HappyTrails

Not a zingy name

Gosh, I was so excited to get my lifetime pass for the National Parks, formerly called a Golden Age or Golden Eagle pass.  I'm not excited to be of that certain age where I'm eligible but I do love the idea of free access to National Parks and half priced RV parking... where there is room for a RV. For others out there who are about to get this benefit of reached a certain age, 62, I wonder if others are disappointed that the National Forest Service has renamed all the passes, removing the "Golden" designation.  Now, the name on the card is "Senior Pass."  On the website they call it the America the Beautiful senior pass but they didn't print that anywhere on the actual card. I guess it is a cost saving measure but I think this change is a poor one.  Well, Jack reminds me that the benefits are all the same as the previous pass so I guess that's ok. Here's what it looks like now.

We explored the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area and hiked up quite a ways to view the Pacific Ocean from the top of dunes at Siltcoos (Siuslaw National Forest) which is about ten miles south of Florence.  The recreation area extends southward for many miles and offers several viewing areas with hiking and camping opportunities.  The snowy plover is nesting at Siltcoos but it is sometimes possible to see chicks at a distance.  The park has a volunteer who provides information about the current snowy plover population.

Here's a link about the area: click here to view

Techno Nature

I've mentioned in previous posts that I am an eclectic researcher.  I have a few RSS feeds that come in and I'm always fascinated to see the new and different innovations taking place every day.  You may remember the old story that the U.S. Patent Office was going to shut it's doors many decades ago because there "just wasn't anything new to patent."  Ha!  Check out this article from Wired News on, of all things, birding on your computer. Yikes, what next.  I can see a number of very positive results of what is called Cone, like people who would otherwise be unable to get out to see the real birds having access through this techno tool.  If you want to read the whole story, click on this link to the Wired News article.  If you just want to see what the techno nature tool is click here.  I hope you find this interesting.  Just think of how new
bird enthusiasts, traveling the country in their RV, might use this.

Bird opportunitites

It's been quite a while since we've gotten out and joined the birds.  Yes, one of the many interests we developed as a result of our fulltime RVing lifestyle is birding.  Prior to hitting the road in our motorhome in January 2005, we lived in Humboldt County on the North Coast of California where migrating and resident birds abound.  We were too busy working and taking care of our huge garden to get out and learn about this wonderful activity.  Now we're limited to the time we can spend away from the current homebase but something exciting is coming up and I want to share it on our blog for anyone who may be nearby or planning a trip to the North Coast of California soon:

Here's a link to information about Godwit Days, a local birding event that draws serious birders from far and wide.  I hope you'll take time to investigate this terrific opportunity.  Another great site for bird enthusiasts is this one on the Redwood (because of Redwood National Forest) visitor site.  AND, if these don't keep you busy for a while here's another link about the birding ops. Here's another link one is for the Washington State area. 

Readers who know me are aware that I grew up in Pennsylvania on the Main Line, an historic suburban area running along the railway lines from Philadelphia to the West.  The original route (Rte 30) was the "wagon trail" for travelers seeking their fortunes to the West.  But I digress...I was reading birding articles on the Audubon site and found this one about raptors seen and other migrating birds in the Philadelphia area.  If you find yourself nearby and are interested in the wonderful bird opportunities you might take time to check this out.

Readers, friends and all..if you enjoyed this information and have had any opportunities to experience these, or nearby, opportunities please feel free to comment by clicking on the comment button below.  You won't be spammed!

Happy Trails!

Birding on the North Coast

A long wait, lots of snaps...not a great capture

This area along the northern portion of California's coast known as the North Coast is a great location to see many migrating birds. The sightings will be increasing now through early spring. We went over to the Arcata Marsh and hung around looking for birds and hoping for some photo ops. Jack now feels that he simply must have a better lense for bird photos. I think I agree with him but the several thousand dollars it will cost is on the backburner for now. That might seem a little uncooperative of me but we just got a whole bunch of new photograpy gear. It's an expensive hobby. I'm sure an occasion will arise for new stuff during the year.

If you're interested in migrating birds, shorebirds, hawks and lots of other birds this might just be a good stop during the spring or fall.

Here's a link to the Arcata Marsh.

For our birding friends - Las Cruces, NM

 

Birding in Las Cruces.

Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge

Today we are driving our towed vehicle over to this Wildlife Refuge which is listed in one of our books on best places to see migrating birds in North America.  The guidebook states that mid March to mid April are the best time of year so we have high hopes.  Check out the link below to see what's interesting in this Alabama refuge.

Link: Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge.

Day to day

We have started to feel just a tiny bit chuffed with ourselves. We have a retirement lifestyle that allows us to wake up in beautiful tropical environs, meet great people, eat at cafes frequently and enjoy a  "pinch me" attitude.

The past few days have been a mix of touring the Sanibel and Captiva Islands and the large wildlife preserve and poking around another beachy restaurant in St. Pete Beach.  We had quite a long drive to Sanibel where we met head on with some nasty traffic delays.  The Fort Myers traffic is brutal.  Once we reached the causeway there were additional delays due to an accident.  One note on the traffic in Florida is that people just don't seem to believe in the idea of "yielding."  Everyone is in a huge hurry, odd for a tropical destination.  After a delay of about two hours we did arrive at the J N "Ding" Darling wildlife preserve.  We were disappointed to not see a Roseate Spoonbill, a striking pink bird known to frequent this preserve.  We did get a good look at a  Reddish Egret which is another first sighting for us.  We tried to have lunch at a restaurant right on the beach that our neighbors, Corky and Carole, recommended.  The wait was more than an hour and the parking lot was impossible.  We went a block or two from the beach and ate a terrific lunch at the Key Lime Bistro.

