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Archive for the ‘Travel’ Category

Lake Arrowhead: A Creaky Nature Trail Walk

Posted in Lakes, Nature, Travel, Uncategorized, tagged , , , on April 20, 2011| 4 Comments »

 
An early morning walk through a honey mesquite grove is full of surprises. — Photos by Pat Bean

 “Keep a green tree in your heart and perhaps a singing bird will come.” Chinese proverb

Travels With Maggie

I had barely stepped onto the trail before I heard a sort of screeching sound, which had me looking for a bird as its most likely source. I soon realized I was wrong.

It was the trees creaking with the wind. And this nature trail I was following was simply a mesquite grove with little else going for it, I concluded. Wrong again.

Just about the same time I decided the talking trees weren’t really all that eerie, I began seeing other bits of nature sharing the mesquite tree grove.

Cactus coming to life after the winter, purple thistle dotting the landscape, and numerous other plants that sadly I didn’t have a name for.

It was a short trail that ended way too soon.

The photos I took along the way, meanwhile, will remind me not to draw conclusions before seeing the evidence.

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Journey’s First Night Spent at Lake Arrowhead

Posted in Journeys, Lakes, Nature, Travel, tagged , , , , , , , , on April 19, 2011| 1 Comment »

 “Let your mind start a journey thru a strange new world. Leave all thoughts of the world you knew before. Let your soul take you where you long to be … Close your eyes and let your spirit start to soar, and you’ll live as you’ve never lived before.” Erich Fromm

Lake Arrowhead fishing pier -- Photo by Pat Bean

Travels With Maggie

It was a helaciously windy drive on this first day of my journey to Idaho for the summer, but the splendidly colorful buttercups that brightened the roadside cheered me up.

I was even welcomed with bluebonnets when I hit Lake Arrowhead State Park just about 15 miles outside of Wichita Falls and 150 miles from my journey’s beginning in Rowlett. It’s the first of several public campgrounds I plan to hit as I slowly hop West and North to escape summer’s heat.

Since it’s now 92 degrees outside, I would say I’m escaping just in time.

Black-tailed prairie dogs call Lake Arrowhead State Park home. -- Photo by Pat Bean

I took Maggie on a short walk as soon as I hooked up, then afterward went on a quick bike ride to snap a few pictures for the blog. I’ll go again when it cools off but for now I’m vegging in air-conditioned comfort in my RV.

Maggie, meanwhile, is in her favorite spot, sprawled out on our over-the-cab bed directly in front of the air-conditioning vent.

Lake Arrowhead is a reservoir on the Little Wichita River that supplies water to Wichita Falls’ residents and recreational opportunities, especially fishing, for visitors. It’s pretty all right for birders, too.

I saw my first of the year scissor-tailed flycatcher just as I drove past the entrance and other birds everywhere including, great blue herons, great egrets, mockingbirds, red-bellied woodpecker, mockingbirds, coots, Canada geese, great-tailed grackles (including a pair mating), barn swallows, red-winged blackbirds and killdeer within 15 minutes of arriving.

Life is good.

P.S. If you’re in the Wichita Falls area May 13-14, and enjoy 1800s history, drop by for the park’s Buffalo Soldier Encampment.

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The Guilty Pleasure of Being Alone

Posted in Favorite Hikes, Nature, Travel, tagged , , , , , on April 18, 2011| 6 Comments »

“One travels more usefully when alone, because he reflects more.” — Thomas Jefferson

Plopping myself down and feeling the wind on my face as I let a river sing to me is one of my favorite things to do when traveling. This photo of the Virgin River was taken in Zion National Park. -- Photo by Pat Bean

Travels With Maggie

I got my birthday wish. The shop just called and said my RV, Gypsy Lee, is ready to go. Tomorrow night I will be dancing my on the road jig with my dog, Maggie, looking on.

“I’m free, I’m free, I’m free,” I’ll sing in my tone-deaf voice. Just singing is freedom in itself because it’s not something I do in front of anyone. Those who know me well have even said how much they appreciate my consideration.

But singing and dancing just for myself is what I’ve done every spring for the past seven years after leaving my beloved family – and they are very loved – behind after hopping around between them in Texas and Arkansas each winter.

Sometimes too much of a good thing is too much.

Finding trails to hike with Maggie is also high on my travel list of things to do. -- Photo by Pat Bean

I’ve long known moms out there who don’t want an empty nest. They’ve always made me feel guilty because of the space I seem to need.

