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tbutler

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  1. tbutler
    I’ve seen pictures of the planet Mars, and this part of Australia sure looks like Mars. The landscape here is relentlessly red. The red is a deeper red than the red center. The desert is red, hills are red, sand dunes are red. Even the rivers look deep red, much deeper red than the Red River on the Texas-Oklahoma border. Our whole journey from Nanutarra Roadhouse to Exmouth had only minor elevation changes and only a few curves to move us around rather than over hills.
    Temperatures are moderating as we travel south. With a few clouds around mid-day we were able to shut down the air conditioner periodically as we traveled. Traffic was light until we reached the turnoff for Exmouth. Making that turn, we began traveling west and then north onto the Exmouth Peninsula.
    The town of Exmouth lies at the northern end of the peninsula. There is a navy base north of town. We learned that the navy base used to be a US base in the 60’s and 70’s. A large antenna array north of the base is used for VLF communications with ships and submarines. The antenna is still operated by the US but the base has been turned over to the Australian Government. The antenna array is similar to another we saw in central Australia. Twelve radio towers are arranged in a circle around a single larger tower. All the towers are connected and connecting cables support an antenna ring around the central tower. The town of Exmouth didn’t exist until the US built the naval base and the antenna. Exmouth was built like a US town until Australians moved in to support the base population with goods and services.
    Around Exmouth there are numerous national parks and reef areas. One of our goals here is to do some snorkeling. We didn’t get a chance to see the Great Barrier Reef and want to see some of the Ningaloo reef while in this area. There are numerous companies here that provide snorkeling tours, many feature a swim with a whaleshark. Whalesharks are large sharks, not whales. They are filter feeders like whales, thus the name. They have only small teeth at the back of the mouth. They feed on plankton in the water. The whaleshark has a large wide mouth with which it sweeps up small plants and animals for its food. The dive up to 2000 meters below the surface and feed at the surface. Being a fish, not a whale, they do not need to come to the surface to breathe. While they are at the surface snorkelers can swim near them without disturbing them. A whole industry has developed in Exmouth to support this activity.
  2. tbutler

    Well We Missed Wellington

    By tbutler,

    On Saturday, February 8 we woke to rain and heavy low clouds. Our plans had been to drive from Rotorua to the National Park and do some hiking and sightseeing around the mountain territory in the center of the North Island. Since the scenery would be hidden and hiking in a constant rain would not be our idea of fun, we decided to turn the day into a travel day.
    We needed to be in Wellington on Sunday night so we could get on the Interislander Ferry to the South Island at 9:00 a.m. on Monday morning. We changed plans and decided to get there on Saturday and then have Sunday to explore Wellington. That plan went out the door when the rain continued on Sunday. It was a fine mist, the kind of tropical rain you get in Hawaii. It will thoroughly soak you in no time at all. There was wind as well. We sat in the campervan all day. That was the break in our active schedule I needed to start this record of our trip. We had good computer access and we used the day to our advantage but we didn’t see anything of Wellington other than the drive to the holiday park and then to the ferry.
    The ferry trip on Sunday left about fifteen minutes late and arrived in Picton on the South Island about an hour late in part because the ferry that was to make the return run was having trouble and was in the berth we needed for unloading. The trip was scheduled for three hours. During the three hours we never lost sight of land. The ferry departs along the southern coast of the North Island. Before we leave that coastline the South Island is in sight. We then enter a passage through a series of islands that form the northern part of the South Island. These are narrow passages with the ferry moving very carefully through this labyrinth of islands. The scenery was quite spectacular. As soon as we cleared Wellingham the rain had stopped and the weather was wonderfully clear for this part of the trip.
    After leaving the ferry we secured a spot for the night at a TOP 10 Holliday Park in Blenheim. Then we went to visit several wineries in the area. This area is thick with wineries and there is no way to visit them all. We stopped at several that were listed in the guide books and purchased a few bottles. Since I was driving, my tasting consisted of swirling, inhaling and tasting but not swallowing. They have quite strict rules about drinking and driving here in New Zealand. We were given strict instructions, no drink driving (their term). We have to drink it all before we leave for Australia on February 28!
  3. tbutler
    It is now Tuesday, February 12 in this series that started on January 29 with our departure from the US. The actual date of this posting is later because it has taken me quite a bit of time to catch up with recording and posting these entries. The first few days kept my mind fully occupied with all the new things to absorb about this vacation. Then there were the internet challenges. We subscribed to an internet server that is common throughout New Zealand at the TOP 10 parks where we stay most often. We have encountered a few parks that don’t have internet or don’t have very good internet service. So I post these messages when I can.
    We are leaving Westport this morning, driving south along the west coast of the South Island. Our first stop is just a kilometer from our camp. The Westport Lighthouse sits high on a hill overlooking the Tasman Sea. A trail from there leads to a seal colony. The trail is up and down hills as we tread along the sea cliff overlooking the beaches. Some storm clouds are bringing occasional showers and the wind is whipping up a fine surf. I could stand for hours and watch waves wash up on shore or break on rocks. The sea is a fascinating play of energy and motion. This turns into a pretty good walk (or tramp as they call it locally). We cross three styles as we move from one plot of land to the next. It took a little over an hour to reach the seal colony. There is a large platform well above the colony which allows us to look over without disturbing the seals. Louise walks out on the platform and says, “Oh, no! There are no seals.”
    After a few moments, she notices movement on the rocks below and then we begin to see seals. There are not huge numbers, just a scattering of several dozen adults. But the real treat is the baby seals. There are young seals playing all over the rocks. We enjoy watching them climbing over the rocks. Some are testing their skills walking along the length of a large horizontal log. Others are nursing or sleeping. The adults are doing their best to ignore the young ones and get some sleep. Occasionally one of the adults will wade into the surf to find food or cool off. We enjoy watching the seals and the surf. Finally as another line of dark clouds approaches we decide to return to the lighthouse and our campervan. We pick up a little more rain on the way back but not the drenching I’m expecting.
    Back at the campervan we fix sandwiches for lunch and then head on south toward Franz Josef and the Franz Josef glacier. It is 330 kilometers which is 200 miles, not that far to drive in the US but on these roads, it is late in the afternoon when we pull in and park. Most of our route had been in intermittent light to moderate rain and on wet roads. When we arrived I got out of the driver’s seat, hooked up the electric and turned on the gas and then flopped on the couch to rest my back. The driver’s seat of these campervans are not comfortable. About 20 minutes later, someone came by to tell me that the headlights were still on.
  4. tbutler

