April 26, 2004. Monday. #16, $18. Since the predicted rain did not yet descend, we decided to move to Black Rock Mt. St. Pk, further north in GA. It's named for the dark colored gneiss encompassing the area. It's the highest point in GA--at the Continental Divide it's 3640'. Actually, we did drive through a corner of SC en route. The rain did catch us, though, and as we approached the camping area, going steeply uphill, we found ourselves in a cloud so dense that we could hardly see.

The drive was quite pleasant, and we had little traffic through rural areas and towns with large Baptist churches just across the street from one another. We're in the area of deciduous forests, spring green leaves just emerging. Dogwoods and flowering trees are freshly blooming, as are azaleas. The park has enormous rhododendrons which I understand are wild and will bloom later in June.

Georgia seems to have gas prices quite a bit lower than the national gouging prices. Right now, it's anywhere from $1.61 - $1.68, whereas farther south we paid in the high $1.80s.

The temp fell 50 degrees from where it had been a couple days ago. Mid-40s this morning. Despite the chill, we did a bird walk, saw a Blackburnian Warbler, Carolina Wren, Black and White and Myrtle Warblers, Swainson's Thrush, and more.

Took a drive about 15 miles down the road down to Tallulah Gorge, a 1000' deep canyon, with numerous overlooks, a nice hiking trail, and a great new ('93) visitor center named after Jane Hart Yarn, a lady with a non-ending string of environmental credentials to her credit. Decided not to take the 1750 steps down to the water! Drove through the countryside--quiet a corkscrew road which was beautiful--trees are just budding, azaleas are in bloom, grass is so green.

April 28, 2004. Wednesday. It was in the low 40s in the morning, but clear. Took a bird walk and then guided the motor home up out of the twisty and steep campsite. Headed north into NC, to Smoky Mountain National Park, Smokemont Campground, #31, $7. Looks like there are some migrants here--even saw a gorgeous.Blackburnian!

Drove about 20 miles up to Clingman's Dome--6643', well above the leaf line. There is a substantial upward walk to a circular "tower" similar to the one we saw at Shark Valley, FL. Great amount of acid rain die-out up on the top of this mountain.

April 29, 2004. Thursday. I had forgotten how incredibly beautiful this area is. I definitely resonate with it--east coast forestland. Again, we drove by miles of it which is just now budding and leafing in the myriad spring pastels. First we drove to Gatlinburg, a metropolis which has grown up immensely (which seems to have one gas station only...) Hard to believe all the large motels, many very attractive.

Went on to Cade's Cove to the west, a long single lane road with, again, gorgeous foliage along the way. There are some drivers, however, who we'd like to hang, who refuse to pull over and who are erratic, and drive us mad!

Friday. Took the car and drove down to Bryson City, and what we encountered was sort of a strip along the Cherokee Indian Reservation. Got sort of disgusted so turned back, had a Chinese buffet lunch in Cherokee and continued to decide what route to take homeward. It is still quite cold north of here and we're having to remain south for a bit.

May 2, 2004. Sunday. In awful rain and fog we made it up to KY, to Cumberland Falls State Park and Resort, in about 4 hours. It sounded good, but unfortunately the campground is a poor excuse for a "resort". Sites are short, slanted, inadequate. Signed up for two days and during non-rainy weather we drove around the general area and found two Forest Service camping areas which were really great! One super one is Laurel Bay and the sites are beautiful with both electric and water--plus there are showers in the rest rooms. We laugh at the difference between these and where we're roosted! Next time.

This resort area includes cabins and an old lodge, where we had lunch on Monday. We walked along the river, on a path with several overlooks to Cumberland Falls, until we came to a place where floods had destroyed the area. There is a good deal of trash which has washed down the river, accumulating on the sides, and there are signs imploring folks to refrain from trashing the area.

