Morning in rest stops is interesting. The car that was parked next to you all night is replaced by a van, the driver in the SUV peers out through the foggy windshield with one sleepy eye realizing that she has been seen. Fortunately for me, I sleep heavily until awake when I am totally awake… I jump up to do my morning ritual, brush the teeth, drink a large glass of water and ignite the engine towards another day of adventuring. I stopped at the next rest stop just to stretch as the last stop didn’t seem that interesting, but this stop had a little nature trail so I hiked around the mile long loop while sweating more in the slightly hot but definitely muggy morning. Not too many birds about but a nice flock of chickadees and titmice satisfy me for a little bit.
Not sure of what I want to do today except drive through as much of Texas as possible… so I head west on Interstate 10 toward San Antonio where I saw a sign about the Alamo, interesting but I passed the exit… the next exit steers me to the historic missions, so what the heck, haven’t done much historical touring… I find myself in an active Catholic Church and National Historic Park at Mission Concepcion.
Being raised a Catholic but realizing a while back that religion has no function in my life, I normally stay away from such places, not bad memories just find the whole concept of religion silly and pretty damaging to the community of humans… anyway, what do I do upon entry into the sanctuary but bless myself with holy water and genuflect toward the altar; boy the indoctrination was complete.
Interesting buildings made out of limestone which is a major construction material throughout the south. Billions of years of accumulation of carbonate creatures created some amazing bedrock in the old Western Interior Seaway from the Cretaceous period. I enjoyed the limestone construction and the faded painting on the walls of the various rooms in the church.
I left intending to continue my drive but thought what the heck, I most likely would never return to San Antonio, so I programmed the GPS to take me to the Alamo. The shrine to the massacre of the Texas militia is run by a private group and is semipublic… similar to the Battleship Park in Alabama. Another cool building but they wouldn’t allow photos inside the buildings so I restricted my activities to the grounds. I moved quickly wanting to hurry along the road, but thought I was fated to be here since I found parking right next to the building and only had to pay a nickel to park (really didn’t have to pay anything as the meter had an hour on it but I put a nickel in to make sure it wasn’t broken).
I left to continue towards Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico. I needed to fuel up and again programmed the GPS to direct me to a gas station, took the road but found the bridge was out due to construction. I ended up at a park on the Llano River where I birded and looked for dragonflies and butterflies. Enjoyed the park as the birds were pretty active, just as I was climbing back into my car after tromping around for an hour or so, I saw what I knew immediately was a Golden-fronted Woodpecker, don’t ask me how as I had never seen this bird before and don’t really study the field guides… just popped into my head that that is what it was.
I found a gas station and continued my journey crossing into New Mexico as the sun was setting. I drove toward Carlsbad Caverns enjoying the tremendous number of nightjars hunting along the roadside. After finding the price for the RV park just outside Carlsbad (which had no camping facilities) to be exorbitant, I found a dirt road and settled down for the night.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
Nature Ali's Grand Adventure - Day 24, July 13th.
Woke up to watch the sunrise in Atchafalaya, Louisiana as thousands upon thousands of blackbirds streamed from the south towards the north; filling the sky. A Barn Swallow was busy feeding her four young that appear to be about to fledge. A nine-banded armadillo wandered the grounds while five feral cats looked on. Dozens of ibis flew over mostly white but a few dark one’s that I predict were Glossy but hard to ID with little light. Two Loggerhead Shrikes competed for perches and bugs with the same number of Northern Mockingbirds. A busy morning as I sat in my truck blogging along… the wireless at this rest stop was down … but as luck would have it a few miles down the road I found a hotspot in Lafayette, LA. Before driving to Lafayette, I drove along the road by the rest area between the east and westbound lanes of Interstate 10 and found a river right between the lanes where several boats were being launched into the waterway. A strange sight indeed… I found out later the Atchafalaya River was one of the major tributaries of the Mississippi which I had missed crossing over during the dark drive the night before.
