Standing. Arms folded. Why? Because it’s natural to do? Are you resting? Do you feel Safe? Safely behind the walls of your stance. Closed. Hurt. Scared. Alone admits the crowd. Silent when you want to scream. Suffocated. Bound with no ropes. Voiceless with no gage. Blind with no fold. Brush off the invisible restrictions. Who told you that? That you can’t—won’t ever…become. Restricted. Who told you that? You’re running…running from an invisible foe—well, maybe not invisible, but certainly powerless. Standing. Arms folded. Why not wide open? Why not free—free to breathe, free to move, free to speak, free to see…see what could be if you would only stand with arms unfolded—arms wide open.

Honest with yourself. Honest with others. Allowing for change, allowing for mistakes, allowing for growth. Allowing your life to touch someone else’s. Your story. A story. Life’s story. God’s story. Where do you fit in? Might you know if you only allow yourself to be unfolded? Open hands, honest heart, free thoughts. Free to choose, free to love, free to live, free to be you. Life in its entirety is an unfolding process. From girlhood to womanhood we spend our days in joy, and heartbreak, in triumph, and great pain, in fairy tales, and sometimes horror flicks, in forgiveness, in uncertainty, in light, in darkness, in peace, in hatred, in love, in grace…in all this and more we spend our days learning to blossom and bloom.

To become unfolded, as a great and rare treasure. Slowly, lest we be unveiled to quickly and alarm those who watch. Slowly, lest we be unveiled to quickly and find all of our worth in self—forgetting The One who discovered us. No, this process takes a lifetime, and is only truly finished on the other side of eternity. Completed through and through

That which unfolds, unveils something truly beautiful. Like a rose, a cocoon, a book, a small child’s hands back from a grand adventure, a mothers arms, the clouds after a rainy day. Unfolding is nothing to fear dear friends, but something to embrace.

These are my thoughts.

One final afternoon in my final city and I can say I’m ready to be home. Not ready to leave, but ready to see those faces again. They are what I have missed most. Not the familiarity of the streets and places, I have found that in the unexpected/most expected of places. Not even the hugs that I am sure will await me. I too have found those, in the most expected of places. For now I know where I am welcome, and to there is where I go.

This trip made simply for one reason, I did not know when I would be able to come back. When I get home and I look at the damage I have inflicted on my poor bank balance I know that it will have cost me dearly. However, when I think of the memories I have made, I know that I could not have afforded to not have those walks and not seen those smiles and not shared that laughter.

For those m0ments, there will never be a price to high. To share a meal with a friend, an ocean is no greater obstacle than a street. Though I cannot confirm when, know that it will be again, it will be often, and it will be as soon as I can no longer afford to be without your face sat across from me.

I have travelled through cities and across states and have been greeted by warm suns and even warmer smiles. I have gone where I was most welcomed and most missed. I have gone to where the fractions of my heart reside because I could not bear to stay away for any longer, knowing that my return to them is some far off date. This has been my journey and now one final stop remains.

Only one more night and I’d be fooling myself if I didn’t admit that there’s still a part of me that feels some trepidation at the knowledge of my return to that city that has come to mean so many different things. But this was my choice. An idea born on a plane ride away from that spot and the actions of some that were able to erase the behaviour of one.

I surround myself with those who bring out the best in me, but know nothing of that darkness that still haunts me. That darkness I am afraid to let into my life for fear it will consume me again. I will not allow them to face that fate. I will not allow my own weakness to cause them pain. I will not betray everything I have come to be because of the promise that they once held in my eyes.

I feel myself a coward because of this, because I am not strong enough to stand in that one person’s path and make myself known. Yet the thought lingers in my mind, what if they knew? Then part of me speaks again, they probably already do. I have stayed out of the way but I have not hidden. I refuse to believe that I should, but I will not call them out for a confrontation either. Their own cowardice will keep them away, of that I am almost certain and oddly thankful.

I hate that these thoughts dominate my mind this night whilst the child who has sat in my arms for the past few days tidies her toys behind me; but I cannot let my guard down. I cannot let this city be turned again. I have made my choice. I have finally come to see what others have seen, not in them but in me. I know who I am, but the knowledge of who they were remains.

The ghost of my past. Its hold still lingers even though I chose to let go. That city…what will you do to me this time? Someone read ahead and find out how this ends.

See some of you on the other side, see the rest of you when I get back. Be good.

No more sleeps. Today’s the day I get on the plane on the start of my “Grand American Adventure.” As usual it doesn’t feel like I’m actually going, and I’m pretty sure there’s something else I should be doing other than this, but I’ll sit for a while.

I told myself that I would never do this trip this way again, not West to East. The world’s are too different and I know in which I have been most welcome and where I have found myself left for dead as people groaned at the inconvenience of having to step over me. Still I go.

Time and circumstance has lead me to this adventure. Those people who I count amongst my favourites scattered across the globe and a need for me to see their faces once more. Part of me fearful of the days before me. I exist here in a world where I know no one dare do me harm for fear of reprisal from those who hold me tight. Funny, it is because of them that no one could ever hurt me. My own forcefield.

I venture out of it now. Testing myself to see how strong I am without it. I don’t do it blindly, each step someone there to catch me. The last one always being the hardest of course, how I will fare in the place that has claimed so many victims; so often me. But there’s where my secret weapon resides, my greatest protection, my biggest smile. Cowardice perhaps that my greatest danger knows nothing of my return, but I have learnt enough to know that one does not pull the tail of the dragon without their armour.

Too many items on my to-do-list remain. I’m afraid to look at it in case I see something I absolutely should have done and that I no longer have time to do. Batman will have to wait for my return, as will so many others. It’s always good to have something to come home to, and I have so many somethings. It’s getting harder and harder to leave this place, even though I know my return will be all too soon. Those on this side of the ocean making themselves so very necessary in my life.

Enough, I want more but there is no more time. There are instead last minute checks to make although I’m sure something will still be forgotten. There are suitcases to load and planes to catch and an adventure to be had. I am leaving on a jetplane, but I will be back again.