    Westward Ho!

    By tbutler,

    Our time in the campervan is now down to three weeks and we have one third of mainland Australia to explore. Leaving Batchelor we drove south to Katherine to fuel up and stock up on groceries before turning west on the Victoria Highway toward Broome, Western Australia. Western Australia (WA) would be our eighth and final state in Australia to visit. Australia has eight states so we will have seen something of each of them before we conclude our trip. From Batchelor we will go 235 kilometers south and then turn west traveling another 285 kilometers to Timber Creek and we still won’t be to Western Australia until the next day.
    Keeping a promise to Louise, we stopped for lunch at the Lazy Lizard. We wanted to spend the night but the timing from the day before didn’t work out and this was the next best thing. We ordered up a pizza and had a delicious lunch. We were through Katherine by 2:00 and into the park in Timber Creek by 6:00 p.m. just before sunset.
    The last 90 kilometers were the hardest, traveling west into the sunset. Once we left Katherine, we drove for over an hour and only one car passed us. We met a few cars and some road trains but the highway was very quiet. The road was generally good but had little or no shoulder most of the time. We stopped at the Victoria River Roadhouse to top off the fuel tank then drove the final leg to Timber Creek.
    The campground at Timber Creek was along a tributary of the Victoria River. We parked and could look out at the river from the rear window of the campervan. There was no internet and no television so we got to bed early for an early start the next morning. We still had almost 200 kilometers to the Western Australia border.
  5. tbutler
    We were into our second week in Denver last week. Louise was busy taking care of her mother and while I could help some, Mom was getting better and mostly needed supervision. Louise needed a nightly debriefing. So being the restless sort, I thought ... "I have always wanted to add a glider certification to my pilots license. Here I am in one of the glider meccas of the U.S. for an extended period of time. I wonder what opportunities there are?" A quick check on the WWWeb brought me to Mile High Gliders in Boulder, CO. I called and talked to the owner, Dave. He set me up for an interview with an instructor the following day.
    On Wednesday, I met Sean, late 20s, learned gliders in Hawaii and looked the part! Sean did a short interview, took me out and introduced me to their instructional gliders. We pre-flighted one, climbed in and went flying. I had the controls for a bit during the first flight and then we landed. These teaching sessions will be short; we don't go far from the airport and then return.
    After landing we hooked up to the tow plane again and were airborne in short order. This time I got more stick time, some practice following the tow plane (not as simple as it looks), turns, stalls and flying the landing pattern but Sean did the landing. We parked the glider after two flights because the wind was picking up. While you can fly gliders in winds, they weren't suitable for the practice that I needed to do.
    Thursday the weather was not suitable, for flying either. I spent a few hours at the airport after dropping off our motor home at Camping World. We are getting a new inverter/charger installed, so I turned our home over to the experts at Camping World in Wheat Ridge, CO.
    They had told us we could stay in the motor home Thursday night. A call from them Thursday confirmed that, so I made it a point to arrive before closing time. When I arrived I found we had no 12V current in the motor home. That meant no heat, no water. Even the refrigerator wouldn't work without the 12V for the controls. I caught two workers in the shop and prevailed upon them to help. Since they couldn't find the problem, they hooked up a 12V battery to the refrigerator to keep it running. We stayed the night with Louise's sister.
    Friday I spent the morning at Camping World. I worked with a crew of four to five techs who were buzzing around the motor home like bees at a hive. They tested everything and talked back and forth, seeking the source of the problem. They thought the 12 V was working when they left the unit Thursday night. Eventually, after much searching, the "a-ha moment" occurred. Dan said if they couldn't find the problem with the power, perhaps the ground was the problem.
    Viola. Connect the ground on the inverter and everything works again! I don't understand it, and that is why I have these guys working on it. I thought the DC was grounded to the frame of the motor home and they were testing the power at various points against the frame. They got nothing until connecting the ground at the inverter! At that point I was off to the airport.
    Friday was a good day to fly and I was able to fly six times. The first flight I took over the stick at 500 feet above ground and with each flight I was doing more of the flying. I made all six landings. The second flight we were 200 feet above ground when I got the stick. From there on, I was doing take-offs and landings. By Friday afternoon, I was walking on air. What a great experience.
    Before leaving the airport , I signed on for their intense five-day program, which should get me the glider certification on my pilots certificate. This was possible because I already had a pilots license and lots of experience in the air. I had been practicing many of the skills needed already. Now all I had to learn was to deal with the silence of flying in a glider, right? Not really, it is more complicated than that. Basically, I have to learn all the things that are unique about flying a glider. If I didn't have the pilots license it would have taken at least twice as long to get to the glider certification.
    Upon returning to Camping World to pick up the motor home, we found it parked heading out the driveway, a good sign. We paid the bill, picked up the keys and then went back to our parking spot at The Prospect RV Park. Everything seems to be working fine so far. I reloaded the compartment with access to the inverter, and when I closed the compartment door, I found water dripping from the refrigerator access door outside. Removing the access panel, I was greeted with a fine mist of water coming from the ice maker connecting hose. I knew this problem, because I had replaced one about two years ago. So I shut off the water at the valve immediately before the faulty hose and turned off the ice maker.