May 4 - 7. Twin Knobs Forest Service Campground near Morehead, KY. What a great and large place this is--and we were told that it somehow scored third prize in all of this country's Forest Service campgrounds! There are about 13 loops of campsites, some electric, some not, some sewers, some can be reserved. There is a large beach area which is still closed, though we ran down there on bikes. Down the road there are numerous fishing accesses and boat ramps plus several nice picnic areas. Sites here are generous and nicely spaced. We've found numerous birds around--Eastern Towhees, Eastern Phoebees (always building nests around restrooms!), Indigo Buntings, Yellow-shafted Flickers, Catbirds, Brown Thrashers, Chats, more.

Drove into Morehead since C needed a doctor's appointment to see about the hurt above his eye. A nice lady, Dr. Moore, saw him, though did not have anything definitive to solve the prob. Since we stayed a while in town we decided to spend one more day here and went to the High Bank picnic area, read and generally enjoyed the gentle environment.

May 7 - 8, 2004, Saturday. Made it to Ohio, but for a while we were wondering how we were going to get across the river from Kentucky, since the bridge on our route had been closed. Our computer map did not have an alternate road indicated, but the book map saved the day. Went on some very bumpy Ohio roads en route to bridge # 2. Certainly can notice a change from the south to mid-west--roads, architecture.

Deer Creek State Park near Sterling, Ohio, is large, @250 sites, $22--wow. In general, the sites are quite nice and generous, a large circle with several smaller loops off of it. Many trees and a good number of birds. Looked like a large storm was coming just as we got here, but it was more minor than expected. The park has cabins and a large (seemingly sparsely occupied) lodge on a lake. The area, like the last park in Ky, abuts a Corps of Engineers area. There are about ten trails, which were somewhat muddy after the rain yesterday but do-able.

May 9, 2004, Sunday. Our Anniversary. To Sterling St. Park about 30 miles south of Detroit. Nothing to boast about--campsites strung together with no privacy, some across the road from Lake Erie, and that's where we parked. Sites cost $19, plus a $6/day entrance fee (we purchased the annual pass.) Our reason for stopping here is we planned to take the car and cross into Ontario to visit Point Pelee. The day became gloomier, but we were able to get in a good bike ride on a nice trail around waterways before the rains descended in a big way. Saw mostly Yellow Warblers. At night the thunder storms rumbled in, one after the other, and with all that noise plus getting up at 4 AM to drive to Pt. Pelee, we were both feeling a bit sleep deprived.

Our day began enormously. We'd planned carefully what we needed to take and we hauled suitcases out of the car to give the customs officials less to go through. C, in the dark, was opening the car and pushed the Panic button instead of Unlock. No way to stop the noise, not even starting the engine. It's a wonder someone didn't shoot us--it was so bad it was actually funny (to me…) We lost the house keys (which I later found in my pocket), the drive north was dark and wet and there were many semis on the road even at that hour. The border crossing was a travesty--it was totally confusing trying to figure out the labyrinth of markers to find the bridge going over to Canada and the Customs station--there was hardly a sign.

We got to Pt. Pelee around 6 AM and the parking lot was getting pretty full. C searched for his binocs and his hat, but they were nowhere to be seen. Couldn't believe it--a haunting feeling. He hauled the scope onto the tram that took us down to "The Tip", the point of land that juts out into Lake Erie onto which birds first touch down in migration. Many folks were wandering around paths in this area and some were scoping the Tip. There were many Common Mergansers diving in the waves off wither side of the Tip and on the land itself were numerous gulls--Bonapart's, Herring, Ring-billed, and a couple juvenile Black-backeds, as well as Common Terns. It was amusing to watch people as well as birds, and we stayed down there well over two hours. We saw Bay-breasted Warblers, Chestnut-sided, Blackburnian, Palm, Nashville, Bladk and White, Yellow-throated, Blackpoll, and more. Returned by tram, had a bite to eat, and then I dropped an idea on C, since he had no glasses. I'd wanted to get him a packet pair for his b'day, but only if he wanted them. Someone along the way had mentioned a great optics store nearby, so we drove there to Pelee Wings. (Discovered there that cousin Don and Lillian Stokes had been there on a book signing the previous day!) C decided on a little pair of Leicas, which he used as we visited Hillman Prairie and Kokegarin Woods nearby--the latter one fantastic swampy woodland boardwalk for warblers. (Saw Magnolia, Nashville, Parula, Myrtle, Bay-breasted, Chestnut-sided, Yellow, more.