Until then…don’t ever doubt that I don’t miss you.

After I finish my service in the Peace Corps in the next two weeks, I will be heading out on a Balkan Road trip. To where? you ask. Here’s a handy map!

View Larger Map

Sept 24: Anita and I pickup our rental car and we hit the road to Ohrid, Macedonia (via Skopje).

Sept 25 Spending the night in Ohird, we head to Gjirokaster, Albania where we’ll spend the night and hang out with some Albanian PCVs. I have been told that there will be a once-every-five-year Albanian folklore festival. I’m really looking forward to seeing this and meeting up with several other PCVs.

Sept 26 The next day we’ll drive up the Albania coast and spend the night somewhere along the way.

Sept 27,28 The following two days, we’ll spend the night in Kotor, Montenegro. Kotor is home to the deepest fjord in Europe and is considered Dubrovnik’s little sister.

Sept 29 The next day, we’ll drive to Dubrovnik, Croatia for a short day trip. As you may remember, I have already been to Dubrovnik but it’s in the neighborhood.

Sept 29, Oct 1, 2 After spending time in Dubrovnik, we head on to Mostar, Bosnia for a day or two. After this, we head on to Sarajevo for the night. (I have three days alloted for Mostar and Sarajevo however we want to divvy them up)

Oct 3rd start heading back to Bulgaria, route to be determined! We’ll most likely spend the night in a national park in Montenegro.

Oct 4th return to Bulgaria.

Oct 6th RETURN HOME!

I awoke in the morning and immediately called Triple-A. I could have changed the tire myself, but figured I had just upgraded to AAA Premier and thought why not have someone with all of the tools change the tire instead of me getting dirtier while on the road.
A mistake; AAA calls back telling me they can’t get in touch with the contract station and they said they would look it up in the phone directory and find someone. Well, after about a half hour of explaining that I was in the first rest area in New Mexico at the border of Texas in the westbound land of Interstate 10, they finally figured they might know where I was… maps they are a marvelous thing AAA dispatchers should try using them sometimes… not too hard to figure out large ribbon of asphalt that goes from the Atlantic to the Pacific! Anyway, they get in touch with Happy Towing… it will take an hour.
OK, never disappointed with extra time I can spend exploring the area with my camera; I took off on the paved trail around the rest area. I get a call on my cell from a guy who sounds decidedly annoyed that he couldn’t find me. I asked him if he went to the section of the rest area where the cars were parked and he said no he only saw the big rigs. I told him to drive and look for parked passenger cars which was where my SUV would be found.
Funny I thought, I would have heard a tow truck and immediately gone to where my truck was parked. No wonder, this guy drives up in a mid-80’s sedan with disabled plates and starts staring at me with disdain. Incredulous that this might be the tow truck, I asked who he was and he barked Happy Towing! Shudder, I watch as he begins to get an old scissor-jack out of his trunk as his son (who I mistook for his grandson) wandered aimlessly about not helping at all. I told the guy who smelled awful of booze and stale cigarettes that I had a floor jack that he could use; he refused until he realized that his jack would not lift my truck.
The whole time I am thinking this guy is going to keel over while changing my tire, so I am almost changing the tire myself in an attempt to keep him alive through the procedure. After a while I couldn’t stand the smell of the guy so I backed off and let him just do what he was getting paid to do.
Ewww, I called AAA and let them know there was nothing Happy nor Towing about this company and they should never call them again.
Finally after three hours, I was back on the road and determined to head toward Ramsey Canyon, Arizona, where I hoped to do some real birding. I drove quickly through New Mexico and immediately upon entering Arizona started looking for a Visitor’s Center… the rest stops didn’t have such places and found one listed as being in a town called Willcox. I arrived about 3:30 in the afternoon and the visitor information center turned out to be a Chamber of Commerce that did have some birding information. They even hold an annual Birding Festival called “Wings over Willcox”. I finally got to bird my first sewer ponds of the adventure. Non-birders might think, what the heck! But birders know that birds love these places. I immediately discovered another life bird; Cassin’s Sparrow lurking in the mesquite. Each little puddle on the way to the spreading ponds revealed a few ducks and shorebirds. A tour around the ponds was filling my bird list quite nicely and the next life bird a Scaled Quail soon popped up. I was having an amazing time but knew I needed to get to Hereford and see if I could get a room for the night. I figured this was going to be my last indulgence of the trip and this was going to be the best birding I had experienced.
So, trusting my GPS, I set it for Ramsey Canyon. My sister and Internet navigator looked up B&B’s for me and prepared me for the shock of the price of staying in luxury. For some reason I felt that I really needed to stay at the Ramsey Canyon B&B even though it was the most expensive… little did I know that my experience in Trigger Point massage therapy would help me lower the price to less than half.
It is a beautiful place right next to the Nature Conservancy’s Ramsey Canyon Preserve. I looked forward to birding the next day while luxuriating in a beautiful room and taking a wonderful shower. I enjoyed my first life bird, a Magnificent Hummingbird, before settling down for the night.
308 miles