 I remember when all my children were at home – five, with nine years separating the youngest from the oldest; what I wanted most in those days for my birthday was just a day to myself at home alone. Never got it.

Lately, I’ve been coming across more and more women like myself, who brazenly admit they treasure their time alone. I wonder if perhaps, like me, they finally feel secure enough to admit it. Heaven forbid I would have said such a thing not too many years ago. I would have damaged my children’s egos – or so I thought.

These days, after winter’s end, I think my children are just as happy to wave good-bye to me for a while. And that doesn’t hurt my feelings at all. The time spent apart will just make our next time together all the sweeter.

Or so I suspect.

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Odd Goose Island Tree Raise Questions

Posted in Nature, Travel, tagged , , , , , on April 17, 2011| 9 Comments »

“I soon realized that no journey carries one far unless, as it extends into the world around us, it goes an equal distance into the world within.” Lillian Smith

Has life shaped you like a gulf wind has shaped this Goose Island State Park tree? -- Photo by Pat Bean

Travels With Maggie

Standing in a field of grass patterned with bluebonnets at Goose Island State Park is a tree that’s allowed wind blowing in from the Gulf of Mexico to shape its profile.

It wasn’t much different, I thought on first seeing it, then how life shapes us humans.

For some odd reason, I thought again this morning about that tree, which I had photographed last April when I spent a week with my dog, Maggie, on Goose Island birdwatching. I think my brain was triggered in that direction after reading the quote: “Normal is a setting on a washing machine.”

On finding the photograph, I decided to blog about the message the tree had conveyed to me.

I’m not sure now that was such a good idea.

My thoughts, just as I placed my fingers on the keyboard, became such a jungle of contradictions that I’ was suddenly struck wordless. That’s a rarity by the way.

Do I write about how walking into a newsroom the first time pushed the rest of my life into a direction as slanted as that tree? Or about how coming out of a raft and being pulled beneath it gave me more appreciation of life? Or about how travel has opened up new worlds and new ways of thinking?

I couldn’t decide.

Perhaps some less confused blog readers can help me out. How has life shaped you? I’d really like to know.

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Photographer Captures Great-Tailed Grackle Spat

Posted in Birds, Nature, Travel, tagged , , , , on April 15, 2011| 4 Comments »

 “One does not meet oneself until one catches the reflection from an eye other than human.” Loren Eiseley (Quote on Mark B Bartosik’s profile page at http://www.pbase.com/mbb/profile )

Take that, and that, and that -- Photo by Mark B Bartosik

Travels With Maggie

If I were on the road, instead of waiting around for my RV to get ready for the road, I’d probably be walking around somewhere with a pair of binoculars looking for birds. Instead I’m perusing them from my armchair via the internet.

I’m subscribed to two birding chat groups: Birdtalk and Texbirds. The first discusses birds seen in Utah, where I lived for 25 years, and the second is about bird sightings in Texas, where I was born and now spend my winters.

While I usually just quickly scan and delete most of the many messages I receive from these chatty birders, one Texbird name always slows me down: Mark B Bartosik.

The entanglement continues in flight. -- Photo by Mark B Bartosik

While he downplays his talent, I count him as about the best bird photographer around. This is especially notable because Mark’s focus is so often simply on the common birds anyone of us can easily find.

A recent example are the photos he took of some male great-tailed grackles engaged in a full contact battle, probably fought over some yellow-eyed chick. He caught the magnificence of a bird species that many people consider pests.

I was absolute spellbound by the life and attitudes of these birds that Mark captured with his camera in a three-minute period. I think you will be too.

If you want to prove me right or wrong, check them out at http://tinyurl.com/69crrr6 The two photos I’ve posted here are only a sample.

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And Here’s the Rest of the Gypsy Lee Story

Posted in Nature, Travel, tagged , , , , , , , , on April 14, 2011| 7 Comments »

 “Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.” — Mark Twain

Gypsy Lee among the cactus at Pancho Villa State Park near New Mexico's border with Mexico. -- Photo by Pat Bean

Travels With Maggie

The 114,500 miles I’ve put on my VW Vista RV, Gypsy Lee, the past seven years have been good ones. I bought her new in 2004 and she’s gotten me everywhere I’ve wanted to go, done it averaging 15 mpg of fuel, and never broken down on the road, well except for a blown tire.

Together – Gypsy Lee, my dog Maggie and I – have traveled from ocean to ocean and from the Mexican border up into Canada. In return for her faithful service, I’ve had her oil changed every 3,000 miles, bought her several new sets of tires, given her a complete tune-up at 65,000 miles, one new fuel filter, and one new set of brake pads. That’s It.

