Friday, May 31

Another sunny day, temp 90-ish, humidity 61%.  More training in the office. Busy weekend for the park.

Added another bird - Red-eyed Vireo, been hearing it and not able to recognize the song. Finally caught a glimpse. Darn tall trees.

Walked to the top of the Gorge from "home" late yesterday afternoon. Decided to take this is small segments until I get accustomed to the terrain. Just around the park is flat and level, but the gorge trail is pretty steep. The distance to the bottom is only 1/2 mile but gorge is 165 feet deep. Going down will be a snap, it's the coming back up part that might prove to be a challenge.

When I get "in shape" I'll try the trail from the other end of the park.

The geologist in me can't resist the technical part...
http://www.vtstateparks.com/pdfs/quecheegeo.pdf

Thursday, May 30

Rained most of the night, very hard at times. Ruby-throat is visiting the feeder regularly now. Still no takers on the sunflower seed feeder. Think I'll relocate just a bit closer to the trees for more cover.

Set folding chair back up after the rainy night, had to evict a slug or two. Chipmunks abundant around the park. Been chasing a black and yellow b'fly around the park, can't tell if it's the Eastern Swallowtail or smaller Canadian. Hermit Thrush added to VT bird list. Chestnut-sided Warbler calling and putting on a great show, too.

We began training on the computer check-in and registration programs yesterday. Sort of a slow day, so we spent a few hours at the office learning the procedures. Going in on Friday afternoon about 3 PM, should be a busy weekend, so we can work the window while someone runs the computer. Lots to learn here, too.
Quechee was Park of the Year last year, based on customer feedback, their outstanding service is the main reason. The park is well maintained, too. Cleanest restrooms and campsites. Leantos are swept and "webstered" after every use. Campsites are raked and cleaned, fire pits emptied after every use.

Picked up map of Quechee Gorge at VC yesterday afternoon to send Savannah, all in French. I've noticed welcome signs about in both languages. We're only 100 miles or so south of Quebec.

More errands and exploration today, need to buy phone charger, left 1 at the motel in Albany, and need to replace the car charger, only works when it wants to. Found it at Radio Shack. Another nice surprise, no sales tax in New Hampshire, where we do most of our shopping.

Wednesday, May 29

Another rainy day in Vermont, no wonder everything is so green and lush. ID'd the Eastern White Pine tree by the cluster of 5 needles. Lisa, our ranger, gave me brochures on bats and ferns. Our pre-work assignment is to familiarize our selves with the area so we can knowledgeably answer questions when we do begin working.

We located Dewey's Mill Pond today. Northern Rough-winged Swallows, Song Sparrow, and Common Yellow-throat. Too wet to walk the trail.

Found the library in Quechee for library cards. We can check out movies since we can't get a satellite signal through the tremendously tall trees. Also a good quiet place to use WiFi since we don't have cell service back at the park.

Have to replace the light over the kitchen sink. The switch quit working and I'm sure we will have to buy the entire fixture. The closest RV dealer is about 31 miles south in New Hampshire.

The Connecticut River divides Vermont and New Hampshire. It is the longest river in New England emptying onto Long Island Sound. The Ottaquechee River that runs through the gorge flows into the Connecticut just south of North Hartland. The White River comes in here somewhere.

After the Revolutionary War ended, Vermont was heavily settled and 80% of the trees were cut down. Sheep farming became the mainstay with the 3 rivers providing power for the woolen mills.

Lots to learn...

May 26 Sunday
We found New Hampshire this morning, West Lebanon, and Wal-Mart. Had to buy a sewer hose extension to hook up to our connection. The Wal-Mart here is small compared to the super W's in Texas so we had to grocery shop at Price-Chopper. Did get the discount card. $100 in groceries will save me 10 cents a gallon on gas up to 20 gallons. Can't complain about that. Prices are definitely higher here, Ground beef $4.99 pound. Bread $3.99 a loaf. Gas $3.619

Tried setting up the TV, dish can't find the satellite so we're basically out of touch. Cell service non-existent, and WiFi only at the park office.

