Southernmost Illinois Spring 2016

Spring comes to southernmost Illinois a few weeks earlier than the northeastern corner where I live.  Itching for some hiking and paddling, I planned a trip to the Shawnee Hills and Cache River basin.  The landscape of southern Illinois is unique because it lies at the convergence of four physiographic provinces: coastal plains (south), Ozark plateau (west), low interior plateau (east), and the central lowlands (north).

The trip involved camping in the Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge.  Most wildlife refuges do not permit camping, but there are 8 campsites on Crab Orchard's Devil's Kitchen Lake.  The blossoming dogwoods laced the forest.  It rained a lot the first night, but I love the sound and smell of rain when I am tucked in a dry tent and warm sleeping bag.

The bird sightings at Devil's Kitchen were fantastic.  Among 40 species I observed in the campsite, the highlights were common loons, osprey, pileated woodpecker, summer tanager, eastern whip-poor-will, barred owl, and great horned owl.

A morning hike at Ferne Clyffe State Park yielded otherworldly rock formations covered with ferns.  Again, the birding was excellent, including black vulture, wild turkey, Louisiana waterthrush, and several other warblers.  Best bird species was a pair of worm-eating warblers.  The wildflowers were also spectacular, including mayapple, squirrel corn, dwarf larkspur, and jack-in-the-pulpits.  There was even a morel mushroom on the trail.  

One of my favorite places in the Cache River basin is Heron Pond Nature Preserve, a national natural landmark.  A short walk along the river leads to a secluded cypress paradise.  Best bird was the white-eyed vireo, which I initially misidentified by ear as gray catbird.  It was competing for attention with a flurry of prothonotary warblers.  The visit to Heron Pond was part of an outing with the Illinois chapter of the Nature Conservancy.  Two venerable retired IDNR staff reminisced with our group about acquiring this special place to protect it.           

The activities concluded with a canoe trip through the Buttonland Swamp of the lower Cache River, which has been the home of Illinois' champion bald cypress tree for over 1,000 years.  The Cache River watershed contains 91% of Illinois' high-quality swamp/wetland habitat and is recognized as a wetland of international importance.  One key conservation goal is reconnecting two parts of the Cache artificially separated by the Post Creek Cut Off, a ditch completed in 1916.  The Nature Conservancy is hoping to facilitate the reconnection through the Grassy Sough Preserve with federal and state partnerships.  Without the natural flow from the upper Cache, the lower Cache accumulates silt that threatens the long-term health of trees and aquatic animals.  

Canyons, Canyons, and More Canyons 2015

In advance of my niece's baptism in southwestern Colorado, I visited a few of the nearby national parks, including Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Colorado National Monument, Canyonlands, and Arches.

After getting shut out of a permit for the Firey Furnace at Arches, Plan B led me on an early morning hike to Delicate Arch, probably the most photographed rock formation in North America.  

Delicate Arch is iconic and delivered a lovely view, at least when people weren't standing under the arch for a photo-op.

The more expansive views at Canyonlands, however, are unobstructable.  Sunset near the Green River Overlook was vast and hushed.  About ten years ago, I paddled through Canyonlands on the Green River for seven days.  It was nice to see a bird's-eye view of the textured canyons draining the winding miles of water too thin to plow, too thick to drink.

Besides standing in awe of the big overlooks, I hiked down over 1,300 feet and 8.5 miles around a formation called the Upheaval Dome.  At several points, the trail required some creative moves with both hands and both feet.

A short, but steep hike into the Ute Canyon at Colorado National Monument got me ready for the Upheaval Dome hike.  The lush stream bed provided a nice contrast to the ruddy sandstone of the plateaus.

The most terrifying canyon of all was the Black Canyon of the Gunnison.  I was afraid of falling off the edge and constantly nagged my fellow hikers to be careful.   I was so paranoid that I kept imagining the rental car rolling over the edge.  It was my second visit to the Black Canyon, but my first time to the more remote and primitive north rim.