But now she’s in the shop getting a major, and expensive, facelift. This time when I had her checked out to make sure she was road ready, the VW technician – that’s what they call mechanics and grease monkeys these days – found some significant wear and tear. He pointed it out to me as I stood beneath her lifted body, which still looked pretty good he said.

Gypsy Lee got me to Canada so I would walk through a marsh in Point Pelee National Park in Ontario. -- Photo by Pat Bean

While a transmission service and new brake pads are the only things nearing an emergency breakdown, I opted to do all the work the technician recommended. The cost, while it hurts, is actually less than that of the new roof I put on my last home.

And Gypsy Lee is my home. Or she will be again when I get her back Monday. That’s my 72nd birthday by the way. And I can’t think of a better present than having my RV ready to hit the road again. Hopefully Gypsy Lee and Maggie will be up to the next 100,000 or so miles. I sure am.

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Forget Your Age and Just Have Fun. I Do

Posted in Travel, tagged , , , , , on April 12, 2011| 12 Comments »

“If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun.” Katharine Hepburn

Thanks to my granddaughter, the wedding party was alerted that Nana was getting a ride on a Harley. Someone in the crowd took this photo and posted it on Facebook. I'm so glad I'm too old to worry about my image.

Travels With Maggie

 Yesterday morning started here in Camden, Arkansas, overhung with dark storm clouds threatening to burst at any moment. I waited to run my errands until after they fulfilled that promise and the sky had lightened.

But while I was at the grocery store stocking up for life on the road, those tricky clouds came back; and they began furiously dumping their load at the exact moment I left the sheltered interior of Wal-Mart.

My first thought was unprintable, but then I remembered playing in the rain as a child and how much fun it had been. It was a warm day, so the rain, once I got into it, actually felt good. Playful now, I did my own version of Gene Kelly’s “Dancing in the Rain,” as I loaded wet bags into the side door of my RV.

Afterwords, with rain dripping from every part of my body, I ducked into my tiny RV bathroom and put on dry clothes before getting back on the road. You get to do that if you take your house to the store with you.

I suspect that Maggie is always wondering what her crazy mistress is going to do next. -- Photo by Pat Bean

As I drove away, with my dog, Maggie, looking askew at me, I thought about how blessed I was that I’ve not allowed the fun in life to be devoured by age.

This thought was reinforced this morning when my daughter-in-law ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ed the photo of me published on Facebook that was taken at my grandson’s recent renaissance wedding.

One of the attendees had a Harley, and he gave my beautiful young granddaughter a ride around the block on it. I was outside when they returned, and she said: “What do you think of that Nana?”

“I’m jealous,” I replied.

“Hop on,” said the tattooed cyclist.

And I did – and loved every minute of the wind blowing into my face as he slowly drove me around the block.

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One’s Own Backyard is Full of Amazing Magic

Posted in Nature, Travel, tagged , , , , on April 11, 2011| 6 Comments »

 

A Southern Arkansas sunrise provides a magical moment to all within its view. -- Photo by Pat Bean

 

“Each day I live in a glass room unless I break it with the thrusting of my senses and pass through the splintered walls to the great landscape.” Mervyn Peake

Travels With Maggie

I’ve seen hundreds of awesome landscapes since I began living and traveling in my RV, Gypsy Lee, seven years ago.

Whenever I visit an area, I take time to search out historic sites, lakes, parks and all the fantastic landmarks someone found important enough to write about in some guidebook.

What’s amazed me is that I find locals who have never taken the time to visit the places travelers come hundreds of miles to see.

“Always been meaning to go see that waterfall,” said an Oregon waitress when I was telling her about my morning visit to Multnomah Falls just east of her Portland home.

Pink life springs from beneath a carpet of dead leaves. -- Photo by Pat Bean

Then there was the Amarillo, Texas, grocery clerk who noted my Palo Duro Canyon T-shirt and asked me if the place was worth visiting?

“Lived here all my life and never seem to get the time to visit,” she said of the spectacular gorge that lay hidden only 30 miles away.

“Have you ever visited Yellowstone National Park,” I asked.

“Marvelous place.” She beamed as she chatted about seeing Old Faithful with her husband and two children.

I find it strange that people feel a sight isn’t worth seeing unless it’s hundreds of miles away. When I lived in Utah and work kept me close to home most of the year, weekends would often find me out exploring nearby landscapes.