    Saturday I took Louise to the airport in Boulder to see the operation and perhaps watch me fly. It was not to be -- the weather was low clouds and flying, while possible, would be just up and down without any chance to practice other maneuvers. I worked several hours with John, a physics professor, on some of the book work required.
    We returned to Denver and enjoyed some family time with Louise's two sisters and her mother. We did some shopping. Louise needed some new walking shoes and my Nikes were wearing thin on the soles, so off to the mall for shoes. On the way home I stopped at Lowe's and picked up a replacement hose for the ice maker. I couldn't find the connections for the clear plastic hose that was originally installed and which I had replaced several years ago. I bought a stainless-steel reinforced hose with fittings for under three dollars. The one-foot hose fit fine and now perhaps I won't have to replace that part again. The water is back on and the ice maker works! Time for a drink!
    Sunday we woke to sunshine. I was off to the airport and spent the day there from 9 a.m. until about 4 p.m. I worked on my pre-solo written exam in between flights. John took over my flight instruction today and gave me a good workout with three flights in the morning.
    After a break in midday, we returned to flying in the afternoon. The winds had now picked up and the flying was more difficult. The fact that I was flying in these conditions meant that they were confident in my ability to cope with the challenge and still learn. Three more flights in the afternoon and I was finished for the day. I turned in my pre-solo exam to John and left hoping that I would see the solo on Monday.
    The forecast for Monday is once again low clouds and rain. Tuesday looks better. If all goes well, I'll be able to take my FAA check ride by Thursday or Friday. We are hoping to leave Denver on Saturday, May 2. I'd love to have a new pilots license in my pocket. I have almost half of the flights I paid for under my belt and the forecast suggests at least four of the next five days will be good for flying. I think I'll make it!
  6. tbutler
    Our last day in Broome was a beach day. We drove to the beach about 11:00 a.m. and parked the motor home on solid sand at the upper part of the beach. Cable Beach is a large beach that stretches from near downtown Broome on the west coast for twenty kilometers. We were on Gantheaume Bay on the Indian Ocean. Waters were quite warm and the surf was mild, waves less than two feet made for a fun beach.
    There were vehicles all over the beach, many with boat trailers. This was a great swimming beach but locals also used it as a boat launch. It was interesting to watch them launch and trailer their boats from this shallow beach. But first, we wanted to get into the water. There are crocodiles in this area and most areas with crocodiles have strong cautions about staying out of the water. The reading we had done on Broome indicated that crocodiles were not a concern so we anticipated being able to swim here. There were several couples wading in the surf so we inquired. They were local and said there was no problem. So in we went, walking, wading into the mild surf and then getting out into deeper water to swim. We left the US in January and hadn’t been out in the water swimming since then. Under the tropical sun I called a stop after about 20 minutes. We retreated to the campervan and set up our chairs in the shade of the campervan. Louise fixed lunch and we had a light lunch.
    There was a steady breeze and warm temperatures which made for a great afternoon of people watching from the shade of the campervan. We saw boats being trailered while in the water with a tow rope to pull the trailer from the water. Others would back their four wheel drive out into the surf and load the boat onto their trailer at that point. It was still necessary for someone to wrestle the boat onto the trailer and pull the bow down until the ratchet could be used to draw the boat into its travel position on the trailer. One of the most unique was the boat that had three wheels, two at the stern and one on the bow. Once the boat was in shallow water, the wheels were lowered and you just drove the boat onto the shore. It could be driven forward or backward, it was steerable and if someone wanted to join you just lift the wheels until the boat was sitting on the sand. Once your passenger joined you the boat could be put back up on its wheels and driven into the surf to go out once more.
    Besides boats there were many sunbathers and swimmers. In mid-afternoon a couple of wind surfers showed up and they entertained us for the rest of the afternoon. A few people brought their dogs to the beach and let them run in the surf. Late in the afternoon one of the water jet devices arrived and we watched the operator rising up into the air supported by jets of water sprayed from nozzles on the platform they stood on. If you haven’t seen this device, it has a pump that floats on the water and is connected to the operator’s platform by two hoses and a control cable. The hoses connect to two nozzles which spray water down which raises the platform with the rider. It is sometimes referred to as a James Bond hovercraft.
    As sunset approached everybody and their dog showed up to watch the sun set over the bay. With the sun fading we went back for another swim then returned to the chairs to wait for the grand finale. We were not disappointed as there was a fine sunset over the water.
  7. tbutler
    We returned to our winter residence in Edinburg, Texas, in Mid-April after a three-week trip to Tahiti that included a two-week cruise in French Polynesia.  Living the high life agrees with me but all that food seems to find a home somewhere around my waist.  Nine days after our return we were headed north in the motor home with friends accompanying us on the trip. 