I awoke as light was just revealing the landscape of plowed fields I was parked near. Immediately drove back into Carlsbad Caverns National Park, where I would have to wait until 8 a.m. before I could begin the exploration of the caverns. But I am infrequently bothered with delays as there is always something interesting to see.
I stopped to photograph the entry sign and found Northern Mockingbirds, Canyon Wren, and Black-chinned Sparrows singing their hearts out as the first blush of the sun was peeking over some distant mountains. I continue driving up the 6 mile road toward the entrance to the caverns.
There were a few little trails along the way but I only hiked one short trail to a bluff overlooking the valley below. I really enjoy interpretive trails and hope to emulate them soon at the Kern River Preserve; a Blue Grosbeak was singing his heart out trying to attract any female who might listen. All he seemed to do was annoy a rival male who gave chase. The trail was short but full of interesting information about the Chihuahuan Desert flora.
Soon it was closing in on the opening time to the caverns so I drove the rest of the way up the hill. I had heard of these magnificent caverns from my first husband as we hitchhiked our way across the country back in 1976. He spoke so glowingly of their magnificence, I have been anxious to go ever since. Pretty timely eh… only took me 33 years to finally get there!
I stood in line and found although my Interagency Passport allowed me to go through the Big Room, I wouldn’t get to explore the rest of the caverns, so got a ticket for the 10 a.m. Kings Room Guided Tour. A first for me on my Grand Adventure; I allowed someone else to control my time. As I was standing in line to go down the elevator, I noticed that several people were carrying jackets, which in 100º heat made me think, oh, cool in caverns. I asked and the guide said it averaged 56ºF in the caverns. Out to the car to grab a jacket and shed the binoculars and long lens, which made me miss the first elevator. Not a bad thing though the second elevator contained only me and the operator not the huge crowd that rode the first one down.
Grabbed a snack at the 750’ deep cavern and then ran off to explore the public cavern, the Big Room. It said it took an average of 1.5 to 2 hours to explore but I only had 43 minutes so I moved really quickly. The caves are full of amazing stalactites and stalagmites, well worth visiting at least once. Not at all claustrophobic as I had feared. I found it interesting seeing a Mennonite couple exploring the caverns dressed fully in the required clothing of their faith and looking very much like people out of the past while they were listening to their I-Pod. I smiled at the incongruity.
I then went on the paid tour with two Park Service employees. I find it interesting how depressed many of these employees seem. My dream job (besides the one I already have) would be to work at a National Park. I guess managers of Parks were most likely like the managers I had at the Forest Service, really didn’t care about the constituents, just about making sure their butts were covered. The Parks should really hire bright people who are interested in sharing information about the park that goes beyond the script.
It was interesting to listen to the story of the fellow who first explored the cave and how he almost killed himself groping in the pitch black when his coal oil lantern sputtered out while he was exploring a niche away from the light, but it seemed there were so many stories beyond the first explorer that could have been shared. I was taking loads of photos and a couple noticed I was shooting timed-exposures with a hand-held lens and they graciously offered to let me use the monopod they weren’t using. It came in quite handy but afterwards I noticed that even the shots I hand-held for up to 4-seconds came out pretty nice.
I spoke with our non-speaking guide after the tour about looking for birds and she brightened up so much, it was great! She told me about the Rattlesnake Spring area within the Park, which I went to after exploring the natural opening of the cave.
For adventurous souls, you can walk the mile and a half down into the cavern. Now it is paved and has handrails, but it still looked like quite a haul and I was happy to enjoy the caverns without an exhausting hike. The entrance has a seating area above it where the Park staff give a nightly program on the millions of Mexican Free-tailed Bats that exit the caverns. I didn’t stay around to watch that phenomenon but did enjoy a show of Cave Swallows that were nesting on the rocks at the entrance. A family was excitedly explaining all the bats flying about in the middle of the day, when the naturalist in me jumped out and corrected them and explained about the difference between diurnal, nocturnal and crepuscular animals. They seemed quite happy to learn something new which made me feel good. I stopped and took lots of photos for couples entering the cave, which also make me feel useful.
After leaving the main park, I went in search of the Rattlesnake Spring. What an amazing place to bird and naturalize! I saw many life dragonflies, butterflies and birds at the small area. I highly recommend it to any birder that goes to Carlsbad Caverns. I saw a Bell’s Vireo feeding a Bronzed Cowbird chick (a sad way to get a life-bird). After a really satisfying visit I was leaving and heard what sounded like a strange grosbeak or bunting… I looked and there was my life Painted Bunting. A flock of Wild Turkeys escorted me out of the park.
From there I drove to Guadalupe National Park in Texas. The skies were looking really ominous and I thought I might just stop for a while but looked at my schedule and against my better judgment drove into the thunderstorm. It was a decision I almost regretted later as the storm was beautiful with lightening striking all around but then the rains came and poured. The road was very wet and I hit a patch of road that was completely overwashed with rainwater. The tires, which I still hadn’t found a place to get replaced, lost traction and I went into the opposite traffic lane and then back across into the traffic lane next to me before I regained control. Fortunately, they were repaving the outside lane and the surface was extremely roughed up so my tires were able to regain traction. I drove along in the rough lane until the road was completely dry. Either during the lost traction time or on the rough road, my tire got a hole punched in the sidewall, which leaked out very slowly. I continued on keeping close watch on my low tire and stopped in Anthony, New Mexico to spend the night until I could get a hold of AAA in the morning.
170 miles

