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Chatfield State Park

  A short drive north.  All set up south of Denver.  Had to let the velvet buck mule deer get up off our pad so we could park on it.  Robin nest in the tree outside our bedroom window.  An afternoon storm.   1,185 miles from Port A.  A birthday party for Alex.  The picture of Alex and Austin; I’d call it Little Matt, and…. Little Matt.   Tomorrow…  We stay here a week and visit with Matt and the boys.    
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Cheyenne Mountain

  Morning bird list:   Red tailed hawk Mourning dove Broad tailed hummingbird Say’s phoebe Black billed magpie American crow Mountain chickadee Blue gray gnatcatcher Western bluebird American robin Spotted towhee Chipping sparrow Vesper sparrow Grasshopper sparrow Western meadowlark House finch Lesser goldfinch   Not an impressive number of birds, but different ones than we’ve been seeing.    
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Cheyenne Mountain State Park

  A drive west on US Highway 50.  Right turn on Interstate 25 at Pueblo.  Stop at the state park just south of Colorado Springs.   A milder weather day.  At the edge of the mountains, afternoon showers cooled it down.  Back to that Colorado sky.   1,115 miles from Port A.  Elevation 6,100 feet   Tomorrow… North.    
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John Martin Reservoir State Park

From: Steve Taylor [mailto:spt@thetaylorcompany.net]
Sent: Saturday, July 11, 2009 7:03 PM
To: Bill Taylor (Bill Taylor); David Taylor (David Taylor); Tom Taylor (Tom Taylor)
Subject: John Martin Reservoir State Park
Morning bird walk: Canada gooseTurkey vultureMississippi kiteAmerican kestrelKilldeerRock pigeonEurasian collared doveMourning doveCommon nighthawkBelted kingfisherWestern kingbirdEastern kingbirdHorned larkNorthern rough winged swallowCliff swallowAmerican robinNorthern mockingbirdLark sparrowNorthern cardinalRed winged blackbirdWestern meadowlarkCommon grackleBrown headed dcowbirdBullock’s orioleHouse finch It was a nice walk.

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John Martin Reservoir State Park

Amarillo RV Park bird list; five birds: killdeer, mourning dove, western kingbird, western meadowlark, house sparrow. It’s hard to hold a lot of birds in a gravel and asphalt RV Park. North on Highway 287. After four days to get out of Texas; a three state day. Texas, Oklahoma, and Colorado. We’re back to the high plains; we saw pronghorns and jackrabbits today. January 3, 2004, we passed through Boise City, Oklahoma on our way south in the ‘02 Bounder. We stopped at the Dairy Queen after dark for chili dogs. They volunteered we could spend the night at the back of their parking lot, and we did. We remember that experience fondly, so when we passed through Boise, Idaho at lunchtime today, we couldn’t resist. We stopped for chili dogs for lunch, even though we had the RV Park restaurant specialty dinner last night: Frito Pie. Frito Pie seems to be a southern specialty. If you’re not familiar with Frito Pie, I’ll spare you the description. Just believe “yes”; it’s as bad as it sounds. The chili dogs at Dairy Queen were also as bad as they sound, but somehow an enjoyable experience just the same. Tonight, John Martin Reservoir State Park. Worth a bird walk tomorrow morning. Triple digits again. 970 miles. Tomorrow…. West.