On the morning of Saturday the 2nd, after coffee and breakfast, Marty and I packed the CrossTrek for my trip to Texas and the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival. I should have begun my travel yesterday . . . I'd thought I had to be at the Festival on the 6th - but that's when the Festival ‘started’. It finally dawned on me that I had made reservations at the motel for the night of the 5th! So, I will need to pretty much just push straight on through to Harlingen, taking little time for birding along the route.
I left Olympia at 10:30 a.m., and pretty much just drove straight across the northwest, south on I-5 and I-205 to I-84 at Portland and east toward Boise. My only real ‘stop’ was a rest break at the eastbound Rest Area on I-84 near Boardman, Oregon where I did a walkaround the site and a quick eBird checklist. It was a clear, cool day, and traffic wasn’t too bad. I did keep a list of birds seen along the freeway to enter into a “County” eBird list for each jurisdiction. I’m not much of a “County Lister”, but I might as well take some advantage of the long drives on these travels to keep free of “road hypnosis”. I dragged into Boise and took a room at the Super 8 for the night. Not necessarily the best choice for the money. I woke early on Sunday, ate a light breakfast and left at dawn . . . giving a note to the Desk Manager.
I drove east on Interstate 84 and stopped in Salt Lake
City for an oil change at a Jiffy Lube, as I have been racking up the driving
miles this year. My route continued
south to Spanish Fork, and southeast on Highway 6, through Price to Green
River. The only ‘birding’ I did today
was to make a circuit of the Horse Canyon Rd Rest Stop in Emery County, where the
only birds I saw were a pair of Ravens! I
jumped on I-70 to the Highway 191 exit, and continued south through the red
rock country until I arrived at Monticello (pronounced mont-ih-sell’-oh)
and checked into the Canyonlands Motor Inn for $50.54. This was a nice little place, well-kept and
clean, for a good price. Supper tonight
was microwave popcorn and a can of V-8.
Monday dawned with beautiful clear blue skies, and I pulled out of town at 6:45. It was 18º F as I topped the rise north of Dove Creek. I continued east and south, with my only ‘birding’ done today being while I was waiting for road repairs outside Cortez, Colorado, and a quick walk-around at a highway rest stop on the New Mexico side of the line.
This evening I checked into the Best Western in Lamesa, Texas for $115.20 + tax = $127.87. The motel was not necessarily worth the higher cost, but ah, well, it was . I walked across the highway and had supper of grilled catfish at the Texas Cajun seafood & steak restaurant, washing it down with a cool Shiner Bock. I’d eat here again, as they had good food for a decent price, friendly service, and a very clean dining room.
On Tuesday, I slept in a bit this morning, leaving Lamesa at 7:30 a.m. on a 42º day and pushed my way south toward the Lower Rio Grande Valley. As I passed through the town of Eden, my eye was drawn to a sign welcoming people to the Garden of Eden.
It looked like a charming little patch of habitat, so I thought I’d spend a few minutes birding there.
Not a lot of birds, but there were empty seed feeders, and thank-you monuments to the fine local citizens who made an effort to make their community a nicer place.
Going south, the road grew tiresome, and I made a short stop at the Whitsett Rest Area to walk around and do a bit of birding while I unlimbered my legs. Finally, I pulled into Harlingen and checked into the Best Western Casa Villa. Nice enough place for the money.
This evening, I drove over to the new Harlingen Convention Center to sign-in for the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival, then made my way over to the Harlingen Arts & Heritage Museum at 2425 on Loop 499 for some camaraderie, music, refreshments and hors d’oeuvres, enjoyed the chance to mingle with the birders and meet some new friends.
The event was over at 7 p.m., but before heading back to the motel, I eavesdropped on the field trip leaders’ meeting, and had a really good feeling for the professionalism and expertise that I’d be experiencing the next few days. I had a 6:30 a.m. field trip tomorrow for the Festival, so was in bed early.
Whitsett Texas Rest Area eBird checklist is Here
Garden of Eden eBird Checklist is Here
Rattlesnake Draw New Mexico rest area eBird
Checklist is Here
Cortez Colorado eBird Checklist is Here
Horse Canyon Road rest stop eBird
Checklist is Here
Boardman Oregon Rest Area eBird
Checklist is Here
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