Davidson Woods

March 13, 2017 - Finney Lake CA
Anne and Chuck submitted on January 18, 1970
We camp for a few days on wildlife management agency land. No fee and splendid isolation. Perhaps too quiet. We worry a bit about security and would hate to return and find the rig trashed. On the other hand there is silence as the sun sets across the lake and blackbirds come to roost.
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BLOG TITLEBLOG CONTENTWe camp for a few days on wildlife management agency land.  No fee and splendid isolation.  Perhaps too quiet.  We worry a bit about security and would hate to return and find the rig trashed.  On the other hand there is silence as the sun sets across the lake and blackbirds come to roost.  An ugly California dairy is across lake and spreads its fragrance to us before dawn.  Ugh for that.  Here dairies are factory operations.  Crops are grown in fields and cut for direct feeding or stored fodder.  The cattle stay in the lot to reach through the bars for their meals.  Lots of blackbirds scavenge there too. I popped a dental crown a couple of days ago and grumbled that it would cost $2C to have a dentist here remount it.  Then Anne remembered Los Algodones, a small town we had visited a decade ago that had 300 dentists.  There it cost $25.  We called and made the appointment but realized this morning we didn’t know what time it was there.  We had delightfully avoided the unnecessary nuisance of changing the clocks for daylight time and for crossing the time zone by moving from Arizona to California last Sunday.  How nice. A phone call resolved the matter and we arrived on time, parked our car at the border parking lot and walked across.  Mexico continues to get by with the same high level of border security as always.  We walked through a turnstyle on the USA side and found ourselves walking down a dusty street in old Mexico.  Various folks accosted us in hopes of steering us to dentists, pharmacies, or optometrists.  We said, “no gracias” and continued along the street in the sun or on the sidewalks under roof where various wares were on sale.  We worked our way to the clinic and found it modern.  The shop differed in subtle ways from one in the United States, but not in ways that mattered.  The business taken care of we stopped in a pharmacy where Anne found a bargain and then took lunch in the recommended Pueblo Viejo restaurant.  Satiated we walked across the street and took a place in the long line of pedestrians returning to los Estados Unidos.  It was hot but the line kept moving.  Forty minutes later we were back at our car and zooming across the sand dunes of southwestern California to the town of El Centro where we picked up groceries, a bit of hardware, and gasoline.  We also mailed post cards.  The day had become hot and our rig was much so.  I turned on the generator and we let the a.c. roar for two hours while we did chores and ate supper.  Then we turned it off as the sun set.  We walked to the lake side and saw a Green Heron, our 200th species of the year.  It was satisfying to have found that many by March and before reaching the Pacific coast.  A flock of White-faced Ibis fluttered past en-route to their roost.  All good. Filled the gas tanks in Yuma before coming into California where everything is expensive.  On our last day at Gila Bend we hiked within the Sonoran Desert National Monument among the tree cactus and mesquite.  Many of the desert herbs and shrubs were in bloom putting on a glorious show.  A pair of Gilded Flicker emerged from a hole in one cactus.  One flew into a ocotillo shrub.  These spindly plants often have the appearance of brown sticks but are now green with leaves and sprouting pink blossoms at the ends.  We were delighted to see a bird we have found only once or twice before perching close in the verdant bush.  Warmth increased while we were there to bring us the first hot weather we have felt this year.  I chuckle to write that knowing that home on the mountain a big snow storm is forming as I write these words.  February was unusually warm but now March is cold.  Glad we are in the southwest.  
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March 8, 2017 - Warm in Gila Bend AZ
Anne and Chuck submitted on January 18, 1970
Yesterday in Patagonia we experienced quite a temperature swing. 28 degrees at dawn and 78 degrees at 3 p.m. Layers do work, but the hike we took up a canyon started out freezing despite that.

