Too Many Cats

Sunday, March 18, 2012

State Park to Bisbee to Benson (Benson, AZ)

We moved to Benson AZ on Thursday. It is nice to be back at the Escapees' Saguaro campground. Our site is in the center this time and it is okay, but we preferred the front lots with the cattle field in front of us. There were a lot of quail and other birds hanging out across the street. Lots of entertainment. Maybe when we finally lease a site, we can get one in the front row.

Patagonia Lake State Park

Sandy has added a new map page for this year's travel adventures so you will be able to see where we are for 2012. It'll be easier for her to maintain with a new map on a new page. The last one was getting very hard to add new locations towards the end.

Patagonia Lake State Park

We visited the Patagonia Lake State Park. Flowers were a-bloomin', bees were a-buzzin', and cow were a-mooin'.

Moooo?

Wait! What? Yes, there were cows in the state park. It is a free range area, so it is not unusual to find cattle blocking your path. Not to mention, watching where we walked. None of this walking and searching trees for birds unless we wanted smelly shoes.

Itchy head?

We did not see too many birds. We heard them, but could not locate them in the high trees. Maybe if we spent a few days there we would find them. We did see some different ducks and one lone Great Blue Heron sitting in a tree.

No one can see me....

Bisbee, AZ

We spent another day visiting Bisbee, AZ. Built on steep mountain sides, this small mining town has turned into an art community. We found the historic area interesting and quite a walk up the hill.

We stopped in one museum filled with donated items from Bisbee residents. There seemed to be a little bit of everything from photos to typewriters to hats to....well, you get the idea. It was interesting to see so many items covering the last couple of centuries.

Bisbee found a way to celebrate physical fitness with saving their stairs by challenging paying participants to walk or run up 1000 steps.

Copper Queen Hotel's lobby

We will hang around this area until Thursday, 22 March, then likely roll onward towards Yuma AZ.

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Leaving Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Preserve

We say good-bye to all our feathered friends on 12 March, but we will be back in November. We will miss the upcoming busier birding season which is fine with us. We enjoyed the quiet times and the quiet walks during the winter.

Now we will have some free time to go exploring Arizona and maybe do a little birding too. This has been a great experience and we have learned a lot about the wildlife here. If you get a chance to volunteer for The Nature Conservancy, we suggest you give it a try. You won't regret it!

Direct link to Great Horned Owl video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_zZHOF6-fU&feature=plcp&context=C4e55e31VDvjVQa1PpcFMehFKLJzndvwAMgoDap-bRHitvcJ7DKJY%3D

On the road again ................................

Friday, February 3, 2012

Spring/Summer/Fall Travel Plans and Coatimundi Videos

We have firmed up our departure date from Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Preserve to Monday, 12 March. A couple we met in Key West last winter, then again in the spring at Patrick AFB in FL will arrive a week or so before we depart, to take over hosting duties here at the Preserve.

Western Bluebirds

Our tentative travel plans upon departure are a week or two at Saguaro Escapees (SKP) co-op RV park in Benson AZ. We will then use the Subaru to visit some areas of AZ we would still like to see.

From there we will likely visit KOFA SKP co-op RV park in Yuma AZ, followed by Pair-A-Dice SKP co-op RV park in Pahrump NV, and Timber Valley SKP co-op RV park in Sutherlin OR.

Western Bluebirds and Cedar Waxwing
"Who is that masked bird?"

The SKP co-op park visits are part of our continuing examination of a place to use as a "home park" that we posted about in 2011. We have a deposit placed at Saguro SKP co-op RV park in Benson AZ, but want to continue checking other parks as well in case we change our minds on the eventual choice.

Cedar Waxwing

From Sutherlin OR, plans are to visit family in Spokane WA no later than late summer, then likely take the North Cascades Highway to the WA coast. We plan to use our Thousand Trails membership campground plan to travel down the WA and OR coastline at a very leisurely pace southbound. We may then travel south in CA to check out the two SKP co-ops located at Coarsegold and at Aguana. Plans for next winter have not been made yet.

Say's Phoebe

Lesser Goldfinch

We have some new Coatimundi Video from 2 February that you may find interesting. The direct link is at http://www.youtube.com/user/AC7880 , or embedded below if viewing the blog home page.