Captiva Island Inn

Vacation cottage with private beach and boat launch, Captiva Island

The drive home was uneventful but a bit long.  On Tuesday we picked up the dogs from their two nights boarding and kicked back at our park for most of the day.  Our neighbors, Corky and Carole, started talking about a beach restaurant nearby and off we all went for a casual but good seafood dinner. Philthy Phil's Waterfront Bar is lowkey and moderate cost.   We'll miss the cafes and beachfront restaurants that abound here in St Petersburg.

C O R R E C T I O N:

Just like REAL journalists, from time to time it is necessary to print a correction to an article.  Unlike REAL journalists, I will post this up front and in everyone's face to be certain that the TRUE details are known.  I will, in TRUE journalistic style, blame the whole mess on someone ELSE. 

   

Let it be know to all readers that Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary is nowhere near Sanibel Island or Captiva Island.  No, it is near Naples, FL. which is not where we went yesterday.  The previously posted, completely false information was gleaned from the internet so I was mistakenly completely certain that it was correct.  Alas, I was so very wrong.

This glibber will try to be more accurate in future writings.  In the meantime, here is a link to the wildlife preserve we did visit yesterday.  I'll update the journal with a post about Sanibel and the preserve later when I've uploaded photos, etc.  Please stay tuned.

Driving South to Corksrew Swamp Sanctuary

Today we'll be taking the dogs to "camp" and getting ready to drive to Sanibel, FL where there is a large and highly touted wildlife preserve, J N "Ding" Darling.  Within this preserve is the also highly regarded Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary.  We're hoping to see new birds for our list and have some opportunities for photos.  Who knows?  It will be a new place to add to our checklist in any case and we already have recommendations for two eateries that are a MUST. 

We enjoyed terrific weather this weekend and took advantage by geting a head start on organizing for our upcoming departure, March 1.  We'll be headed North to Lake City for the first service stop.  It's been a great three months here in St Petersburg but we're ready to head on.

This crowded map shows our tentative travels for 2006.  As you can see, there are a lot of stopping points along our route so we have not set schedule at this time other than to avoid all bad weather.(subject to change on a whim)

Click on map to enlarge for more detail:

Our latest investigations

We packed up the dogs, our binoculars, cameras and headed toward Sanibel, FL where we expected to find interesting tourist sites and an opportunity to view birds.  We hadn't even left St. Petersburg when Jack checked the GPS and said, it's 145 miles to Sanibel and it's 10:30.  We decided to make it a shorter trip to Ft. Desoto so we wouldn't get hung up and miss episode 2 of Survivor.  Yes, we have reality TV addiction.  (More on that later.) 

We arrived at Ft. Desoto and immediately took Mack and Daisy over to the "dog" run area.  This is a fantastic fun spot for dogs.  There are two sides, large dogs and small dogs.  The large dog side is huge and we had it all to ourselves.  Yes, unlike most RVers, we have two large dogs that travel with us.  After some romping around both dogs were interested in the nearby beach area.  Walking over to the beach, after checking the rules about dogs, Mack literally charged into the water.  This gleeful act was followed by Daisy running in and trying to grab Macks long ears.  Nothing like a little waterplay for waterdogs to make their day.

I had really wanted to go to new places so I would have some photo opportunities.  I need to practice.  I whined until Jack agreed we should continue South and see what was in that direction.We drove toward Longboat Key, near Sarasota and saw the Florida State sign for birding trails indicating a vantage point on a narrow strip of land between the Gulf of Mexico on one side and another inlet on the other.  We began to notice charming cottages that were either on water or one or two blocks from water.  We stopped at Coquina Wildlife Trail and found boardwalks winding through the mangroves with numerous platforms that sat out on the water for viewing of waterfowl, passing boats, etc.  It was our first opportunity to view white pelicans.  We stopped at one of the platforms and met a couple from Mount Gretna, PA who are spending the winter months nearby.  They were obvious birding enthusiasts and Jack had a lenghty conversation about our experiences with raptors and they told us about Hawk Mountain which is quite near their home in PA.  Time was slipping away so we headed home. 

We returned home to find our latest book order from Amazon.  Talk about addiction.  I ordered two books I hope to use to improve my "web" skills, Yahoo Hack and Firefox Hack.  Interesting information in the first book but the latter is WAY over my head.  I hope Flickr Hack is down to earth for my skill level when it is available.

Now to Survivor.  It's episode two and I'm really stumped.  So far, these folks have offed one of the women who seemed competent and another that had no apparent failings.  It is too soon to speculate but the nicotene addict is getting on my nerves!

Back to a previous post on the topic of "successful fulltiming,"  we're going to dinner theater tonight with our friends Lorraine and Mike.  They discovered this family run business last winter and enjoyed the performers.  Saturday we'll be joining our neighbors, Carole and Corky, for dinner at Waltz Fish Shak.  No doubt we'll have some things to journal on these social opportunities.