Stopped at the Duty-free places on the way home for a rebate on taxes, got lost because of lack of signs, but go home at last. C's binocs weren't in the house, so we hauled stuff out of the car, and there they were under lots of junk which had fallen on them. Whew.

May 11, 2004. Tuesday. Drove north on I 75, then on 275 toward Flint. Highway so crowded it was uncomfortable. At one point, when lanes had to combine, no one let us in and it got downright dangerous. Roads here are bumpy and need repair. Gas prices have risen to $2.09, a rise of $.14 in the last week.) and it's said they have a long way more to rise. Lines on roads obviously have not been repainted for a long, long time.

Arrived at Rifle River State Park just after noon. The electric sites are not private or very attractive--there are two circles of sites, separate from one another. There is a new wash house being built--it looks pretty fancy I say this only with the idea in mind of other facilities I note which need assistance. There are other sites, we found later, in an extended wooded area. There are only two motor homes here, in about 200 sites. Cold - lotsa snow here a few days ago.

May 12, 2004. Wednesday. We wanted to see some of the Au Sable River area so chose roads close to the river. One stop was at Iargo Springs (meaning "many waters"). We stopped off now and again to view this beautiful and wild northland river, and at day's end stopped by the Loggermen's Visitor Center where we finally found there a book noting all Forest Service campsites throughout the country.

Decided to visit Tawas State Park which is noted for its good birding, and what a great place that was. The campground must be a zoo when hundreds of folks visit, but today it was calm and we walked from a parking lot down to the "tip" of the peninsula. Met a well-known birder named Greg (Nedik?) who told us about his Piping Plover project--these birds being endangered here (confusion in management, human population near nesting areas, natural predation of eggs). Birds we were able to see at Tawas were Blue-winged Warbler, Wilson's, Magnolia, American Redstart, Nashville, Yellow, Yellow-rumped, Orange-crowned Warblers; Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Savannah, Song and Chipping Sparrows, Eastern Kingbird, Scarlet Tanager, Great-crested Flycatcher, Red-headed Woodpecker and Flicker, American Goldfinches, large bunches of jay birds and treefuls of Baltimore Orioles There were hundreds of (fortunately, non-biting) gnats all over us, just waiting for the coming birds!

Speaking of endangered species, we're just a bit early to try to see the Kirtland Warbler here. This bird resides on short jack pine trees and its habitat is scarce. We drove by some jack pines which are being managed for this bird, near the town of Mio (my-oh).

May 13, 2004 Thursday. Tahquamenon Falls St. Park ($17), supposedly the most frequented area in Michigan. There are two campgrounds at Upper Falls and two more at Lower Falls. Upper area was closed. Lower was the usual "modern" site area with no specific pads, nothing neat and trim. Along the road there were several patches of unmelted snow! We got the best site overlooking the backwaters from the Lower Falls--the turbulence caused the water to appear very frothy. The water is tannin colored. We had an informal supper at a little brewery and pub at Upper Falls--and the beer we had was called Falls Tannin, just the right brown color.

Since it was looking rainy, we took a drive up to Whitefish Point, another renowned birding area. However, there are hardly any leaves on the trees up here, and the temp dove down into the 40s by the time we got there. Wind blowing hard. There were dozens of beautiful Jays around the little gift shop, and we also saw numerous BC Chickadees, some White-crowns--and even a Dickcissal! We climber up to a wooden platform where was a man doing a hawk count. Watched him for a bit, and saw Peregrines, Sharpies, Red-tails, Rough-legged, Merlin, Kestrels.

