prairies that lie between the great ranges of the Rockies. Here the various ranges of the Sawatch Mountains are to the north and the San Juan Mountains are to the south.  The Gunnison River drains to the west and has been pushed around by the rising of these great chains.  Rivers often find softer ground to chew through, but the rising earth on both sides forced the Gunnison to grind into a mass of “basement rock” west of here.  The river, provided with lots of grit by the glaciers has cut a groove some 2,000 feet deep and, in places, less than 1,500 feet wide into this black rock.  Yesterday we toured the national park that includes much of the canyon.  We followed the rim road from lookout to lookout.  The park was not crowded.  Too early in the season and too cold for the crowds.  Still, the sun shone and we had a great time.  We made short walks and found them challenging.  We were not yet accommodated to hiking at 8,000 feet.  We’ll do better next time.  This morning we woke to the alarm at 3:00 a.m., ate breakfast, and drove to the Waunita viewing station.  Arriving at 4:40 a.m., we were remarkably greeted by a student worker who gave instructions and gave us a survey form.  We sat in the cold darkness (in our car) for about a half hour.  A herd of horses moved across the lek area.  Finally in the dim light we could see smaller movements.  Then just as it became light enough to see, the grouse flew off.  We had clearly seen sage grouse and could identify the species by location.  It was far from the best sighting of a life bird, but we had it.  Perhaps some day we can spend enough time in this area to enjoy better views.  We spent the rest of the morning exploring a creek valley with its canyons and flats.  This afternoon we napped.  Tonight we drive south to the continental divide to seek boreal owls calling.
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May 1, 2013 - Lamar CO
Anne and Chuck submitted on January 16, 1970
I write from the High Plains. It is 36 degrees F, rain is falling, and the rig shakes from the wind. The folks here think that's great. We're doing laundry and catching up on chores. There are bills to pay, even when on the road. With Internet access, I post blogs prepared in earlier days and compose this one now. The temperature is forecast to fall today.
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BLOG TITLEBLOG CONTENTI write from the High Plains.  It is 36 degrees F, rain is falling, and the rig shakes from the wind.  The folks here think that's great.  We're doing laundry and catching up on chores.  There are bills to pay, even when on the road.  With Internet access, I post blogs prepared in earlier days and compose this one now.  The temperature is forecast to fall today. We made a final visit to Black Rail Marsh on our last night in Quivira Refuge in Kansas but found no Black Rail.  On April 29 we left without seeing any of our hosts at the campground.  They had told us they would be away.  We checked ourselves in and out.  The weather was lovely and the fields and trees were greening with the spring.  The wheat was lawn green and six inches tall.  But, as we gained altitude the foliage became straw brown and the trees were scarcely budding out.  We were coming into drought.  Passing numerous sprinkler circles (irrigation fields with diameters of some 600 yards) we saw most of them plowed and ready for planting.  A few of these were green with wheat.  The water comes from the Arkansas River which is reduced to a mere trickle by the diversions.  The surrounding ranchlands were bone dry. We entered Mountain Time before reaching the Colorado border.  I guess the folks in western Kansas are more aligned with Colorado, but I hate the silly zigs and zags of time zone borders.  Gaining an hour we arrived here about Noon.  The Country Acres Motel and RV Park is just south of Lamar.  The new community center is almost just across the highway.  It is our storm shelter.  I don't think we'll need it for today's storm.  Last week there was a furious dust storm here.  The clerk at the state wildlife office showed us a photo of its approach on her cell phone.  So 21'st Century.  On our first day here we visited the game office and visitor's center, but could find no one to tell us if Black Rail had arrived.  I was given the phone number for the local game biologist and left a message, but he has not called back.  I did call about the Boulder owl walks and was given good information about where to find owls there.  We will check at those locations in a couple of weeks.  Then we had an early supper and drove 30 miles west to a wildlife easement along the Arkansas River.  There we found a vast cattail marsh famous for black rail.  It is at the upstream end of the John Martin Resevoir.  Normally the water would reach to the marsh, but the level is currently down some thirty feet.  Still the marsh looked good.  It had been burned over the winter and is just beginning to green up.  Red-winged blackbirds have already established territories there.  We found good spots before dark and then relaxed waiting for total darkness.  The remote road became eerie as darkness set in.  Very close by is Fort Lyon, a prison, and we could see its floodlights and illuminated flag.  We would not learn until yesterday that the prison was now inactive.  "No prisoners there to escape and bother you."  Still the signs warning you not to stop along a section of road gives you the willies.  I worry less about the prisoners than suspicous guards.  I guess they are gone too. Before complete darkness came we began to hear the various calls of Virginia Rail and then the wonderful whinnies of Sora.  