Category: a-roving

San Diego between the storms

February 2, 2024 a-roving the birds and the trees
January between rainstorms was a lovely time to visit the San Diego area. Though this trip didn’t turn out quite as we’d imagined, we had fun exploring some of the less-visited sites.  To fly or not to fly? Private pilots like to say that if you absolutely must get somewhere…

Two overnights at Crater Lake

October 6, 2023 a-roving
We made two visits to Crater Lake this year, one at each end of its short season.  The season opens Last May, we wrapped up our annual Oregon birding trip with a stop at Crater Lake National Park. We were lucky: the season had just begun and I was able…

Birding Oregon 2023: Malheur

June 2, 2023 a-roving take a picture the birds and the trees
Oregon Trip, Part 2: The second part of this year’s Oregon birding adventure took us back to Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.  Craig and I have done quite a lot of birding in the past few months! In March we spent a week birding in Texas (links to the relevant posts…

Birding the Gulf Coast

April 7, 2023 a-roving take a picture the birds and the trees
Texas Roadtrip, Part 6: We wrapped up our Texas birding adventure with stops at two hotspots on the Gulf Coast: the nature center on South Padre Island and the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge.  Just in time for spring break Craig and I had been warned before we left Big Bend…

Down in the dumps

March 27, 2023 a-roving the birds and the trees
Texas Roadtrip, Part 5: After leaving the amazing birding hotspots in McAllen, Texas, we headed east to the Gulf Coast. We stayed overnight in Brownsville, with the intention of making an early morning visit to the local dump. Terns and tacos Our birding adventure in Brownsville began with trying in…

Beautiful Big Bend

March 24, 2023 a-roving take a picture
Texas Roadtrip, Part 4: I thought you might appreciate a break from all the bird-y posts and enjoy some scenery and wildflowers from Big Bend National Park.  Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive We began our exploration of Big Bend National Park with a drive down to the Río Grande via the…

Birding the Río Grande Valley

March 16, 2023 a-roving take a picture the birds and the trees
Texas Roadtrip, Part 3: Our travels continued with visits to three birding hotspots near McAllen, Texas, just north of the Río Grande and the Mexican border. Where do the real birders go? Before our trip, we called up Craig’s cousin Ron, birder extraordinaire, to ask for his suggestions as to…

Birding in Big Bend

March 13, 2023 a-roving take a picture the birds and the trees
Texas Roadtrip, Part 2: Our first main stop was Big Bend National Park in western Texas, where we went mainly for the birds. Here’s what we discovered there… How many birds did we find? Before I answer that, let me first say that it was entirely our own fault. We…

Drawing on the sidewalk

March 10, 2023 a-roving take a picture the eye of the beholder
We’re on a three-week road trip in Texas! Here’s what we saw while wandering around Houston’s Midtown last Saturday. Making art in a public place It was a beautiful Saturday in early March, the start of our Texas road trip. Craig and I were looking for a place in Midtown…