Morning in rest stops is interesting. The car that was parked next to you all night is replaced by a van, the driver in the SUV peers out through the foggy windshield with one sleepy eye realizing that she has been seen. Fortunately for me, I sleep heavily until awake when I am totally awake… I jump up to do my morning ritual, brush the teeth, drink a large glass of water and ignite the engine towards another day of adventuring. I stopped at the next rest stop just to stretch as the last stop didn’t seem that interesting, but this stop had a little nature trail so I hiked around the mile long loop while sweating more in the slightly hot but definitely muggy morning. Not too many birds about but a nice flock of chickadees and titmice satisfy me for a little bit.
Not sure of what I want to do today except drive through as much of Texas as possible… so I head west on Interstate 10 toward San Antonio where I saw a sign about the Alamo, interesting but I passed the exit… the next exit steers me to the historic missions, so what the heck, haven’t done much historical touring… I find myself in an active Catholic Church and National Historic Park at Mission Concepcion.
Being raised a Catholic but realizing a while back that religion has no function in my life, I normally stay away from such places, not bad memories just find the whole concept of religion silly and pretty damaging to the community of humans… anyway, what do I do upon entry into the sanctuary but bless myself with holy water and genuflect toward the altar; boy the indoctrination was complete.
Interesting buildings made out of limestone which is a major construction material throughout the south. Billions of years of accumulation of carbonate creatures created some amazing bedrock in the old Western Interior Seaway from the Cretaceous period. I enjoyed the limestone construction and the faded painting on the walls of the various rooms in the church.
I left intending to continue my drive but thought what the heck, I most likely would never return to San Antonio, so I programmed the GPS to take me to the Alamo. The shrine to the massacre of the Texas militia is run by a private group and is semipublic… similar to the Battleship Park in Alabama. Another cool building but they wouldn’t allow photos inside the buildings so I restricted my activities to the grounds. I moved quickly wanting to hurry along the road, but thought I was fated to be here since I found parking right next to the building and only had to pay a nickel to park (really didn’t have to pay anything as the meter had an hour on it but I put a nickel in to make sure it wasn’t broken).
I left to continue towards Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico. I needed to fuel up and again programmed the GPS to direct me to a gas station, took the road but found the bridge was out due to construction. I ended up at a park on the Llano River where I birded and looked for dragonflies and butterflies. Enjoyed the park as the birds were pretty active, just as I was climbing back into my car after tromping around for an hour or so, I saw what I knew immediately was a Golden-fronted Woodpecker, don’t ask me how as I had never seen this bird before and don’t really study the field guides… just popped into my head that that is what it was.
I found a gas station and continued my journey crossing into New Mexico as the sun was setting. I drove toward Carlsbad Caverns enjoying the tremendous number of nightjars hunting along the roadside. After finding the price for the RV park just outside Carlsbad (which had no camping facilities) to be exorbitant, I found a dirt road and settled down for the night.
590 miles

Woke up to watch the sunrise in Atchafalaya, Louisiana as thousands upon thousands of blackbirds streamed from the south towards the north; filling the sky. A Barn Swallow was busy feeding her four young that appear to be about to fledge. A nine-banded armadillo wandered the grounds while five feral cats looked on. Dozens of ibis flew over mostly white but a few dark one’s that I predict were Glossy but hard to ID with little light. Two Loggerhead Shrikes competed for perches and bugs with the same number of Northern Mockingbirds. A busy morning as I sat in my truck blogging along… the wireless at this rest stop was down … but as luck would have it a few miles down the road I found a hotspot in Lafayette, LA. Before driving to Lafayette, I drove along the road by the rest area between the east and westbound lanes of Interstate 10 and found a river right between the lanes where several boats were being launched into the waterway. A strange sight indeed… I found out later the Atchafalaya River was one of the major tributaries of the Mississippi which I had missed crossing over during the dark drive the night before.
I drove down to Sabine National Wildlife Refuge out of Lake Charles. Found it to be most interesting. Saw four life birds while there… Neotropic Cormorant, King Rail, Least Tern, and Seaside Sparrow; I was ever so grateful for the bird list of the refuge otherwise I would have been clueless about the cormorant, rail and sparrow. There was a lot of damage to the refuge buildings and even more as I drove west along the coast through Johnson Bayou. The high school was totally destroyed and an Audubon Sanctuary run by the Baton Rouge chapter lost what I can only imagine was an observation tower. The Gulf looked awful… full of dirty oil soaked sand and the water… ooh gross, such a contrast to the clear water of Florida. I don’t believe for a minute that all of the oil platforms just off the coast weren’t contributing to the problem, but of course some could be a remnant of Hurricane Ike that blew through last September (that factoid courtesy of my ground crew… Margot).
Continuing on I found another bird I had never seen before but have to process the photos to see if I can id it (I did check and it turned out to be another life bird… Dicksissel). I left Louisiana by way of the Port Arthur, Texas bridge which fortunately had a temporary detour built (the real bridge was destroyed during the hurricane and hadn’t been repaired yet)… I get great gas mileage but there was no way I could have backtracked to a gas station… the one station on the gulf still had signs but the building and pumps were washed away during the hurricane. Whew, a real reason not to build right next to the water. Spent the night at the Glidden Rest Area west of Houston… tried to make it to San Antonio, but the eyes wouldn’t stay open.
348 miles

