In order to make time, I didn't take any pictures of the drive, but I thoroughly regret it. Wyoming is a beautiful state, and I plan to rearrange my route back home to deliberately drive through it again.
Why do old people drive so slowly? You'd think that there'd be some sense of IMMEDIACY to get to Yellowstone before they run out of precious time, but it appears the exact opposite it true. Wake up, blue hairs: Your time is short and so is my patience.
Tuesday, 27 September 2005
Day Five: Montana to Seattle
The Needle
Originally uploaded by MyTwistedLens. Drove 13 hours today. What amazes me about this trip is that words like "Wyoming", "Montana", and "Idaho" always brought to mind images of desolate, backwater places populated entirely by 80-year-old sun-dried ranchers in flannel. But these places really are friggin beautiful. The drive was, for the most part, peaceful and scenic. During the more boring parts, I yanked out the iPod and whipped through 30 lessons of Pimsleur Spanish I lessons. I can now with great confidence rattle off phrases such as:
Where is the beer?
I drank 12 beers!
If I have 16 dollars, I can buy a lot of cheap beer!
Here's the Needle. Not sure what I'm doing tomorrow. Perhaps Olympic park.
Originally uploaded by MyTwistedLens. Drove 13 hours today. What amazes me about this trip is that words like "Wyoming", "Montana", and "Idaho" always brought to mind images of desolate, backwater places populated entirely by 80-year-old sun-dried ranchers in flannel. But these places really are friggin beautiful. The drive was, for the most part, peaceful and scenic. During the more boring parts, I yanked out the iPod and whipped through 30 lessons of Pimsleur Spanish I lessons. I can now with great confidence rattle off phrases such as:
Where is the beer?
I drank 12 beers!
If I have 16 dollars, I can buy a lot of cheap beer!
Here's the Needle. Not sure what I'm doing tomorrow. Perhaps Olympic park.
Thursday, 16 December 2004
Rufous-backed Robin, NM: San Antonio
To my knowledge, there are only two records of Rufous-backed Robin in the state of New Mexico in all recorded history, and both of them were in Socorro County. Makes me wonder why no one is seeing them closer to Arizona. The other record, by the way, is at the home of the redoubtable Pat Basham, a local bird artist who has seen a long string of truly incredible records in her yard, such as Groove-billed Ani, Swallow-tailed Kite, and just about every warbler there is.
But the second Rufous-backed Robin was a delight to many as it stayed put and easy to find for several weeks in December 1989. Here are some photos I took on 1989-12-21.
Monday, 16 August 2004
Rufous-backed Robin
This species resembles its widespread relative the American Robin in general appearance, but is a bit smaller at 21.5–24 cm (8.5–9.4 in) long, with an average wingspan of 39.4 cm (15.5 in) and weight of 74 g (2.6 oz). It is named for the adult's rufous or olive-rufous upper back, which contrasts with the grayish head, nape, and rump. The chest and flanks are also rufous. The belly and undertail coverts are white; the throat is white with many black streaks.
The bill and eye-ring are yellow. Females are typically somewhat duller-colored than males. Juveniles, like other juvenile Turdus thrushes, are spotted below; they are browner and have pale flecks above. The subspecies of the Islas Tres Marías, also found around San Blas, Nayarit, is sometimes considered a separate species, Grayson's Robin orGrayson's Thrush, Turdus graysoni (Ridgway, 1882).
It looks "washed out", with little rufous tinting. The song is slow and warbling, with repetition of phrases. An example is "weedele loo loo freerlii..." The alarm call is a long, mellow, descending whistle, "cheeoo or teeeuu". Other calls resemble those of the American Robin; the flight call is thinner.
The bill and eye-ring are yellow. Females are typically somewhat duller-colored than males. Juveniles, like other juvenile Turdus thrushes, are spotted below; they are browner and have pale flecks above. The subspecies of the Islas Tres Marías, also found around San Blas, Nayarit, is sometimes considered a separate species, Grayson's Robin orGrayson's Thrush, Turdus graysoni (Ridgway, 1882).
It looks "washed out", with little rufous tinting. The song is slow and warbling, with repetition of phrases. An example is "weedele loo loo freerlii..." The alarm call is a long, mellow, descending whistle, "cheeoo or teeeuu". Other calls resemble those of the American Robin; the flight call is thinner.
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