Good thing the surroundings are so magnificent... had visit from Black-capped Chickadee, Eastern Phoebe, and Ruby-throated Hummingbird, female this afternoon. Lots of sounds in the tall trees that I can't ID yet.
Picked up an Arbor Day booklet from park office, managed to ID an Eastern Hemlock all by my self. So many different types of trees and flowers, I have much to learn. Rachel, one of the park employees is working on an independent bird study so I'll help her with birds and she will help me with trees.

May 27 Monday
Laundry day... blah, however the dirty clothes were becoming unmanageable. First day of glorious sunshine and we were stuck with laundry.
Did find a really great b'fly in the parking lot... Common Ringlet, no picture, but very distinct markings and easy to find in my book. Also, found a big dragon... probably female common white-tail.
Bought shepard's hooks and bird seed to hang up both hummingbird and finch feeders. Female Ruby-throat has been hanging around checking out the bright orange flowers setting on the table through the big windows.
We messed with the satellite dish some more, managed to get a few numbers, but only 40-60% signal, not strong enough.
Walked down to large recreation area again after sunset... 4 planets visible, 5 if I looked down.
Jupiter, Venus, and Mercury in the west, still a nice triangle, and Saturn almost directly overhead near Spica. Took the spotting scope but didn't stay until the sky was totally dark.
2 big bats circled overhead. So quiet and peaceful and the wafting smell of campfires made for a deep feeling of peace and contentment.

May 28 Tuesday

Trying to catch up on daily posts... hard to do without WiFi connection in the coach. Either go to park office or take laptop when we go into one of the many little towns around and look for a hot spot. We're at Kilton Public Library in West Lebanon, NH.

Mailed Alvin's passport renewal this morning and made appointment for fingerprints with Hartford PD, a requirement for Vermont State Parks.

We're gradually learning to navigate in spite of the mountains, tremendously tall trees and limited visibility.

May 25 It's still raining!

Finally managed to get away from the transmission shop about 11 AM.   Took I-787  around Albany to exit 9 head for Saratoga Springs. Followed the north route to Glens Falls NY then headed east toward Rutland VT. Rt 4 was 4 lane for about 20 miles then a 2 lane all the way across the state. We only drove 137 today, but it was a very stressful day.
The toughest part was through Killington over Sherbourne Pass elev 2910. Lots of ski lodges and ski lifts right along the highway. Found a Moose Crossing sign, but didn't see a single moose. We did have big fluffy snowflakes for about a mile at the summit of the pass.
Can't much for the signage... no advance warning when approaching the state park from either direction, just suddenly there's the turn.
We have a nice roomy site, even have our name on the sign.

Tiny little wild strawberry plants in bloom all around our spot. So many different trees and flowers to learn. Can't wait to get out to explore. We received shirts, jackets, keys, and name tags today, will get our caps tomorrow.
Did I mention, It's still raining.

May 24 another rainy day in Alabany

Still waiting for repairs on our coach... we did receive some good news today. The adjuster showed up early this morning, it pays to throw a fit every now and then, and the transmission company is in the process of rebuilding our transmission rather than waiting on the insurance to suggest a factory rebuilt. Should only cost $1500 - $2000 rather than the full $6,500. Maybe we'll get out of here early in the morning.

Bethlehem is the town we're currently located in, which consists of the Hamlets of Delmar, Elsmere, Glenmont, Selkirk, Slingerlands, North and south Bethlehem.

Since we can't do anything else, we did some exploration. We found a few city parks to check out in the rain. 1st, Elm Ave Town Park, the largest park has ball fields, picnic areas, 3 swimming pools and 2 splash islands. in addition to Robins and Starlings, we found Hairy woodpecker and Song Sparrow.

We followed brown binocular signs signifying wildlife viewing to Hollyhock Hollow Audubon Sanctuary.

http://www.auduboninternational.org/hollyhock-hollow-sanctuary

The former estate of a local university professor,  the sanctuary consists of 140 acres located along
Onesquethat Creek, where we found 3 Mallard. Pretty sure they're not domestic park ducks. Would have been a great place to walk except for the rain. I managed to pish up a Wilson's Warbler, Chipping Sparrow, and 3 other UFO's . 

