Stormy Welcome

Well, I'm back on Midway for another winter. I'm here to continue collecting data for the project I run for my employer, US Fish and Wildlife Service ( and you, the good tax payers). I was greated with stormy skies and 50 knot winds that blew down trees and made riding my bike around the island a hazard. Now, before you start feeling sorry for me (as I'm sure you all are) keep in mind that sunny warm days and 70 degree water will be here as soon as this front passes through.

Visit to Keauhou

I am on the Big Island of Hawaii visiting my friend Tonya who is volunteering at the Keauhou Bird Conservation Center, run by the San Diego Zoo. The facility is amazing and the work that is being done here is incredible. The Center is a captive breeding facility for some of the most critically Endangered bird species in the world. Many of the species here are not able to produce enough chicks in the wild to sustain the population. The 'Alala or Hawaiian Crow is the star species of the Center, and my personal favorite. These birds are extremely charismatic and gregarious but unfortunately their numbers in the wild became so low that the few remaining birds were taken into captivity to prolong the survival of the species. There are now 60 of these birds in captivity, with 40 of them living here at Keauhou. As far as I know there are no plans to release any of the birds into the wild.

Cyclocross Action

I went out to Estacada Oregon to watch a cyclocross race this weekend. It was the third race in a series that is held every fall in the Portland area. The race was a real blast! I think I'm going to get geared up for joining the race series next year. The combination of road racing speed with off road biking challenges really appeals to me. More pictures from the race can be found at my Flickr site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wanderingroad/

Port Townsend Wooden Boat Fest

Spent the weekend in Port Townsend at the Wooden Boat Festival with my old friend Jessie. It was a perfect day for wandering the docks looking at some amazing boats. Didn't get out on the water but I did get a look at some amazing boats, sailing in the nice stiff breeze. The picture is of Adventuress, the schooner that I crewed on two years ago. She had some work done on her recently and she is looking better than ever now!

Hike into the Mt. Adams Wilderness

Wow, I just got back from a great trip into the north side of the Mount Adams Wilderness with Camille. I have seen the north face of Adams before, from the Goat Rocks Wilderness, but I've never been close to this side of the mountain before. From our campsite the Adams Glacier seemed to be cascading right down on top of us (in reality we were still about a half mile away from it but it looked big and close). Mt. Adams is a huge bulk of a mountain, rising to over 12,000 ft. I've climber it a few times, but only from the much mellower south side. Climbing from the north side, as the picture on the right suggests, would be a very burly undertaking. Our campsite also had great views of Mt. Rainier to the north and the Goat Rocks Wilderness to the northwest. I would definately suggest this hike to anyone wanting to get a view of Adams, which is a mountain we don't see too often from Portland. The trail leading in is loaded with people on horseback though so you have to be prepared for that.

Jefferson Park Adventures

Stuart, Karl and I just got back from an epic trip to the Mount Jefferson Wilderness. The hiking was pretty burly and my body is beat but happy. They headed in on Friday morning but I had to work, so I joined them later that evening. It was about a four hour hike in with a pretty respectable elevation gain. I hiked the last hour or so in the dark, and managed to get off the main trail at one point, but I met a group of three women who were camped by a nice little lake and they got me headed back in the right direction. The picture is one that Stuart took from our campsite on the second night. It was a great spot to spend the night. We woke up to snow falling, although it cleared as we got ourselves packed up and on the trail back to the cars

Travels with Klaus

What a great weekend! I really needed to get out of the city so Camille and I loaded up Klaus with sleeping bags, chairs, books, firewood, food and beer, and we headed out on a road trip. First we went up to Mt. Hood to get a look at the mountain and to see some snow. We still have a fair amount of snow up in the mountains here in Oregon and Timberline ski are is still operating up on Mt. Hood. We got lunch at Timberline Lodge, which is one of the grand old lodges of the west, built by the WPA and dedicated by FDR himself. They didn't use beams to construct the interior structure, they used old growth logs! If you have ever seen the Stephen King movie "The Shinning," all of the exterior shots of the lodge, with all. of the crazy snow piled up, that is Timberline Lodge. Anyway, we got back on the road and headed out to the desert for Smith Rock State Park and the BLM campsite at Skull Hollow. We had a terrific night camped out in the sagebrush country, with a nice warm fire. We even raosted up some marshmallows over the coals! The next day we headed over to Smith Rock for some hiking. Smith is an outstanding park, with big red rock formations jutting up out of the desert floor. It is a rockclimbing mecca, and for good reason. Back in graduate school I used to go out there all of the time with friends or teaching climbing classes for the university. It was good to be back there after so many years.

