We visited the National Butterfly Center where a lot of interesting birds are being seen. Butterflies have been sparse due to the recent chilly weather. One of the highlghts was the dozen or sp Green Jays who were hanging out at the feeding station. Here are a few of them.
Come back for some oriole and hawk shots on the next post.
Finally, we got The Goshawk ready for a local mid-week camping trip to Ricker Pond State Park. I had reserved the only on-shoreline spot we could fit into and as I write this looking out the door, I can see early sign of autumn’s colors reflected in the water while a soon-to-depart Common Loon cruises and calls. Few campers, mid-seventies temps, and a nice forecast. What’s not to like?
After a quick setup, Penny and I took a pretty walk where this Great Blue Heron posed for us.
Sally is coming tonight with the kayaks so we’ll hit the water in the morning. While we are waiting, we tried some selfies to pass the time. Penny is up and frisky after a couple of tough medical weeks so we should have a couple of good shakedown days as we get ready for longer journeys.
The horn on Sprinter vans is a joke, sounding like a clown car. Ours died last winter in California and I haven’t replaced it, to Sally’s delight since she hates horn honking and enjoys watching me hit the mute horn when a light changes and someone is texting or I get cut off by an aggressive driver.
The rig is overdue for inspection (see previous post for why) so I needed to install one that works. Cue YouTube for advice.
I bought a replacement horn, with a lower tone, and it was a pretty simple installation once I realized that it only works with the ignition on.
The new horn was an easy fix once I checked the fuse and put new connectors on the wires. Ready for inspection.
I was tempted to install a big truck multi-horn system with some real blasting power but want to keep piece in our 24-foot travelling home.
Three months ago, I wrote about the poor service I was experiencing as the Interstate languished in the storage yard at Pete’s RV’s in South Burlington. I guess I knew then, when they took their sweet time to do anything, that my rig was a hostage. Early on, I wasn’t too concerned since I had no plans to travel and many other projects on my plate but in the last few months, it’s been ridiculous.
I won’t make you read all the details but it was just unresponsive service: concentrating on prepping sold rigs, delaying getting the rig in and then blaming suppliers for long delays, never initiating status calls or emails, just forgetting to do things and letting the rig just sit there. I was quite patient (too patient) having not a lot of other options.
My insurance adjuster for Progressive has been wonderful, but frustrated. He knows that he recommended Pete’s over a couple of smaller local RV centers. He was happy to call me Wednesday with the “it’s ready to go” news.
Nice to be home – loose wires and missing fasteners and all.
So, after five and a half months, I picked up the rig Thursday and brought it home. The awning is still missing but that’s another story.
Penny found her resting spot right away and is ready to go, whether we are or not.
Time to move on and do some local travel before heading out in January. This year’s winter trip is nearly set. Up ahead, look for more positive reports, bird photos, and less whining.
While the weather in Vermont has been cool and rainy and not conducive to camping, we are becoming impatient with the delays and lack of progress in getting repairs estimated and begun. Pete’s RV in South Burlington has not distinguished themselves so far, setting an inspection date and then waffling for three weeks or so. It is a tough time of year to get work done since there is a lot of dealer prep and prior service commitments after a long winter. But …..
There are two problems. The first is the serious damage to the awning caused by a “dust devil” in New Mexico that I first mentioned here.
The awning remains strapped in place with canoe straps after being manually retracted with the help of three wonderful campsite neighbors – in mid-March.
The good news is that the insurance appraiser looked it over a month ago, sent me a check and someday, we hope to just replace most of the unit. Progressive Insurance has been excellent.
The second incident, completely my fault, occurred in Texas as we went for one last look at the Whooping Cranes – which had departed for parts north. I turned down a narrow road which had a “Men Working” sign at the turn but it wasn’t obvious, until after a quarter mile, that the road was closed off due to paving — and there was no turnaround. Rather than backing all the way to the main road, I tried to turn around on the road, misjudged and got the back wheels down off the pavement. The rig was hung up big time and after call to AAA and a wait, a big tow truck (which luckily happened to be in the general area) showed up.
We were lucky to have a monster tow truck with an experienced driver available.