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BLOG TITLEBLOG CONTENTYesterday in Patagonia we experienced quite a temperature swing.  28 degrees at dawn and 78 degrees at 3 p.m.  Layers do work, but the hike we took up a canyon started out freezing despite that.  Spring has begun to appear in southern Arizona.  I know many of my readers have been basking in a warm February in the Northeast.  Snow lovers will have to wait until next winter, I guess.  We will be warm now for another week until we drop into San Diego.  We’re hoping the snow stops before we climb out of the center of northern California early next month.  Seems to snow, stop, and snow some more up there.  Today, we sort of drove into spring in the plains southwest of Phoenix.  Lupine, poppy, ocotillo, and various shrubs are in bloom.  It is too early for the buds to burst on the saguaro trees.  Always exciting to see the last plant.  One knows he is not in Pennsylvania anymore. Two days ago we saw a first mixed flock of “neo-tropical” migrant birds in a blossoming willow tree along the Sonoita Creek near Nogales AZ across from the town of Nogales Mexico.  There are rumors of more cross-border movement in California.  Tomorrow we will look for it here. As we moved north today we finally had to pass through a BP check point.  The agent took one look at us and waved us through.  I had of course taken off my sun glasses, had both hands on the wheel, and had opened the window to smile at him.  He just waved, didn’t even ask me the standard question, “all aboard U.S. citizens.  His decision was correct.  We really did not have a dozen illegals hiding in the rig. In Patagonia we enjoyed the hospitality of friends who moved there from our part of Pennsylvania.  Always good to see familiar faces on a long voyage, even if we have been on the road only three weeks so far.  Our next reunions will be in San Diego where there may be a small family reunion next week.  Fun. Have enjoyed many birds.  I’m hoping our list will be to 200 varieties before we reach the Pacific coast.  It was at 184 at last check.  No large animals so far, just a daily coyote and often white-tailed deer.  That is routine in the west.  Reports of jaguar in Arizona tickled our interest.  I would rather not meet one on the trail though.   Tomorrow we will explore the Saguaro National Monument, a BLM property near here.  Look for the Gila Woodpecker and Gilded Flicker, two cactus specialists never seen east of the Mississippi.  Don’t know if we will venture into Phoenix town.  We will have to contend with more than enough traffic when we reach San Diego.  On the border we find Mexicans coming into Arizona to buy food, clothing, and gasoline and Americans going into Mexico to buy dentistry and drugs.  This says as much as anything about where there are problems in each country’s economy.  The Mexicans are really pissed that the government increased the price of gas to about three dollars.  A couple of decades ago the government nationalized oil and said it would give it cheap to Mexicans and stiff the gringos.  Now the country has to buy oil from us and add on their taxes when the sell the gas.  We paid $2.01 in Nogales AZ.  Meanwhile, our friends are slipping into Nogales Mexico for health care.  Anne and I are each paying some $5,740 for supposedly subsidized Medicare health insurance.  How can one afford to get sick after paying that much for insurance?  I don’t see the costs going down until the government gets out of the health care business.  Once upon a time folks managed to buy descent health care with no help from the government.  I believe the care was better too even if the technology was inferior.  Not sure we can afford the better technology.  But we seem to have no choice. Wish us well in cactus country.
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March 2017 - Posts from New Mexico
Anne and Chuck submitted on January 18, 1970
February 26, 2017 Rodeo NM

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BLOG TITLEBLOG CONTENTFebruary 26, 2017 Rodeo NM We drove this morning north again to Bosque de Apache NWR to take a hike on the Canyon Trail.  The dawn was lovely and in the 20’s.  Warmed up slowly.  Our hike was through the desert, across a saltbush and creosote bush flat complete with arroyo (wash), then up through a canyon, then up the canyon wall and along the edge of the mesa, and finally down off the bluff to the flat and back to our point of destination.  We added Rock Wren and Crissal Thrasher to our year-list there.  Latter, along the water we found a pair of Neotropical Cormorants that now also grace our list.  Coming home we turned at a sign for Fort Craig and scooted down a smooth gravel road to the site of this army post from the mid 1800’s.  It served first to control hostile Indians and then as a guard post to stop an invasion from Texas.  Incredible as it may seem, two Civil War Battles were fought in New Mexico in 1862.  Though the invading force of 2,500 was larger than that of the defenders, the fort had been well stocked and provisions in this region were few for the invaders.  So, though they commanded the field, they could not take the fort and retreated leaving the West in the hands of the Union. After the war the Apache continued to demand a fort, but in 1885 Geronimo and the last of them surrendered and made peace.  The fort was mostly adobe and wood.  Much is fading into the desert, but the walls of the stone guard house remain up. The wind is up again and forecast to be near a gale again tomorrow, our travel day.  Our plan is to depart very early and take it easy again.  Next stop is Rodeo NM near the southwest corner of the state.  We will use that as a base camp to visit the rock totem walled Chiricahua Mountains.  Wonderful geology and birds in those hills. February 28, 2017 - Rodeo NM Rough ride today.  We left early and were some fifteen miles to our exit from I-10 when we found the highway closed.  We were detoured and had to reverse course to reach our destination two hours later than expected.  We largely evaded dust storms but still our lips taste gritty.  A few drops of rain have fallen here this afternoon, but most of the rain (and snow) is north of Tuscon. Only added one bird to our list today, Canyon Towhee. March 3, 2013 - Rodeo NM We have enjoyed three days here in the San Simon Valley.  On two of those days we drove into the famous Chiricahua Mountains.  On the first day we wandered about the foothills and then through the town of Portal into the birdingly famous Cave Creek Canyon.  Enjoyed a sturdy hike and many lovely birds there.  Mom has made friends with a gal who runs a B&B there in the town of Paradise (can’t get any better than that).  We sat on her porch and got the news of Rodeo while watching quail, Mexican jays, and sparrows come into her feeders. Yesterday we drove high into the mountains to find the Mexican Chickadee (we did) and made a hike that included a walk across a snowfield.  The north slopes were white, the south slopes were warm.  The mountains are changed from our last visit.  A major forest fire denuded half of the forest and a storm a couple of years later sent a devastating flood through the town.  Everything is recovering.  This morning was warmer.  No ice to scrape.  We spent the morning wandering about the valley finding rare and “difficult to find” Bendire’s Thrasher and a Merlin and then visiting the excellent Chiricahua Desert Museum that is half museum and half reptile house.  So many rattlesnakes live in this neighborhood.  Only one of each in the museum.  Still, some folks would not want to visit. Tomorrow we cross into Arizona.  We will stay in Patagonia.  Should be warmer there, even in March.  Will visit with friends and look for birds in this very birdy region.  The highway cuts south to go around the mountain range.  I’m sure we will have a pleasant conversation with the boys from the Department of Homeland Security after the road returns northward.  I always say, “I American citizen, no hablo espanol.”  Always seems to work.