But darkness became full without prompting the calls of the Black Rail.  We played recordings of its calls a few times hoping to inspire a response, but got none.  Seems this bird is holding back this spring.  With the weather, no wonder, but on this night a warm wind was blowing from the south.  Perhaps tomorrow night, we thought. But the weather forecast was for a rising wind yesterday and passage of a strom today followed by a cold front.  That is not good for finding small birds that seek warm weather.  We left downhearted.  We went to bed after 11, but still woke early yesterday.  With a lousy forecast for the next day (today), that was to be a day of birding.  We stopped first at the nearby community college and checked out their riparian woodland and trail there.  We enjoyed a few local birds and saw our first Audubons's Warbler.  This is the Western variety of Yellow-rumped Warbler which sports a yellow throat and generally more handsome suit in spring than does the eastern race.  Then we began following a back road west up the Arkansas River Valley to the dam that makes the reservoir that provides irrigation water for the region and spotilly greens up this valley.  We found only a few birds before we reached the dam.  Most fun was an all male flock of Lark Bunting, our first sighting of this species in a few years.  This is the Colorado State bird and we welcomed them home.  This was clearly their first morning here and they were on the move.  At the dam Anne spotted a Roadrunner hiding in a patch of tumbleweed at the edge of the road.  We parked and waited for it to move.  It sat a long time and was finally inspired by a passing truck.  We moved on and spotted a Bull Snake that had probably been killed by the truck.  So sad.  We spotted our first Western Grebes of the year on the reservoir, but they were not making their wild dance.  Perhaps we will see that elsewhere.  We were told that just a few Least Terns had arrived but spotted only Forester's Terns coursing along the shore. We continued West to Bent's Old Fort, a National Historic Site.  Here the Bent brothers established a fortified trading post at a point on the international and tribal boundary in 1833.  The main product for export was buffalo robe for which they typically paid 25 cents.  The fort housed troops ahead of the invasion which removed the national boundary by hundreds of miles to the south.  The owners demolished the fort when they moved their trade west, but a diligent army engineer had made plans of it and the government rebuilt it in 1976.  We arrived just in time for the daily tour led by the fort craftsman, one of the few folks left while the owners carry wagons of robes east to St. Paul twice a year.  We heard much of the trade and saw the luxurious accomadations available to travelers of the Santa Fe Trail who stopped here before crossing into Mexico. We, of course, were interested in this location because it is the first where Black Rail was discovered in Colorado a few decades ago.  We scanned the marshes there with our glasses before driving into what was once Mexico and dining out at Boss Hoggs Saloon in La Junta.  The clerk at the bookshop in the fort had recommended it.  She did well.  We returned to the fort, parked outside the gate, and napped.  Awaking at dusk we walked a few miles around the marsh along the river and past the fort.  A stallion has the run of the property at night and charged toward us when we started our walk.  This made us nervous but it ran on by along the fence line calling.  That must be its evening routine.  It ignored us completely.  Having been mugged by horses, I was glad of that.  We found a nice assortment of waterfowl and watched a pair of marsh hawks course the marsh.  Before dusk the Red-winged Blackbirds harrassed them, but they retreated into the reeds as darkness came.  They are not afraid of the Northern Harriers, but they don't want to be in the open when darkness brings out the owls.  We had seen a wonderful pale western Great Horned Owl perched on an irrigation pipe during our drive earlier in the day.  It was big enough to grab small cats.  We returned to the car to wait for full darkness.  The wind was now blowing fresh unfortunately and was noisy and cool.  We put on jackets and listened.  We heard more Virginia Rail and a few frogs but no Black Rail.  Giving up here we drove back east ten miles and then off the highway to the Fort Lyon area where we had listened the previous night.  The wind was awful but we did hear Virginia Rail and Sora again.  Anne stubbornly stood out a long time playing the recording.  I sat in the car and could here the little I-pod speaker even when she was fifty meters away, but there was never a response.  We returned to the rig late.  I tucked the doormat under the step to keep it fro blowing away.  I had tied in the tire covers when I set up camp, so I knew they were OK.  We went to bed and awoke "late" this morning to a cold house.  Anne turned on the little ceramic heater.  I opened the shades and found the window covered with drops of water.  No dust thank goodness.  The forecast is for snow this afternoon.  The residents pray for any kind of precipitation.  The more the better.  We are planning to drive into the mountains tomorrow.  We may reconsider that, but it is getting late for the sage grouse display and we have come to see that.  Decisions, decisions.  We'll see how cold it is forecast to get in Gunnison.  I suspect we will go and suffer the cold.  We'll have to disconnect the water at night, but that is S.O.P. in the cold.  We do like it warmer than the 50's during the day.  Oh well, serious birding is not for wimps.