May 14, 2004. Friday. Not a nice day to begin with, though the temp was down in the 30s, but the day grew raw, rainy, cold (41 degrees). Headed for Indian Lake State Park ($18) but stopped off en route at Seney NWR which, unfortunately, officially opens tomorrow. A volunteer man told us that the nature trail was open but not the auto trail. We put on a couple extra layers plus raincoats and gloves and set out around the nearby lake. It was a beautiful walk, even in the3 sprinkles, and we enjoyed seeing Trumpeter Swans; Yellow, Blackburnian and Myrtle Warblers; a female Wood Duck, Snipe, Geese with newborn goslings.

Had a talk with the assistant ranger at Indian Lake--he pulled up as we were dumping in the AM and wondered if we'd purchased the necessary park passes. When we told him we had an annual pass, we found that it was good only for one vehicle--that another was necessary for the second vehicle. That would have brought the cost up to $24--despite having the annual pass we'd purchased. This, for a place that did not even have trash barrels out.

May 15, 2004. Saturday. Spent night at Anvil Lake in NE Wisconsin, a Forest Service campground ($5). Our map was supposedly taking us to Franklin Lake but this popped up beforehand--the other lake being 8 miles off the road. These Forest Service sites seem so much superior to the state parks--larger and cheaper. However, when we want the critter comforts of heat and TV in any large measure, FS power ain't available. (Usually we don't need it with the solar panels, but very cold weather and clouds make a difference!) Good birding at Anvil Lake--saw Cape May Warblers, Blackburnians, Myrtles, many more.

May 16, 2004. Sunday. To Namegon Forest Service park ($6) in N W-Central Wisconsin. Nice leisurely drive, little traffic on numerous back roads. Sites at the park are in (the usual) two loops, and we found that nearly all sites are fine. Gas prices just jumped to $2.15, every service station the same. Horrible feeling, being far from home and beholden to these insane prices.

May 17, 2004. Monday. To Leech Lake Dam, a COE site in NC MN, SE of Bemidji. The lake is mid-size with a low dam at one end. We walked over the dam and encountered a fierce snapper turtle. He was such a character I had C entertain him while I biked back to get the camera. Good birding around the sites, and the warblers we were able to see were B & W, Yellow, Wilson's, Magnolia, Cape May, Amer. Redstart, Yellowthroat, BB, Black-throated Green, Nashville, Parula--a great count!

May 18, 2004. Tuesday. Frost on the ground. Drove to Old Mill State Park in NW MN. Truly the site of an old mill belonging to a family named Larson. The property was sold in the 50s. It's on a river, of course. One prob for us was that there's a bridge leading to the campground and the max weight allowed is 5 tons. We consulted a ranger and were allowed to park in a parking lot adjoining the picnic area. It is so serene around here.

We drove about 30 miles to a great NWR, Agassiz, near Holt, MN. It has rained recently and there are standing pools of wet everywhere, and perhaps this is what the birds were waiting for. Took a half mile trek near the headquarters and then a 7 mile car tour and saw about 72 species. The staff seemed amazed we'd seen all the birds we did, so I guess this was the first great day there this year. One highlight was sighting a Golden-wing Warbler (a new one for us!) and an Ovenbird. There were numerous Northern Waterthrushes, so many Swainson's Thrushes, and so many more warblers. Franklin's Gulls were screaming overhead. We've finally caught up with ducks--till now we've seen only a few now and again. Finally got to see a Ruffed Grouse drumming--this was awesome!

May 19, 2004. Wednesday. In the rain we wet out for Lake Metisoshe St. Pk. in ND, only a mile or so below the Canadian border. The roads were wet--it was raining--but there was next to no traffic. Crossed the Red River into ND. Along the way there was ample evidence of last week's ice storm--there were numerous patches of snow where it must have blown on the side of the ride. Later, we heard that there had been much ice and about a foot of wet snow. Many trees were broken off. The land is flooded all along the route. We were looking for a place to pull over and have breakfast but there were none for over 150 miles. Finally, a wayside rest...