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February 22, 2017 - Portales NM
Anne and Chuck submitted on January 18, 1970
I sit in the low key but very pleasant college library here at Portales. We stopped to use the Internet and to find out how we can see any Clovis artifacts despite the excavation site and museum being closed, closed, and closed. We will probably get to see a few but only after lots of jawboning.

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BLOG TITLEBLOG CONTENTI sit in the low key but very pleasant college library here at Portales.  We stopped to use the Internet and to find out how we can see any Clovis artifacts despite the excavation site and museum being closed, closed, and closed.  We will probably get to see a few but only after lots of jawboning. Decided to take a low-key day today.  We awoke before dawn and watched the sun rise over the park as we made a circle walking around and through it.  It was cold, but warmed with the sun.  Found our first Pyroloxia, Say's Phoebe, and Bobwhite for the year.  Also observed the dunes and the fossil lake bed that make up the park and the surrounding lands.  The folks at the Clovis site camped at the edge of a smaller lake near here 12,000 years ago.  Imagine camping here when buffalo, mastodons, and saber-tooth cats roamed about. This afternoon we drove a back road past the archaeological site and at least saw the old quarry and where the digs took place and continue (in the summer.)  Now we relax to chip away at our Internet list.  I finished the taxes and Anne checked them with some cursing of me and of the the tax system before finishing.  It is no wonder people sell software with which to prepare taxes. I resume writing after Anne and I have completed a private tour of the Blackwater Draw Museum.  We handled a Clovis point and snapped a picture of a box of specimens.  Fabulous. The wind has swelled and tomorrow may reach a gale.  That will create multiple problems for our planned travel.  We will take it slow and hope not to encounter dust storms.  Our next destination is Elephant Butte State Park near Truth or Consequences.  That will be a bit farther south and in the Rio Grande Valley.  That is good as cooler weather is coming.
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February - Little Rock AR
Anne and Chuck submitted on January 18, 1970
February 14 - Little Rock AR

Day One. Awoke to a cold gale which made last minute packing and assembling the somewhat frozen rig for take-off difficult. We had to review procedures to make it all work but were very happy when slides went in smoothly.

We kept forgetting things and made three trips back to the house before taking off down the mountain. The wind slowed us down. Cheaper gasoline was welcome in Virginia where we made a shopping stop at Camping World and Gander Mountain in Roanoke.

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BLOG TITLEBLOG CONTENTFebruary 14 - Little Rock AR Day One.  Awoke to a cold gale which made last minute packing and assembling the somewhat frozen rig for take-off difficult.  We had to review procedures to make it all work but were very happy when slides went in smoothly.  We kept forgetting things and made three trips back to the house before taking off down the mountain.  The wind slowed us down.  Cheaper gasoline was welcome in Virginia where we made a shopping stop at Camping World and Gander Mountain in Roanoke.  Stopped for a Valentine’s gift at Cracker Barrel in Knoxville and spent the night in their parking lot.  Day Two.  Cold at dawn.  We turned on the heat as we made breakfast.  West on I-40 into the rain at Nashville that stayed with us to Little Rock.  We camped there at the lovely little Downtown Riverside RV Park operated by the city.  It is below the Clinton Pedestrian Bridge and across from the Presidential Library.  The rain poured as we set up.  We may stay tomorrow or move southwest into Texas. February15 - Little Rock AR We decided to stay.  We wanted a little rest for ourselves and the rig.  Everything needed to dry out and the forecast was for sunshine.  It came but with it a north wind that remained brisk all day as we wandered about Little Rock and North Little Rock by foot and trolley.  Took lunch and a beer in town off of William Clinton Drive.  Walked past the Presidential library and through the wetlands preserve. The Internet access was great, so we caught up on news and correspondence.  I ended the afternoon and evening working on income taxes.  Asking questions gives answers.  How could I know that the value on line 2A of the 1099-Div is long-term capital gain?  The form said nothing.  The Internet told all.  Or, an odd value on another line that apparently is not taxable but “changes the basis.”  I hope Vanguard Bank remembers that the basis has changed.  I won’t.  