The driver winched the rig, ever so slowly, getting it turned and out — but we knew there was damage. I could drive it back to the state park and over time to Vermont without the propane or the black water system available.
There’s a leak in the black water tank and other damage that needs to be identified. Come on guys, let’s get with it.
Meanwhile, I’m birding locally and waiting, and still wondering what possessed me to try that U-turn on a narrow road. My co-pilot Sally’s intuition said, Don’t do it!” I wish mine had.
While in California, I learned that my dead MacBook battery was going to be a $750 repair so I am limping home using just the cord, which is touchy. So blogging is slow since I can’t pull off the bird photos easily. (End of whine.)
I found some loose tubing hanging down and have determined it is a break in the propane vent line which has shut down the system. No big deal at the point and we will fix it at home.
However, we were hit with a “dust devil” while parked in New Mexico with the awning out. It came out of nowhere on a hot sunny afternoon and in seconds, nearly destroyed the awning. Neighbor campers helped Sally and I removed broken supports and manually retract it so that I could tie it up for the journey home. We were too concerned to get a “before” picture but here’s the wonderful trio that worked an hour or more to sort things out.
After stops at [Seminole Canyon SP](https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/seminole-canyon) and [Falcon Lake SP](http://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/falcon), we are settled at [Goose Island State Park](http://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/goose-island) in Texas, seeing some good birds including some early warblers.
The game plan is to stop in Louisiana next week and start swinging north with an ETA of the 11th or so. Starting to get itchy for the Green Mountain State.
South Carlsbad State Beach is a wonderful camping site — very popular and almost impossible to get into.
I made reservations months ago for a beachside site. Here is what we see out our windows:
We have watched California Grey Whales migrate north along with pods of porpoises. The birding has been nice (Pacific Loon is a new life bird) as has been the chance to see Robb, Mary, Dane and Maeve down in Del Mar. We’ll be here several days more and then hang out in the Del Mar driveway (hookup, hot shower, great hospitality.)
Goose Island State Park is one of my favorite birding spots. Our first few outings have been very rewarding. Here is a Black-capped Titmouse who showed himself just a few hundred yards from our campsite as we started out.
Walking down to the bay, we saw these two Northern Pintail’s and a Little Blue Heron.
We paused for a few photos of an interesting live oak in the campground.
A short drive away is the field where Whooping Cranes often congregate. There are three regulars including a youngster. Here’s one of the parents.
A number of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks were also there and it was interesting to watch the cranes shoo them away from choice feeding spots. The ducks are quite the characters, making you smile with their actions and their voices.
We will be here about a week and while having to deal with scattered thunderstorms, are enjoying the birds and mild tropical conditions.
We had three days of foggy mornings at Galveston Beach State Park but every so often, the sun showed itself.
Saturday morning, we rode our bikes over to some of the bayside trails and in spite of wind and fog, saw some nice birds. We heard this Loggerhead Shrike calling as we rode in and he sat nicely for us.
A fresh water pond held a neat variety of waterbirds including several White Ibises, a Roseate Spoonbill,
Walking the Clapper Rail Trail, we came across this Great Blue Heron who seemed to think he was hidden from us.
Biking back to the little pond, we saw this Tri-colored Heron in alternate plumage.
Returning to the campsite, this Savannah Sparrow and his buddies welcomed us back.
Our trip to Goose Island State Park featured stiff Texas crosswinds and temperatures in the high 70’s. Off to look for Whooping Cranes in the next few days.
Remembering Martin Luther King and his dream as we move onward, with hope.
"Galveston, oh, Galveston,
I still hear your seawaves crashin,…"
On the way to Galveston Beach State Park, we took the ferry across the Houston ship channel.
Halfway across, we downloaded Glen Campbell’s "Galveston" and listened to it the rest of the crossing – and thought of it as we walked the beach that afternoon.
Just after checking in, we saw this neat White-tailed Kite just outside the office. We hope to see others this weekend.
After setting up, we walked the beach barefoot (the water was refreshing but not swimmable) and saw this Willet, which got Penny’s attention.
These Sanderlings were fun to watch. The second photo shows them and the Willet.
It is time to bone up on shorebirds, again.