Bird report for California, March 2006 After winter birding in Arizona, we moved west into southern California for spring. Birds began to take on their brighter breeding plumage and migration began. 24.2.06 Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge in hot, sunny weather. This lake and marshland area is 255’ below sea level and 25% saltier than the Pacific Ocean. That didn’t seem to deter birdlife as an excellent day’s birding at 3 different locations on the south and east shores brought us 19 new species for our American list, of which 13 were “lifers&rdquo [View Full Entry]

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Motorhome News from North America 7 San Francisco. March 17th - 27th 2006 Where’s Winnie? And so we came to San Francisco, where it’s easy to get lost in the crowd - where you can truly be whatever you want to be, and nobody cares. And we did it again; despite what it said in the good travel book, the St Patrick’s Day parade was last week! “Never mind, there’s a parade or a protest for something every weekend,” our neighbour on the campsite assured us. This weeks’ noisy affair out front of City Hall was mostly about ‘Our troop [View Full Entry]

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Motorhome News from North America 6 Wonderful Yosemite! From summer to winter to spring - all in March. March 7th - 16th 2006 How are you guys doin’ today? We have heard it so many times, from so many people, ‘If you only visit one place in California, it has to be Yosemite’. There is no escaping Yosemite National Park. It offers 1,200 square miles of spectacular natural landscape to explore and savour, though it’s not all accessible in winter; the higher passes are closed until late spring when the thaw brings water gushing forth from streams and falls. E [View Full Entry]

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Motorhome News from North America 5 California - it’s cold and it’s damp! 25th February - 6th March 2006 The morning brought white pelicans to the still waters of Salton Sea, shallow and serene at its northerly end where we camped overnight. Fresh water flows into the lake from the Alamo and the New Rivers, but Salton is below sea level and there is no outlet to the sea. The rivers help to irrigate the flat plains where palm trees flourish alongside California vines, orange and lemon trees, artichokes and other things under plastic - so they learned something from Spa [View Full Entry]

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Arizona Bird Report January-February 2006 The desert state of Arizona in sw USA can be a very exciting birding location in January and February. Dozens of State and National Parks, Wildlife Refuges, Forest Parks and Wilderness Preserves offer sanctuaries for a wide variety of birds adapted to the varied terrain of desert basins and mountain ranges. The Sonoran Desert stretches across southern Arizona and is full of cacti such as giant saguaro, prickly pear and various cholla (pronounced choya). On walks here, phainopepla watch passers-by from bare bushes, greater roadrunners, with long [View Full Entry]

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Motorhome News from North America 4 Farewell to Arizona 16th February - 24th February 2006 In bright blue skies and a stiff freezing wind we left The Grand Canyon, heading east on Desert View Drive for farewell views, to implant a final image of this vast chasm; unable to resist the temptation to take yet more photographs - just to be sure. It was lunchtime before we arrived at the Cameron Trading Post, a Navajo retail spectacular with a fine restaurant where the Tacos were so big the doggie bag was brought to the table with the meal. Colourful Navajo rugs, [View Full Entry]

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Motorhome News from North America 3 Going around in circles - Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and back into Arizona 4th - 15th February 2006 As the sun came above the mountains we retraced our steps, following the road from Bryce Canyon down through the beautiful valley of irrigated fields along the Virgin River, snaking its way like a sidewinder through Glendale and Orderville, where hundreds of old cars are laid to rest beside neglected houses - and a fine church stands proudly by the road, to Mount Carmel Junction. The persecuted Mormons made their way to this part of Utah 150 years [View Full Entry]

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Motorhome News from North America 2. More of Arizona plus Utah! 25th January - 3rd February 2006 ‘Hi! How are you folks doin’ today?’ There’s an Indian ‘Dream Catcher’ on the wall beside our bed, watching over our fortune. The spider’s web in the circle catches the bad dreams. Only good dreams work their way through a small hole in the centre and they evaporate to the Great Spirit with the morning sun. It’s there as a backup in case all else fails! Right now, we can’t believe our luck. ‘Pinch me - and I shall know [View Full Entry]

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Motorhome News from North America 1 Arizona - The Grand Canyon State 10th - 24th January 2006 Planning and preparation for this trip had taken weeks of research, through the internet, many books and countless brochures. Then came the frustration of settling domestic bills, selling Smiley (our beloved Autotrail motorhome) and our remaining car. Letting our little house and moving furniture into store left us weary on the day of departure. And then, the sad good-byes to family and friends. Our 747 finally left the Heathrow runway some 30minutes late, heading for Phoenix Arizona and [View Full Entry]

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A New Year - January 2006 David and Janice take to the road again, this time across the Atlantic to North America in search of culture, knowledge and the thrill of the unexpected. After touring across Europe for eighteen months in a 23ft motorhome, they have found it hard to settle down to a normal life and normal routine in a normal house. But, it’s not for long. The plans for the second phase of their tour to ‘places to know better’, are fast taking shape and they‘re off again, motorhoming on yet another Continent. With hopes of an awe inspiring [View Full Entry]

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