The crew and I motor over to Lava Flow Campground.
I promised you I’d report on it. We find it is open and free for camping, and no one is here!
A lava flow formed a dam which created Davis Lake.
Campsites are shady with a floor of pine needles and a view of the lake. It’s very open; no separation between campsites.
It’s reedy at the sandy shore which probably deters people who like to fish. Gee, I hope there aren’t any sand fleas. (There aren’t.)
Something about the place . . . .
Maybe it’s the big, rock fire rings with firewood scattered around, the sandy beach, the openness, everything free — has me thinking this quiet, pleasant, and unsupervised place could quickly turn into the campground from hell. All it would take would be the arrival of a few carloads of teenagers psyched to party-hearty.
Nice to visit but we won’t be camping here.
Birds, birds, birds!
I’ve never seen such a variety of birds from a camp as I’ve seen along Odell Creek and around Davis Lake. Can you identify these? I know most of them, but I’ll let you try to name them. (Note: Identification added later after reader input.)
This bird performs aerial acrobatics as it plucks insects from the swarms above the creek.
It’s not a black-headed yellowbird. It’s a yellow-headed blackbird!
~ ~ ~
I have several shots of Spotted Sandpipers. A fun bird to photograph, rarely still!
~ ~ ~
I never carry a field guide.
Instead I use my camera. I zoom in, take the shot as best I can, and when I return to camp, I open up the photo on my laptop. Then I can study the bird and look it up in my Audubon or Peterson field guides. It’s fun to see what I’ve “bagged.” The photo below is a good example of that. He was much too far away to identify by eye. The photo is poor quality, but we can see who he is!
The Common Merganser — A fast-moving redhead dressed in white.
~ ~ ~
A male Cinnamon Teal quickly disappears into the tall grass.
~ ~ ~
A female Cinnamon Teal or maybe a Ring-necked Duck? — All fluffed up and content, facing the morning sun
~ ~ ~
In addition to the birds shown here, there are red-winged blackbirds, tree swallows, bluebirds, robins, cowbirds, grackles, Canada geese, mallard ducks, at least one heron, and others.
I tilt back in the lounge chair.
An eagle circles above! Several attempts at capturing it in flight are unsuccessful. I give up.
Bridget lies in the grass nearby, enjoying the sun’s warmth. Reggie happily wanders around on his tether or lies on his belly chewing a stick.
“Chirp-chirp.”
What’s that? I look up.
“Oh, it’s you! Hello!”
Reggie sprints over to the tree and does his doggie best. His efforts bring on playful taunts from above.
After a few minutes, Reggie realizes he doesn’t have the skill set to match this creature and he joins Bridget for some relaxation in the sun.
Later the crew and I ride the PTV out of the campground.
“Oh my gosh! There’s an eagle! Two of them!”
They’re perched on what remains of burned trees. I open the passenger door and steady the camera on the frame of the open window. I zoom in on the closest one, as much as my camera can go. I wait for the eagle to turn his head. He is so far off that later I have to crop and enlarge in editing.
The best of many attempts!
East Davis Lake Campground is filling up.
I’m typing this Friday morning. By the end of the day I expect the campground to be full. I’m beginning to feel hemmed in. Anticipating this, yesterday Bridget, Reggie, and I explore forest roads looking for a boondock for the weekend. It’s a fun search!
In the next post I’ll show you what we found.
rvsue
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Glad the weather seems to have turned for you!!! Gorgeous place!
Yes, it is . . . . and congratulations, Jill!
Absolutely beautiful!!!
Tomorrow early we are off to Portland, Ore. to look at a trailer! It is a 2014 21′ Keystone Passport. So excited as it sounds like just what we are looking for at a good price — and it will be my birthday! Could the stars be aligned? Did I ever mention that we bought our Casita years ago on Gil’s birthday?
Love, love, love your photos!
Hi, Kathy,
I went to the Keystone Passport website and clicked on the link for 2014. Very nice and perfect for you.
I hope you have a wonderful birthday tomorrow!