The butterfly garden was magnificent, sunshine would probably produce miracles. 

We had real Chinese carry-out for lunch from a little shop called West Wok, Spicy Shrimp and Moo Goo Chicken with fired rice and egg rolls. Check that one off the bucket list. 

Learning lots of New York geographic terms:

             Norman's Kill - Norman - Dutch for Norwegian

                                 Kill - Dutch word for creek

             Vly Creek  - Vly - Dutch word for swamp

May 23

Still waiting...

We still have to eat, found a neat little diner, Johnny B's, favorite of the locals. Terrific chicken pot pie, we bought the last one of the day to share. Came with bowl of soup, Alvin had lentil and I had chicken Florentine. We topped that off with apple pie ala mode and whipped cream.

The owner's wife was our waitress, they lived in Clovis NM for about 4 years before coming to NY. She is originally from NJ and he is from Greece. His father meet every customer at the door and he and another elderly man entertained us with harmonica and rhythm sticks. All the people we've met have been very friendly and gracious.



We found Henry Hudson Park...

This boulder is supposed to mark the spot he landed his ship Halfmoon in 1609 while searching for a northwest passage to India.

The river is wide and deep enough for tug boats to push barges up river, and the tide causes the river to flow north for part of every day. Basically, an estuary, the tidal influence reaches as far as Troy, another 20 miles north of Albany.

The original name Muhheakantuck is from the Lanape language meaning "river that flows two ways".


We found Brown Creeper, Downy Woodpecker, Fish Crow, Great Blue Heron, Chipping Sparrow, Blue Jay, Double-crested Cormorant, Red-winged Blackbird, and numerous Robin.

The evergreen trees were soft as velvet with pale green tips,

my Sibley tree book is unavailable at this time, so I can't ID for sure.

The cones are very distinctive, should be easy to figure out once I have my book back.

Watched winged maple seeds windmilling in the wind. Don't have these kinds of maples in Texas.

Found another species of winged maple seeds, but didn't get to see these fly...

The taller the tress, the smaller the birds...
and these trees are gigantic!










Watched the finals of National Geographic Geography Bowl at 7 PM. 9 finalists, 3 girls, 6 boys... all Asian...
Amazing what a good work ethic can accomplish.

Utter Frustration

Clyde was towed again today, to another transmission shop, just 1/2 mile from the first tow truck facility that brought us in on Sunday afternoon. We were promised that we would be out this afternoon, but when we left at 3:30 PM they were still attempting to hand winch the coach into the repair bay. Pretty hard to move 22,000 lbs of motor vehicle by  winch and chain.

So we're stuck in a motel room again tonight and I am climbing the walls. We had dinner at the motel, sampler plate of appetizers, a big disappointment.  Potato skins tasted like left-overs, onion rings too greasy. Wings OK, and cheese sticks fair. Guess I'm just tired and pissed off.

And, I didn't want that man to win Jeopardy, didn't like the way he played at all. Nothing has gone right today.

I'll put on my Scarlet O'Hara hat, "Tomorrow is another day".

May 22 Still in Albany

Spent another full day waiting for results, Julian, owner of Night Owl Truck repair, is in contact with our extended warranty people. Hopefully parts will arrive today and we can be on our way later today.

This is hardest place to navigate that I have ever been to.... all the streets curve around and change names, plus I haven;t been able to find a good detailed city map. Trying to find the repair shop has been a nightmare, too. I followed the tow truck on Monday morning in the rain, instead of letting Alvin drive so that I could watch for landmarks and turns. It all looks totally different with the sunshine and sitting in the passenger seat.

We've crossed the Hudson River twice by mistake and there is NO WAY to get back to the place we made the wrong turn without making a 5 mile circle. AND, you can't see more than 20 feet in any direction, tall building, overhead expressways, toll roads, railroads tracks, and parking lots everywhere. I'm longing to return to the wilderness.

Temp reached 90° yesterday afternoon with humidity near 75% before the thunderstorms rolled in. Hard rain only lasted about 10 minutes, but really cooled things down. Thunder boomed most of the night and rain poured for several hours.

