April 1: heading to Sierra Vista today for 3 nights. Temp in Chandler expected to be in the 90's, mid 80's in Sierra Vista. It was a pretty windy drive, we left the hotel by 7:00 am, drove 175 miles to Sierra Suites, arriving at 3:00 pm. Of course we stopped a few places to walk, bird and relax. We were able to get one new year bird, the Pacific Wren.
We were pretty hot and tired so for dinner we picked up spring rolls and pot stickers at Safeway. It was perfect for dinner.
We went to Ramsey Canyon and a few other places on Friday. Great hike up to 6600 ft elevation!
The pool was calling our name.. it was warmish but took me a bit of time to get into the water
We had a great dinner at the Landmark Cafe. Live music, fabulous catfish and ribs. The weather was perfect for outdoor dining.
Saturday April 3: we went to a few canyons for some hiking. We got out early as the weather was to be hot again. in the 90's. It was a good day for a nap. been awhile since we enjoyed a quiet afternoon.. For dinner we went to get take out tacos. We left about 4:30, the first place we went to Sold out! who sells out of tacos?? Luckily we had a back up, that was pretty good but exactly how good are the tacos at the first place we went to? we may never know.
Happy Easter, we are off to Rodeo, NM. We could not get reservations in Portal AZ, so we will be across the border in NM.
100 miles with numerous stops, took about 8 hours. Our first stop was 9 miles into our journey, hiked for about 2 hours before getting back on the road.
Found this memorial in Douglas
Our cute lodge: We are in the Cowboy unit
Back to room for a nap and do a load of laundry before heading out for dinner and a little Owl hunting! We did hear the Elf Owl. Maybe tomorrow night we will go up the mountain to find that Northern Saw-Whet and Northern Pigmy Owls.... Tues April 6: Up the mountain we go.. it is a very windy and gravel road, we did find the Mexican Chickadee and decided not to make the trip after dark to find the Owls.. We did not have to go to the top of the mountain to find our birds so saved a bit of time. We then headed back down stopping at various spots to walk and enjoy nature. It is really so pretty walking about the area. Quiet and peaceful too. We stopped at the local restaurant in New Mexico for pizza. Portal is in Arizona which is on MST and Rodeo in New Mexico is on MDT, so one hour difference in about 10 miles. We are staying in NM so kind of try to keep on their time.. Our watches and phones change back and forth so we do get a bit confused on what time it is.
the pictures do not do it justice, it is huge and beautiful
they sure do know how to make boat ramps here in NM!
although in the shadows, sand sculpture of Elephant family
No Jacket required!
we can not, not take pictures of Javalinas
We spent our final night sitting out on our porch, no TV and little internet, inspires us to sit and watch the vehicles go down the road, play with the kitty, notice faces on the stone walls etc.. Our little cabin is so quiet and relaxing. We would come back to stay in the Cowboy suite!
Wed: we head to Truth or Consequences about 200 miles away. We stopped in Portal for a few hours of final birding. We finally left the area at 10:30 am.
Virginia's warbler!!
Arrived at hotel at 4:00. We went thru Hatch NM. Wow what a town! We did not stop and should have.... We did stop at
We only walked around a little bit, the park is very large. its about 20 miles south of Truth or Consequences.
Dinner and supplies from Walmart, well a salad and left over pizza in our room. Nice quiet night watching TV!
Thurs April 8: we went to the Rio Grande River for a wonderful morning walk then headed to
After a much needed nap we went looking for another part of the park, 12 miles up the road. It looked like the roads led to private property instead of the river. So we went back to town into downtown and found this Brewery! We had one beverage at the outside sitting area. it was all good
We went for dinner at Los Arcos, outside dinning, great catfish for me, Green Chili cheeseburger for Eric. Service and food was very good.
We headed to Basque del Apache on Friday. It was about an hour north, what a beautiful refuge. We were attempting to get 75 birds but only managed to get 59 species. Hmmm.. there were no little guys around and not too many shorebirds. it was windy but we still expected to see more, oh well, no expectations, no disappointments!