Happy early Birthday, Kathy! I hope the trailer works out to be a perfect present! 🙂
Have a Happy Birthday Kathy and good luck to you both getin’ that trailer,,,,,,,,,,, Rusty
Thank you, all! Hitting 68 this year— grateful to be doing so. Excited to see if the trailer works out.
Happy Birthday, Kathy. Hope the trailer turns our perfect for you. I, too, will be 68 this year in August.
Happy Birthday Kathy. A trailer on your special day, how exciting. Hope you get it.
Happy Birthday, Kathy!!! That would be a great present!! 🙂
Happy birthday Kathy. Hope you get the trailer that is perfect for you and Gil.
YAY #3 and I read the post too! great photos of the Eagle and the birds, but Reggie takes a good look at the squirrel, many hugs and we are gettin’ ready to travel,,,,,,me
Thanks, Rusty…. I can tell you’re anxious to get moving!
You betcha Sue, I’ve been topping off everything to their level, calculating gas, drivin’ times, checkin’ the brakes, tires and all.,,,, been going to bed at 9:30 , getting up at 05:00, Daylights a burnin’. We’re going straight to the Ron-Dee- Voo area to get a nice camp,,, We’ll be putting ’bout 2, 8hr days of drivin’ with gas and potty- breaks fer Timber n’ me,,,,,,,,,,,, RON_DEE_VOO,,,Yah,,, HOOOO,,,,,,,,,,,,,me
Sending you wishes for safe travels, Rusty. Have fun!! 🙂
Thanks Denise,,,,,,, me
The Lord is my Pilot,,,,,,,,,,
Have a ton of fun Rusty!
Thank you Geri,,, Timber is getin’ excited, he knows we’re goin’ for a ride,,,,,,,,,
Amen to that! Safe travels, Rusty & Timber, too!
Thank you Marla in Corona, I know some folks in Corona, Norco, Perris,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, me
Hey Rusty, I tried to go to your blog but the link doesn’t work! Can you tell us what the URL is? Thanks! BTW Sue, I’ve fixed my blog now, thanks for letting me know it was wonky.
Rusty doesn’t have a blog or website. That’s why the link doesn’t work.
Oh well, that would ‘splain it, thanks!
Great photos.
Thanks, Mary Alice.
I just love all your critter photo!!!!Forgot how beautiful Oregon is..thank you for the nice tour!! XO XO to the furkids!!
You’re welcome, Betty Shea. It’s fun showing you what I find.
I agree – that Lava Flow Campground looked like a potential party place – ok unless you’re looking for peace and quiet. We’re getting ready to take our MH all of 5 miles down the road to camp until Thursday at San Onofre State Beach. My niece, nephew and their respective families will be camped right next to us. I’m sure it will be loud and chaotic, but at least it will be family noise!! Hope you find a good weekend boondocking spot, Sue!
Thanks, Cynthia. Have a great time with your family at the beach!
TIMBER TIGER!!!! Good old Reggie tried to slay the timber tiger! 🙂
Gosh, for being so remote and clean, that is amazing it is FREE. WA has much to learn from OR. 🙁
The birds are lovely. I can imagine trying to hold two dogs, flip pages in a bird book and not succeed at any of it! LOL Plus we get to enjoy the critters you see!
Where I am on my last day home for a bit… Time to get the house and office picked up/ready for my departure. A bit apprehensive. I will miss the last days of the school year (we have an elementary school across the street-the kids are out playing kickball right now for PE). That will be hard. I have enjoyed the bike rodeo every year… The kids are so funny. Our local police department comes out for the event, and the kids are so excited each year to get the autographs of the police officers. For 5th and 6th graders, that is so fun to see. But, all will be good. And I will get to see my own grandkids advance from 2nd to 3rd and from Pre-school to Kindergarten. 🙂
Hugs from Hoquiam,
Barb
Hi, Barb,
Your grandchildren are at a precious age. Enjoy!