    The motor home had been in the shop for about six weeks during the winter, some repair, some upgrades and some maintenance.  We also had the carpeting replaced.  The upshot of this was that for the first time in thirteen years we had emptied the motor home almost completely.  So we’re like newbees, having completely re-stocked the motor home we’re finding out what we forgot.  The list isn’t short. 

    We travel all summer long, visiting relatives, touring and attending conventions.  We didn’t have definite plans for this summer, mostly visiting our children and grandchildren.  In early March the bucket list came up and our friends suggested the Kentucky Derby.  We gave it about 5 minutes thought and decided we were going to sign up.  I had just seen an advertisement for Fantasy Tours Kentucky Derby Tour in the e-mail that morning.  I thought it was for 2018, but no, it was for this year.  Several spots were available and we signed up.

    From Edinburg to Louisville is about 1100 miles and we decided to make it a four-day trip.  Doing about 300 miles a day would get us there on time.  We planned to arrive on Sunday, a day before the tour started.  At our first fuel stop our friends said their dash air wasn’t working.  Consulting with the manufacturer, they checked the fuse and several other causes and then decided to run the generator and the roof air to try to combat the 90+ degree temperatures of south Texas.

    Our goal for the first day was to get through Houston before stopping for the night.  We pulled into the Houston East RV Park about an hour before sunset.  Problem two cropped up at this point, the single slide-out on our friend’s motor home wouldn’t slide out.  In the morning, they were on the phone with the manufacturer again.  After checking several items, it was decided that if they did get it to work, they may not get it back in so they are going to have to live with this until they could get to a repair shop.  Our schedule didn’t allow for a day or two in a repair shop so we continued our journey. 

    On the good side, departing Houston put us in lighter traffic on I-10 for the first hour or two.  We stopped in Lake Charles, LA to refuel and it became a lunch stop.  Departing I-10 to the north we headed for Hattiesburg, MS.  That became our overnight stop, now about 800 miles behind us.  In the morning, I followed the GPS and led us on an extended short cut on roads barely wide enough to allow two vehicles to pass.  We all laughed about it later and it did cut off quite a few miles.  Our trip continued through Nashville, TN and on to Louisville, KY. 

    The problems with the slide out were solved by a careful reading of an on-line version of the owner’s manual.  When we parked for the tour their slide operated perfectly.  The solution was to hold the activating switch for 10 seconds which re-synchronized the motors.  Later we learned that the dash air conditioner failure was due to a loose connection.  They are on their way to the east coast and we are with my daughter and her family in Missouri.  The Kentucky Derby Tour, that is another story…