I drove down to Sabine National Wildlife Refuge out of Lake Charles. Found it to be most interesting. Saw four life birds while there… Neotropic Cormorant, King Rail, Least Tern, and Seaside Sparrow; I was ever so grateful for the bird list of the refuge otherwise I would have been clueless about the cormorant, rail and sparrow. There was a lot of damage to the refuge buildings and even more as I drove west along the coast through Johnson Bayou. The high school was totally destroyed and an Audubon Sanctuary run by the Baton Rouge chapter lost what I can only imagine was an observation tower. The Gulf looked awful… full of dirty oil soaked sand and the water… ooh gross, such a contrast to the clear water of Florida. I don’t believe for a minute that all of the oil platforms just off the coast weren’t contributing to the problem, but of course some could be a remnant of Hurricane Ike that blew through last September (that factoid courtesy of my ground crew… Margot).
Continuing on I found another bird I had never seen before but have to process the photos to see if I can id it (I did check and it turned out to be another life bird… Dicksissel). I left Louisiana by way of the Port Arthur, Texas bridge which fortunately had a temporary detour built (the real bridge was destroyed during the hurricane and hadn’t been repaired yet)… I get great gas mileage but there was no way I could have backtracked to a gas station… the one station on the gulf still had signs but the building and pumps were washed away during the hurricane. Whew, a real reason not to build right next to the water. Spent the night at the Glidden Rest Area west of Houston… tried to make it to San Antonio, but the eyes wouldn’t stay open.
I drove down to Sabine National Wildlife Refuge out of Lake Charles. Found it to be most interesting. Saw four life birds while there… Neotropic Cormorant, King Rail, Least Tern, and Seaside Sparrow; I was ever so grateful for the bird list of the refuge otherwise I would have been clueless about the cormorant, rail and sparrow. There was a lot of damage to the refuge buildings and even more as I drove west along the coast through Johnson Bayou. The high school was totally destroyed and an Audubon Sanctuary run by the Baton Rouge chapter lost what I can only imagine was an observation tower. The Gulf looked awful… full of dirty oil soaked sand and the water… ooh gross, such a contrast to the clear water of Florida. I don’t believe for a minute that all of the oil platforms just off the coast weren’t contributing to the problem, but of course some could be a remnant of Hurricane Ike that blew through last September (that factoid courtesy of my ground crew… Margot).
Continuing on I found another bird I had never seen before but have to process the photos to see if I can id it (I did check and it turned out to be another life bird… Dicksissel). I left Louisiana by way of the Port Arthur, Texas bridge which fortunately had a temporary detour built (the real bridge was destroyed during the hurricane and hadn’t been repaired yet)… I get great gas mileage but there was no way I could have backtracked to a gas station… the one station on the gulf still had signs but the building and pumps were washed away during the hurricane. Whew, a real reason not to build right next to the water. Spent the night at the Glidden Rest Area west of Houston… tried to make it to San Antonio, but the eyes wouldn’t stay open.
Nature Ali's Grand Adventure - Day 23, July 12th.
I woke up a 5 a.m. to a great cup of coffee that my brother made enjoying some more great conversation before we both had to leave. I went over to Gulf Coast Community College to bird a bit while the weather was still cool (there is no such thing as cool here – just not as hot… muggy applies to all times of day). Not too much activity but a few terns and gulls overhead. I drove over the Hathaway Bridge (where the bridge got struck by lightening 34 years ago while I was watching a waterspout) towards Panama City Beach… I had intended again to drive some distance but saw Allison Ave. and couldn’t resist taking the road to the first apartment I lived in after getting married to Clayton back in 1975. The apartment was gone but it led me to the beach where I continued the drive.
The number of huge hotels on the beach is disgusting. No view of the gulf anywhere. When I first moved to Panama City, we were hit by Hurricane Eloise which destroyed most of these types of buildings; fifteen years later Hurricane Opal did it again. Why do people continue to elect uninformed officials who allow buildings to be put in areas they shouldn’t? Anyway, I digress, I stopped here and there trying to bird wherever there was an opportunity. I did pick up a few Least Terns flying along the coast.
I got back on Hwy 98 but saw a turnoff to Seaside and the Florida Birding Trail (which basically seems to just direct people to every state park… the people at the Florida visitors centers should offer to sell annual park passes to every visitor who asks about birding opportunities so they don’t continuously get hit with the entrance fees).