Yellow pansies soaked with morning dew. -- Photo by Pat Bean

One Saturday it might just be a 20-mile journey on an unpaved canyon road to view “Tea Kettle” rock. Or on a Sunday, I would take a 150-mile round trip drive to board the old Heber Creeper train for the half-day ride through incredible scenery to Bridal Veil Waterfalls up Provo Canyon.

But while I’m addicted to the travel and the wonder that goes with it, I still know that most days all I need to do is step out my door to see something magical.

Yesterday it was a colorful sky with rays of sunlight streaming down toward earth. Today, as I walked Maggie, it was the magic of pink flowers poking up through a bed of last fall’s leaves.

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Refuge Morning: Fantastic Light and Pileated Woodpecker

Posted in Birds, Nature, Travel, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on April 10, 2011| 1 Comment »

 

My daughter Trish, grandson Tony and friend Tressie fishing off a Felsenthal dock early this morning. -- Photo by Pat Bean

 

“Morning is when the wick is lit. A flame ignited, the day delighted with heat and light, we start the fight for something more than before.” Jeb Dickerson

Travels With Maggie

My RV has been hooked up at Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge’s Grand Marais Campground for the past few days, where I came to spend time with my daughter, her husband, and three grandsons.

It’s been a relaxing weekend. While they have spent most of their time fishing, I have lazed around, taken quiet walks with Maggie and watched birds.

Pileated woodpecker -- Photo by Noel Lee

I’ve also spent a good portion of my days inside my air-conditioned RV. While it’s only April, it already feels like summer here in Southern Arkansas, where high humidity gives the temperature an artificial boost. Thankfully, my RV has large side windows that let me enjoy the outdoors from the comfort of indoors.

Among the more colorful visitors to my camp site have been red-headed woodpeckers and blue jays. The 65,000 acre wetlands refuge lies near the Louisiana border and is part of the Mississippi Flyway for migrating birds, making it both a birdwatcher and duck hunter paradise.

Morning Reflections at Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge. -- Photo by Pat Bean

Early this morning, I drove down to one of the refuge’s main fishing dock with my daughter, intending to take some photographs and then walk the mile back to my RV before the day warmed up.

My timing was perfect. I had fantastic lighting for my picture-taking and a cool breeze and cloud cover for most of my return trip by foot. .

The whipped cream and cherry topping for the morning was a pileated woodpecker that flew overhead and landed in a tree. My heart skipped a beat as I listened to the large yellow-eyed, red-headed bird’s rat-a-tat-tat knocking.

Life is good.

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Turkey Vulture Encounter Not Pretty

Posted in Birds, Nature, Travel, tagged , , , , , , on April 7, 2011| 7 Comments »

A turkey vulture looking almost as graceful as a bald eagle. -- Photo by Don DeBold

“We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope.” — Martin Luther King.

Travels With Maggie

My daughter, Trish, who one day may laugh again, lives at the end of a narrow road on the outskirts of Camden, Arkansas.

She’s learned to be careful driving the lane at night as deer lurk alongside the road and have been known to spook in the direction of bright headlights. It’s also common to see skunk, raccoon, squirrels, or armadillo scampering across the road – or lying dead along this rural stretch of rough pavement.

It was roadkill armadillo a few days ago when we were driving into town in Trish’s brand new minivan. And feasting on the upturned armadillo carcass were half a dozen vultures.

“Gads I hate those birds,” she moaned as we passed, to which I described their valuable role in helping keep our environment clean.

“I know. I know. But they’re still ugly.”

I don't think I'll ever convince my daughter there's beauty in this red-headed turkey vulture, but photographer Samuel Blanc, http://www.sblanc.com, caught the beauty in this picture.

Being one of those crazy birders who has never met a bird she didn’t like, I disagreed but then shut up as I knew convincing her otherwise was a lost cause. Now the cause is not just lost, it’s found its way into a parallel universe.

While driving home from work, my daughter came upon another roadkill scene and yet more vultures dining inelegantly. One of them, it seems, was even more reluctant than usual to forsake its evening meal.

The end of this tale is less pretty than the vulture. Seems the last one to fly away decided it might look good as a hood ornament on my daughter’s new car, which hadn’t yet 1,000 miles on the odometer.

The vulture put a dent on the vehicle’s hood before realizing this wasn’t such a good idea.

“Dang (actual word used censored) turkey vultures and their ugly red faces,” she darkly muttered when she finally got home and showed me the minor damage. She was gleeful that the bird staggered as it flew away.

I think all hope is lost for me to convince Trish that vultures are actually beautiful and a gift to the world. Wouldn’t you agree.

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