I've always been fascinated by grouse, and since I was going to be in the West in April, I looked for an opportunity to see the mating dance of sage-grouse on the lek.  We joined a group led by Professor Patrick Magee a biologist at Western Colorado State University to observe the rare Gunnison Sage-Grouse.  He made a presentation the night before on the life history and conservation of the Gunnison Sage-Grouse, then took our group to a lek before sunrise.  As the sun crept over the ridge in the distance, we could see the sillouette of a male grouse shaking his head and tossing his long filo-plumes over his head to attract the attention of a mate.  Since all the grouse were about a kilometer away, I am sharing a 2011 web photo by Noppadol Paothong, I believe.

If the grouse were too far away for me to photograph, my luck changed when I spotted a bobcat in a roadside tree on my way to the Black Canyon.  At first my eye saw a squirrel's nest, but when it moved, I thought it was a porcupine.  As I approached the tree, I was thrilled to see my first bobcat in the wild.

Glacier National Park 2014

When Glacier National Park was established in 1910, there were 150 glaciers within the park's one million acres in northwestern Montana.  As of summer 2014, there are only 25.  Rangers are not concerned that the glaciers are melting but they are alarmed by the rate at which they are disappearing.  They predict that all of the glaciers will be gone from the park by 2020 (only 6 years from now), which is why I am glad I went to the park while it is still possible to see a few of its chilly namesakes, such as the Jackson Glacier.

This was a fairly rugged trip, involving 2 weeks of tent camping and about 75 miles of hiking and backcountry backpacking.  Such efforts were greatly rewarded.  Here's an early morning view to the east of the Continental Divide at Gunsight Pass after a 3-mile hike rising 1,600-feet from Gunsight Lake.

The trail was quite narrow and steep in some places, since it is not much more than a goat trail.  Mountain Goats are king at the "Crown of the Continent," and one learns to give them room on the trail. 

     

A ranger-led hike to the Grinnell Glacier was another highlight.  In this picture, you can see three glaciers: Gem Glacier (atop the ridge to the left shrouded by the cloud), Salamander Glacier (cradled in the mountain to the right), and Grinnell Glacier (laying along the shore of Upper Grinnell Lake).  Salamander used to be joined with Grinnell, but melting has created two separate glaciers for now. 



 

One of the animals I have wanted to see all my life is Bighorn Sheep.  I have seen flocks of white Dall's Sheep in Alaska, but finally at Glacier a little boy's dream came true on the hike up to the Grinnell Glacier.  Climate change is shrinking alpine meadow habitat for wild sheep.

 

The hike returning to the Many Glacier Valley was breathtaking but bittersweet.  The source of the beautiful waterfall and milky blue waters of Grinnell Lake is meltwater from the glaciers.

Glacier is one of the last places in the U.S. to see wild Grizzly Bears.  Loud hiking and smart food storage prevented me from seeing any Grizzlies on this trip (which is just fine, thank you). 

A day hike to the Ptarmigan Pass brings you to a tunnel that was blasted through the rock in 1931. 



If you go through the tunnel, there is a gorgeous view of Elizabeth Lake to the west. 

Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta, Canada, is a sister park to Glacier.  The staff at the historic Prince of Wales Hotel serves high tea in the afternoon, and it comes with a majestic view. 

Sleeping Bear Dunes 2014

Five national parks are situated on the shores of the Great Lakes (Pictured Rocks, Apostle Islands, Sleeping Bear Dunes, Indiana Dunes, and Isle Royale), and this week I completed the set with a visit to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.  Only Indiana Dunes is closer to my home, yet this was the last park in the Great Lakes region that I visited.  I was not disappointed.

As a birder, I was targeting two endangered species that can be found reliably in Michigan: Kirtland's Warbler (a life bird) and Piping Plover.  The Kirtland's Warbler depends on vast tracts of young jack pine forests for nesting habitat.  Such habitat was naturally occurring before fire suppression became commonplace, but now 150,000 acres of public land are actively managed for Kirtland's Warblers.  They weigh as much as two quarters and and a penny, but they can sing louder than a gull.  It was such a joy to take one of the Michigan Audubon tours to see this handsome songbird.