Klaus the AutoBaus

Well, after a 13 year hiatus, I am back in the Volkswagen ownership game! A few weeks ago I picked up a 1966 VW Camper from a fellow up in Seattle. It is in fantastic shape for its age and I get compliments on it wherever I go. The bus rolled off the production line in Hannover Germany on December 16, 1965, part of the 1966 model year. It is one of the old version, split windshield transporters that preceded the typical VW hippie bus of the 1970s. Klaus, as we have come to call the bus was originally produced as a panel van; with no windows other than the windshield, drivers and passenger doors and a rear window. He was imported to Seattle and likely made his way down to Vancouver Washington where a company called ASI was converting panel vans into campers for the Riviera Company of Beaverton Oregon. ASI put a picture window on the drivers side and cut two windows into the loading doors on the passenger side. Klaus has a fold out bed in back, with a closet, a cold box and storage under the seats. A stove was certainly a factory option but it is long since gone. This weekend Klaus and I are headed to a VW show in Woodburn Oregon to check out other buses, look for parts (he is not without his problems) and generally relax in the VW culture.

Fuzzy Little Friends

Well, I'm back to Midway after a two month whirlwind that took me all over the west coast and Hawaii. It feels good to be back with the birds and to see the progress that all of the chicks are making. When I left here in early February most of the eggs had not hatched yet. Now things are completely different! There are fat fuzzy chicks waddling around all over the place. They are fattening up on squid oil provided by their parents, which is just loaded with energy to get them growing fast.

I am here to band chicks from nests that we began monitoring back in mid-November. It is such a trip to see a pudgy Ewok of bird and think that when I got here it wasn't even laid as an egg yet! The most striking are the birds that live on the driveway of my house. I watched their parents incubate them as eggs over the course of the entire winter, now the little ones snap at me as I walk by to get on my bicycle. Yes, the little chicks are cute, but that hooked bill of theirs can still pack a mean bite. I have a nice slice on the palm of my hand where a cute fuzzball latched onto me and ripped at my flesh!! It is hard not to admire these wonderful creatures.

Kauai Wandering

Camille and I just finished up a wonderful week of vacation on the island of Kauai. We had a fantastic time and a much needed break from the hectic lives we have been leading over the last few months. Over the course of our stay we managed to pack a lot of activities in, plus we put in some good beach lounging time. We tried to swim in the ocean at least once a day, including playing in some nice big waves. The water was nice and warm and clear, great for swimming. I only got trundled under and near-drowned a few times!!

We did get away from the beach for a day or so when we went up to visit Kokee State Park and Waimea Canyon. The canyon is pretty spectacular with red rock and lush green vegetation. We went on a really wonderful hike in Kokee that led us out on to a knife's edge ridge with views down either side plunging almost straight down. It is a pretty dramatic location. In the picture of Camille the cliffs start right in front of her! One of the highlights of our time in the mountains included seeing 9 different short-eared owls in 30 minutes while driving up to Kokee one night.

When we weren't hiking through the forest or lounging onn the beach we spent our time eating wonderful food and seeing the sights. We spent our first Friday night on the island touring a bunch of little art galleries in the town of Hanapepe. Camille picked up a few nice things at a little boutique. My favorite sight-seeing stop of the whole trip though was the Kauai Coffee Estate. It is a working coffee plantation that produces some amazing beans. We sampled different coffees and and took a tour that explains all of the steps in the coffee making process. By the time we left I was completely jacked-up on caffiene. I also had a bit of work to do while we were there, but it was fun work. We went and visited a friend of mine who is the widlife biologist at Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge. She and I needed to discuss some details of the albatross project that I am running. Camille got to hold an albatross while Brenda banded it, and we got to see hundreds of Red-footed Boobies flying all around the cliffs of the refuge.