I woke up a 5 a.m. to a great cup of coffee that my brother made enjoying some more great conversation before we both had to leave. I went over to Gulf Coast Community College to bird a bit while the weather was still cool (there is no such thing as cool here – just not as hot… muggy applies to all times of day). Not too much activity but a few terns and gulls overhead. I drove over the Hathaway Bridge (where the bridge and my car got struck by lightening 34 years ago while I was watching a waterspout) towards Panama City Beach… I had intended again to drive some distance but saw Allison Ave. and couldn’t resist taking the road to the first apartment I lived in after getting married to Clayton back in 1975. The apartment was gone but it led me to the beach where I continued the drive.
The number of huge hotels on the beach is disgusting. No view of the gulf anywhere. When I first moved to Panama City, we were hit by Hurricane Eloise which destroyed most of these types of buildings; fifteen years later Hurricane Opal did it again. Why do people continue to elect short-sighted officials who allow buildings to be put in areas they shouldn’t? Anyway, I digress, I stopped here and there trying to bird wherever there was an opportunity. I did pick up a few Least Terns flying along the coast.
I got back on Hwy 98 but saw a turnoff to Seaside and the Florida Birding Trail (which basically seems to just direct people to every state park… the people at the Florida visitors centers should offer to sell annual park passes to every visitor who asks about birding opportunities so they don’t continuously get hit with the entrance fees).
Seaside is a really bizarre village where the movie “The Truman Show” was filmed. Narrow streets filled with beautiful little cottages… more bike paths than roads. Really Stepford Wive’s feeling place.
Just west of Seaside, I stopped at an amazing beach where the water was an amazing turquoise and so clear. The sand on the beach was so white. Out in the water was a loon just bobbing along with its head down fishing. I thought at first it was a dolphin or something similar. I took photos and finally got my feet wet which I had been reluctant to do because I didn’t want to travel with salty skin (they had a rinse off place). I dropped one of my sandals unknowingly way down the beach and a very helpful woman pointed it out to me. That was a pleasant stop.
Continuing west I stopped at Gulf Islands National Seashore where I got my passport stamped. The fellow at the desk was helpful yet completely clueless about nature watching. I really think the park service needs to make visitor center staff go out and explore their park and go on interpretive walks. I loved being able to share with visitors all of the exciting possibilities for adventures in Sequoia National Forest, being the person at the information center may be the only contact the public has to staff, it is really important that that person is a people person and willing to go the extra mile to help.
Anyway, despite the less than stellar information, I did walk the nature trail and found many wonderful birds for the day. Best of all was a Red-headed Woodpecker feeding a very anxious fledgling.
Leaving Florida behind, I entered Alabama to a most helpful woman at the I-10 Rest Stop. Birding rest stops is not to be missed if one is traveling. I found six species there including surprisingly Cinnamon Teal in the sump. I got an Alabama Coastal Birding Trail map and found the detour to Battleship Memorial Park in Mobile a good quick opportunity. While few birds were found beyond hundreds of Laughing Gulls, three Ring-billed Gulls were the first I had found in the east. They charged to enter the park which I thought was strange until I found out even with all of the military aircraft, the Battleship Alabama and a submarine, this was a privately funded park, I find that intriguing. I also find it strange America’s fascination with violence and glorifying tools of war. I am proud of the sacrifice of our soldiers but our need to fight others whose beliefs are foreign to our own (especially on their land) is so contrary to a truly civilized society. Oh, well, I am not about to change the world with my rants, but I would love it if those visiting such places would stop to enjoy and respect the world about them.
All through my voyage, I have been relying not just on my GPS, but on my ground support team, which consists of my sister Margot! I have to thank her for helping me figure out where to go next, where I am and what the weather is forecast to be.
Thanks MARGOT!
Funny thing, I have been saying all along that I have a special relationship to Mother Earth (Gaia) and that she has been protecting me. Margot scoffed (as would I) at the supernatural helping me on my journey. I had asked about severe thunderstorms and Margot checked, letting me know that a very bad system was heading my way. I was prepared but asked Gaia for assistance since my tires are getting worn and I am worried about the possibility of hydroplaning and having an accident. So while Margot was telling me what time the storm with the heavy downpour and hail should arrive, she was surprised when I told her I received just a few drops and that the road continued to remain dry. As she watched the radar, a bubble of cloudlessness opened up along my path and quickly closed behind me with heavy rain. My path remained dry and here I now sit at a rest stop in Atchafalaya, Louisiana without a cloud in the sky. I will rest for now.
410 miles

It was one of the coolest places I’ve been to in Bulgaria. Last weekend I went to the old communist party headquarters. The building was located on top of a mountain overlooking the rose valley.  It would be hard to reach it without a car.

A perfect location for all the head hanchos to meet and lead the country, right? In the distance you can (sort of) make out a little “rook” like building. That is the site where the Bulgarian and Russian armies turned back the Ottomans in 1877-78. It was Bulgaria’s Saratoga.

Given this history of the area, it’s too bad the building they built to rule the country looked like a UFO…

I’m not really sure what they were going for there but it’s interesting nonetheless. A flying saucer with a smoke stack.

As I walked closer to the building, there was very noticeable graffiti above the main entrance.

On either side were two gigantic inscriptions

The jest says “Workers of the every country unite and move forward! Others something something something our strong something something to work and to something something something.” It doesnt’ help when a lot of the letters have fallen. And the photo doesn’t include most of the wording…

On the other side I took a photo for creativity and not so much legibility:

From what I can read, this one is also similar; a call to arms for the proletariat to rise up.

I then found a small opening in side of the building and crawled through. I walked upstairs and found a huge conference room which once looked like this:

but now looks likes:

It was pretty impressive to be in what was once and glamorous and awe inspiring room only to see it tattered and vandalized.

As you can see, the former glory of the communist regime now lays in ruins. It was breathtaking standing in the middle of the of the room, looking at the impressive murals. It was some what ironic looking around at these ravished iconic depicting the Might of the Proletariat.

Note the rose in the hand by the quill. As mentioned earlier, this building is in Bulgaria’s rose valley. Bulgaria is the world’s largest producer of rose oil (between 50-75%, depending on what stats you look at)

There was a definite theme of astronauts, though to my knowledge, there have been no Bulgarians in space. I took these images as soviet propaganda of the USSR’s supremacy over evil capitalism in technology.

The most impressive mural was the one over the middle of the room. It once looked like this:

But now it looks like this:

It reads: “Proletariat of every country, unite!”

There were some pictures that looked intentionally vandalized. Like this one:

I’m not really sure who those dudes are. Perhaps the center on is Marx? I would think the right one would be Gerorgi Dimitrov, the founder of communism in Bulgaria, but I can’t say for sure (he didn’t sport a beard as far as I know).

In the end, this was one of the most impressive things I’ve seen since being a Peace Corps Volunteer in Bulgaria. I felt a strong connection to history; seeing this building as it lay in ruins, not preserved like a museum. For better or worse, this made the whole experience seem more “real”. I also appreciated the fact the building is now near a cow pasture and the surrounding area, including the steps up to the building, is covered in cow shit.

