Category Archives: 2016 CA Trip

A Couple of Tired Birds

As many of you know, I am a former Naval Aviator and have owned light planes off and on until two years ago. I don’t do air shows and very infrequently air museums but I love local displays of old military planes. So it was interesting to see a couple outside Grand Forks Air Force Base even though the only thing flying out of there these days are some Border Patrol unmanned aircraft (got to keep those Canadians out) and a couple of others from some other agency.

The first is a B-52 which flew out of here for years.

The second is a KC-135 which was the major refueled aircraft for decades.

B-1 bombers flew here for seven years or so. I guess they are not ready for static displays yet although it would save us a lot of taxpayer money.

Some Turtle River SP Remembrances

Penny and I had a nice time birding and walking trails while based at Turtle River. It’s a pretty park built by the CCC’s in the 1930’s and has some unique features. Here’s a shot of the river from a park trail.

There were several neat birds I saw at the nearby Kelly’s Slough NWR. The were a couple of American Avocets looking spiffy in breeding plumage – I see them in winter in Texas.

There were a dozen or more Yellow-headed Blackbirds. I had only seen one before.

This Northern Shoveler was one of several dozen hanging out.

Likewise, Western Meadowlark were everywhere. We are far enough west so that sorting them from Easterns is not required.

I mentioned the CCC buildings – here a local wedding was taking place on a lovely afternoon at the CCC pavilion by the river. And sure, the bridesmaids will have many chances to wear their outfits again.

And I couldn’t let this guy not make the blog. They are all over the park but Penny has yet to spot them and I don’t know what the are. May be a prairie dog. I’ll get back to you.

The Right Place at the Right Time

If you read my last post about searching for the Great Grey Owl, here’s “the rest of the story.”

I had a nice trip across mostly prairie – I did not realize Minnesota had such terrain, and crossing through Grand Forks, North Dakota, an interesting city in its own right, I came to Turtle River State Park, located on the river of the same name.

I had literally just turned off Route 2 and saw some white on the river and thought they were American White Pelicans, some of which I’d seen earlier I the day. There was a convenient pull off on the access road and I spotted three swans. The weren’t Mute Swans, which we see in the East, they were Trumpeter Swans. A life bird just floating, grooming, and feeding there. Here are some shots I took:

The swans were gone the following morning, likely heading northward. Nice payback for the wild owl chase but just proves that timing and luck can be as important as birding skills.

Now, just because I thought she was really pretty, I ending with a picture of a doe that watched me drive by Saturday morning on a camp road. Just a nice way to start the day and she stayed out and returned to feeding as I drove off. I hope your weekend is going well.

Dipping On The Great Grey

When I began thinking about this trip, I noticed that I was heading up to Minnesota and as I often do, I jumped on a state birding listserve for a while. I kept running into references to the Sax-Zim bog which I had known about as a hotspot in the winter for Great Gray Owls. I got on their Facebook page and found that they were seeing a few this summer. So, I put a little jog in my route and Wednesday morning were heading through Duluth for some big tract of land. Google maps was very confidant but they put me, after miles of dirt roads, in someone’s front yard. There was no one there, no 4g signal, and two guys in pickups I asked had no idea what I was looking for. I had plenty of fuel, plenty of afternoon, and water and food onboard.

Retracing my route to the main highway, I tried to call up a post that named two roads where he had seen Great Greys last week. I found it just as I found one of the roads so off we trucked, scanning trees and driving. Right away, there was a large bird in the road – sort of ![title]()grackle-looking. I stopped, got the binoculars on it and bingo: a Black-billed Magpie. I tried to get a shot through the bug-splattered windshield and then maneuvered the van so I could shoot out the window but it flew. I took this long-distance shot for the record. It was a lifer for me. That was easy!

Soon, a car approached from behind moving right along so I pulled way over and as he passed, a passenger gave a wave. “Looks like a birder,” I thought and tailed them from a distance on the dirt road. They pulled off in a grassy parking spot and were unloading when I came by and asked what’s up. In a nutshell, it was a guide from Duluth with two clients from Georgia who were after Black-backed Woodpeckers. Once I explained my ignorance of the area, he gave me his map, guidance on what roads to take, and to do it in the morning. I was so impressed with this guy, apologized to the Georgians for taking a bit of his time, and I was cautiously optimistic.

I drove the hour and fifteen minutes to the campground which is on the upper reaches of the Mississippi River. Here’s the lovely backwater for the dam.

As you can tell from the title, I drove back early Thursday morning and drove roads back and forth. I may have driven by one, who knows. It was a lovely day in some pretty special country – it reminds me of the Tug Hill Plateau in upper New York State. There were lots of birds out and I wasn’t really disappointed – how could you be on such a lovely day.

Meanwhile, flotillas of Canada Geese were on the river when I returned. Here is one gaggle. Off to North Dakota next.

