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Borrego Springs, CA

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Day tripping and another little blast

Didn’t really have anything on the agenda today, so Emma and I hopped into the car to do a little day tripping.  I’ve been to the Pocosin Lakes NWR visitors center in Columbia a couple of times, but I’ve never actually visited the refuge.

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I figured a couple of hours would do it for this little jaunt.  Well, five and a half hours later we finally made it home.  I stopped at the VC once again to watch the movie on the refuge and pick up a driving map. 

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The lady at the VC asked if I was alone, and then cautioned that the refuge was rather remote and desolate.  I had to drive about seven miles just to find a road to enter.  The red arrows indicate my route today.  Notice all the road names on the map.

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As I suspected, all of the refuge roads were gravel, but there was one big difference between Pocosin Lakes NWR and Alligator River.  There are no road signs on Pocosin Lakes roads, and of course there are more twists and turns in the roads than indicated on the map.  I would have to say that I saw more yellow-bellied slider turtles today than I’ve seen in my entire life. 

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The roads are also a little more overgrown here, but that helped give me a chance to see this nice young buck.  There are also plenty of black bears and red wolves on the refuge, but I really didn’t expect to see any of those since we were traveling in the middle of the day.

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It’s not often that I get to see a wild turkey actually flying, but today was the day for that.  They are certainly not the most graceful of birds in the air.

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After covering about twenty miles in an hour and a half, I was beginning to feel a little apprehensive.  I had no idea where I was actually at or if I had made the correct turns along the way.  The increasing number of turkey vultures giving me the evil eye didn’t do much to allay my fears.  Disappointed smile

Eventually, I happened upon two bow hunters getting ready to move into the woods.  I stopped and asked them if they could point out on my map exactly where I was.  It turned out I was right on course, and would soon be taking the drive around Lake Phelps.  Well, that shore drive didn’t produce any views of the large lake, so I wormed my way around to try to get to Purgo Lake.  That road deteriorated into a massive mud pit that required a four wheel drive vehicle to get through, so I just turned around and headed for home.  So much for seeing any of the Pocosin Lakes, but it was an pleasant outing and I enjoyed seeing the wildlife I did spot.  Of course, come November, this refuge will be packed with waterfowl on all the water ways that have migrated down for the winter.

When I got back to the rig, I checked my email and had a message and picture from my brother, Carl.  He had read last night’s post about the airplane ride with Carl Jensen back in the day.

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He even had a picture of me in front of the plane from that trip.  I’m thinking this had to be about 1965 or so.  I remember that favorite sweater of mine.  It was a very comfortable wool sweater with gorgeous embossed silver buttons.  Carl had sent it to me from Germany when he was serving there in the Air Force.  I wore that sweater until there were holes worn in it.  So I had another little blast from the past today.

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                                                                            THE END!!

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

22 comments:

  1. Never saw a picture of a turkey flying before, pretty cool shot!

    To bad your little car isn't 4WD, then you could get into all kinds of trouble with it. ;c)

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  2. That's "too"...duh! Don't want you to think I'm as dumb as I really is.

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  3. You weren't alone; you were with Emma! Do you think she was concerned about two or four legged predators?

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  4. Oh, wonderful turtles!!! And look at you! Isn't it grand looking back?

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  5. Yea, turkey vultures eyeballing you is not a good thing ;-) Glad you figure out where you were. It always seems so much further when we aren't sure where we are...
    Cool blast from the past pic!

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  6. Nice picture of you and nice sweater. I don't think I've ever actually seen a turkey airborne, but I've heard they aren't the most graceful of birds.

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  7. As usual, you are making the most of your location. Thanks for sharing it with us.

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  8. You can set your GPS up to "show the road" -or- "where am I" or a similar setting, it does not talk to you in this mode. It just shows you where you are at. I use that setting when I don't want to hear "recalculating".

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  9. With all the vultures, I wonder if you were watching the old gas gauge closely:)

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  10. Your post unnerved me with the photos of the turkey vultures--- just waiting to pick the meat off your bones!! Glad you found your way back. Love the 60's photo!!!

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  11. Those turkey vultures follow Den and I where ever we go...Love the wool sweater...worn by a great lookin' gal in the 60's...Ahhhhh to be back there then...We are just about the same vintage...like a fine wine, eh??

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  12. Great picture of you! Wouldn't it be nice to go back in time but knowing what we know today???

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  13. What a nice surprise to get that photo. Great looking young lady!

    Great shots of the turtles. Glad you didn't get high-centered on that overgrown road.

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  14. I've seen Wild Turkeys fly I have to agree with you.

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  15. Don't forget you owe us a report on another bear encounter you teased us with yesterday. As for the wild turkeys, we often have anywhere from 4-10 wandering about our open backyard. If they feel too threatened, they will take flight but not very far or high off the ground to the nearby trees. Most of the time we just watch each other and walk the leashed dog in a different direction. -- CoolJudy

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  16. Love the sweater!! It would still be in style today!

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  17. Yea, when Vultures hover over, either Drive or Walk a little faster. Don't want to tempt them.

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  18. I've never see a turkey fly either. In Iowa we have turkeys living in the parks we stay in but they are always just waddeling about, :) Glad you found your way back.

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  19. Turkey Vultures, Turtles and Deer - quite a day of great photography!

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  20. Wow - Remembering exactly what a beloved sweater looked like, how it felt, buttons and collars, and worn till it fell apart. Aren't our memories something? Thanx for the blast from the past!

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  21. sounds like you really had a great time on your day! love those photos, especial those turtle, they're so cute and the vultures so scary... keep posting please.

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