Back in Tucson

We landed in Catalina state park last Friday and it has been a busy weekend.  We shopped and cleaned and rested mainly.  I spent most of Saturday with a local photography buddy picking up my new lens, learning some tricks in lightroom and photoshop while Sraddha rested.  Originally we were going to head out Monday but with the wind and lower temps coupled with we were still tired, we elected to remain here for a few more days.  

It was very very windy Sunday and Monday however I managed to shoot a few photos of the local fauna.  Wanted to post a few here for your enjoyment.  You can click on the first one then see it larger then click again to advance to the next one.

Vermillion Flycatcher.  Hard to pin down.  He was next door.

Mrs. Gila Woodpecker peeking out from nest inside Mesquite tree

Chipping Sparrow we saw last night while walking around

This little squirrel lives next door and posed for me

Texas in Rear View Mirror

Wildflower at Pedernales Falls State Park

Actually the RV, Charlie, doesn't have a rear view mirror. Only very good side view mirrors. But you get the drift.

We departed Austin area at O'dark early this morning and will have driven about 800 miles today across west Texas, southern New Mexico and into Arizona. Long 16+ hours but taking turns it has been worth it. We now will spend leisurely weekend in one of our favorite haunts, Catalina State Park.

I currently riding shotgun while Sraddha drives. She is a good driver.

Time to clean up Charlie from all the Texas dust, port Aransas sea salt, and effect a couple minor repairs. The exhaust fans stopped working. After tearing one apart yesterday I found as suspected, a corroded clogged micro switch that won't go up and down when we open the vent. On both fans. Think it is due to the salty air of Part Aransas. Very sticky if any of you have spent time on an ocean beach know.

Mr & Mrs Cardinal sharing a Moth at Pedernales

Hope to clean them out and nurse th back to health until the manufacturer can send replacement to our home.

Also going photo shooting with a friend from Bosque del Apache workshop who lives in Tucson.

I have bird pics to show you but haven't had Internet bandwidth or time to upload. Hope this weekend.  Here are a couple pics

Austin Texas

Is beautiful area. Hill country it's called. By California standards more like speed bumps

We are staying at Pedernales Falls state park about 35 miles west of downtown. Quiet. And one of the best places to see the Golden Cheeked Warbler whose only north American home is around this area of Austin.

Yesterday we drive into Austin to see the Capital building and Mellow Johnnies bike shop owned by Lance Armstrong.

I am typing on iPhone so pardon the brevity. And the photos might not be correct size.

Oh yes, Sraddha saw the warbler this
Morning as we hiked around.

Help, Blood on the Curtain(s)

Got your attention?
We pulled into High Island, north of Galveston after a long day driving, the last 4 hours through Galveston and waiting for the ferry across to Bolivar Peninsula.  The RV park is nice with one major issue.

MOSQUITOES!!  Ugh.  Sraddha was eaten up while outside hooking up the electrical and water.  We drove around a little to recon the area where there are several bird sanctuaries.  High Island is so named because it is actually higher (by 40 feet) than the coastline.  Lots of forests and swamp land.  Duh!

After our dinner, I started to review the photos from yesterday and today when we noticed that mosquitoes were all over the inside of the RV.  Yikes,  get out the fly swatter and, wack,  oops. I smashed one on the curtain and blood spurted out.  Sigh.  Get the carpet cleaner out and Sraddha spent several minutes cleaning.  Whew.  Then more.  We had left all the windows open to help cool off interior but had closed up the screens. Or so we thought.

Now I believe in non violence, in most situations, however this was self defense!  They were everywhere.  Reminded me a little of that old Alfred Hitchcock movie, "The Birds". They just kept coming out of the woodwork.  Sraddha is especially susceptible to bites. I am less.  We closed all the windows tight and turned on the AC (for the first time since last August).  Still the mosquitoes appeared.  We found one of the windows not totally closed.

Well, we spent the better part of an hour removing the mosquitoes. I finally reviewed yesterdays photos and found 3 worth showing you out of 150.  Some birds seen late in the day.  Really cute.  Not great photos, but these birds all showed their personality.

Roseated Spoonbill yawning.

Nashville Warbler

Ruby Crowned Kinglet.  He really moves around fast.

Made It To Texas

Corpus Christi approach shot with ipad camera

Posting this from my iPad so not sure how the photos will be arranged.

Front Facing iPad camera  in airplane

Used the iPad camera several times during the flight. One photo was of me in the seat looking towards back of plane. Other one was out the window towards Corpus Christi as we were landing. Oops. Was supposed to have turn off iPad but couldn't resist snapping photo first. Note all the refineries.

Glad to see Sraddha and we went put birding after unloading. Had fun and got a couple photos but no time to process yet. It is the warmest day of the trip on the coast, up to 76. and a bit muggy. Very different from ice on the windshield when I departed home this morning.

Off to bed now. Tomorrow morning we head up the coast to High Island north of Galveston. About 250 miles.