Woody Thoughts

Leaving Golden Lake campground early Tuesday, I headed west on Route 2 which was pretty lonely. For miles there would be no traffic and millions of trees, mostly coniferous and often undergoing cutting projects. Logging trucks were already off and running. The pulp in Michigan is normally loaded crosswise, in short lengths (5 feet?) and the load looks neat and tidy. I think we’ve all met scary looking log loads, especially in the Deep South, but these looked safe. I must say, based on limited sample size, the logging truck guys are much more courteous than long haul drivers. They see you coming and rather than pull out and slow you down as they get up to speed, they wait. What a concept!

I crossed in Wisconsin, had some not nice thoughts about their governor and the House Speaker, but then fell in love with the piece of the state I saw. I was particularly taken by Ashland, which sits on a bay of Lake Superior. We stopped for a break at a lovely waterfront park with a walking path, lots of parking – just great.

Leaving town, I saw a mile or more of free municipal beaches with picnic areas, then a monstrous water sports store. The van swerved but I fought it – no room for more gear.

After a birding stop which I’ll describe later, I checked in at a small Corps of Engineers campground called Pokegamon Dam – because that’s the dam they operate here on the Upper Mississippi just outside Grand Rapids, MN.

It’s a small campground right next to a busy highway. The railroad goes right by it as well and while the trains are few, they feel like they are coming through the van. One went by about three Thursday morning.

A bigger issue is firewood. These are mainly local Minnesota folks and they never met a tree they couldn’t burn. Last night, the van was filled with smoke from my neighbors.

Thursday, after returning from an outing, I found that I had a new crew of Bubba’s and their progeny, and a pickup truck load of cord wood. They even brought a tarp to keep it dry. Si I went up to see the ranger and asked if they had any open sites – claiming, with some truth, that I am allergic to smoke. We got a change several slots upwind and things worked out ok.

Don’t get me started on campfires. Jen and I were coming home several weeks ago when I noticed a cloud of blue smoke over the highway up ahead. It was just the campers at Lake Elmore gearing up for the weekend. I guess it’s part of our caveman dna but while I enjoy a wood stove fire on a frigid Vermont night, roaring camp fires all day when the temps are in the 70’s? I have the feeling I made my point, several paragraph before. Here’s a shot of part of the non-smoking area.

Yooper Duper

Sitting here in the Interstate with a #Vizsla snoring on the other bed, the sun setting over an apt-named Golden Lake, I am listening to Sibelius being performed by the Minnesota orchestra live at Carnegie Hall. (Oh, to have a public station that plays real music, not programmed.) Earlier, as I was eating supper in the front seat, I noticed movement outside and a male hummer was inspecting my bright red shirt through the window.

I am using Jennifer’s FitBit and aiming for at least 10,000 steps, even on long travel days like today. So we went for a post-dinner walk to get the 2,500 steps I was lacking. Of course I brought the binoculars and ended the session with two loons out in front of the campsite and a gorgeous Blackburnian warbler chipping away nearby.

My general plan is to get going early, drive for six hours or so, with breaks every hour or two. That gets us to campsites early enough to get some good walking/birding in. Monday, we left Rich, Lydda, and Bronson after a wonderful visit. Driving north through Ohio is nothing to write home about, so I won’t. Except to say that I wish I’d had someone on board who could identify all the spring plants just starting to pop. I guessed soybeans, corn, but then went by a sugar processor so sugar beets?

I drove up into Michigan, noting the change from crops to trees as we headed north. Aside from construction, it was an easy trip although I’m having issues with a “check engine” light. I’m sort of ignoring it.

We tangled with a line of thunderstorms but outran most of them. I had the weather radar on the iPad and it brought back my flying days, as I slid past yellow and red cells, which I could also see as angry black clouds off to my left. Soon the system was behind us.

I’m hitting a few Forest Service campgrounds (since I’m not happy with Michigan’s extra $9/day fee for non-resident visitors. The first was in the Huron National Forest which required navigating some dirt roads.

These campgrounds have no services except for some fancy outhouses. This one had only three campers on 30 sites so it was quiet – and after a cold front passed, pretty chilly.

After coffee and a chilly morning walk, we were on the way north on I-75 with very light traffic. The Mackinaw Straights bridge is pretty impressive and there was just enough crosswind to keep my mind on my track and not the height.

I took Route 2 which is an old-style highway skirting the top of Lake Michigan. It is interesting – you know you are in the Upper Peninsula when the signs say “ATM, Smoked Fish, Pasties, Diesel” and you pass dozens of old rundown cottages and closed restaurants.

Parts of the route were spectacular. The lake with whitecaps, light blue water, and sandy beaches looked like the Caribbean until you noted that the outside air was 52. After about 150 miles of interesting driving – more trees than I need to see in a day – we came the Golden Lake campground which was empty except for a host couple. I picked a site near the water and off we went on a long walk.

Wednesday I hope to start doing a little more serious birding. We will stay for two days at a Corps of Engineers campground in Minnesota. Then a couple of days in eastern North Dakota. So long from Yooper Country.

Stopping In Buckeye Land

After a quiet night at Allegheny State Park, I spent much of Friday driving to Ohio. Route 17 in New York was lovely and the route down along Lake Erie toward Cleveland was easy. We stopped at several rest areas in Ohio where the breeze off the lake made things comfortable.