Buzludzha

I left Gainesville hoping to make some distance but alas, wanting to revisit St. Marks Wildlife Refuge, progress was shorter than hoped. I was amazed at how many Swallow-tailed Kites I saw along the road to St. Marks. What a beautiful bird! I then saw a bird which reminded me of an Acorn Woodpecker… I had been wondering when I would see another Red-headed Woodpecker and there it was on top of a telephone pole. I turned around to get a photo but it flew. Someday, I will find and photograph this cool woodpecker.
I arrived at St. Marks as a thunderstorm was threatening but I asked Mother Nature to help stave it off until I had gotten in a hike. She has been so helpful this trip, parting the clouds and cooling the temperature to reasonable wherever I have traveled. I went immediately to the lighthouse trail to see what birds and other critters were about. I wasn’t disappointed… many herons including a full breeding plumage Reddish Egret (too far away for good photos) and a pure white fledgling Little Blue Heron. A pod of porpoises were fishing just off the coast, but were scared off by a guy in a speedboat, who saw with my camera and smiled and waved who didn’t realize he had chased off the pod.
I have been searching every shallow area for damselflies and dragonflies hoping to get photos to help Dennis Paulson complete his book, but I don’t seem to be able to find anything out of the ordinary.
I did scare up a Least Bittern while searching. What a cool and secretive bird. I thought it time to leave just as a wicked rainstorm hit. I welcomed the cool rain while I was driving along the speed restricted refuge road.
I then headed to Carabelle, one of my favorite stops on Highway 98, it didn’t disappoint with American Oystercatchers, a Short-billed Dowitcher, Godwits, Willets, Brown Pelicans, and the ever present Laughing Gulls. There were plenty of people fishing and one particularly spoiled Great Blue Heron which was looking for handouts and being photographed by this grateful photographer. Continuing on I called my brother who finally answered his phone and enjoyed a brief visit with him before laying out my sleeping bag on his floor and calling it a night.
276 miles

Went on an adventure with my Mother in search of the Florida Scrub-Jay and the elusive Limpkin; success on the jays but skunked again on the Limpkin. Ocala National Forest is east of Ocala and has many varied habitats. We visited the scrub and then went to Alexander Spring where they charged to enter. There were no Limpkins but the spring was pretty neat looking and full of people enjoying swimming although they seemed a little lax about the lightening that was striking all around. After we left I enjoyed two Sandhill Cranes that were hanging out on Hwy 442. There were two more on Highway 19. Then we hit a really wicked rainstorm where traffic slowed to 40 mph on Interstate 75. I was really glad the people responded to not being able to see anything, instead of blasting down the highway and causing accidents. Back to Mom’s to pack for the journey to continue.
181 miles

My intent today was to bird Shark Valley as recommended by my friend Ellen. I was looking forward to seeing the so-far elusive Limpkin. I saw a sign for the loop road through the Big Cypress National Preserve so I figured that would be a good road to go on… not… did see some huge alligators, but the pavement soon gives way to a dirt road that was filled with water in many places. It made for 30 miles of slow cautious driving with no really opportunity to bird unless you count the five-pound mosquitoes that were capable of carrying off small children. Needless to say I was very glad to be driving in an enclosed vehicle.
Speaking of vehicles, my truck “Xena” is a hybrid Ford Escape, and she has taken me so many places that no car would ever have been able to go. I was continuously destroying the suspension on my street cars, so I knew an SUV was something I really needed but could not justify the ecological footprint of something that only would get 15-20 miles per gallon, so I bought this truck in October 2007. While the price tag is still high, I am ever so happy to have this truck and the freedom it affords me. Besides, I am getting an average of over 30 mpg on this trip which is quite a savings.
Back to the adventure; I bought a National Parks Passport which you can get stamped at all federal lands, but since I arrived too late to get it stamped at the lower Everglades and my 30-mile detour had me miss Shark Valley entirely I headed toward the Gulf entrance to Everglades. Stopping at the Big Cypress office first, I met this woman who was such a doll, enthusiastic and helpful and she really seemed interested in my journey. I got my passport stamped and headed off to Everglades. The fellow at the visitor’s center was such a polar opposite from the woman at Big Cypress, he did not seem one bit interested in helping, just grunted where the passport station was and answered my questions with very quick answers, disappointing. Anyway, I saw some cool fish swimming in the marina where you can get 2 hour tours by boat of the islands nearby. The price was listed as about thirty dollars for either trip, which was intriguing but I had too much ground to cover to stop and even think about taking that much time out of my day.
I left Everglades to find Audubon’s Corkscrew Swamp which I had heard so many wonderful things about especially the prospect of seeing Pileated Woodpeckers in numbers. I found the sanctuary to be everything I had expected plus more. I stopped and visited with the Center Director, Ed, his assistant Laurie and other staff. They were most helpful in my quest for answers about running the Center. (I am working on the plans for a Center back at the Kern River Preserve.) I took off down their 2.2 mile long boardwalk and took every detour that was offered. What an amazing walk. While I did find my much sought after Pileated, there were not too many other birds out in mid day but the walk was very pleasant and the weather while muggy wasn’t too unbearably hot. I want to visit this place again and again.
After my visit I programmed in Mom’s address and drove straight to Gainesville arriving after 10 p.m.
448 miles

Key West is an interesting place. I had seen the White-crowned Pigeon the day before but was really wanting to get a decent photo, so I looked in my Florida Birding Guide (thanks Bill Pranty) and found a few locations listed. I went to the Pigeon Preserve near the airport and success! Not the absolute best photos but good enough to share. The time of year as I have been told many times is wrong but I have seen a lot of birds in breeding plumage and many more fledglings this trip so it is worth it except for the never abating mosquitoes. I continued to the botanical garden which is really nice, not the best birding spot for the time of day or year though. The people there were really interested in talking but as this was one of the solo parts of my journey I was selfishly just wanting to get hiking and birding.
I left Key West for the return trip along the long chain of islands stopping only for the occasional bird. I did take the toll road back and found that quite charming and relatively good for birding. I continued north to the Everglades and had set a goal to watch the sunset at Flamingo. The visitors center was closed but it provided the first Common Nighthawks since California. I blasted down to Flamingo but didn’t beat the sunset… the mosquitoes were the worst of the trip and I beat a hasty retreat back to my car. I headed back toward the entrance with the intent of finding a place to pull over and sleep.
228 miles