Nice pictures. Reggie is so cute looking up the tree. Nice eagle shot. We saw three eagles on our float the other day. One was sitting in its nest. Pretty neat.
Floating in the area; for Ed. There aren’t a whole lot of slow moving streams. We occasionally paddle on the Little Deschutes. You can put in, paddle up the river and then float back to the same spot for take out. Access points are off of State Recreation Rd, Bridge Dr, or at the Rosland Campground off Burgess. Another spot is Hosmer Lake. Hosmer is a long, narrow lake. Absolutely beautiful. It is located by Mallard Marsh Campground. Don’t expect to find a campsite mid week. On the coast south of Florence, check out the Siltcoos River.
Hi, Bill and Ann,
Nice of you to give Ed some suggestions for floats. I remember seeing the Little Deschutes, a gentle, winding stream. Pretty.
Nice analysis on campgrounds and what ones would be best, Sue. Lovely photos…love squirrels…even though they are pests in some situations, of course. We are already missing our mocking birds we listened to and watched whenever we walked in NC…ah…back to raucous crows and that like…oh well…we DO have the gorgeous inland sea view and clear skies with breezes…can’t get much nicer than that!!
Welcome home, Elizabeth! I am sure you and your hubby are happy to be back in your own bed! 🙂
Well, it was fun being with our daughter and seeing a bit of other kin nearby…but it is very nice to be back in my own kitchen!! Heh! What was surprising was the air mattress we slept on, on the floor at daughters, leaves me feeling better than my expensive sleep number bed at home!! I think the lumpy way that air mattress is made helps relieve pressure points during the night and I awake less achy!! Who could tell? Thanks for the welcome Denise…hope all is well for you too!!
Hi, Elizabeth,
I had a similar experience. When I slept on an air mattress I was surprised how comfortable it was.
It is certainly unexpected Sue, isn’t it?
All is well here…thanks! 🙂
I ordered a Benchmark Oregon atlas thru your link. Hope it shows up on your list at some point. This will be my first Benchmark. I wanted to see why they are so popular. I know you are a big fan.
Hi, Ed,
Yes, I saw that someone ordered the Benchmark for Oregon. Thank you! At first you won’t see all that the atlas shows. It takes a little time and practice. You made a good investment.
Beautiful birds! And to think I get excited when I see a cardinal. We have feral cats in the neighborhood and I think that is part of the reason we don’t have a lot of birds. Right now just watching the weather because of last night’s 4 hours of downpour. Now streets in my part of town are flooded and asphalt is washing out in a street 2 blocks over. And at the beginning of the month all the lakes were down. Mother Nature is a wonder indeed.I’m sure you must have posted about it, but what do you do for keeping track of weather where you are camping? It was stunning to see how quickly things can change!
Hi, Susan,
Tragically, things do change quickly and people are surprised by floods. I hope the water has receded from your town.
I have a NOAA radio which I never use. When I want to know the weather, I do an online search, “weather in Eugene, OR” for instance. Then I look at accuweather and wunderground, the latter being my most trusted.
Of course, great pictures….looks like a lovely place.
Jerold and I will be spending the weekend in Jackson MS with Elly and her North Mississippi Hoop Dreams traveling basketball team. First game at 6 pm tonight so better get a move on it!!
Sending lots of love and big hugs
The game may be in progress as I type this. You have such talented grandchildren and they are fortunate to have your support. Go, Elly!!!
Love y’all…
The first photo with Bridget in it is the most accurate,and therefore flattering,one of her that I’ve seen.Because she is standing straight her shape can be seen as fit and proportionally beautiful as she really is.The one with Reggie standing on his hind legs shows his agility and toy like cuteness off perfectly,too.Adding all the other great ones of creatures I so enjoy seeing is you’re being lavishly nice to me,thanks!Your ability to see the potential that place has to become an awful experience is a terrific judgement skill to have.You really have a lot of those,you are a wise and thoughtful woman.That makes reading your blog a much more enjoyable learning experience than it is even without that .Great job,all around,with this post,Sue!Wow…
The photos of the dogs especially are what draws me here in part, Weather!! It helps me not miss having my own quite so much…well, by a tad at least! 🙂 I still have hopes of getting another one, someday!! Hope you are well. The weather here back in Seattle area now, has been quite nice today…70 and breezy…and sunny…whatever more could a person ask for??