Aside from a traffic mess around Columbus, the balance of the trip to Rich and Lydda’s outside Dayton went well.

They live in a large development with hundreds of homes. The builders incorporated quite a lot of green space, berms, and ponds along with a nice network of paved walking/biking trails. I was able to get in rig into their driveway and since I was sleeping in their basement, did not have to worry about the slope.

It has been a nice visit. Lydda is a great cook and we have just had a nice laid-back family visit punctuated by many dog walks. Penny gets along fine with their dog, Squirrel, and there are many rabbits to get her attention on walks.

I went birding with my grandson, Bronson, for a while Sunday. It was his first time and the highlight was probably the Great Blue Heron who arose from one of the little ponds, showing us his full wingspan. Here are some shots of us heading out.

I’m heading up to Grayling, Michigan next to a small Forest Service campground were you just show up. We will see how that goes with thunderstorms in the forecast.

Southern Tier Nostalgia

As usually happens on a long trip, I was up at two, then at four for real, and on the road at 6 AM. I recalled trudging down an icy driveway in the dark with Mary on our last trip – we had parked the rig at the bottom due to snow and ice. Today’s launch was rather easy relative to that. As we’d say in Navy flying, “kick the tire, light the fire.”

Penny and I took our first break at the Fair Haven rest area where this selfie documented my last time in Vermont for a while.

I had been watching the forecasts which called for severe thunderstorms on our route. I considered taking a higher route – the Thruway – but decided to wait a while to decide and then stayed with our original plans.

Getting out of Vermont was easy and the weather and scenery was perfect. The lightly-traveled I-88 was likewise pretty uneventful aside from a lot of one-lane stretches for construction.

Then I got into the westbound flow of Route 17 and memories flowed. The Blue Dolphin diner in Endicott, owe go where Mary was ordained deacon and then priest. The failed race track that is now a casino. The Exit 61 sign for Waverly/Sayre which we took many a time. I thought I could see our old house – probably the nicest we ever had – up on the hill overlooking town.

Then west of Waverly, the highway slides in Pennsylvania for a tiny distance and I recalled paddling both the Chemung and Susquehanna rivers in my canoe racing days.

About Elmira, the rain hit pretty heavy. I had stopped earlier to check the radar and knew that it was likely a short stretch, and so it was. Of course, I’m still learning the van systems and had quite a time finding out how to defog the windshield.

This part of the trip reminded me of the long drive Mary would make each week to finish seminary in Rochester. And as I passed the sign for Elmira Heights, I remembered how the church there stiffed her for the required contributions to the church pension fund and essentially just said “tough luck” afterward. And they’ll know that we are Christians by our love…..

We stopped mid-afternoon, after nine and a half hours enroute, at a big state park near Salamanca called Allegheny State Park. It was 80 degrees and muggy so I opted for an electric site and we have been running the air. The place has a number of families with young children and most are in tents. We are getting a shower as I write and kids are still riding the camp road on their bikes. Well, it’s really coming down now. I feel a bit smug, and snug, in my rig.

Penny and I took a nice walk before supper, hearing and seeing lots of warblers. Lots of redstarts and yellow warblers. I watched a song sparrow use the little brook as his personal bird bath.

Here’s Penny admiring the pretty lake.

Tomorrow is about six hours to Rich and Lydda’s – I’m really looking forward to seeing them.

Travels With Penny

A Steinbeck I’m not, as you know if you read this blog. But, by the time you do read this, Penny and I will be well on our way toward the southern tier of New York. It’s a route I know well from my days working in rural New York: the Rutland, Route 4, Northway down to Albany, then I-88 to Binghamton, then Route 17 toward Jamestown. No tolls but lots of river towns and thumpy concrete highway. I think they call it I-85 out west but that’s like putting lipstick on a pig.

Yesterday I went up to Worcester to get some diesel fuel and my last maple bun at the Post Office Cafe for some time. Penny settled into her stretched out spot between the two front seats, where she will sleep for hours.

I don’t have tons of storage space but I am hauling Pete’s Green mesclun, local chicken and hamburger, Cabot Cheese, Morse Farm maple syrup, Booth Brothers milk, and some homemade granola to go with the Stonyfields yogurt. I should have a good first week culinary-wise.

So the general plan is to see our son Rich and his wife Lydda, along with Bronson in Ohio for the weekend. We are getting psyched for that. Afterward, it’s a little open. I am going to head north through Michigan, hook a left before Canada, and wander along the northern route through Minnesota, North Dakota, and Montana. The objective is to arrive in San Diego County in late June to see the West Coast gang.

Vermont is a tough place to leave in summer. Everything is just popping and one side of me wants to stay and paddle, hike, and bird. But I really wanted a change of venue for a bit, to see grandkids that I see way too infrequently, to explore a part of the country that I have never seen, and to do a little birding in places new to me. It’s going to be fun and I’ll share a bit of what I see and do, including comments my Vermont plates draw. Peace my friends.