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NATURE ALI'S
GRAND ADVENTURE - Day 2 - June 21, 2009
Mono Lake to Bryce Canyon National
Park
A mother gives
her daughter a headstart in learning about nature leisurely morning led to the
Sunday morning Butterfly Ramble where I took a group of 15 enthusiastic nature
lovers out butterflying. There were few butterflies, although on the trip down
the Lee Vining Creek trail several Behr's Hairstreak were found on their
hostplant "Bitterbrush". I then led the group to Mono County Park where just a
few more butterflies were found. The weather just wasn't cooperative for
butterflying ; it was too cool and breezy.
I saw many
year birds and mammals at Mono Lake Visitor Center and Mono County Park, but
didn't spend enough time to really bird well.
The end of the
festival picnic was fun with a group selling delicious Indian tacos as a
fundraiser for their group. There was music in the park which was ok but a bit
loud for my taste, then a bird and other things calling contest... that was
fun... lots of great imitations and then some not so great... I won second place
for my imitation of a Spotted Owl. As a prize I received a book on Peregrine
Falcons.
I didn't take
too many photos of Mono Lake this time. Just photographed the critters
encountered during scouting and a few during the field trip to try to ID after.
Seems not enough time to focus on good photography, too much ground to cover.
Leaving
California behind for the next month, I entered Nevada and drove for what felt
like billions of miles. Some amazing views of geology and desert vegetation.
Mostly Great Basin Desert, was surprised to see occasional pockets of Joshua
tree. I guess the Mojave reaches far up the state in some places.
A magical
moment occurred when I stopped to photograph wild horses. A pronghorn sauntered
up to the fence and stared at me, while I was taking his photo, I noticed a
badger that must have been foraging along the road just in front of my car. It
was startled at the sudden appearance of a large black predator and took off
running into the fenced field beyond the road; it did not stop for a long time.
A surprise
lake appeared in the middle of nowhere where I saw the only ducks in Nevada.
This was a pretty spot to stop but a pair of Prairie Falcons found it to be
annoying that I would do such a thing and became pretty agitated, I quickly shot
a few photos and left so I wouldn't continue disturbing their very apparent
nesting area.
Almost out of
Nevada, I stopped for gas and then headed down the road toward Bryce Canyon,
thinking little towns are notorious for speed traps, I slowed to the requisite
25 mph albeit slowly in Panaca, NV, when the local sheriff quickly stopped me
for going 27 mph. Still smiling over the horse, pronghorn, badger incident, I
refused to let it bother me and related the story to the sheriff. He actually
let me go with a warning (this was the first ticket I have ever talked a cop out
of giving me even though no real cop would have given a ticket for that). The
last thing I did before leaving Nevada was to insist that the gopher snake in
the middle of the road find safer accommodations.
Finally
arrived near Bryce at around 3 a.m. and stopped. I slept in my front seat on the
side of the road because I was too tired to do anything else.
531 miles |