Breezy days are the best,Elizabeth.I’ll bet being back home feels good in many ways.Nice to go,nice to return-we’re blessed to have so much…I’m glad you got what you needed to off your shoulders by taking your trip.Be well and happy 🙂
Hi, weather,
Too bad Bridget isn’t aware of what you wrote — “proportionally beautiful” is a nice compliment. She has a mature grace to match.
Thank you for your words about my judgement regarding when to move camp. I’m bursting to tell everyone about our boondock. It’s so lovely I’ve been away from the computer most of the day, having a great time with the crew. No one around for Reggie to bark at; no one around for ME to bark at. Haha! Peaceful, piney, with a dramatic view…. oh my, life couldn’t be better!
I’m glad you enjoyed the photos. I knew you’d appreciate them!
So is this officially Reggie’s first boondock?If so,he should get a boondocker’s badge or at least a longer tether 🙂 with no one for either of you to bark at it would be fun to know what he’d do with a few extra feet of “freedom” .I love to see my pups in a full out run.The mother of my younger one was my favorite to watch,like seeing wind in motion.Dogs,kids,people that are ones at heart, horses -have such free abandon when they do that.One can get the same feel by driving with the windows down.That’s why I’d once mentioned using the swings where you were camped…
You’re bursting to tell us about your find and I’m excited about your doing that!My newest discoveries here were webs of the prettiest little golden orange small spiders.They seem to love yellow flowers most would call weeds.I’ve no idea what the names of either are,I just call that part of the hill gorgeous.I imagine much of what’s near you is ,too.Cup the beautiful faces of the fur friends that are for me an extra time.I’ll fill my coffee cup and pray a wonderful day in for us all.
Good morning, weather,
I love to see dogs run, too. Unfortunately, it’s too soon to trust Reggie to run free. Now Reggie walks on the 20-foot tether which gives him a 40-foot run. He’s happy with that, being so little. I’m hoping this will train him to know boundaries — how far he can stray when we walk, especially in wild places. Bridget sets a good example.
We played on the river bank — Reggie running back and forth and in circles around me. Yes, our new camp is Reggie’s first boondock. 🙂
Hadn’t put together the vision of Reggie’s size with forty feet to roam free in,thanks for mentioning that .That is a long ways,especially if I consider how big the perimeter of the circle that allows him.That is plenty of room for what I meant,and your and Bridget’s teaching him that boundary is a terrific measure to put in place.When each dog I’ve had was new to our home and hadn’t learned to stop and come when called,I had too many heart-in- throat instances.Wow,Running on a river bank…Reggie sure has come a long way from the city yard,and Bridget from the shelter you brought her from.
I’ll be showing some photos of us walking with Reggie on the long tether. He trots along happily.
Hi, Sue!
I am loving all the pictures of the birds, ducks, and eagle! Sounds like you and the Crew had fun exploring! Enjoy the rest of your day! Looking forward to seeing where you take us next! Love and hugs from me and Gracie pup! 🙂
My guess for the bird is a yellow-headed blackbird. 🙂
Yes, that’s what it is. I’m looking forward to telling and showing you our latest camp and, yes, we did enjoy the day. I hope you and Gracie pup did, too!
🙂
Thank-you so much Sue for the beautiful bird and critter photography!
You’re welcome, Julie. My pleasure.
Hi gang. Spending most of my time on class and homework. Having a blast. Joining a group of women for dinner tonight. I miss my friends here so much. I would live here if not for winter. But I do love the desert. I may not be around as much but I’ll be thinking of you.