Seaside is a really bizarre village where the movie “The Truman Show” was filmed. Narrow streets filled with beautiful little cottages… more bike paths than roads. Really Stepford Wive’s feeling place.
Just west of Seaside, I stopped at an amazing beach where the water was an amazing turquoise and so clear. The sand on the beach was so white. Out in the water was a loon just bobbing along with its head down fishing. I thought at first it was a dolphin or something similar. I took photos and finally got my feet wet which I had been reluctant to do because I didn’t want to travel with salty skin (they had a rinse off place). I dropped one of my sandals unknowingly way down the beach and a very helpful woman pointed it out to me. That was a pleasant stop.
Continuing west I stopped at Gulf Islands National Seashore where I got my passport stamped. The fellow at the desk was helpful yet completely clueless about nature watching. I really think the park service needs to make visitor center staff go out and explore their park and go on interpretive walks. I loved being able to share with visitors all of the exciting possibilities for adventures in Sequoia National Forest, being the person at the information center may be the only contact the public has to staff, it is really important that that person is a people person and willing to go the extra mile to help.
Anyway, despite the less than stellar information, I did walk the nature trail and found many wonderful birds for the day. Best of all was a Red-headed Woodpecker feeding a very anxious fledgling.
Leaving Florida behind, I entered Alabama to a most helpful woman at the I-10 Rest Stop. Birding rest stops is not to be missed if one is traveling. I found six species there including surprisingly Cinnamon Teal in the sump. I got an Alabama Coastal Birding Trail map and found the detour to Battleship Memorial Park in Mobile a good quick opportunity. While few birds were found beyond hundreds of Laughing Gulls, three Ring-billed Gulls were the first I had found in the east. They charged to enter the park which I thought was strange until I found out even with all of the military aircraft, the Battleship Alabama and a submarine, this was a privately funded park, I find that intriguing. I also find it strange America’s fascination with violence and glorifying tools of war. I am proud of the sacrifice of our soldiers but our need to fight others whose beliefs are foreign to our own (especially on their land) is so contrary to a truly civilized society. Oh, well, I am not about to change the world with my rants, but I would love it if those visiting such places would stop to enjoy and respect the world about them.
All through my voyage, I have been relying not just on my GPS, but on my ground support team, which consists of my sister Margot! I have to thank her for helping me figure out where to go next, where I am and what the weather is forecast to be.
Thanks MARGOT!
Funny thing, I have been saying all along that I have a special relationship to Mother Earth (Gaia) and that she has been protecting me. Margot scoffed (as would I) at the supernatural helping me on my journey. I had asked about severe thunderstorms and Margot checked, letting me know that a very bad system was heading my way. I was prepared but asked Gaia for assistance since my tires are getting worn and I am worried about the possibility of hydroplaning and having an accident. So while Margot was telling me what time the storm with the heavy downpour and hail should arrive, she was surprised when I told her I received just a few drops and that the road continued to remain dry. As she watched the radar, a bubble of cloudlessness opened up along my path and quickly closed behind me with heavy rain. My path remained dry and here I now sit at a rest stop in Atchafalaya, Louisiana without a cloud in the sky. I will rest for now.
The number of huge hotels on the beach is disgusting. No view of the gulf anywhere. When I first moved to Panama City, we were hit by Hurricane Eloise which destroyed most of these types of buildings; fifteen years later Hurricane Opal did it again. Why do people continue to elect uninformed officials who allow buildings to be put in areas they shouldn’t? Anyway, I digress, I stopped here and there trying to bird wherever there was an opportunity. I did pick up a few Least Terns flying along the coast.
I got back on Hwy 98 but saw a turnoff to Seaside and the Florida Birding Trail (which basically seems to just direct people to every state park… the people at the Florida visitors centers should offer to sell annual park passes to every visitor who asks about birding opportunities so they don’t continuously get hit with the entrance fees).
Seaside is a really bizarre village where the movie “The Truman Show” was filmed. Narrow streets filled with beautiful little cottages… more bike paths than roads. Really Stepford Wive’s feeling place.