The state park just opened its campground about a week ago and got the water running yesterday. They are hurrying to get things together for Canadian Victoria Day coming up this weekend. We were informed that a severe storm was due within the hour, so we cut our bike tour short and wrapped up the bikes. It got dark and rained but the severe storm did not come our way. A tornado hit about 20 miles south. There are hardly any leaves on the trees here but there are birds to explore. Decided to spend two nights here--pressure on C with all the driving is quite tiring.

May 20, 2004. Thursday. Drove to J.Clark Salyer NWR, about 40 miles from Metigeshe Lake. It looked like winter had just left, but barely. There was a 27 mile drive ("trail") which was pretty muddy and it was nice, but except for a Sharp-tail Grouse which was new to us, we didn't see all that much, really. Also took the grasslands "trail", hoping to pick up several grasslands sparrows we'd never seen, but no. Then did a walk around part of Lake Metigeshe--the trail not picked up from winter falls. Discovered that the noises we'd heard on the lake which sounded like both lambs and loons we actually Red-neck Grebes--another mystery solved! A beautiful Bufflehead was diving about, and warblers are just arriving and it looked like a Canada Goose was thinking of making the top of a beaver house its nesting place of choice. One more nice day, though cool, with more rain predicted for as long as we can see.

May 21-22, 2004. Friday, Saturday. Off to the little town of Kenmare, ND, camping right along Hwy. 52 where there are several parking slots and hook-ups, for $10/night. We arrived in mud--it had rained all day, and it was quite cold--not above 40 degrees. Despite the wet, we took off for the nearby NWR, Des Lacs, and after talking with a management guy with not an abundance of knowledge, we set out on the muddiest of mud roads, sometimes sliding back and forth all over the road. The Jeep is covered with gooey mud. We returned on a road through Lostwood NWR--enjoyed seeing Wilson's Phalaropes, Upland Sandpipers, Bohemian Waxwings, Avocets, many Eastern and Western Kingbirds hanging out together, numerous ducks and grebes, and much more. One more ting we finally discovered was a Baird's Sparrow--actually, many. Lichens on the rocks are so vivid here in various places along the route.

On Saturday, we drove down the road to Upper Souris NWR, and this day it stopped raining (though the temp stayed down in the 30s most of the day) and the roads were muddy but were an improvement. Nearby is Darling Lake, named after "Ding" Darling, and we pulled off onto a peninsula and had lunch. We watched a mixed cloud of swallows, many sitting four-tiered on barbed wire fences; there was a brigade of about 75 Daffy Ducks all in their blue-billed excellence; little goslings appeared--one group with two sets of parents numbered around 25; we watched a pair of Marsh Hawks pick sticks out of the woods and place them onto a ground nest among marsh grasses.

May 23, 2004. Sunday. Downstream Campground near Ft. Peck MT. Rainy and raw, and not many folks in the campground. We took out our hoses and removed layers of sticky mud from the Jeep.

En route' we visited Medicine Lake NWR. Amazing how many Ring-neck Pheasants we saw all over the landscape--so beautiful. We saw a couple Short-eared Owls and got some great pics since one was so close to the car. There were many ducks in the various pools--Ruddys, Gaddies, Redheads, Shovelers, Canvasbacks, and many more. Wilson's Phalaropes were quickly circling round and round. We were able to sort out Common Terns from Forster's. We were pretty excited when we finally located Chestnut-collared Longspurs (we parked and studied for quite a while to discern what longspurs we were looking at). And we even found Horned Grebes! C found a Lark Bunting. An American Bittern was visible in the reeds. Our day was a great high.

May 24, 2004. Monday. Started off fairly early on another cold and rainy day. The wind confronted us and we blew around a good deal. Stopped off at Malta, parked at a Rest Stop and drove a horribly bumpy road back to Bowdoin NWR. Got as far as the visitor center and could go o farther because of the condition of the refuge road. Returned to Malta and went onward to a private campground 6 miles west of Cut Bank, Shady Grove ($19).

The remainder of the trip home was uneventful

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(Photo gallery for Part 2)