I utilized the indoor swimming pool for a while last night. Had the room all to my self, very relaxing and seemed to help me sleep. Remembrance of late night swims in my back yard pool, floating on my back and stargazing, especially after coming home from night classes at UTPB while working on my Masters. Arcturus reaching zenith was my cue to get out of the water, pretty close to midnight, and I would be sufficiently pruned and very relaxed.

Called Vermont state police this more for information on highways. Once I described our vehicle he averred Route 4 without any hesitation. I queried "No steeps hills and sharp curves"? Again a very positive reply, so Route 4 it will be.  

Used the business center to catch up on 2 days of printing Numbrix Puzzles last night, printed today's during breakfast. Also printed Google maps for the last leg of our journey to Quechee SP. I figure as much as this room costs per night we should make use of every facility. Even though we get an AARP discount, by the time all the taxes and fees are added, price is more than the original rate.

May 20

Into every life a little rain must fall, and it did all day yesterday. Also, about 20 west of Albany NY, while driving up a very long hill, we suddenly lost power and the RPM's went over the top. Alvin managed to steer us almost off I-88. No response from the gears at all. Called Good Sam's Roadside assistance. We were told the tow truck would be there in 100 minutes of less, had to come from Albany. When that time had expired, we received another call from Good Sam's, the first truck "had a problem" so another had been dispatched. I presumed that driver was drinking beer and watching some sports event - NASCAR etc. -  and he didn't want to get out on a rainy Sunday afternoon. We were told another 100 minutes or less. I was in tears by that time, as the semi trucks were really shaking the coach as they zoomed by way too close,  so we were advised to call 911. A very nice NY State Trooper by the name of R. W. Albert came and parked behind us with flashing lights, offered to help us unhook the jeep, and called the towing company to ascertain ETA. An Ex-Marine who really likes George Bush, he was a huge comfort in a stressful situation.

The tow truck driver was amazing, using a remote control to manipulate the tow bar as he raised the coach and attached the tow bar to the front axle. He explained every step to reassure to extremely concerned senior citizens. Especially when he had to drop the drive shaft. Poor Clyde traveled faster than he ever had with Alvin driving, and it rained all the way into Albany. Actually Bethlehem NY.

We found a motel right across the street from the tow company, since being Sunday afternoon the only place to take Clyde was the tow shop.

Good Sam's found a repair shop early this morning so we were towed again to down town Albany to Nors & T, Night Owl Truck Repair, where we spent the day. Also found out Camping World put the wrong weight of motor oil in when they changed the oil in April.

Called Lisa at Quechee State Park, we were scheduled to arrive there today,  to explain our predicament.
Hopefully, we can be on our way by Wednesday afternoon.

May 18

Decided to stay another night and take a day off driving.

Walked around the campground this morning, surprised to see a pair

of Common Merganser serenely floating Oleout Creek and Bald Eagle flew almost overhead headed upstream.

Catbird and Veery played along the edge of the creek while American Goldfinch and Pine Siskin frolicked in the trees overhead. 

We decided to "rest" by taking the Cooperstown Beverage Tour from Oneonta to Garrattsville and visit 6 winery and brewing companies in the Cooperstown area of Central NY. 

We made each of the 6 stops, sampling either the wine or the ale and received beverage trail glasses at the end. Purchased cheese curds, something else new, and wine crackers to nibble on between stops. Decided on lunch at Brewery Ommegang, a Belgian themed establishment. We ordered a sausage sandwich and "frites" hand-cut, double-fried potatoes with garlic aioli and mustard dipping sauces. 

A vintage baseball game was underway so I snapped this photo as we left the parking lot. 

A family of Killdeer, I counted 4 little fuzzy babies, fussed along the gravel road as we pulled out of the parking lot. A wild Turkey crossed the highway, too. 

We returned home about 4 PM. Alvin needed a nap and I needed a walk. I explored the nature trail and was rewarded with Brown Thrasher, House Wren, Song Sparrow, Redstart, Baltimore Oriole, Eastern Phoebe, Eastern Wood Pewee, Flicker, Catbird, Goldfinch, Siskin, Chipping Sparrow. 