Just west of Seaside, I stopped at an amazing beach where the water was an amazing turquoise and so clear. The sand on the beach was so white. Out in the water was a loon just bobbing along with its head down fishing. I thought at first it was a dolphin or something similar. I took photos and finally got my feet wet which I had been reluctant to do because I didn’t want to travel with salty skin (they had a rinse off place). I dropped one of my sandals unknowingly way down the beach and a very helpful woman pointed it out to me. That was a pleasant stop.
Continuing west I stopped at Gulf Islands National Seashore where I got my passport stamped. The fellow at the desk was helpful yet completely clueless about nature watching. I really think the park service needs to make visitor center staff go out and explore their park and go on interpretive walks. I loved being able to share with visitors all of the exciting possibilities for adventures in Sequoia National Forest, being the person at the information center may be the only contact the public has to staff, it is really important that that person is a people person and willing to go the extra mile to help.
Anyway, despite the less than stellar information, I did walk the nature trail and found many wonderful birds for the day. Best of all was a Red-headed Woodpecker feeding a very anxious fledgling.
Leaving Florida behind, I entered Alabama to a most helpful woman at the I-10 Rest Stop. Birding rest stops is not to be missed if one is traveling. I found six species there including surprisingly Cinnamon Teal in the sump. I got an Alabama Coastal Birding Trail map and found the detour to Battleship Memorial Park in Mobile a good quick opportunity. While few birds were found beyond hundreds of Laughing Gulls, three Ring-billed Gulls were the first I had found in the east. They charged to enter the park which I thought was strange until I found out even with all of the military aircraft, the Battleship Alabama and a submarine, this was a privately funded park, I find that intriguing. I also find it strange America’s fascination with violence and glorifying tools of war. I am proud of the sacrifice of our soldiers but our need to fight others whose beliefs are foreign to our own (especially on their land) is so contrary to a truly civilized society. Oh, well, I am not about to change the world with my rants, but I would love it if those visiting such places would stop to enjoy and respect the world about them.
All through my voyage, I have been relying not just on my GPS, but on my ground support team, which consists of my sister Margot! I have to thank her for helping me figure out where to go next, where I am and what the weather is forecast to be.
Thanks MARGOT!
Funny thing, I have been saying all along that I have a special relationship to Mother Earth (Gaia) and that she has been protecting me. Margot scoffed (as would I) at the supernatural helping me on my journey. I had asked about severe thunderstorms and Margot checked, letting me know that a very bad system was heading my way. I was prepared but asked Gaia for assistance since my tires are getting worn and I am worried about the possibility of hydroplaning and having an accident. So while Margot was telling me what time the storm with the heavy downpour and hail should arrive, she was surprised when I told her I received just a few drops and that the road continued to remain dry. As she watched the radar, a bubble of cloudlessness opened up along my path and quickly closed behind me with heavy rain. My path remained dry and here I now sit at a rest stop in Atchafalaya, Louisiana without a cloud in the sky. I will rest for now.
Nature Ali's Grand Adventure - Day 22, July 11th.
I left Gainesville hoping to make some distance but alas, wanting to revisit St. Marks Wildlife Refuge, progress was shorter than hoped. I was amazed at how many Swallow-tailed Kites I saw along the road to St. Marks. What a beautiful bird! I then saw a bird which reminded me of an Acorn Woodpecker… I had been wondering when I would see another Red-headed Woodpecker and there it was on top of a telephone pole. I turned around to get a photo but it flew. Someday, I will find and photograph this cool woodpecker.
I arrived at St. Marks as a thunderstorm was threatening but I asked Mother Nature to help stave it off until I had gotten in a hike. She has been so helpful this trip, parting the clouds and cooling the temperature to reasonable wherever I have traveled. I went immediately to the lighthouse trail to see what birds and other critters were about. I wasn’t disappointed… many herons including a full breeding plumage Reddish Egret (too far away for good photos) and a pure white fledgling Little Blue Heron. I have been searching every shallow area for damselflies and dragonflies hoping to get photos to help Dennis Paulson complete his book, but I don’t seem to be able to find anything out of the ordinary.