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April 28, 2013 - Last Day in Kansas
Anne and Chuck submitted on January 16, 1970
We awoke this morning at 4 a.m., made our Sunday breakfast of bacon and eggs, and then drove through the darkness to Quivira N.W.R. There was a light fog that slowed us down. The deer here are many and large. When we reached the marsh it was already light. All was gray. We drove and walked a few miles through the area labelled “Black Rail Marsh” and heard no calls. I flushed a Virginia Rail that we coaxed from the grass and watched for several minutes. It was a great bird to see, but still no Black Rail. It may be too early in the
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BLOG TITLEBLOG CONTENTWe awoke this morning at 4 a.m., made our Sunday breakfast of bacon and eggs, and then drove through the darkness to Quivira N.W.R.  There was a light fog that slowed us down.  The deer here are many and large.  When we reached the marsh it was already light.  All was gray.  We drove and walked a few miles through the area labelled “Black Rail Marsh” and heard no calls.  I flushed a Virginia Rail that we coaxed from the grass and watched for several minutes.  It was a great bird to see, but still no Black Rail.  It may be too early in the season.  We will try again tonight. The roads had dried a bit and we took the sand road to the prairie dog town.  There were plenty of them but no Upland Sandpiper.  Too bad, but we may hear their outrageous song later on the trip.  We found Yellow Warbler and Common Yellowthroat singing this morning.  That is not unusual, but we had not heard them on either of the past two days.  Probably they have just arrived.  New arrivals today included a pair of Peregrine Falcon, always a wonderful bird to see.  One made a short flight that stirred up all the birds on that part of the marsh.    Another new bird for Quivira was an aldult bald eagle that similarly caused many Shoveler to fly and even made a flock of roosting White Pelican stand at attention.  We finished the morning there at 11 with lunch at a grove of elms green with seed.  While dining I noticed a sparrow at the edge of the trees and looked up to see a White-crowned Sparrow.  That was a new bird for the trip and for the year too.  What fun is birding. New birds for the trip today were:  Peregrine Falcon, Virginia Rail, Least Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, Western Kingbird, Northern Mockingbird, Yellow Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, White-crowned Sparrow, and Lincoln’s Sparrow. The Pectoral Sandpiper was in an odd flock consisting of a pair of Lesser Yellowlegs, a Semipalmated Sandpiper, and itself.  We had hoped for  Pectorial Sanpiper this spring, but thought we would miss it.  This bird is on its way from somewhere in South America to northern Alaska or northern Canada.  How lucky we were to admire it in central Kansas.  We had seen Western Kingbirds in south Florida last winter and have to wonder if any of those birds are with us here today. The refuge bird list reports Peregrine Falcon as occasional.  We have visited thr refuge just these last three days and so were fortunate to have found this pair that is probably migrating with its food supply.  It is never a bad day of birding when you see a Peregrine fly. Joy comes in small packages too.  I spied the Lincoln’s Sparrow when we were looking for the Black Rail.  It was hopping along a ditch among grasses and branches.  Less than 6” long, it is a small sparrow similar to a Swamp Sparrow.  But whereas the “Swampy” is widespread in the East, the Lincoln’s is uncommon there except in Canada.  Eastern birders become very proud when they find a migrating or wintering Lincoln’s within flocks of other sparrows.  In parts of the West, finding Lincoln’s is routine.  We knew we would find Lincoln’s on this trip; we just didn’t know when. This bird was moving away from me, and I could not see its face or breast, where the field marks are.  I noticed rufous on the wings, but thought they were not red enough for a Swamp Sparrow, a similar species.  It disappeared into the grass and then its head emerged.  Too gray for a Swamp Sparrow.  Finally it flew a few feet to an open perch facing me and displayed a lovely buffy breast with narrow streaks and a small dark spot in the middle.  Both of us saw and savored this view of the diminutive songbird.  Perhaps next week we will let our glass pass by Lincoln’s thinking “just another sparrow,” but for today it was a prize well earned and appreciated.  We hope to hear its song that I liken to the Star Spangled Banner on this trip too.  Perhaps in the Rockies where they breed.
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April 27, 2013 - Great Bend KS
Anne and Chuck submitted on January 16, 1970
Mid afternoon and the thermometer reads 69 degrees F. The sky is almost clear and the grass at our campsite is dry. Great. The heater ran and rain fell off and on all night. We awoke at five, breakfasted, put on warm clothing and moved through the mist to our car. This low-key campground has no restroom, but the state has a fine rest area next door along two-lane U.S. route 50. So, we stopped there before heading to Quivira.

