First, it’s fall here in Pocatello and one of the ways I can tell are the gangs of crows flying about. The crows are circling above parking lots, gathering in fields, and adding a cacophony of caws to the chill air.
Well my planning post back on Aug 23rd was right and wrong. I did get to the IMPRA rodeo, two college rodeos, and the Idaho Library Association conference. I missed the Eastern Idaho State Fair but that’s okay. I’ll go next year.
I’m still planning on going to Jackson Hole this Saturday to visit the mountains and art galleries.
In preparation for my trip to Jackson I’ve researched fabulous budget friendly restaurants (Bunnery, Merry Piglets, Bubba’s Barbeque, Lotus Cafe, Virginian …), artists and galleries, and the hours/admission to the fabulous art museum. Several years ago I visited a gallery in Las Vegas and fell in love with a mixed media/bronze sculptor. A year later I tracked down a gallery in Jackson which carried his work. However, when I went to remember where to go this coming weekend I could not remember the artist’s name at all.
I started to track down the artist and gallery with Google (of course). Eventually I found the Jackson Hole Gallery Association. This awesome site provides information about all of the galleries and links to their websites. Going to the individual sites I discovered that all of them list the artists whose work they carry. And voila! Nano Lopez http://www.nanolopez.com/ carried by the Horizon Gallery. I may not be able to afford his work, but I can sure admire it. I fell in love with his Nanimal piece: Curioso
Image taken by Ric Garrido of Monterey, California writer and owner of Loyalty Traveler.
I think I’m ready for this weekend with good food, good friends, and great art.
And then…
With any luck my friends from California will be visiting the following weekend. For Halloween my plan is to go to Utah and visit family.
My big plan is the two plus weeks of combined vacation/conference in November. Melinda will be flying in to the Salt Lake City airport and we’re going to bird our way south to Texas. Shanna will eventually fly out and meet us and the rest of the family for Thanksgiving.
(Images from trip to California via the roundabout way, Ruby Lake Refuge NV with Melinda) Now to prepare for the Texas trip I started by searching for National Wildlife Refuges, National Parks/Monuments/Historic sites etc.. Then I located those that were along the various (and wandering) ways to drive to Texas. I then searched for birding hot spots in that same area. The area included parts of Idaho, Utah, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. In the end I came up with two basic routes.
The first route is the more southern of the routes and includes:
SLC to Ouray UT, to Dinosaur UT, to Colorado Monument, CO, to Monte Vista CO, to Black Mesa OK, to Cimarron KS, to Salt Plains OK, to Wichita Mountains OK, to Italy TX = 1600 miles
The second route is more northern of the routes and includes:
SLC to Seedskadee WY, to Medicine Bow CO, to Routt CO, to Pawnee CO, to Oliver Reservoir NE, Crane Trust NE, Quivira KS, Salt Plains OK, Wichita Mountains OK, to Italy TX = 1900 miles
Meanwhile, Melinda has also been hunting down more birding spots. We have to wait to choose our real route until we are much closer to the actual time of departure because you never know what the weather will be doing in November. Still, I can start writing my packing lists, make reservations for the Library Conference I’m attending in Texas, and wrap the Christmas presents I’ll be delivering.
(Image from San Luis National Wildlife Refuge in California, on another of our wandering road trips. You can see the outlines of the sandhill cranes in front of the far pond. There were hundreds of cranes in conga lines at this refuge)
For Christmas/Yule/Solstice, I’m staying home to watch movies, play games, and hang out with friends. We’ll see how that goes.
Here’s to the fun and games of the next couple of months.
— Jenny
BlueRavenBirders 