The form on Social Security payments was Byzantine.   I cranked through the formulas and picked the values based on results of calculations only to discover that I must pay tax on 85% of my social security payments.  I knew that without going through the effort, but I guess it was necessary.  Next time I have to spare I work on deductions and the like.  I still have two months to finish.  Should be enough time, but I would rather work on other things. February 16 - Wichita Ridge Park, Geronimo OK If not Indian Country at least it is the old Indian Territory.  It was to be a place all the Indians could commune and stay out of the way of the colonists.  Nothing is forever. Today we drove across bare forests in Arkansas and piney woods and then parklands in northeastern Texas.  A few hours before Wichita Falls TX the trees disappeared.  We entered the prairie.  The drive took longer than expected.  We’re now in the west and the map scale is deceivingly smaller.  We arrived tired at sunset.  Then the car would not start.  Battery died on the long tow.  I’m not sure why.  Drain from the braking device, I guess.  It has not worked well ion the cold anyway. We’re at Lake Waukula, a Corps of Engineers flood control lake.  Great camping with water and electric hookups.  With the senior discount only seven dollars a night.  Can’t beat that.  No Internet and not much telephone, but we can do with out that for a few days.  Enjoyed meeting a local couple spotting deer as we arrived.  They gave us a jump to the car.  We were very thankful.  The ground is saturated but the air was warm in the evening.  Cooling off now but i saw moths flying when I set up camp and will have to clean my windshield in the morning.  Trees are bare.  Saw a few Great Blue Heron in the lake.  We will explore tomorrow and finish setting up camp.  For now we have the necessities and the inside is warm.  Still don’t have the rhythm of travel, but we’re getting there.  Turned on the water pump this morning for the first time and it didn’t work.  When Anne told me I went into the outside shower and jiggled the second switch.  Then it worked.  An easy fix.  With electricity in the house we can watch tv.  Saw an episode of Justified.  Now Anne is to bed.  I’m tired and will follow.  Now tax work tonight. February 19, 2017 - Wichita Ridge OK Three days here.  First to catch our breath and set the pattern for travel.  We jogged through the campground at dawn and birded the lake shore.  We are adding many birds to the new year-list.  Always easy in January. In the afternoon we took a ride to explore the area and fill up the gas tank in the car which had been empty since Pennsylvania.  We found fuel at the closest town of any size, Walters, which was little more than a few grain silos, the fertilizer and ammonia facility, several dozen houses, two gas stations and two restaurants.  Coming back we stopped at a state game lands wetland area where we found a great assortment of wild birds.  Perhaps the most pleasing was the Harris’s Sparrow.  This is a handsome finch that summers far, far north (from the Hudson Bay north) and winters across a narrow band of the Midwest from Iowa to central Texas.  So, the folks along the coasts seldom see it.  Here, in shrubby woodlands, it is common as dirt.  We last saw it in Kansas in the winter of 2013 on our Rocky Mountains expedition.  Don’t know when we will see it again. Yesterday, we drove to the Wichita Mountains, a truly scenic part of Oklahoma.  There we found American Bison and Texas longhorn cattle among the longspurs and sparrows we sought.  The latter is maintained on this refuge as “a cultural and historical legacy species.”  Go figure. An ancient (500 million year-old) mass of granite here forms the hills in the prairie, and the cobbles that have dropped from it frustrated the farmers.  And so the prairie was preserved here.  The land became part of Fort Sill which remains an important part of the Texoma community.  I had never heard that regional name before coming here.  The Army did not really need all the land and so the area north of the fort became Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge which is notable as where the government bought a fence to protect a small group of American Bison that had been preserved in various zoos and parks.  The animals prospered and their descendants are now spread across the West.  
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February - Wurika Lake OK and Portales NM
Anne and Chuck submitted on January 18, 1970
February 17, 2017

I’m writing at lunch time, but it is an hour later for you. Besides, I won’t be able to send this note until we have WiFi again somewhere.

We’re camped at Waurika Lake in Oklahoma. Except here the folks thing of themselves as living in Texoma. I never heard that term before. Not sure how widespread an area over which it is applicable.

