Enchantment Times Two

As colder temperatures descended upon Colorado in November, I began to get restless.  It felt unnatural to stay in one place as the season changed after years of full-time RVing had taught me to migrate to warmer weather like the birds.

My mind drifted back to my happy place-- Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico, the Land of Enchantment.  I missed the sights and sounds of those magnificent sandhill cranes, and missed my volunteer and staff friends there.

5 Months in Houston

I've been conflicted about what to do with the blog this year.  When I first got my life-changing terminal cancer diagnosis in January, I knew I didn't want to turn this RV travel blog into a "look at me, I have cancer" blog.

But, as the year has progressed, I've been able to more traveling than I originally thought (even some travels in the RV with the help of family).  I was also incredibly touched by all the heartfelt comments to my original post (as well as the many reader emails I received).  It didn't seem right to not to give you all an update or two about what I've been doing this year.  So, here goes the first of a few catch-up posts....

Here's the first photo of the year (from my hospital bed in Guadalajara the night before my 12-hour back surgery).  I guess I've "come a long way baby" considering it took me 30 minutes to just get into "feet-dangling off the bed position" after surgery!

Getting Familiar with Bryce

My first two weeks at Bryce Canyon National Park in late July were filled with activity.  From learning my new job (as a volunteer interpretive ranger), to learning my way around my new 35-mile radius "neighborhood."

The first day on the job consisted of orientation, an easy day of being a tourist and exploring the same sights that they do.  I hopped on the free shuttle bus and took a hike along the rim to refamiliarize myself with the most popular lookouts-- Inspiration Point, Sunset Point, and Sunrise Point.

The midday sun was not ideal for photography, but Bryce still manages to look amazing at just about any time of day (or night!).  Here's the view looking down into Queen's Garden:

Crane Vacation to Wisconsin

When I needed to vacate my favorite Chicago campground in mid-June for a week (in between my two 14-day stays), I decided to head north to the Dells region of central Wisconsin.  My goal was to try and see an endangered Whooping Crane in the wild, and that's an area where they nest in the summer.

I rolled into Juneau county's Castle Rock Park (not to be confused with Adams county's park by the same name on the other side of Castle Rock Lake!) and had my pick of a few dozen campsites on a Thursday evening-- for the bargain price of just $17/night!

Little Tracker's Big Day & a Yuma Reunion

On my last day in Ajo, I decide to take the little yellow Tracker for another off-pavement jaunt into the Arizona desert.  This time, it's to a new-to-me National Wildlife Refuge west of town.

Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, at 860,000 acres, is the third largest NWR in the lower 48 states.  Most of it is complete wilderness, but a couple 4-wheel-drive roads exist along the edges of the park.  I decide to give the Charlie Bell Road access point a try just west of Ajo.

The entrance sign is pretty sun-baked.  Not much rain ever gets to these parts of southern Arizona.

Sonoran Serenity

By the beginning of February, I'd been parked at elevation 4,500 feet in central New Mexico for 4 months.  As much as I loved the people and Refuge at Bosque del Apache, I was itching to replace the Chihuahuan Desert's brown with some greener surroundings, do a little boondocking, and get back to "T-shirt and short-pants weather" (as Tioga George used to call it).  Southern Arizona's Sonoran desert was just the remedy!

Bosque's Winter Birds

One of my major duties at Bosque del Apache NWR this winter season was to drive a tour van for the 4 free Refuge tours each weekend.  Surprisingly, not a single one of them was dedicated to the Sandhill Cranes that most visitors come wanting to see.

As magnificent and thrilling as the cranes are, let’s face it, they’re big and rather slow-moving, predictable birds.  Pretty easy to spot, sit and watch for hours at a time—no binoculars or bird guide books required!  So, the tours aimed to focus on all the other birds of the Refuge.  The ones that might take a bit more help to spot and identify.

Festival of the Cranes

Whew!  What a week it’s been!  Over 6,000 visitors, 15,000 birds, and dozens of tired staff members and volunteers who are now thankful for a mini-Thanksgiving break.  But, oh what a fun time we all had at the 28th Annual Festival of the Cranes!

Busy Days on the Refuge & a New Job

Since the 18 new volunteers arrived 2 weeks ago, it’s been a flurry of activity here at Bosque del Apache NWR.  Between training sessions, pot lucks, and preparing for the big Festival of the Cranes (that starts this Tuesday), it’s been an exceptionally busy time.  Add to that, a new job for me here on the Refuge, lots of new major personal legal/financial changes to plan (as a result of the new 2016 ACA Healthcare plans), and a little episode of nearly burning down my RV last week….and I’ve felt rather scattered in 101 directions this month!

Sorta like these snow geese.  One day they’re enjoying a nice relaxing sunny afternoon resting in one of the ponds…

and the next day they’re buzzing over the tourists’ cars fleeing for their lives!

The Masses Are Arriving…with 1 Rare Bird

It’s been a busy week at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in central New Mexico!  Not only have our first big flocks of Greater Sandhill Cranes arrived, but a full crop of volunteers rolled into the RV village this week too!

As the first flock of 400 Sandhills rested off the Flight Deck during their first afternoon here, we quickly spotted one bird that had become the “Rock Star of the Refuge” last winter.  Can you spot “Lucy”?

Little House on the Prairies

Other than the quick trip down to Starved Rock State Park for a few days, I spent the month of May living in my 2 suburban Chicago “homes” – Burnidge Forest Preserve (Paul Wolff CG) in Elgin, and Big Rock Forest Preserve just west of Aurora.

Burnidge is the closest campground to my old house (and my family’s houses), so it’s always my first choice park.  I love being able to park in one of the big RV sites along the edge of the prairie and watch nature’s show every day.

An early May thunderstorm provided quite a great sunset one night--