Found out all the white blossom trees are apple, as are the light pink. The bright pint are crab-apple. Haven't figured out the purple yet. Wild flowers are amazing, buttercups, and lots of little purples and whites. Have to learn all these names. The yellow fields we've been seeing are a mustard variety. The millions of dandelions reminds me of the flower wreaths I learned to make in Nizhnevartovsk. 

The temp starts to drop quickly as the sun begins to sink. 

 

may 17

Explored Buffalo yesterday trying to find an EZ-Pass to navigate NY states blasted tollroads. After we purchased the unit, we were told we couldn't use that one with the motor home because we weigh more than 7000 pounds. Have to visit a walk-in center, and there is not one in Buffalo, only NYC and Albany. The way our coach is designed makes toll booths almost impossible, no window that opens on the drives side.


Also, had new passport photo taken so we can renew Alvin's passport; discovered it had expired when we planed to visit Canada side of Horseshoe Falls.

This strange duo was cycling along Delaware Street, think that's an accordion on his back.

The old Wurlitzer building is more like a mini-mall now but the sign looks just like the old jukebox.









Driving through the Irish district was interesting, the street signs were written in English and Gaelic, never had an opportunity for a picture.

We stopped at Duff's for Wings, I ordered mild-medium and they were plenty spicy.

We left Buffalo this morning about 9:45 and drove the first 65 miles on Hwy 20 before reaching I-390, not a toll road. The first 10 miles were all down hill into a beautiful valley.  

We stopped at a rest area where the American Legion was conducting a fund raiser to support wounded warriors. We had a "deer dog", a hot dog made from venison by local hunters. 

 The scenery was spectacular, so many shades of green, and a rich diversity of flora. Don't know what the white blossoming tree are but they are beautiful. Many of the open fields were painted bright yellow.

We stopped for the night near Unadilla in the Delaware Valley not far from the Newtown Battlefield State Park, a major battle in the american revolution. Took a short walk and enjoyed Warbling Vireo and Wood Thrush along with Robins every where. So many native american names... hard to pronounce. Would love to spend a week in the area to explore everything. 

Less than 300 miles from our final destination. 

Niagara Falls

Took the day off from traveling to visit the falls in the city of Niagara Falls, NY.
Our guide informed us the falls are named Horseshoe Falls, American Falls, and Bridal Veil Falls. The 2 cities of Niagara Falls NY USA and ON Canada are where the falls are actually located. We donned these spiffy blue rain coats before boarding the Maid of the Mist, one of many boats by the same name, and got up close and personal with tons of water. We did get wet!

 American Falls is actually the taller of the 2 at 185 ft, but the base is very rocky. Horseshoe Falls is much wider and doesn't have the rocks at the bottom and Canada is on the other side.

 I had my camera underneath my raincoat hear hence the blue tint, and the sound was amazing.                                              

 American Falls from the base of Horseshoe Falls.  The observation tower to the left of the falls houses the elevators that take visitors 200 ft down to river level to board the boat.

 The view from the top was spectacular,  and beginning next week the tower will be open until 9 PM so the falls can be viewed at night

Don't look down if you're squeamish!

 Our next stop was Cave of the Winds, now Bridal Veil Falls. The scaffolding is put up every April and dismantled every November, the winters are so brutal. Here we received water sandals and bright yellow rain gear with a plastic bag to hold our shoes. Alvin didn't tackle the 400 + steps, but I braved it up the second highest level, just below the Hurricane deck. IA faint rainbow is barely visible in the picture on the right. The wind, the water, and the sound was absolutely breathtaking!

 Horseshoe Falls from the top and
with mist rising high above the surface.







Hundreds, if not thousands, of Ring-billed Gull nest on the rocks along the  edge and they already have chicks in the nest.

The last stop of the day was Whirlpool Park and the lower rapids where the Niagara River makes a 90 degree turn on the way to Lake Ontario.
The water is moving so fast in the narrow gorge a gigantic eddy is formed. The park here is very serene, kept "natural" under the Olmsted law. Manicured lawns and trees, shrubs, and blooming tulips. Chestnut trees in bloom perfumed the air. Very different from the touristy falls areas.