I did scare up a Least Bittern while searching. What a cool and secretive bird. I thought it time to leave just as a wicked rainstorm hit. I welcomed the cool rain while I was driving along the speed restricted refuge road.
I then headed to Carabelle, one of my favorite stops on Highway 98, it didn’t disappoint with American Oystercatchers, a Short-billed Dowitcher, Godwits, Willets, Brown Pelicans, and the ever present Laughing Gulls. There were plenty of people fishing and one particularly spoiled Great Blue Heron which was looking for handouts and being photographed by this grateful photographer. Continuing on I called my brother who finally answered his phone and enjoyed a brief visit with him before laying out my sleeping bag on his floor and calling it a night.
I arrived at St. Marks as a thunderstorm was threatening but I asked Mother Nature to help stave it off until I had gotten in a hike. She has been so helpful this trip, parting the clouds and cooling the temperature to reasonable wherever I have traveled. I went immediately to the lighthouse trail to see what birds and other critters were about. I wasn’t disappointed… many herons including a full breeding plumage Reddish Egret (too far away for good photos) and a pure white fledgling Little Blue Heron. I have been searching every shallow area for damselflies and dragonflies hoping to get photos to help Dennis Paulson complete his book, but I don’t seem to be able to find anything out of the ordinary.
I did scare up a Least Bittern while searching. What a cool and secretive bird. I thought it time to leave just as a wicked rainstorm hit. I welcomed the cool rain while I was driving along the speed restricted refuge road.
I then headed to Carabelle, one of my favorite stops on Highway 98, it didn’t disappoint with American Oystercatchers, a Short-billed Dowitcher, Godwits, Willets, Brown Pelicans, and the ever present Laughing Gulls. There were plenty of people fishing and one particularly spoiled Great Blue Heron which was looking for handouts and being photographed by this grateful photographer. Continuing on I called my brother who finally answered his phone and enjoyed a brief visit with him before laying out my sleeping bag on his floor and calling it a night.
Nature Ali's Grand Adventure - Day 21, July 10th.
Went on an adventure with my Mother in search of the Florida Scrub-Jay and the elusive Limpkin; success on the jays but skunked again on the Limpkin. Ocala National Forest is east of Ocala and has many varied habitats. We visited the scrub and then went to Alexander Spring where they charged to enter. There were no Limpkins but the spring was pretty neat looking and full of people enjoying swimming although they seemed a little lax about the lightening that was striking all around.
After we left I enjoyed two Sandhill Cranes that were hanging out on Hwy 442. There were two more on Highway 19. Then we hit a really wicked rainstorm where traffic slowed to 40 mph on Interstate 75. I was really glad the people responded to not being able to see anything, instead of blasting down the highway and causing accidents. Back to Mom’s to pack for the journey to continue.
181 miles
After we left I enjoyed two Sandhill Cranes that were hanging out on Hwy 442. There were two more on Highway 19. Then we hit a really wicked rainstorm where traffic slowed to 40 mph on Interstate 75. I was really glad the people responded to not being able to see anything, instead of blasting down the highway and causing accidents. Back to Mom’s to pack for the journey to continue.
181 miles
Nature Ali's Grand Adventure - Day 20, July 9th.
I stayed at my mother’s house in Gainesville and visited with her and my sister all day. I didn’t even go out, just worked on my very tardy blog entries and photos. I can’t believe my amazing sister; she is going through chemo and was still tending to Mom and trying to serve me which I was thankful for her attention but wanted to be there for her not the other way around.
Nature Ali's Grand Adventure - Day 19, July 8th.
My intent today was to bird Shark Valley as recommended by my friend Ellen. I was looking forward to seeing the so-far elusive Limpkin. I saw a sign for the loop road off of Tamiami Trail through the Big Cypress National Preserve so I figured that would be a good road to go on… not… did see some huge alligators, but the pavement soon gives way to a dirt road that was filled with water in many places. It made for 30 miles of slow cautious driving with no real opportunity to bird unless you count as birds the five-pound mosquitoes that were capable of carrying off small children. Needless to say I was very glad to be driving in an enclosed vehicle.