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BLOG TITLEBLOG CONTENTFebruary 17, 2017 I’m writing at lunch time, but it is an hour later for you.  Besides, I won’t be able to send this note until we have WiFi again somewhere. We’re camped at Waurika Lake in Oklahoma.  Except here the folks thing of themselves as living in Texoma.  I never heard that term before.  Not sure how widespread an area over which it is applicable.  I’m sampling the Sencha tea that you, Alex, gave me for Christmas.  It is very smooth but different.  I think it may grow on me.  We jogged this morning to make Anne happy but saw a few year-birds while making two loops along the lake front and through the campground.  Killdeer and Northern Mockingbird are common and making pleasing sounds.  A pair of local fishermen arrived as we circled.  We shared greetings.  Four other campers are set up, but we have met none of our neighbors so far.  The campground is mostly prairie and bramble patch with mostly scattered trees and a few copses.  The lake is choppy as there is a breeze and hosting coots, ducks, and a few Bonaparte’s Gulls.  Our campsite has a great view of the lake on two sides of the campground peninsula. It was cold at dawn and Anne moaned when I suggested she rise, but the temperature may reach 70 this afternoon.  That is good weather to me.  Monday may bring some rain.  Storms seem to be coming into California and continuing east one after another this winter.  Should bring a green spring.  I notice some tiny blossoms already in the grass around the camper.  Fun. After our jog and a bird walk we came back to do some chores.  I didn’t properly set up camp last evening and accomplished that first.  I tightened the wire in the car.  We will see if that resolves the problem.  I washed the car too.  It becomes filthy when towed for a few days.  I also washed some bugs off the front of the RV.  How about that? This afternoon we will take a drive to reconnoiter and look for a few birds.  The car needs gasoline.  I saw no point in filling the tank before towing it half way across the country.  Yes, we have come some 1,500 miles already.  Still an equal amount to San Diego, but we will make that drive over five days whereas we have only driven three days to come here.  Strangest sight yesterday was a roadside picnic ground in Texas with faux oil well towers providing shelter to the tables.  We didn’t snap a photo.  Sorry. February 18, 2017 Another report from the Indian Territory.  Talk about Indian givers.  The nearest town is Comanche.  We’re not far from Geronimo.  A somewhat arid land, but still to valuable to have been left as Indian territory. A false spring her in February as over much of the East.  We’re enjoying it.  Spent today in the Wichita Mountains.  A National Wildlife Refuge there was established to restore the American Bison which had neared extinction.  A private group provided the stock if the government would provide the preserve.  It came out of Fort Sill which remains as an army compound.  The buffalo have done well and have spread back to other places.  The Wichita Mountains are a lump of old and eroding granite within a sedimentary plain.  The hard rock made for bad agriculture and so the “mixed grass prairie” remains.  The combination of prairie, lakes, and the small mountains provides a lovely park among grazing and agricultural land not too far from the big city of Oklahoma. I won’t tell you what birds we saw, but they were lovely.  It is still winter so many of the local specialties are on vacation in the tropics, but there are still enough to please us.  Stopped at the library on the way home so Anne could download some books from the library.  I worked more on taxes and we made a walk around the camp after supper.  Tomorrow we visit a “playa lake” nearby after our Sunday breakfast.  On Monday we will move on to Clovis where scientists found evidence of the earliest man in America. I write in bed at the end of a long day.  Best wishes.  February 19, 2017 It is mid-afternoon.  We are back after a tour of Hackberry Flat WMA near Frederick OK.  This includes a large “playa lake” managed for water fowl and doves.  Though playas are often dry, it is wet in Oklahoma this winter and there is water everywhere.  Still, there was more water there and many, many ducks and other birds.  We passed across prairie, pasture, and wheat and cotton fields on our way there.  The towns are small and many look tired.  There is money in agriculture, especially in the lovely cattle that grow here, but not much else.  We are rising at five a.m. now to reach our destinations at dawn.  That even gave us time to prepare a Sunday breakfast.  We noticed a Unitarian church in the town of Lawton, but we didn’t go back that way today.  Instead we worshiped on the prairie.  The game lands were vacant this morning and misty.  On our first walk we found a Greater Yellowlegs, a Long-billed Dowitcher, and a couple of pair of American Avocet on a pond.  A Wilson’s Snipe flew out of the grass as we crossed a board walk.  All year-birds.  Before we tired in the afternoon we found most of the inland diving and dabbling ducks and we heard our first Marsh Wren of this year.  The scenery today was plain.  The land here is flat and in this season all is brown except for the wheat and winter pasture.  Still, it is different than that to which we are accustomed and so of interest. We stopped for lunch at a cemetery and returned as the day warmed into the 70s.  Now in mid-afternoon it is cooling again.  Clouds have arrived and rain is forecast tonight.  I have made ready to break camp.  Anne is quilting.  Tomorrow we drive to Clovis NM.  That was not on the schedule, but is of interest because of the nearby Blackwater Draw archeological site.  We will stay only a couple of days before continuing on to near Truth or Consequences for our next extended stay. February 20, 2017 I write from the town of Portales south of Clovis in New Mexico.  