Enjoy visiting your friends, DesertGinger! 🙂
Well, we find we miss those on the East Coast when we are here in the West and when we are there in the East, we miss those here…argh!! I hear ya! Maybe you can find a way to split your time between there and AZ…we are thinking on that very thing ourselves. In our case, we prefer the winters in NC as we seem to stay healthier there and the summers here in Seattle area.
Have fun Ginger….
How’s the fume situation?
Glad you are having a blast!
It’s so good to hear the happiness in your latest report, Ginger! Continue having a great time and get back to us when the confetti settles. 🙂
Hi
The bird photo underneath the yellow headed blackbird (never seen one of these before-very cool!)
is it some sort of thrush?
Love the review of Lava Lake. Heck, I love all your
reviews!
Hi, Terri,
You’re right about the yellow-headed blackbird. Sondra (below) correctly identified the one after that as a Spotted Sandpiper. 🙂
Very interesting how the lava formed a dam….which created the lake. Mother Nature at her best!
Lots of birds indeed.. Wow love the eagle…..and striped face means a chipper!
Enjoy!
Hi, Cinandjules,
You learned the difference between a squirrel and a chipmunk here, on this blog…. How cool is that? 🙂
It’s truly amazing the places we NOW know about, knowledge we’ve gained, “friends” we all support during happiness or struggles……while frequenting this blog! :).
Sumptin for everyone!
I zoomed down to the comment box so I can put in my guesses on the birds before I see everyone’s..Me thinks….yellow headed blackbird, spotted sandpiper, (the 3rd one Im gonna go with) Common Merganser, cinnamon teal male & female, AND the cute little ground squirrel is it Golden Mantled? ALL excellent photos Sue as you know I have the same camera I still love mine! Hope you do get a peaceful weekend in spite of the crowds. Now I’ll go back and see what everyone else thinks these birds are…
Hi, Sondra,
You’ve given the most complete response yet re the ID of the birds. I agree with each one, which doesn’t mean much…. but I did cross-check with my Audubon guide. I never would’ve figured out Cinnamon Teal (male and female)….. Thanks for the help!
Yes, we’re in a place that is peaceful for the weekend, and, yes, I love my camera, too!
Sue,
I so wish I was camping right now….your pics are awesome and I’m really wanting to pack up the rig and go!
Enjoy your weekend, wherever you landed!
Thank you, Marla. I wish you could be camping this weekend, too!
Good job, Sondra out there in SC.
Sue–you crack me up–“black-headed yellow bird”!
Last post I suggested that you were hearing a night heron–deep throaty call and lives in marshes.
Thanks for the great nature photography.
You’re welcome, Diann,
Night heron is a good guess. I misled you when I said it has a deep call… I meant it’s deeper sounding than a songbird… “Fuller” might have been a better word. Gee, describing bird sounds is tough!
I asked someone and they told me what the mystery bird is. Amazing! I’m going to let everyone know in a blog post. You will be very surprised… I was!
Okay- just shows what I know about birds! I looked up spotted sandpiper. It looked larger than your picture but yours is definitely NOT a thrush!! Thanks Sondra for identifying it.
🙂
I go go-goo over birds IM a Bird Nerd for sure!
Hi Sue, Great picture of the eagle.
I often carry a field guide, but for some reason the birds I see never look like the ones in the book, so I don’t know why I bother. The ones that I recognize in the book are the ones I already know! LOL
I think there are male/female/winter feathers/summer feathers. Whatever, I never can make the two match up.
Safe travels. Looking forward to your next site.
Hi, Applegirl,
I know what you mean about the seasonal plumage and the difficulty identifying from a field guide. That’s why I don’t stick my neck out… I let readers tell me! It’s like having a bunch of ornithologists at my beck and call! 🙂
Oh wow, two giant turkeys just came into our yard – those I recognize. Hopefully my dogs won’t spot them, or there will be a very noisy time.
Turkeys… What fun! Do you remember when the male turkey came to our camp and was strutting around in full display? What a sight! Yeah, they can be “giant.”