Speaking of vehicles, my truck “Xena” is a hybrid Ford Escape, and she has taken me so many places that no car would ever have been able to go. I was continuously destroying the suspension on my street cars, so I knew an SUV was something I really needed but could not justify the ecological footprint of something that only would get 15-20 miles per gallon, so I bought this truck in October 2007. While the price tag is still high, I am ever so happy to have this truck and the freedom it affords me. Besides, I am getting an average of over 30 mpg on this trip which is quite a savings.
Back to the adventure; I bought a National Parks Passport which you can get stamped at all federal lands, but since I arrived too late to get it stamped at the lower Everglades and my 30-mile detour had me miss Shark Valley entirely I headed toward the Gulf entrance to Everglades. Stopping at the Big Cypress office first, I met this woman who was such a doll, enthusiastic and helpful and she really seemed interested in my journey. I got my passport stamped and headed off to Everglades.
The fellow at the visitor’s center was such a polar opposite from the woman at Big Cypress, he did not seem one bit interested in helping, just grunted where the passport station was and answered my questions with very quick answers, disappointing. Anyway, I saw some cool fish swimming in the marina where you can get 2 hour tours by boat of the islands nearby. The price was listed as about thirty dollars for either trip, which was intriguing but I had too much ground to cover to stop and even think about taking that much time out of my day.
I left Everglades to find Audubon’s Corkscrew Swamp which I had heard so many wonderful things about especially the prospect of seeing Pileated Woodpeckers in numbers. I found the sanctuary to be everything I had expected plus more. I stopped and visited with the Center Director, Ed, his assistant Laurie and other staff. They were most helpful in my quest for answers about running the Center. (I am working on the plans for a Center back at the Kern River Preserve.) I took off down their 2.2 mile long boardwalk and took every detour that was offered. What an amazing walk. While I did find my much sought after Pileated, there were not too many other birds out in mid day but the walk was very pleasant and the weather while muggy wasn’t too unbearably hot. I want to visit this place again and again.
After my visit I programmed in Mom’s address and drove straight to Gainesville arriving after 10 p.m.
Speaking of vehicles, my truck “Xena” is a hybrid Ford Escape, and she has taken me so many places that no car would ever have been able to go. I was continuously destroying the suspension on my street cars, so I knew an SUV was something I really needed but could not justify the ecological footprint of something that only would get 15-20 miles per gallon, so I bought this truck in October 2007. While the price tag is still high, I am ever so happy to have this truck and the freedom it affords me. Besides, I am getting an average of over 30 mpg on this trip which is quite a savings.
Back to the adventure; I bought a National Parks Passport which you can get stamped at all federal lands, but since I arrived too late to get it stamped at the lower Everglades and my 30-mile detour had me miss Shark Valley entirely I headed toward the Gulf entrance to Everglades. Stopping at the Big Cypress office first, I met this woman who was such a doll, enthusiastic and helpful and she really seemed interested in my journey. I got my passport stamped and headed off to Everglades.
The fellow at the visitor’s center was such a polar opposite from the woman at Big Cypress, he did not seem one bit interested in helping, just grunted where the passport station was and answered my questions with very quick answers, disappointing. Anyway, I saw some cool fish swimming in the marina where you can get 2 hour tours by boat of the islands nearby. The price was listed as about thirty dollars for either trip, which was intriguing but I had too much ground to cover to stop and even think about taking that much time out of my day.
I left Everglades to find Audubon’s Corkscrew Swamp which I had heard so many wonderful things about especially the prospect of seeing Pileated Woodpeckers in numbers. I found the sanctuary to be everything I had expected plus more. I stopped and visited with the Center Director, Ed, his assistant Laurie and other staff. They were most helpful in my quest for answers about running the Center. (I am working on the plans for a Center back at the Kern River Preserve.) I took off down their 2.2 mile long boardwalk and took every detour that was offered. What an amazing walk. While I did find my much sought after Pileated, there were not too many other birds out in mid day but the walk was very pleasant and the weather while muggy wasn’t too unbearably hot. I want to visit this place again and again.
After my visit I programmed in Mom’s address and drove straight to Gainesville arriving after 10 p.m.
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