The other target bird was Piping Plover, a species which is even rarer than Kirtland's Warbler in the Great  Lakes.  As it turns out, half of the Great Lakes population uses Sleeping Bear Dunes as breeding habitat.  I met a couple of bird monitors at South Manitou Island who were there to count them, but when Joe and I paddled to Gull Point where they are reported to nest on South Manitou, we didn't see any from the water.  The Point is "off limits" to limit disturbance to breeding plovers.  At the mouth of the Platte River on the mainland, however, there was a pair that we saw right away.  Apart from their "piping" calls, they were not easy to track, since Piping Plovers blend in with the beach very well.  Three fluffy chicks had just hatched and were eager to explore the stony beach.

We spent two nights and three days on South Manitou Island, only accessible by ferry.  The mosquitoes were unrelenting, worse than any other place I have been.  It rained every day (which bolstered the blood-sucker population, I presume), but when the sun came out, the scene was glorious. 

One afternoon we hiked to an old growth cedar forest and a perched sand dune.  My second longest day of hiking ever (over 13 miles), it was well worth the effort.  In the ancient forest, we found Small Yellow Ladies Slippers, and in the perched sand dunes, we found an endless carpet of lilies and coreposis.  The trail led us through a beautiful beech-maple forest laced with ferns.  Once we climbed to the dunes, it was like passing from black-and-white to technicolor.

Unpredictable as Lake Michigan can be, we were able to paddle leisurely around half of South Manitou Island, with special views of the foggy mainland, a Bald Eagle, a cormorant rookery, a pair of Mute Swans, and a shipwreck.

Atlantic Canada 2013

In June I took a big trip to Atlantic Canada.  The trip was prompted by my sister's husband who was going to take a fishing trip to Minnestoa with his friend.  Jill commented, "If Bill gets a trip, then I want a trip."  I asked her, "Where would you want to go?"  She said, "Well, I've always wanted to go to Prince Edward Island where Anne of Green Gables takes place."  I said, "Well, I'll go with you." 

We settled on an itinerary and by the time we left for Halifax, there were five of us willing to travel many miles by airplane, marine ferry, and a minivan.  Our itinerary expanded to include the Atlantic provinces of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland.

One of our first stops in Nova Scotia (after a quick trip to the sporting goods store) was Peggy's Cove, which was not originally on our itinerary, but was added thanks to my dad's friendliness toward the young woman sitting next to him on the plane.  She recommended this quaint little town, and it was worth our time.

Another stop in Nova Scotia was the 300-year-old French Fort Louisbourg.  One of the most expensive European fortifications in North America, it defended a fishing village and commercial port that supported more than 4,000 French colonists.  The British wrested control of this site from the French by the late 18th century.

Our next province was Newfoundland (pronounced like "understand").  We took a ferry to the Rock, and I got to see several seabirds for the first time, including Northern fulmar, Wilson's storm-petrel, and Northern gannet.  It was a rough crossing, and several in our group got seasick.  Our first destination in Newfoundland was Gros Morne National Park.

We spent several nights surrounded by mountians in Woody Point at "Aunt Dorothy's Place."  This was my mom's favorite place to stay, complete with front and back porches, including a view of scenic Bonne Bay.  One afternoon my dad spotted a school of porpoises.

It was the perfect location for numerous hikes in Gros Morne National Park.  An eerie fog occasionally settled in.  We were prepared and unstoppable hikers, however.

One of the geological features of Gros Morne is the Tablelands region, made of peridotite from the Earth's mantle.  The poor calcium and rich magnesium of the Tablelands make it more difficult for much to grow.  

But we did see orchids!  Yellow lady's slippers.

Another highlight from Gros Morne was our boat tour of the Western Brook Pond, a freshwater fjord, cutoff from the ocean by a bog.  There was a 2-mile hike from the parking lot to the boat dock.  Mom and Dad get high marks for hoofing it to this remote location.  Again, the view was unforgettable.

As we planned our itinerary, mainly by reading through various travel guides, we were delighted to learn that icebergs and vikings could be part of our trip.  We booked an iceberg tour in St. Anthony and viewed a massive iceberg at close range.  This iceberg travelled 1-2 years from Greenland before reaching nothern Newfoundland. 