I'm so glad we took the time and especially happy that we managed to do all this during the "off" season.

May 14 Ohio to Buffalo

Pulled out from Camp Sabroske at 9:22 AM, drove Rt 2 along the shore of Lake Erie until we joined up with I-90 just before Cleveland. Downtown Cleveland quite a sight, lots of old buildings amid newer
skyscrapers.

 Progressive Field, Home to the Cleveland Indians...

Mentor OH was home to James A Garfield, wish we had time to visit there. Did see the turn off and historical marker sign. He used his front porch to conduct his presidential campaign. Times have changed...


Drove through Pennsylvania in about an hour, only 46 miles.

New York I-90 turned into toll road so we detoured to Rt 5 along the shore of Lake Erie for about 60 miles. Very scenic wine country, thousands of acres of vineyards

Very picturesque...

Arrived Buffalo just in time for rush hour traffic, interesting to see wind turbines along the shore of Lake Erie...

Staying at AA Royal Motel and Campground, just 6 miles from Niagara Falls, made reservation for tour of both American and Canadian falls over the next 2 days. Once in a life time opportunity.

Magee Marsh

Birded Magee Marsh today, the most fabulous birding experience of my life, REALLY!

The board walk is 0.6 mile and loaded with warblers, vireos, thrushes, and orioles.
18 species of warbler, Blackburnian, Magnolia, Yellow, Black-throated Green, Black-throated Blue, Bay-breasted, Chestnut-sided, Nashville, Ovenbird, Yellowthroat, Louisiana and Northern Waterthrush, Black and White, Prothonotary. Redstart, Parula, Palm, and Yellow-rumped...
All the thrushes... Veery, Gray-cheeked, Swainson's, Hermit, Wood, and Robin...
Alvin got a life bird with the American Woodcock...

The great thing was the closeness of the birds, within a fingertips reach sometimes and the numbers of each species was terrific.

Also Baltimore Oriole, Red-eyed and Warbling Vireo, Ruby-crowned and Golden Crowned Kinglet, Flicker, Downy, Red-bellied, and Piliated Woodpeckers, Tree and Barn Swallows.

Canada Geese had fuzzy goslings everywhere

must have started laying eggs in the snow...

Flycatchers included Least, Yellow-bellied, and Eastern Kingbird.

All this and Lake Erie, too.
I saw several fly overs of gull and tern, but never managed to get a good look, too busy watching warblers.






Meet a nice couple from Columbus, Sheila and Dale, shared some great birds. Invited them to bird Texas.

May 12 Dayton to Toledo

We didn't need to get an early start as we only planned on a drive of 150 miles or so.

Left Tall Timbers KOA about 10 AM, no place to hook up the jeep there and very tricky maneuvering out of our site. Found an RV/Boat storage facility about a mile away with room to hook up before getting on I-70.

Turned north onto I-75 in Dayton, wind from WNW about 18 mph. Alvin fought it all day. Lunch was sandwich eaten in the coach, too cold for the picnic tables.

We left I-75 at Bowling Green onto Hwy 105, a very scenic, meandering route through a picturesque rural landscape for 20 miles to Oak Harbor and then north another 6 miles to Camp Sabroske, a private RV park just a few miles from Ottowa NWR and Magee Marsh on the shore of Lake Erie.

High temp today 40, where is spring?

Dragonfly ID correction

Need to correct the ID of the dragonfly from Effingham IL

Should have looked at the pictures more closely.  White along the sides of the abdomen are separated, not solid.

So this is a female common Whitetail, not 12 spotted Skimmer - even though it has 12 spots on the wings.

Thanks to Bill Edwards for keeping a close watch and also being so helpful. I have really learned so much from him.

May 11

A day of rest so we go birding...
KOA is full of kids, bicycles, and dogs, so we decided to explore the 5 rivers metroparks around Dayton.