I so envy you the opportunity to photograph so many different birds. One of most favourite photographic yens. And the eagles………..wow. That would be like me spying and capturing with my camera a wedge tailed eagle here in Australia. Still looking.
Hi, Glenda,
Never heard of a wedge-tailed eagle. I’ll look it up…. It would be fun to discover the birds you have in Australia. I know it’s fun to share what we have here with people who appreciate nature.
I made it to OREGON!!!! yah-hoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🙂 🙂
YIPPPPPPPEEEEE, Krystina….glad you are safe and sound…no small favor these days of crazy drivers….amazes me how many we see with their head down so far that there is simply no way they could even see a bit of the road!! Hope you have a stupendous time there! The weather up here in Seattle area has been just perfect today…breezy and 70 degrees and sunny…what’s not to like?
Sooooo true!!! Today was the very first time I called the police to report a driver on the road. Two trucks pulling utility trailers were ALL OVER the road. No one would pass them it was soooo bad. We were all going about 40 mph on a 70 mph highway. I was going sooooo slow that it was easy to make the call. I stopped at a Walmart and my Honey Nut Cherrios were $2.00 cheaper…..on and on!! Oh happy day 🙂
Krystina
WELCOME TO OREGON, KRYSTINA!
I was worried that California was turning YOU into a honey nut cheerio. Haha!
Oh happy day… no sales tax! Enjoy!
Yeah, out of CA. Enjoy Oregon and the PNW. What route did you take?
Good Morning Alan As I was in Roseville, CA I decided to take Rt 5 to get out of the state. I am headed toward the coast so it made sense. When I go back to AZ in the fall I will go to the National Parks and Lake Tahoe. Snow capped Mt. Shasta was just beautiful as I was driving. Wha hoo….gas is $2.89/gal and I paid $3.69 in CA when I filled up. Sooooo happy to be here. 🙂
The birds are beautiful. However, I’m not good at identifying them other than our local birds here in middle Tennessee. I love cardinals and they are all over the place. They sit on our stoop railing and look in the back door to see if we are watching. They used to pester the cat, but of course he is no longer with us.
You’re are probably correct about the party camp, or there would be folks there. Would be interesting to see what the weekend would bring there.
Hi, Barbara,
Cardinals are interesting to watch. At my house in Georgia I had one that walked into my kitchen and ate the crew’s kibble. Talk about bold!
Beautiful pictures Sue. How wonderful to be surrounded with natures gifts. The last critter pick is adorable. I know I would love Oregon, with every post, it just gets better.
Thanks, Val. You’re right about our travel in Oregon… “with every post, it just gets better.” Wail ’til you see where we are now! What did I do to deserve this? 🙂
Hello Sue,
You have had the crew on a raw food and bones diet for quite sometime. They look great! What exactly are you feeding them?
Hi, Claudia,
No, I don’t have the crew on a raw food and bones diet any more. After Spike left us, Bridget refused to eat raw. She does love cooked meat!
In the morning the crew has a small amount of cooked chicken, cooked beef liver, or cooked pork… It’s usually chicken. I give them raw bones sparingly.
In the late afternoon they have Blue Wilderness. I’m not saying Blue Wilderness is the best; it’s what is available in many places, is grain-free, and has good protein content.
(Now please, readers…. If you’re a purist about dog food, let this pass. I’m doing what I can with what’s available on the road.)
You always take such wonderful photos!!!
I love them!
Thank you, Lynn. You’re kind to overlook the fuzziness of those long-zoom shots.
Missy, any chance of you guys coming back to sunny Arizona soon? It was only 103 today at my place. It’s gonna be 106 Tues. You’re missing all the fun…. Keep on truckin RVS,,,,
Gee, Jim… So sorry to miss out on all that sunshine. 🙂
One hundred six degrees the first week of June? Um . . . That’s kinda’ hot.
That’s just the warm up act, wait till July and August.
I lived in Phoenix for 14 years and always thought June was the hottest month. Looked it up. One web site claims that the average June High temperature has been 104 with July at 106 and August 104.