Waking at dawn I figured I needed to find the nearest place to bird before continuing toward the keys. I hadn’t really been birding at the optimum time so my list was languishing with few new discoveries. I really wanted to find Snail Kite and Limpkin and the name Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge stuck in my mind as a possibility for where to find those species, so off I went arriving shortly before 8 in the morning.
The butterflies at the Visitor Center were magnificent. I started to walk down the cypress boardwalk trail but found I was donating an excessive amount of blood to the local mosquito population. Back to the car for a deet dip and then to another trail that might be more productive.
I asked where to find both of my target birds and was told to try the Marsh Trail. A lovely trail with less mosquitoes but it started to rain so I grabbed my umbrella and off I went. Many dragonflies but not many birds; there was a family of Common Moorhen in the little canal to the south of the trail. I took a few photos and then walked another ½ mile before I heard the cackle of rails I didn’t recognize. Turned out to be a family of Purple Gallinules that were warning the rest of the family of a lurking American Alligator, they surrounded the poor beast clucking the whole time. He just sank further into the water in a hunting posture. I watched the unfolding drama for about 15-minutes before continuing my journey. It remained a stand-off.
The clouds broke and the sun began to shine brightly so I opened my umbrella to ward off the hot rays since I had taken off without any water, it made for a relatively comfortable walk. I continued on looking for Limpkin at every corner, but alas not to be found. I watched a Red-shouldered Hawk fly out of the forest followed closely by a bird I hadn’t seen before! Success, two Snail Kites flew out to enjoy the thermal that the hawk and vultures had found. I left satisfied with one more species under my belt and continued my quest to get to Key West.
Made the mistake of thinking Highway 1 wouldn’t be much worse than the turnpike where there were tolls… next time I will just pay the tolls, what a nightmare of stop light after stop light. Got through Miami and started onto the keys. The first key is Key Largo. The keys are a series of small narrow islands that are connected by relatively short bridges except for one 7-mile long bridge. It was not what I had expected; I thought there was a 30-mile long bridge… not on this trip.
Anyway, I stopped at a wildlife care center in Key Largo… that was one of the better choices for a stop. Full of cages of rehab animals, some of which I had never seen before. They also were a location for many other birds that found the place welcoming.
I saw several life birds up close, and others that were just hanging around. I noticed a Green Heron in a cage with a Brown Booby, Herring Gull, Roseate Spoonbill, and Long-tailed Jaeger, I was thinking bummer, I hadn’t gotten a Green Heron on the trip yet, and really can’t count birds unless they are wild… as I was photographing this caged heron, he hopped up and then up higher in the cage and then pulled the netting aside and hopped out of the cage and flew away… he must have figured out a way to get free food and had trained himself how to get in and out. Cool, and a wild bird afterall. After the rehab center I drove around Key Largo a bit and found life birds Gray Kingbird and White-crowned Pigeon. I then went ahead and drove all the way out to Key West before stopping for the night.
323 miles

Reluctantly, I left Manassas after a wonderful visit with my family, especially my sister Margot. I am so proud to be related to all of them. Headed down to rendezvous for a quick two-hour brunch with my adopted sis, Gail and her husband Guy. It is so interesting, they live around the block from my sister Margot and Gail is exactly one year younger than Margot. Although they are very dissimilar, they both have wonderful senses of humor. I love hearing both laugh and they crack me up with their wit.
Anyway, drove along Interstate-98 toward Florida and stopped only at rest stops along the way. Still enough time was spent to pick up another life bird; a Blue-headed Vireo. The Crepe Myrtle at a South Carolina at dusk was amazing as it was covered with many species of dragonflies. Apparently the dragons are desperate to find lodging for the night, while walking one buzzed me then landed on my shoulder. That was so cool! But too darn close to get a photograph, I wandered about not being bothered by the mugginess because the opportunities to photograph dragonflies mesmerized me. I watched the occasional firework display along Interstate 95 as dusk became deep night. There is no opportunity to sleep in any Carolina rest stop so I drove on and ended up in an expensive, smoky motel in Hinesville, Georgia.
604 miles

I grew up in the Village of Pelham Manor, NY and had not been there since I was a child. Took a quick trip around the town realizing that the town apparently shrunk since I was a child, I used to walk ten miles to school and now the walk was only a mile. It is so strange how the house I grew up in was the same size but the yard looked so much smaller. A beautiful village that has changed little except for the residents and the names of the stores, the old pizzeria at Four Corners is still there, but the Grand Union I worked at is now a CVS Pharmacy.
We left the old homestead for a lunch appointment with my fellow staffers at Audubon in Manhattan. We programmed the GPS to take us to 225 Varick Street in New York unfortunately; it took us to Brooklyn instead of into the city. The detour made us really late for our lunch date, but we made it.
It was really nice to meet so many of the people I have only communicated with via email or phone. We went to a nice Italian Restaurant with Anna and Susan. The lunch was really long but I really enjoyed the company. I am glad I don’t work in the New York office though; the traffic alone would stress me beyond reason. It is nice to know how many wonderful capable people run Audubon.
Unfortunately the long lunch left little time for me to visit my childhood girlfriend Liz. (Plus the city traffic really got me frazzled although my sister commented how quickly my polite California driving style reverted to the aggressive New York driving of my youth).
We left the city on a quest to see Cape May, New Jersey and help me get in some birding for the day. Got down to Cape May just before sunset and enjoyed the beautiful resort town with lots of birds, quaint buildings and handsome cabs giving tourists a nice evening look at the town. We drove through Delaware and Maryland and arrived in Manassas around midnight.
430 miles

Went to Acadia National Park, Maine where pretty much every bird Margot saw were life birds but since she isn’t a birder yet she didn’t seem impressed with my two lifers; Common Eider and Black Guillemot. Bar Harbor was a nice little town where we enjoyed breakfast and then went back to exploring the park.
The day stayed relatively dreary with fog and drizzle but the sun did break through on occasion. Margot went to sleep in the back of the truck as I explored Cadillac Mountain and the rest of Acadia. After exploring the lighthouse where Margot awoke (she loves lighthouses!) we left the park to continue the adventure heading south for the first time.
I drove for a bit then Margot took back over. She drove through New Hampshire and Massachusetts, where I apparently dozed through most of Boston. We ended up in Watch Hill Rhode Island where I took back over the driving. Margot spent many summers at a friends house in Watch Hill. I never knew about her adventures there and was thrilled to learn of her life there. We then headed on to Stamford, Connecticut where we took a motel for the night.
489 miles