  8. tbutler
    Winter is just about over here in the southern tip of Texas. We've recently had a flurry of activity which keeps our minds off the cool weather, wind and rain we've had for the last two months. Last week Louise and I led three excursions for our park. Each of these was a delightfully different treat.
    On Wednesday we escorted a group from the park to the Cowley Sugar House in Santa Rosa, Texas. The distance is a moderate 40 miles and the trip was relatively easy with local roads most of the way. A security guard welcomed us to the Cowley Sugar House, which is the only sugar cane processing plant in Texas.
    We were directed to the office, where we were met by the safety officer, Ramiro Garces. He outlined the sugar growing, harvesting and processing that takes place in the area. For years we've seen the sugar fields burning but never knew exactly how or why this was done. It turns out that the field is burned to make the harvesting easier and more profitable. The harvesting machines don't have to work as hard and the harvest goes faster when the field is burned. It takes just 20 minutes to burn a field of 40 acres. After the fire, the sugar cane is left standing without all the leaves. The cane is cut and shredded by the harvester, transported to carriers and then transferred to tractor trailers for transportation to the mill. At the mill the fiber in the sugar cane is separated from the sugar. The fiber is dried and burned to produce all the electricity needed to run the mill. The sugar is concentrated into raw sugar and the molasses, a byproduct, is sold to the animal feed industry. The raw sugar is shipped to a refinery in Louisiana.
    Sugar cane is a perennial plant and is only replanted when the production of a field falls too low to be profitable. There are 119 sugar growers here in the Rio Grande Valley. They are all members of the cooperative that owns the Cowley Sugar House. It was very interesting to learn about an industry that we see all the time.
    Thursday, we took a group of 24 friends to the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville. As zoos go, this one is small but it makes up for size with its displays which have some of the best viewing of any zoo we have visited. The animals were all active so we got to see plenty of action. We were escorted on a behind the scenes tour of the zoo by Emma Mitchell from the education department. We learned how the animals are fed and their cages cleaned. We were able to feed a pair of Galapagos tortoises and even pet one on the head. The whole group of tigers at the zoo are from discarded or confiscated pets. The island populated by spider monkeys is also a collection of former pets. It is good that the zoo is able to take some of these, but the discarded animals far exceed the capacity of the zoo. It is a sad commentary on human behavior. After a water break, we enjoyed seeing many of the smaller animals that are used by the education department and then the group dispersed to eat lunch and explore the entire zoo on our own.
    On Friday afternoon we traveled to Port Isabel to have dinner at the Port Isabel Yacht Club Hotel and Restaurant. We've visited the Yacht Club many times when we bicycle through Port Isabel. We've always said that we would love to eat dinner there some time so Louise took the lead and organized the trip.
    There were 16 people who made the 80 mile drive for dinner. Eight of us stayed the night at the Yacht Club to complete the adventure. Built in 1920, the Yacht Club has the look of a Bogie and Becall movie set. It hosted many distinguished guests, some notorious like Al Capone and others famous such as Lindbergh and Earhart.
    We arrived early and had cocktails in the parlor amid antique furniture and furnishings. The building is being restored by its present owner and has a long way to go but the restaurant serves up a fine meal and the staff is quite friendly. To say the rooms are rustic is to be generous. Still, if you enjoy the ambiance of an old resort with great character, this is a fine place to spend a night or two. Everyone enjoyed their experience.
    The trees in our park are breaking out in tiny green leaves and we'll have tons of flowers by the end of the month. Temperatures here in the Rio Grande Valley will be warming into the 80s on a regular basis soon and the winter will quickly be forgotten. One year we left the valley early to attend a convention in Philadelphia at the end of March. As we drove north we left the roadsides bursting with flowers behind. Driving north on the third day Louise turned to me and asked what had killed all the trees? I laughed and said, "They aren't dead, it is winter here." We both laughed. We had become so adjusted to the short southern winters that it was now a surprise to see all the leafless trees in March.
    The good news, my friends, is that the trees will be turning green further north soon. A wave of green will make its way all the way to the Arctic Circle and beyond. Daylight is getting longer each day and spring is on the way. It is time to start planning your summer travels and getting the motor home ready for the trip!
  9. tbutler