Frog legs for dinner
Saturday we head to Santa Rosa, NM with a stop at the refuge..
Great day for a drive, about 270 miles today. We had stayed in Santa Rosa State Park in Nov 2013. The town is dying. Hardly anything open including restaurants. Its kind of a funky little town, hopefully it can come back. There were a few people swimming and scuba diving in the Blue Hole. Last time we were here only Eric swam...
Sunday's drive is about 300 miles to Elk City, OK. We were going to stop in Shamrock TX but our travel agent made reservations in Elk City! Oh well, no big deal.
Our first stop was about 1mile from our hotel.. We made a few other stops before getting to Elk City.
Texas is Mask Free.. So is Oklahoma... Good day to stay in our room, watch Golf and do laundry. This was our last 80 deg day for quite awhile.. Maybe July 4th?
Monday April 12 we go about 220 miles to Ponca City OK. Our first stop was about a mile away at the local park. Although a bit windy it was good walk. We then went on to
It was not the greatest place to walk around but we managed to get some steps in, again the wind was very fierce.
Next stop at
where we found a good trail out of the wind for the most part. We ended up getting 10 new year birds today!
So Texas and Oklahoma must be immune to the coronavirus as no one wears a mask. More so in OK then TX but still. Do these people not understand? or just not care? We found that in November on our way west that some states are wide open. We expect to see mask wearing when we get to MN but not before.
Tues April 13: Today we head to Lawrence KS just west of Kansas City. We will spend two nights, the weather is expected to be cool and windy. I think it is always windy in OK and KS.
Scissor tailed flycatcher
Tonight and tomorrow night is in a Hampton Inn in Lawrence KS. After a few stops and a few new year birds we arrived in Lawrence KS. We went to the "downtown" area for a bite to eat. Free State Brewery, has outside dining and pretty good food! So much different than OK.
Everyone here has been wearing Masks whenever they come near another person. Not sure why Kansas is so much better than OK. Just glad we decided to spend two nights here and only one in OK.
April 14: we headed to one of our favorite places in Kansas. Baker Wetlands. The wind was a bit cold but the sun was out, great place to walk and bird. We spent quite a bit of time there before going to Clinton Lake. After a much needed nap we went across the street from our hotel to a nice park to look for the Louisiana Waterthrush. No luck.. Dinner at a place we ate at about 5 years ago, 23rd Street Brewery, it was still good. The sun was out, temp at 60 with a bit of north wind but it was great to eat out again..
April 15: on our way to Des Moines about 240 miles away. We made a few stops at some of our favorite places. We did get #300 for the year! The Common Loon in Missouri! We had 300 last year by the time we left Texas. took us a bit longer but we did it!
We found a new fav place that gave us #301
HyVee was whats for dinner. Sometimes we just need to eat light! Besides it was a bit cool out for outdoor dining..
April 16: our final night on the road will be spent in Lakeville MN. about 225 mile trip. We stopped a number of times including new and fav places. We went to Steve and Lori G for dinner and a fire at their home. How fun it was to see them! We had a great dinner and wonderful fun conversation. The evening turned out to be fabulous. The sun was out when we arrived, no wind with temps starting out at 60 deg.
April 17: almost home only 140 more miles to go! We made a quick stop to see Jenny, (Eric's sister) in the morning. Another stop for lunch and a few groceries and we are home!
No Snow on the ground!!
So glad to be home! We really enjoyed our winter homes, it was a bit different without our RV. Although I prefer my own "stuff" it worked out great. On our way home we followed the trees budding and the pollen playing havoc on our eyes and noses.. The one advantage of driving without the RV is the ability to stop wherever. We were able to see a few new cities, enjoy a few new refuges and parks and not have to worry about high winds! Now to try to lose our "travel" pounds!!!
So what are my pounds from if I haven’t traveled??? Oh I guess I’ll call them stay at home pounds😂 Glad your home safe.
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