We toured Niagara Falls which is an amazing place. It was the first location where the weather was not as cooperative with light rain on and off all day. The falls are split basically in two with Horseshoe Falls separating the United States from Canada. The American Falls are solely in the U.S.
We wandered around taking photos and then hiked on the Three Sisters Islands, we called our sister Tara so all three Sheehey sisters were present on the Island, it made the experience more complete. Margot and I wished Tara was with us but cell phones are great for sharing the moment.
We would have driven into Canada which would have been a first for me but alas, you now need a passport to visit our neighbors now. Got to love all the freedoms we lost with the Patriot Act.
Anyway, with a wish to visit all of the New England states we drove off to Bennington, Vermont and then down to Massachusetts and New Hampshire on our way to Maine. Margot drove almost the entire way as exhaustion set in and I was falling asleep at the wheel. She was amazing as she drove all night. We arrived at Bar Harbor, Maine as dawn broke.
739 miles

I met Liz at 7:30 a.m at Huntley Meadows Park in Alexandria, VA. This was a great park where I saw so many great birds and several lifers. The park has a trail that leads to a boardwalk along a marsh. I was so impressed with Liz’s love for nature and her brilliant observation skills, she saw so many things that I would have missed had she not pointed them out. It was such a thrill to bird with a true naturalist, a first since I left California.
I reluctantly left Liz’s company for lunch with my brother and his family. I rendezvoused with Margot at Rich’s house where I saw my nephews for the first time this trip. Alex and Zach certainly have grown. They are such cute kids and Kate and Rich are wonderfully doting parents. Rich and Kate recently bought this house after selling their condo with the help of the HGTV program “Get it Sold”. The ever passionate homeowner, Rich after giving us a quick tour of the house showed us his project… the backyard! His goal is to make it really kid friendly so tree removal, shrub relocating and land leveling are parts of the process. Margot and I helped do some weeding and raking before the rain put a stop to the project. After the rain shower, we all got some great Thai food and went to the local park with the boys. What a great playground. They played and played while we visited a bit. Then Margot and I returned to her home where packing for the continuing journey was on the agenda.
75 miles

I had always wanted to visit the White House but it was one stop I had never had the opportunity. My sister-in-law works for the Office of Management and Budget at the White House so I finagled a tour from her.

White House from Pennsylvania Avenue, no cameras are allowed inside the building.

A leisurely morning led to the Sunday morning Butterfly Ramble where I took a group of 15 enthusiastic nature lovers out butterflying. There were few butterflies, although on the trip down the Lee Vining Creek trail several Behr’s Hairstreak were found on their hostplant “Bitterbrush”. I then led the group to Mono County Park where just a few more butterflies were found. The weather just wasn’t cooperative for butterflying ; it was too cool and breezy.

I saw many year birds and mammals at Mono Lake Visitor Center and Mono County Park, but didn’t spend enough time to really bird well.

The end of the festival picnic was fun with a group selling delicious Indian tacos as a fundraiser for their group. There was music in the park which was OK but a bit loud for my taste, then a bird and other things calling contest… that was fun… lots of great imitations and then some not so great… I won second place for my imitation of a Spotted Owl. As a prize I received a book on Peregrine Falcons.

I didn’t take too many photos of Mono Lake this time. Just photographed the critters encountered during scouting and a few during the field trip to try to ID after. Seems not enough time to focus on good photography, too much ground to cover.

Leaving California behind for the next month, I entered Nevada and drove for what felt like billions of miles. Some amazing views of geology and desert vegetation. Mostly Great Basin Desert, was surprised to see occasional pockets of Joshua tree. I guess the Mojave reaches far up the state in some places.

Badger along Highway 6 in central Nevada

A surprise lake appeared in the middle of nowhere where I saw the only ducks in Nevada. This was a pretty spot to stop but a pair of Prairie Falcons found it to be annoying that I would do such a thing and became pretty agitated, I quickly shot a few photos and left so I wouldn’t continue disturbing their very apparent nesting area.

Almost out of Nevada, I stopped for gas and then headed down the road toward Bryce Canyon, thinking little towns are notorious for speed traps, I slowed to the requisite 25 mph albeit slowly in Panaca, NV, when the local sheriff quickly stopped me for going 27 mph. Still smiling over the horse, pronghorn, badger incident, I refused to let it bother me and related the story to the sheriff. He actually let me go with a warning (this was the first ticket I have ever talked a cop out of giving me even though no real cop would have given a ticket for that). The last thing I did before leaving Nevada was to insist that the gopher snake in the middle of the road find safer accommodations.

Finally arrived near Bryce at around 3 a.m. and stopped. I slept in my front seat on the side of the road because I was too tired to do anything else.

531 miles

I was assigned to lead a butterfly walk for the Mono Lake Bird Chautauqua on Sunday, June 21st, so I met with my friends Bob & Susan to scout for butterflies on Saturday afternoon in the area. Later that evening the Mono Lake Committee held a the social wine and cheese reception.

The group is made up of many really nice people; they started this protection effort in the 70’s with the work of the late David Gaines. So far the committee has won many battles along with the hearts of millions of visitors to the magnificent Mono Lake and environs. I met the organizers of the Chautauqua David Winkler and Lisa Cutting. The event is really well organized but feels very relaxed, which means the organizers work their butts off!

The cool, windy weather meant there were not many butterflies flying. Azures, Field Crescent, Mourning Cloak, Western Tiger Swallowtail, grass skippers, Greenish Blue, Boisduval’s Blue; were some of the types seen. Even though it would be tough to pull out many species for the trip the next day, the weather was really pleasant for the non-scaly winged of us.
226 miles