    Our second day in Broome starts with laundry. The park laundry facilities here are generally quite good. Here in Broome there are 10 washers and just 4 dryers. All the parks have clothes lines set up for laundry right next to the laundry room. Our campervan came with a set of clothes pins and a small clothes line. Washers here are $4.00 per load so she has been economizing by hanging the laundry to dry rather than using the dryers. It is always an adventure to do the laundry. Some machines take $1 coins and others take $2 coins. Most park facilities have one or the other. Last week the laundry in Darwin had some machines that used $1 coins and others that used $2 coins. There is no paper money in denominations less than $5 in Australia and there are no pennies. I’ve not heard the $1 and $2 coins referred to as Loonies and Twonies!
    The tropics have increased our laundry considerably. Clothes worn for several hours are quickly exchanged for dry clothes when we return home. The combination of humidity, bright sunny days and low latitudes with very warm temperatures make for quite a lot of perspiration with very little effort! Louise has quickly adjusted to doing laundry in the park laundry facilities. I try to do the running for Louise when she is doing laundry. So I make the trip to the office to get the needed coinage. I try to assist her also when hanging the laundry to dry and taking clothes off the line. It makes things go faster if someone is carrying things back and forth while another pins the clothes on the line or folding as they come off the line. She takes care of all the technical work, running the machines, arranging the clothes on the line, folding clothes. I’m the unskilled labor!
    We spent the afternoon at the Broome Bird Observatory. Most of our birding has been done on our own. I’m a casual birder. I don’t go hunting for specific birds. When we are hiking we’ll stop and try to identify any bird we see. Once we learn to identify specific birds we simply name them and go on, sometimes taking a little time to observe their actions and view them through binoculars. When we find a bird we don’t know we’ll first try to make a mental note of any field markings that might be helpful in identifying the bird. There is an extensive list beginning with the size and shape of the bird, the size and shape of the bill, color(s), length of legs and tail, etc. Then we get out our bird book and try to find the bird in the book. This all takes time and sometimes we don’t have enough information about the bird to be able to identify it before it flies away. So up to this time we’ve identified 92 birds here in Australia. At the Broome Bird Observatory we would have a guided tour with an experienced birder who can identify birds quickly and knows where to look for specific birds. This speeds up the process of seeing and identifying new birds. It also means that we don’t imprint those birds in memory quite as well as those we have identified ourselves. That will come later if or when we see these birds again.
    We had the option of driving ourselves to the observatory or being picked up at our park for the tour. We chose to be picked up for the trip. We knew that part of the trip was on dirt road and we’ve tried one of these and found the campervan to be very poorly suited for travel on these roads. So we got the experience of traveling in a four wheel drive vehicle on dirt roads in Australia. Having done that, we were glad we didn’t try to take the campervan on this road. There were spots where deep sand had been blown onto the road. Most of the road was well below ground level with dirt pushed up on the sides by graders. Washboarding was common and taking alternate sides of the road helped avoid some of them but others were impossible to avoid. There was little traffic on this road but when you did meet another vehicle you had to move far to the side. It was only 7 kilometers but it seemed like a very long drive at 30 to 40 kilometers per hour.
    Located on Roebuck Bay south of Broome, the Bird Observatory is one of the prime locations for shore birds in the world. The large tides make for ideal conditions for shore birds with miles of mud exposed at low tide, millions of shore birds find plenty to eat. Birds from all over eastern Asia migrate to this area during the northern hemisphere winter. Many of those are gone now but plenty remain. Our guide was able to pick out significant birds from a large flock along the shore. Using a large scope we were able to get good looks at birds without disturbing them.
    Shore birds are a weakness of mine. Living in Missouri most of my life I saw few birds that were shore birds. There are many species and their markings are sometimes not very distinctive. The mostly have long legs and long bills so identifying them is difficult and time consuming for me. They also occur in mixed flocks, groups with many different species all mixing together. This makes identification more difficult as they move about constantly and it is hard to keep track of a single bird.
    An occasional Black Kite or Whistling Kite would circle overhead and the whole flock would take to the air in a great flurry (see photo with this posting) only to settle back to their same location and return to their regular activities once more. Once the flock finally moved on further south we took a tour of the grass plains on a nearby cattle station. Traveling in the four wheel drive vehicle through the pastures we observed a great variety of birds as well as a few wallabies. We added 16 new birds to the list of 92 that we had seen before. It was a very productive day.
  10. tbutler