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BLOG TITLEBLOG CONTENTMid afternoon and the thermometer reads 69 degrees F.  The sky is almost clear and the grass at our campsite is dry.  Great.  The heater ran and rain fell off and on all night.  We awoke at five, breakfasted, put on warm clothing and moved through the mist to our car.  This low-key campground has no restroom, but the state has a fine rest area next door along two-lane U.S. route 50.  So, we stopped there before heading to Quivira.  This morning we entered at 140th Street and stopped first at a lookout across the Big Salt Marsh.  It was still misting and there was not much to see in the dim light.  We did hear the “ch ch bizzzzzzzzz” song of Grasshopper Sparrow coming from the grass along the shore.  We could not spot the birds (which are elegantly attired in various shades of brown, black, and gray) but added the species to our trip list. The refuge was wet from the rainy night and some of the roads were sticky but safe for passage.  Fun birds were along and even upon the roadways.  Both Piping and Snowy Plover were all about the salt ponds.  The Snowies here are darker than those along the Florida Coast, the same shade as the sand here.  Still, they are as adorable.  In one place dozens of Black-necked Stilts flew back and forth across the road, calling furiously.  One pair landed some thirty feet in front of the car to let us admire their too long red legs.  Bold Swainson’s Hawks held their posts as we stopped alongside to gawk.  A flock of Franklin Gulls stood on a distant mud flat.  Many of these birds had bright pink bellies.  How nice!  They stop here to refuel before continuing to points north. We did not hear Black Rail in the marsh but will be out even earlier tomorrow morning.  Perhaps they are arriving now and will call in the total darkness.  We also did not make it to the prairie dog town today.  The road was soft and pocked with puddles.  If it looks better tomorrow we will drive it.  If not we will walk the two miles.  There we may find Upland Sandpiper and Burrowing Owl there. This afternoon we returned through St. John where we shopped for groceries in the tiny Kroger store.  We stay one more day here.  Spring is bursting out around us, and winged migrants are moving north.  Perhaps we will see them arriving. On Monday we move to eastern Colorado.  We’ll follow route 50 to its lowest point where the Arkansas River flows into Kansas.  The elevation there is 3,300 feet.  Our next stop will be near Lamar in the prairie.  We’ll see what migrants are arriving there and look for rail in the river marshes they inhabit during the warm season.  We may be too early for them, but not to enjoy the scenery.  We’re following the spring west this year.  The ashes but not the willows are green here where the elevation is 1,850 feet.  At Lamar it will be 4,100. So far we have seen 103 kinds of birds on this expedition.  Today’s additions were American White Pelican, Willet, Dunlin, Long-billed Dowitcher, House Wren, Orange-crowned Warbler, and Grasshopper Sparrow. 
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April 26 - Great Bend KS
Anne and Chuck submitted on January 16, 1970
We left the Flint Hills region of Kansas this morning. False intelligence suggested that the wildlife drive at the Quivira National Wildlife Refuge was closed on weekends. Noticing this we unmoored before dawn and worked our way through scattered showers (that are welcomed by residents) to this small and rustic RV park on US 50 south of Great Bend. We arrived before Noon, leveled the rig but did not hook up, and took the car to Quivira. There we learned that only the office was closed on the weekend. Oh well, no harm done. Travel on a rainy day is good.&n
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BLOG TITLEBLOG CONTENTWe left the Flint Hills region of Kansas this morning.  False intelligence suggested that the wildlife drive at the Quivira National Wildlife Refuge was closed on weekends.  Noticing this we unmoored before dawn and worked our way through scattered showers (that are welcomed by residents) to this small and rustic RV park on US 50 south of Great Bend.  We arrived before Noon, leveled the rig but did not hook up, and took the car to Quivira.  There we learned that only the office was closed on the weekend.  Oh well, no harm done.  Travel on a rainy day is good.  This evening as I write it is pouring.  Still, we drove the fifteen mile auto tour across the refuge.  The temperature was in the fifties and a stiff wind made it frigid along the lakes and marshes that make up the refuge.  This one was established to provide a rest area for migrating waterfowl and shorebirds.  Even Whooping Cranes visit here, but we saw none today.  The ranger said most have passed through already.  “Still, you never know.” Black rail call here too, but with the weather he doubts that any have arrived, let alone begun calling.  We will check that out tomorrow night.  We scouted the “rail marsh” this afternoon.  No rails were calling then, but then rails typically call at night. Wanting to return to camp and set it up we exited the refuge on a “secondary road” that was surfaced with soil.  I kept up speed going up the hills and we made it out.  We stopped at a tiny grocery at the town of Stafford for some essentials and picked up an announcement for an American Legion “calf fry” tomorrow night.  The flyer showed a bovine creature covering its lower regions with its hooves.  We wonder if it will be all oysters being fried.  Sounds perhaps a bit too exciting for us, but we may check it out. We spotted several year-birds today and greatly enjoyed watching a flock of Avocet resting in a small pool.  A Swainson’s Hawk remained perched on a fence post along the road even as we stopped and oohed and ahhed it for a few minutes.  Today we added the following to the trip list:  Ring-necked Pheasant, Black-necked Stilt,  Baird’s Sandpiper, and Baltimore Oriole.
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