We also visited a reconstruction of the first European settlement in North America.  L'anse Aux Meadows is the location of a Norse settlement established 1,000 years ago.  It was discovered in 1960 and designated as a World Heritage Site in 1978.

To prepare for the expereince in Newfoundland, I listened to The Shipping News on audiobook.  As it turns out, we stayed in the house where Annie Proux wrote the book, now appropriately named after the main character: Quolye's House.

I will confess to being responsible for adding Newfoundland to our itinerary.  I was inspired by Scott Widensaal's book Return to Wild America, which includes a chapter on a major seabird colony in Newfoundland.  Cape St. Mary's is home to some 70,000 nesting seabirds, mainly Northern gannets, Common murres, Thick-billed murres, and Black-legged kittiwakes (I took the picture of the Atlantic Puffins in another location - the Bonavista peninsula in Elliston).

   

Bird Rock is a blustery 1-kilometer hike from the visitor center along a very steep cliff.  The ranger was emphatic: "Don't get off the trail."  Again, Mom and Dad get kudos for making the effort! 

Upon returning to Nova Scotia (this time the crossing was much calmer), we drove along the scenic Cape Breton Highlands.  One night Mom and Jill and I enjoyed some fresh lobster and snow crab while being entertained with a live performance of traditional Acadian music on fiddle and guitar.   

A tour of the Glenora Distillery was a planned stop from the beginning.  It is the only single malt distillery in North America.  Not only is the adult beverage delicious, but the lunch was tasty too. 

Finally, we made our way to Prince Edward Island to see a rendering of the house that inspired Lucy Maud Montgomery when writing Anne of Green Gables.  But there were other activities including a tour of the Cows Ice Cream factory, an exquisite lunch at the historic Dalvray-by-the-Sea resort (I had the lobster roll), a bike ride along the north coast, and stops at the Cheese Lady shop specializing in Gouda cheese. 

 

Ironically, Bill did not go on his fishing trip, but Jill got her trip anyway.  Here's a slideshow of our grand voyage.

Spring Woodland Flowers 2013

An afternoon walk in the woods revealed several early May wildflowers.  Of course, as a preacher, I love to see the Jack-in-the-Pulpit pop through the leaf litter.

 

Prairie Trillium (which is a woodland and not a prairie plant) suggests the Holy Trinity. 

 

 

The delicate Rue Anemone is also called "windflower" because it moves with the gentlest breeze.

 

 

Cutleaf Toothwort is lovely and attracts many kinds of bees. Passenger pigeons (extinct since 1914) used to eat the tubers.

 

 

 

Churchill Woods F.P. is one of my favorite places in DuPage county. 

 

Snowshoeing in the Porkies 2012

The last trip I took in 2012 was to the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.  Just after Thanksgiving, there was already about a foot of snow.  Here's a scenic view of Lake in the Clouds. 

We hiked about 1.5 miles with all of our gear to the cabin at Lake in the Clouds.  No electricity, no running water, no plumbing.  We had to cut our own wood to keep warm. 

 

It snowed every day.  Fortunately, we brought snowshoes.     

 

 

 

The scenery was awesome.  Here's a video of some frozen falls along the Presque Isle River, which empties into Lake Superior.  At the end of the video, there's some of the snowfall at the Lake in the Clouds cabin.

 

  

 

How's this for contrasts?  Here's a picture of volcanic rock that was scoured by the glaciers over 10,000 years ago during the Ice Age. 

 



My one regret from the trip was having my camera in the car when we saw a big beautiful Gray Wolf on the road.  It was a magnificent creature.  Wolves are an important part of a healthy ecosystem.  Here's a short video from PBS Nature that describes what reasearchers have learned about wolves at Yellowstone.

 

          

 People in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota, have leanred to live in harmony with reintroduced wolves.  Unfortunately, there is open season on wolves in Wyoming, just a decade after their reintroduction.  Call on the Administration to End the Slaughter of Wyoming Wolves with this link to the Sierra Club.