    Wounded Knee

    By tbutler,

    As we left Martin, SD it began to rain lightly. Radar showed rain between Martin and Wounded Knee. As we passed fields of sunflowers their heads were bowed, hiding their bright yellow ray flowers we had seen the day before. The sunflowers are much shorter than the ones I planted in my garden in the 70’s. Their heads are smaller than the 12 to 16” heads I remember from those days. I know these fields are harvested mechanically but I would love to see the equipment that does the job. The heads I harvested in my gardening days were always sticky and getting the seeds out of the head was an exercise in persistence. Modern agriculture has definitely found the height gene in plants. In my childhood one measure of a good corn crop was the tallest corn displayed at the county fair. Those corn stalks were well over 10’ tall. Now the corn in the field stands a modest 5’ to 6’ tall. The waving wheat the sure smells sweet is now little more than 12” tall and hardly moves in the wind these days.
    We arrived at Wounded Knee in a light mist. We found the battlefield and parked by the information sign. Nearby there were stalls that on a summer’s day would be occupied by vendors selling their wares. On this Sunday morning, a cool damp holiday weekend, there was no one around.
    I gathered my camera and we stepped out of the motor home into the mist. Across the road a young man was approaching. He introduced himself as Alex and asked us for a donation for the local drum group. We talked and he told us of the small museum across the road which was closed this morning. He pointed out the top of the nearby hill where there is a mass grave for the 153 Native Americans who were killed in the massacre. He pointed out significant points on the battlefield in front of us and described the battle that had occurred here. It was a familiar story, the Sand Creek Massacre in 1864 was a similar incident. The US Cavalry faced a village of Lakota Sioux. They were going to disarm the village. Soldiers were searching the village and confiscating weapons. Someone fired a shot. At that point everyone began firing. From the nearby hill the artillery, Hotchkiss Guns, opened fire on the village killing soldiers and warriors alike. Women and children fled into a nearby stream valley and were pursued by soldiers who killed every member of the village. The following day the soldiers collected the bodies and buried them on the hilltop where the artillery was mounted the day before.
    We walked to the top of the hill on a muddy road. At the top of the hill stood a small church with a cemetery that surrounded the mass grave from December 29, 1890. Amulets with streamers hung from the chain link fence surrounding the mass grave. A marker identified the 43 warriors from the village who were killed in the battle. I walked around surveying the more modern graves in the cemetery. I was struck by one point. In the surrounding cemetery there were numerous graves of Veterans from WWII, Korea and Viet Nam. Here in a place which marked a massacre of women and children by an overwhelming force there were people who could see past the past and move forward even to the point of joining the very military that defeated them less than 100 years before. To be sure, resentment and a strong sense of injustice still remains for many but obviously there were those who were able to get beyond the past.
    I thanked Alex for his guided tour and assured him that this story was not unfamiliar. I mentioned our recent trip to New Zealand and Australia. The native Maori in New Zealand and the Aborigine in Australia experienced similar injustices at the hands of their European conquerors. Clashes between cultures are everyday news today with the history of some conflicts going back many centuries.
  11. tbutler
    We took the Bison Ranch Tour at the FMCA Family Reunion, 50th Anniversary Rally, in Gillette, Wyoming. It turned into a real adventure, much more than expected. Our tour was Friday evening and was to include a meal before our return to the rally site in Gillette.
    We met the bus at the assigned location and boarded without incident. This was a nice commercial bus with comfortable seats and air conditioning. After the last passengers were on board we were on our way south on Wyoming Highway 59 toward the little town of Wright. The trip was uneventful, the bus moved along at a good clip and we arrived at the Bison Ranch in about 45 minutes. We were met by the manager, a member of the family that owns the ranch, he lives on and operates the ranch. This ranch has 100 square miles of land, a bison herd of over 2000 and ships bison meat to a number of national markets.