We are at about 4K feet elevation and at dusk the temperature plunged.  Should stay above freezing tonight and warm tomorrow.  Our travel went well except for a 30 mph wind out of the north all day.  Rained all last night in Oklahoma and the rig and car were filthy when we arrived here.  The trip was the shortest so far and our arrival at about three o’clock was pleasant.  The only disappointment was finding that the Clovis archeological museum is moving and closed.  Bummer! Now we’re in desert country.  Juniper and mesquite where there are trees.  Mostly there is grass and tumbleweed.  We will visit a couple of nearby wildlife refuges. On Wednesday we will do the weekly chores.  Then we will move on to Truth or Consequences.  This is to be a short stop.  February 21, 2017 I may actually get to send an e-mail today.  Late afternoon and we are at the M&M Laundromat with “Free WiFi” in Portales proper.  Separated our colored from whites, added detergent, inserted the coins and pulled the slide, but there are no winners in this casino. Speaking of casinos we saw several in Oklahoma.  Don’t know if they are doing Indians any good there or Indians are gambling.  I’ve never understood the charm of gambling in a casino where the dealer always wins at the end of the day. This morning we woke before dawn to find no water from the spigot.  Oh, oh!  I heated some in a kettle and took it outside.  I poured it over the valve and was able to close it.  I disconnected the hose from the rig and let it fall to the ground.  Lots of ice.  Good news is everything worked when I put it back together this afternoon.  Then it was 23 degrees F.  Now it is about 83 degrees F.  I’m not sure I’ve ever experienced a 60 degree temperature differential before.  Tonight I will probably unhook when we go to bed.  It is good having a water tank on board in such circumstances.  After a chilly breakfast and now shower we hit the road to visit the Gulla N.W.R. in New Mexico and the Muleshoe (I kid you not) NWR in Texas.  We found more water fowl and our first Curve-billed Thrasher and Lincoln’s Sparrow for the year.  Saw lovely short grass prairie but no Lesser Prairie Chickens.  Perhaps tomorrow at dawn.  We have been told where they call, but they normally don’t begin calling until March.  Feel like March. Enjoyed another prairie dog town but no Burrowing Owls.  We found several wonderful Ferruginous Hawks.  This is an uncommon to rare prairie bird that we have seen only a few times  before and never in such abundance.  Chatted with ranger Jim at Muleshoe NWR and new neighbors from Minnesota.  They are on their way to Tuscon.  All is well.  Best to you from the Southwest.   
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February 13, 2017 - Birthday Departure
Anne and Chuck submitted on January 18, 1970
No, it was not planned. We were supposed to begin our thousands of miles voyage by land, sea, and air yesterday. But, an unexpected snow storm prompted us to remain in Brooklyn for an extra day. That way I got to shovel snow in two states. It also gave us another day with Elley and Roman.

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BLOG TITLEBLOG CONTENTNo, it was not planned.  We were supposed to begin our thousands of miles voyage by land, sea, and air yesterday.  But, an unexpected snow storm prompted us to remain in Brooklyn for an extra day.  That way I got to shovel snow in two states.  It also gave us another day with Elley and Roman. Returning home on Friday, on Saturday we furiously opened mail, paid bills, downloaded tax forms and 1099’s, laundered, cleaned, and threw items for packing onto the living room floor.  On Sunday we powered up the motor home, turned on the fridge, and made three trips to the rig with provisions.  It rained and rained, so we left our “Harley” under roof nearby.  I was afraid it would sink into the mud if I brought it home.  We also celebrated my birthday yesterday as it is hard to party when you are driving and driving and driving.  That is the plan for today.  The air has cleared but turned colder and a strong wind will slow us down, but we will follow the road out of the forest to Chambersburg, climb onto I-81 and roar southwest, probably for two days, until we reach a place where it will not freeze at night.  Then we will slow down and start exploring the countryside.  We will also be able to fill the water tank.  Meanwhile we will make do with bottles of water. We leave Pennsylvania in the heart of winter.  The trees are naked and gray.  A pair of Pileated Woodpeckers mined deadwood in our yard yesterday morning as we packed.  They added to our still short Year 2017 list of birds in the “ABA Area” (U.S. and Canada.)  We will have to find most of our Eastern winter birds in December.  I had hoped to bird a bit around NYC, but our duties there kept us too close to (Elley’s) home.  We enjoyed finding our first American Robin of the year at D.U.M.B.O.  Plans for our trip are in place, but we still have not reserved a camp site.  After the first few days when we will only stop and not camp, we will choose a route based on weather and call ahead for reservations.  We anticipate reaching Knoxville tonight and Memphis tomorrow if the ship and all systems do well.  Then, if the weather is favorable we might continue west into Oklahoma.  More likely we will dive farther south toward Dallas and El Paso.  Somewhere there we will settle in for a week and start looking for birds we don’t see around here. Wish us well.  We will keep you posted here.
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February 3, 2017 News from the Woods of Brooklyn
Anne and Chuck submitted on January 18, 1970
I have not posted in too long a time. Still, this forum is probably a good place to provide news from this spouse of lovely Anne as we embark on a long land voyage, possibly starting a week from tomorrow. All guidance suggests one never report on travel on-line, but our home security must depend on something other than the world knowing we are mostly not there.

