This week I was talking to a friend about COVID-19. And I admitted to her that I am finding this “stage” of this–group project?– to be the hardest yet. She agreed and admitted she was struggling, too. As if the gods were listening, the next day the WSO convention–the first in-person convention in two years–was changed to virtual. I’m going…
Wednesday was the day I was scheduled to meet my friend and go birding with her in the Boise area. We met at 7am and went through Star Riverwalk. From there, we went to a local country road hotspot, where we found a rookery containing cormorants, herons, and egrets. There was also a pair of foals and a bunch of…
Well, I’m afraid there isn’t too much to show today. We left Salt Lake City and headed up to Minidoka National Wildlife Refuge before going onto to Boise. Once again, the maps took me down dirt roads, but this time it ended in a locked gate. As I sat there, pondering what to do, a NWR employee came up to…
Today I “broke camp” from Colorado and started making my way home. I drove around seven hours to Salt Lake City and specifically to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. My car clocked the temp at 104, but it was still an amazing place. I went before and after I checked into the hotel and I may go back tomorrow before…
They say that the unexpected adventures are part of the joy of travel. It’s possible, but I don’t think that’s going to do much to persuade me that today was worth it. Today was the final day of the Peggy Judy workshop, and Peggy had arranged for us to have a “cowboy” photo shoot at a ranch down in the…
Well, we’re here. In the southwest part of Colorado. Our southern-most port. And I’m glad to land for a few days. The big birding stop of the day was Highline Lake State Park. It’s so hot that the pickings are slim. Just to check, I looked at eBird tonight and it confirms that June is one of the worst months…
Dirt roads. No internet signal (so no maps.) A very long day. We hit the road early today to a lovely sunrise. The goal for the day was Seedskadee NWR. When we were almost there, we came across Fontenelle Reservoir, where several American white pelicans were hanging out. They still have their breeding humps, which is a fun reference to get.…
Ah, Yellowstone day. The day I felt most nervous about. So nervous, in fact, that I woke up at 4:30 am (not planned) and was on the road by five. The first excitement came with a set of dancing bison. This group was obviously young bachelors who were head butting and running about in a circle. I may have to…
This morning I loaded up the last minute items and was on the road by 6:30. It’s hard to tell, from a map, what kind of drive to expect. Things will estimate distances, but there are still a lot of unknowns. I headed south, and for the first time drove through “the big hole”, which for some reason I thought…
And thus, the final day in Hamilton. Everyone headed to church, but because I have Key, I didn’t want to leave him in the car and went back to the Lee Metcalf refuge. From there we took a drive out to where some of Mom and Dad’s ashes are spread, which is a pretty drive. Hamilton is buzzing because the…