First was Germantown, a really neat old town established 1804. The dam was constructed 1922 and the park consists of 1400 acres of old growth hardwood forest maintaining an amazing diversity of habitat.
Temp never was above 55 degrees so we mostly car birded, but the edges produce more birds than walking the forest trails anyway.

28 species,  including Wild Turkey, Eastern Kingbird, Eastern Bluebird, Grey Catbird, Yellow Warbler, Eastern Meadowlark, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Chickadee, Robin, Cardinal, Brown Thrasher,  Red-bellied and Piliated Woodpecker, Wood thrush, Chipping and Field Sparrow, Bran and Tree Swallow, plus lots of calls I couldn't locate nor ID.

We looked for a place to eat lunch in Germantown, only place open was El Rancho Grande, pretty good Mexican food but not what I expected for Germantown...

Next stop was Englewood Metropark, only added Canada Goose and Purple Martin there. Frisbee Golf match in progress might have hampered the birding there.

 Wildflowers were outstanding, Columbine and Penstemine a's long with several DYC's and all the different shades of green made an spectacular palette.

 

We discovered this quaint covered bridge from 1870 across Twin Creek in Germantown.

May 10 Driving in the rain

Camp Lakewood very birdy this morning... Pewee calling, Red-bellied Woodpecker rattling, Canada Goose flyover, Titmouse and Chickadee, Chipping Sparrow overhead as we prepared to pull out. Robins very vocal.

We left Effingham IL 8:30 AM in a light drizzle. Stopped in Marshall to pick up some essentials, bologna and cheddar for Alvin,  turkey and provolone for me. Topped off the gas, we don't let it get below 1/2 tank to prevent heart attack. The highest price we've paid yet, $3.799 per gallon. Ouch!

Just as we returned to I-70 rain started hard, at least the traffic wasn't too heavy. We crossed into Indiana at 10:30 and entered EDT zone losing 1 hour. Rest Area Welcome Center at MM 1.5 was closed and next rest area was 65 miles. Rained continuously...

Arrived rest area just west of Indianapolis at noon. Made sandwiches to eat inside, too rainy for the picnic area. Entertained by robins carousing through the trees along the edge. No state road map available, I didn't really need one, just like more detail than my road atlas shows.

FYI, I use 2 GPS systems, TomTom and Magellan plus Rand McNally Road Atlas and official state highway maps available at most welcome centers. I take my navigation very seriously.

Rain fall increased as we reached Indianapolis and lanes increased from 3 lanes to 6. We followed I-70 straight through and traffic wasn't too bad. We try to time the big cities to avoid the rush. So far, we've done well.

Indiana is only 140 miles wide so we crossed into Ohio at 2:54 PM, Welcome Center was open, still raining and we were both stressed, so when KOA was recommended and only 20 miles away, we called for a reservation. When we arrived, still raining,  the first site they tried to put us in had big trees way to close together. Took us around to another site, much easier in and out. Had to unhook the tow and back in. We weren't too thrilled about the price but circumstances won out.

Always pays to read the brochures, as we discovered for Mother's Day weekend, they had BOGO special, 2 nights for 1. Walked up to office and extended our stay. Need a day of rest after 5 straight days of driving. We usually don't keep that pace, but we are on a time line after staying in Midland for 1 month.

Rained the rest of the afternoon and most of the night. Looking forward to a lazy day of birding around Dayton OH

Dogwood Migration

When we were in Livingston, TX the middle of March, Dogwood trees were in full bloom, just before Easter.

I remembered the legend of the Dogwood being used for the Cross and the promise that the tree would never grow large enough again to be used for such a purpose. The symbolism of the shape and coloration of the flowers are also a part of the legend.

Now, almost 2 months later we arrive in central Illinois and the Dogwood trees are in full bloom.

Birds are not the only migrants...

I also found this female 12 Spotted Skimmer on the water pedestal.
Guess the cool rainy weather had made her lethargic and unable to fly.
Lucky for me.


On a walk-about, located 2 Blue-grey Gnatcatcher, House Wren, Multiple American Robin, Great Blue Heron, and  singing Chipping Sparrow.

A clap of thunder sent me home just before the deluge started. Haven't seen rain like that for quite a while. Very nice!