    We learned all this as we were traveling gravel roads across the grassy plains out into the ranch. About 20 minutes into the trip across the ranch to the location of the bison herd the bus stopped. Those of us in the rear of the bus could smell the hot antifreeze, this was not a good smell. After several attempts to restart the bus we all got off and began milling about. The mechanics in the group immediately began opening up the engine compartments to see what the problem could be. It wasn't much of a mystery, there were wet hoses and the strong smell of hot antifreeze. So now we watched as our guide called his wife on the cell phone. He gave our location in order for her to guide the replacement bus to our location. From where we were we could see the town of Wright on the horizon and a few other houses way off in the distance. Over to the southwest we could see the bison herd. With a pair of binoculars you could actually tell that they were indeed bison. So our guide spends some time telling us more about the ranch and bison. He explains the difference between buffalo and bison very clearly. True buffalo are found in Asia (water buffalo) and Africa (Cape buffalo). Our North American bison are only distantly related to the true buffalo. They are more closely related to cattle and yaks. He relates a story about an Australian speaker at a meeting who explained the difference between a buffalo and a bison. You can't wash your face in a buffalo! Think about it. OK, say it with an Australian accent. Eventually, we all got it. His talk gives out and everyone starts to explore.
    After about 20 minutes of exploring, our guide decides we need some entertainment so he gathers up a pile of chips, bison chips! We are going to have a chip throwing contest. Now this is a group of FMCA members, serious RV'ers, who have never turned down a camp game of any kind. I don't think that everyone tossed a chip but starting with the women, one after another, they picked out their special chip from the pile and stepped up to the line to give it a toss. It didn't matter too much which direction you threw your chip, it varied some, none of the spectators were hurt except perhaps from laughing too hard. Being generous our host counted the tiniest chip that came off the chip when it exploded as it hit the ground. The piece that traveled the greatest distance was where you stood until someone threw further. They tossed chips 30 feet, 40 feet, 50 feet, this was serious business. Finally with no more takers, the winner was announced. Then it was time for the men to show their form. We stepped up to pick a chip. The process went quickly, I believe more women stepped forward than men. Cameras clicked, people laughed and a good time was had by all.
    Shortly after the last chip crashed to the ground the replacement bus could be seen winding its way over hill and dale to our location. Relief was in sight. We loaded onto the replacement bus, our bus driver joined us and we were off. As we started out we passed the stinky old bus, out across the field we went to get around it and then back onto the road and on toward the bison herd. Arriving at the herd, we got off the bus and while enjoying the herd our bus was turned around and ready to take us back for our dinner. We spent a good 40 minutes watching the herd. There they were, huge bulls, abundant cows and those light brown calves. Hundreds of them grazing on the range. We stood less than 50 feet from the closest. Once in a while a dispute would break out, a quick charge, butt or bump your way to where you wanted to be and then things settled down. Occasionally a cow or bull would lay down and roll in the dirt raising a cloud of dust. Calves trotted around from place to place, taking life entirely too lightly as the young are prone to do.
    Now it was time to go so we load onto the replacement bus ready for a trip back to dinner. Guess what, the replacement bus won't go into gear. It turns out that it would not build the air pressure to a sufficient level for the coach to be put in gear. The bus engine was run at a high idle for what seemed like 15 or 20 minutes before we finally achieved suitable air pressure. At last we're headed for dinner. We pass the stinky old bus on the way out, a mechanic is deep into the engine compartment. It doesn't look like a real pleasant job. On our way back to the dinner we enjoy watching storm clouds off to our east. At sunset the clouds are spectacular. We arrive back at the ranch headquarters. By the time we've eaten it is almost dark. A short wait while we build air pressure again and we're on our way back to Gillette. Everyone is pleased to see that the volunteers are still running the shuttle as we arrive at 10:30 p.m. It all makes for a very memorable FMCA Convention!
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