F.Y.I.

Here is a number of little tidbits of information for you.

--we did get the generator repaired and by noon on Friday it was reinstalled in the Winnebago and running.

---after an assessment of all things, we decided that this was the time and place for our turn around and to head home.  We made a quick stop for groceries, and fuel, and grabbed a hamburger.

--- the greater Chico area had one more challenge to  hurl in our face, it seems the hamburger was not quite right and by that evening after stopping in Red Bluff for the night we were fighting food poisoning.

---- after dragging out of bed late morning we managed to drive as far as Medford where we spent the night at Pear Tree RV Park, and will continue on to Elkton today. (in much better health)

--- if you read this blog on a handheld device like a smart phone, you will notice that the format has been changed, simplified, and with a white back-ground.  Evidently Blog Spot (Google) decided for whatever reasons, to make the change.  I noticed it affected all blogs that I read that use Blog Spot.  If you read this blog with a regular computer it will still be with the green background.

Grimy Gulch

We are still waiting “semi-patiently” in Chico for our generator to be repaired, so the idea for today’s post is drawn from a side trip we took few days back while staying at Black Butte Lake.  Jeanette had talked with the Ranger and found out about free camping available at Stony Gorge Reservoir some 25 miles away.  So we took off one afternoon to investigate.  No campgrounds were shown on the map nor listed in any of the books I have.  We saw no signs and drove past a road we should have taken, but after some back tracking we finally located the right road and found the campgrounds.  They were closed, and I would have to say it was almost a sense of relief, because the name "Grimy Gulch" did not leave me with a feeling of clean campsite. 

Aloha Black Butte Lake

We didn't know it at the time, but Tuesday was our last afternoon of soaking up the sun at Black Butte Lake. Where we were camped at Buckhorn Campground, there are no hookups, so we ran the generator a couple of times a day to keep the batteries charged up. Because the air mattress in our Comfort Couch uses an electric pump to inflate and deflate, we scheduled our generator time with our getting up and going to bed time. We also used this time to charge up our laptops, cell phones, I-pods, and MiFi. During this charging session on Tuesday night our generator abruptly stopped. I’ll spare you the rest of the details. The short version is we are now in Chico having the generator repaired under warranty at Jeff’s Truck Repair. They removed it from the RV yesterday and are working on it and hopeful they will be able to reinstall it this afternoon.  We have spent the night at nearby Almond Tree RV Park with all the luxuries of full hook-ups---electricity, water, sewer, and cable TV.  Our general plan is to be back in Oregon in time for Jeanette to keep a doctor’s appointment on the 21^st.  In the mean time we will knock around this part of California soaking up the sunshine as long as we can.

Birding Overdose

We went birding at the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge yesterday and kind of overdosed on birding.  I believe Sacramento NWR is one of the premier bird refuges in the nation; it is certainly the best one I have ever visited.  We were here the first time in March of 2005 and spent two days birding, but everyone said we were too late to witness the spectacular Snow Geese migration.  This time we hit it.

The afternoon started out innocent enough.   At the Visitor Center I noticed a Snowy Egret in a pond; Jeanette spotted a pair of House Finches in a tree.  On park personnel’s recommendation we start the 6 mile driving loop.  A Vulture soars overhead, a Flicker flees for cover, and a Black Phoebe sits on the fence.  The list is starting to grow.  The first water way holds a dozen Coots, a similar number of Mallards and a couple of Marsh Wrens.  We drive on and spot two Ravens and admire a swooping Northern Harrier.  This is the greatest.  A half dozen White-crowned Sparrows dart along the road. Ring-necked Pheasants can be seen in twos and threes. Our numbers are increasing. Meadow Larks work the ground, a Red-tailed Hawk is perched in a tree, and a lone American Pipit walks a shoreline. The count is really expanding.  A larger pond reveals Pintails, Gadwalls, Northern Shovelers, and Great White-fronted Geese.  Too many, we will just have to estimate their numbers. We drive on to a larger pond, covered with signature Snow Geese so numerous we cannot see the water.  We cannot even guess their number.  Now we notice ponds to our right as well as are left contain Snow Geese, the air is filled with birds in flight, who could possibly know their numbers. About this time we realize this is not a place to count birds, just check off species.  I photograph and Jeanette tries to discern Ross’s Snow Goose from the common Snow Goose. My eyes are burning, my mind is numb, we stop for a cup of coffee.  Bufflehead, Avocets, Cinnamon Teal and Ring-necked Ducks catch our attention.  We are only halfway around our six mile loop, but I make a pronouncement---we need to leave, I have birded enough.  We start to drive, but spot some Least Grebes, a Nuttall’s Woodpecker in a thicket, a Great Blue Heron lumbers overhead, a Great Egret stands alone, a Bald Eagle watches from a snag. I press on, Red-winged Blackbirds, Double Crested Cormorants, stop---what are those, Rudy Ducks?  Yes, in winter plumage. Drive, stop, juvenile Common Moorhens. Now I drive with determination, a flight of Juncos and a Robin.  I make it to the gate, we turn for our campground.  I need blinders to focus on the road, I wonder if I can drive to our site with my eyes closed. --- 38 species in all if you’ve counted.

Nightmare at 3:00 AM

I don’t have a photo to go with today’s post, and it’s a good thing because it would be ugly.  At 3:00 this morning wind gusts against the motor home woke me up, and in the background I thought I could hear the refrigerator trying to start, and then the next thing I noticed was the warning flashing lights on the refrigerator.  Oh no,--- we are out of propane. 

On Thursday morning when we were leaving Red Bluff my propane tank had registered 1/3 so I stopped to get propane.  The attendant said the tank was full and he could not add any.  Motorhome gauges for propane, water, and sewer waste tanks are notoriously inaccurate, so I immediately concluded the gauge was wrong and went on my way.

On Friday we moved to the Buckhorn Recreation Area at Black Butte Lake, thirteen miles west of Orland, where we are camped without any hookups.  By Saturday the gauge read empty, stupid gauge.

At three o’clock this morning it was pretty easy to conclude we were actually out of propane.  The furnace came on about that time, and only blew cold air.  Jeanette tried lighting the stove as a test, no flame.  Now we are really in a pickle, because our generator also runs on propane, which means if the motor home battery is dead we would not be able to run the generator to recharge it. We assume the gates are locked until 7, so we are stuck. Now try going back to sleep with all that in your mind!

To bring this story to an end, daylight did eventually come, the motor home did start, we did leave the park, and we did get propane. 

As a footnote, while in town we did laundry, bought groceries, had lunch and visited Sacramento Wildlife Refuge. More on that tomorrow. 

Good Morning of Birding

This morning was another bright sunny morning in California, only most import of all, we were free of the wind that had plagued us Friday night and all day Saturday.  Free of the wind we got a good start for a morning of birding, out the door and down the trail by 8:30.  We were rewarded with Western Meadowlarks, almost too numerous to count, easily over 4 dozen. A few even called out with their melodious song, like the one shown in the photo.  We hiked three miles in three hours and identified 23 species of birds.  An import additional sighting was a Coyote hunting for ground birds, who was unaware of our presence for a short time.  

Sunset at Black Butte Lake

I took this photo tonight thru the window of our Winnebago in our campsite at Buckhorn Campground at Black Butte Lake. We are set up in campsite #8, the same campsite we were in last year, click here to see that post. We plan on staying here as long as the good weather holds.  Last year we fled from here to escape a rain storm.  We have thought of this campground all year, yearning to return, at last we have, and we are looking forward to many days here with great birding.  Of the 90 sites here, only one other one seems to be occupied.