Interlude: Fall Break

Ruddy Turnstone
Canaveral National Seashore

Okay, the AMB program does not officially have a Fall Break.  But with no field trip on November 9th and no class on November 11th, it sure seemed like a great time to get out of town for a few days.  And what better thing to do than to go see a National Seashore or two?

Now, when I finished running the 50 states, everyone wanted to know "what next?"  And the truth is, I really wasn't certain.  There are plenty of options.  Run a marathon on every continent, or in every Canadian province, or just all the races I wanted to run but passed by because I needed to check off Wyoming or Oklahoma or Mississippi.  There are bike rides to do, operas and symphonies and plays to see performed live, museums to gawk over.  There are state capitols to see.  There are classes to take, all kinds of stuff to learn.  There are ski slopes to ski down (or snowshoe up).  There are world capitals to visit.  There are books to read, and piano pieces to learn, and a tad bit of writing to do.  

Sanderlings
Canaveral National Seashore

It seems the one thing I didn't really consider doing was to start trying to see all the birds of the world.

Boat-tailed Grackle
Canaveral National Seashore

Somehow, though, as the dust settled, one idea did solidly plant itself in my brain:  to visit all of the National Parks.  My friend Leann finished her round of the 50 states a few months before I did, and sometime in the last months of our respective journeys, we talked about this idea, and she added the National Seashores to the list.

A new goal was born.

So now, in addition to chasing birds, I'm also chasing National Parks and National Seashores and heaven knows but that we'll soon extend that to include National Monuments and Historic Parks and all the rest.  National Wildlife Refuges?  Well, there are something like 500 of them, but what the heck, throw them in, too.

Little Blue Heron
Merritt Island NWR

In the last couple of years, Leann and I have put some road miles on our already well-used feet.  We've met at Point Reyes National Seashore in California in the spring, and at Gulf Islands National Seashore (the part in Florida) in the fall.  We've done the Rim to Rim hike down (and up) at the Grand Canyon, and the sandy hike up (and back down) at the Great Sand Dunes National Park.  So it was perfect when the AMB Fall Break aligned with Leann's schedule, and we settled on two seashores that are driving distance from each other:  Canaveral and Cumberland Island, both great birding spots.

There's just one problem:  Leann is not a birder.

Laughing Gull
Cumberland Island National Seashore

There's an easy solution:  She tolerates it.  At least some.  And she loves wildlife (maybe just not "tweety birds" quite so much).

That's how I came to spend my Fall Break with my marathoning buddy, hiking as much of Cumberland Island as we could fit in, and driving as many of the wildlife trails at and around Canaveral as possible in the few days we had.

Reddish Egret
Merritt Island NWR

We had a great trip:  lots of road trip time, lots of wildlife (manatees, dolphins, an armadillo, a feral pig, three young racoons, giant spiders, little lizards, a couple of alligators, wild horses!), a smattering of good hiking, plenty of birds, lots of sand and surf, one naked surfer (unbeknownst to us, we stumbled onto an unofficial nudist beach; the park rangers didn't warn us about THAT particular beach hazard), good food (including a couple of great diner breakfasts), and - the thing that makes Leann a grand traveling companion - loads of laughs.

Nope, it wasn't a birding trip.  It was just a simple Fall Break.  And if I got lucky enough to see a few birds that aren't every day birds in Colorado, then who can argue with that?

Palm Warbler
Merritt Island NWR

Willet
Cumberland Island National Seashore

Sunset, Cumberland Island National Seashore