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BLOG TITLEBLOG CONTENTI have not posted in too long a time.  Still, this forum is probably a good place to provide news from this spouse of lovely Anne as we embark on a long land voyage, possibly starting a week from tomorrow.  All guidance suggests one never report on travel on-line, but our home security must depend on something other than the world knowing we are mostly not there. In fact we are not there now.  We’re on assignment in New York City as our wonderful son-in-law is wandering about the south of France in search of fine wines to peddle in the the big apple.  Our daughter, who is not a strong believer in single parenting, was not bashful in asking for help during his absence.  So, we came to Brooklyn to enjoy the trash, noise, and even a bit of snow.  I have engaged in a favorite hobby, driving in Brooklyn, almost every day.  Our car receives a battle star for every mission taking Elley to school and Roman to day-care. When on our own we work on housekeeping and handyman projects and a few chores of our own.  Our taxes will have to wait for mail at our home.  Will do them on the road. There is social activity here.  Rob popped in for dinner one night and my sister, Laurie, is coming on Sunday.  When Mary Helen arrives at the studio after Fort Myers and Charleton we will visit Davidsons there.  Then we’re off to home ahead of Adam’s return to start up and provision the motorhome for a five-month trek.  The plan is to drive southwest until the nights are above freezing.  Then we will stop and go for a month until we reach San Diego.  Visit lots of good family there.  Then we will gun it to San Francisco in time for Alex’s birthday.  We have not celebrated that day with him in several years. Continuing north we should find a cousin and friends in Ashland OR, my brother in Eugene OR, and more friends in Tacoma WA.  Of course we will be looking for scenery and birds along the way. We have ferry tickets for April 27 and should arrive in Juneau a few days later.  Another boat ride to Skagway and then a drive over the top to the Yukon.  We will tarry there and spend all of May and June in and around Alaska.  We will plane to the north cost and to an island near Russia and motor to Denali and about the Kenai Peninsula.  July 4 will find us back on the ship returning down the inside passage to the lower 48.  Then the draw of grandson will pull us home quickly.  I’ll try to make reports from time to time.  Hoping to have good reports of our adventure.  We may send a few alerts by e-mail to look for our postings.  Anne will probably send some photos. The drive will be long, but after driving about Brooklyn for a few weeks, it ought to seem easy even if the RV pulling auto is about 40 feet long.  Backing up is not only not allowed, it is not possible.  Now we are anxious to get home, start it up, and begin loading.  Hoping there will be no snow to contend with.  But, what will be will be.  I’ll provide the pilgrims’ progress.
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Hungry Mother State Park, VA April 27, 2016
Anne and Chuck submitted on January 17, 1970
Our motor voyage draws to completion. We pray for a fair wind to bring us home tomorrow afternoon. This final pause in the greening mountains of the East reaquaints us with the moist climate of home. What a contrast to the dry lands of west Texas.
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BLOG TITLEBLOG CONTENTOur motor voyage draws to completion.  We pray for a fair wind to bring us home tomorrow afternoon.  This final pause in the greening mountains of the East reaquaints us with the moist climate of home.  What a contrast to the dry lands of west Texas.  Our travel took us west from Seminole Canyon to pause at Marathon.  From there we made the 160 mile run to the airport to pick up Laurie who joined us to tour Big Bend National Park and the Davis Mountains.  Already rains had begun to gather across eastern Texas bringing a burst of foliage and flooding, but in the west came only clouds.  These highlighted the abrupt and strange mountains that interrupt the deserts of the Big Bend region.  Little has changed there in the decade since our last visit.  Long distances separate oases where springs and streams provide comfort for small parcels of civilization.  The road south from Marathon threads between the rocks and then climbs the base of the Chisos towers.  We did not stop at the visitor center at "the junction" and instead began the long descent to the mouth of Boquilas Canyon on the Rio Grande River.  There stands the village of sorts at the southeastern edge of the park.  We found one of the best campsites vacant and wiggled our rig under and between the sweet mesquite trees at the edge of the flood plain.  They were lime green in fresh foliage providing modest shade in a place famous for being very warm.  We settled into to four nights of "dry camping."  From there we explored the desert, hiked to the entrance of the great canyon into which disappears the river, bathed in hot spring baths adjacent to the border stream, climbed among the high Chisos on a warm and windy day to escape the desert heat, and crossed by rowboat into Mexico for a taste of one of its remote villages.  We walked in the evening to a lookout on a tongue of high rock that pushed the river out and back around it so that we seemed to be within rather than looking into the state of Mexico.  The sun set illuminating the wall of Sierra del Carmen mountains that traversed the boundary only slit by the great river that disappeared within them.  Moths and bats took to the air as it darkened beneath us.  We retreated only as darkness fell upon us. Then we retreated westward to the town of Terlingua at the western edge of the park to stay another four nights but with such niceties as water and electricity other than we could carry.  There was also cell phone and internet communication that sometimes seem important. From there we continued our explorations of the Big Bend from another great canyon from which this time the Rio Grande flowed to great beds of volcanic ash, green mountain canyons, and the spires of the Chisos.  