Not that much difference in the three months. The bigger difference will be where you happen to be in the Valley of the Sun on any particular day.
Yeah, it’s hot. 🙂
But it’s a dry heat…uh huh. Still hot.
I lived in Lake Havasu years ago when we hit our all time high of 128. Here in the west valley of the Phoenix hub (Surprise) it gets up to 120 in July making it our hottest month.
http://www.areavibes.com/surprise-az/weather/
My bird bath and fountain both have major bird activity. They use the facilities all year but now it’s life and death for my little feathered friends. BTW I am feeding a Momma and Pappa Quail family with four little chicks. Those chicks are adorable.
Quail chicks…. They must be adorable!
We are finally seeing 90’s and starting to feel like summer, although we would all be happy with the 70’s and 80’s we have had all month because grasses dry out slower and we are dry enough as it is. We are starting to do some long planned mods in my 05 Leisure Travel Sprinter van. Hubby today installed LED lights from a place called M-4 today. Happy with all but the replacements for the little round halogen lights which the LEDs do not seem bright enough but hubby said the brighter style would not fit per his measurements and the people at M-4, so I guess we will keep them. Also replaced levers on the AC which I was surprised he could still get. Hoping for a fall trip as he slowly feels better. The end of June it will be 2 years since his cancer surgery and cancer free as well as 3 months finished with radiation for the second cancer ( unrelated to the first).
Have a great weekend all.
Thanks, Velda. You and your husband have a great weekend, too. I look forward to the time when you report on your travels with the Sprinter. Love LED lights!
Welcome to the world of RVing, I know you’ll enjoy it.
Yeah LEDs are great although they aren’t quite the brightness they need to be. Wattage is important, but the lumens is the info to check. Different manufacturers put out different amounts of light. I found a 30 led spot light that is jointed for adjusting where it points that I use for reading. They are a little pricey but do a great job.
Enjoy
LOL I leave all that to hubby who was working with M-4 company! They were very responsive to his questions, like within minutes during the day. My job is to tell him whether I like something or not! And I know I’m going to like using less battery power. 🙂
Tell you the truth Sue, I am aprehensive about travel long distance as he wants to do with a mad dash to Oklahoma to see his father and sister, bexause it means leaving disabled son home alone along with cats and parrot. But we will work it out by fall hopefully. We have done it before and something always happens from bird getting sick ( I now board her at our avian vet during trips) to son getting sick from stress. Preparing for me is not just getting the RV ready but trying to think of every eventuality with son and cats. I prefer nearby trips where we could get home quick but can’t figure out how to make Oklahoma closer to California!
I’m glad someone was able to identify the Cinnamon ducks – they are so beautiful! There’s something about seeing a Bald Eagle in the wild that feels like a special gift – no matter how far away they might be 🙂 Reggie’s not much bigger than the chipmunk, he is very brave!
We’re down to the wire with everything getting moved into the rig tomorrow and hopefully all the warranty work done so we can launch as planned on Wednesday. Beyond excited, and heading to the PNW :-))))))
Oh, wow…. Lift-off is only a few days away! Exciting!
Hi Sue, sounds like you are continuing to find fantastic camps! What an adventurous life you have!
The bird pics are really good and I will give you my assessment on the identity. The first bird is a Yellow-Headed Blackbird, the second a Spotted Sandpiper, the third is a Common Merganser, the fourth is a Cinnamon Teal, and I cannot identify the last one. It is a female and without seeing the wing clearly, I would be guessing. Females are much harder to identify. You are seeing some good birds and you’ll be an official birder before you know it! It’s a lot of fun.
We are in New Mexico and will be for another couple of weeks, then to Colorado for the summer. Lovin’ our fulltime life, too!
Just looked a little closer at the female duck. It appears to have a light ring around the bill, so based on that, it could be either a Redhead or a Ring-Necked Duck.
I think it is a Ring-Necked due to the white eye ring.
Hmm….. I’ll add that to the text… I agree, the females are tough to identify! Thanks for the help.