Anne and I sought the Colima Warbler in the high mountains, but this bird arrives only in the spring and we failed to find it on our first climb in search of it on April 9.  Luck was with us when we repeated the climb on the 11th and Anne texted Laurie of our success.  Upon our return she provided both of us with Colima Warbler T-shirts.  Hurray. The one disappointment was that the park was unusually dry.  This contributed, we believe, to the delay in the arrival of the birds.  In the desert even the cacti were wilted.  They were happy in the mountains but the trees were stressed and the wildflowers and wildlife were much diminished. Our  expedition then headed north to Alpine and then Fort Davis.  The first eighty miles of that trek were across much barren desert, a place where we did not want to experience problems.  We did not and simply enjoyed the wonderful if austere scenery. Arriving at Fort Davis we were told how joyfully wet it was.  The stream was flowing this spring.  We were told it was so wet the Montezuma Quail were not coming into the observation station. "What?" we said.  That was to be our last "life bird" of the expediton.  The naturalists assured us the birds were there, but it might be difficult to find them.  We worked at it hard, walking all about the park on the first evening and next day and driving and walking about more in that evening.  On the second day we took a drive into more habitat and made a long hike across another place known for this bird.  We saw other birds and a mountain lion, but no quail.  Returning to camp we were becoming anxious and depressed.  We had planned on more time there but plans had changed and we were running out of time.  That evening we again walked the length of the park and at one end encountered a flock of this nemesis bird.  We watched the strange-headed birds bobbing through the tall grass and celebrated.  Meanwhile sadness had interrupted our journey.  Laurie was scheduled to fly home and Anne bought a ticket for the same day.  I drove them both to the airport and returned alone to Fort Davis deciding I did not want to make the 300 mile round trip again to pick up Anne a few days later.  She, meanwhile, barely made it home that day.  Severe weather in Dallas and Houston had stalled her at Midland Airport. I enjoyed two more days at in the Davis Mountains.  Then I broke camp, hooked together the rig, drove to near Midland, and made camp all by myself.  That was an adventure without crew.  All went well and I met Anne at the airport that evening.  We dined out, celebrating our anniversary in advance.  The next day was a day of rest and preparation for our return East. From Midland we reached Little Rock AR where we slept in a Cracker Barrel Restarant parking lot.  Then we went on to Hendersonville TN to make a quick visit to the Davidsons and arrived here to witness the "greening up the mountains."  Today we ventured into the Grayson HIghlands where the trees remain bare.  Here the leaves are half out.  Everything is moist and many small birds are arriving from the tropics to deliver sparks of color and song among the great trees of the eastern forest.  Though warm here, tomorrow we cross a line into a region where the temperatures are twenty degrees cooler.  Not sure we are ready for that, but we are ready to return to our home and to see friends and family.  We will miss the travel but enjoy the home fire.  So it goes.  
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March 29, 2016 Seminole Canyon TX
Anne and Chuck submitted on January 17, 1970
The sun is shining and the wind is shaking our rig. The sky is gray and the sage, acacias, and many herbs are in bloom providing a blue, green, and yellow mosaic of color across the plateau flat and the canyon walls. Spring is here.

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BLOG TITLEBLOG CONTENTThe sun is shining and the wind is shaking our rig.  The sky is gray and the sage, acacias, and many herbs are in bloom providing a blue, green, and yellow mosaic of color across the plateau flat and the canyon walls.  Spring is here. We’re in the desert now but felt raindrops on our morning hike.  A trickle of water connects the pools along the hard rock canyon floor.  A few miles downstream the canyon and that of the Rio Grande to which it is tributary are flooded by the Amistad Dam.  We don’t often think of the Rio Grande as a flooded canyon, but it is here. This place is remote but we have a bit of Internet if no telephone service.  We have to drive ten miles for that.  The campground filled the night before last as a group of thirty-some bicyclists on their way from San Diego to Saint Augustine pitched camp here.  By Noon yesterday they were gone, hearty souls.  Our campground now has five tents and RV’s but the ranger says she expects six more this evening.  Many campers here stop for a night on their way from the Lower Valley to Big Bend National Park.  High desert and a seemingly relentless wind discourage many.  We enjoy the hiking and the birds.  Spring arrivals are surprising us every day now.  Soon the rush of migrants will expand.    We have visited three "rock shelter" caves with pictograph panorams on the walls.  They are supposedly a few thousand years old and are spellbinding.  Check out the Rock Art Foundation website to see the images. The folks who lived in those caves got plenty of exercise.  The stairs up to the caves from the canyon floor are tough enough to climb.  They had no stairs. This is a land of sheep and goat herders and a few cattle ranchers.  The closest town is Comstock.  The Border Patrol is the largest employer.  We have to stop and talk to them whenever we return from Del Rio, the county seat, some 40 miles from here.  We go tomorrow to bird and stock up on groceries.  Our next stop is at the tiny town of Marathon where we will stay only long enough to gather my sister from the airport before heading south into Big Bend National Park.  I doubt there will much telephone or Internet there. Our birds include Rock and Cactus Wren, Canyon Towhee, and Roadrunner.  Tells you where we are.  We’re travel hardened and becoming travel weary.  Our winter/spring voyage is drawing to a close.  Still, we have a few more exciting places to visit.
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