Allens Pond Trails

Posted on April 12, 2013April 12, 2013 by Dusty Roads

A few days ago I started telling you about a new Wildlife Sanctuary, well new to me anyway…Allens Pond in Westport. So much happened between my first post about Allens Pond and this installment that it’s hard to believe its been less than a week.

Allens Pond Wildlife Sanctuary is 595 acres that includes a coastal salt-pond, a salt marsh, a barrier beach, shrublands , forested wetlands and grasslands.

The sanctuary consists of 6 miles of trails where you can wander along the Buzzards Bay Shoreline, cross an old pasture or climb among giant boulders.

On my visit the sun was shining but the wind off the bay was blustery and made it cold in spite of the sunshine. Because of this I only explored half of the Beach Loop trail which was only a tiny part of the trail system.

The section I explored took me along a dirt road with Allens Pond on my left and Buzzards Bay on my right. Most of the time I could see the pond but the view of the bay was blocked by the shrublands or what I would call shrubland. These low but thick bushes are nesting areas for several protected species of birds. Piping Plovers and a couple of species of terns are known to nest here and the area is clearly marked as protected.

As you first encounter the pond from the trail you will see an Osprey nesting platform. To my right were smaller nest boxes more suitable for Eastern Bluebirds or other small, grassland birds. I saw plenty of ducks including a merganser with its fluffy looking head of feathers but no action at the Osprey Nest while I was there.

A bit farther along it was clear that the swans were here. About 6 white spots floated on the blue water just beyond my camera’s range. In the soft sand in the road I spotted the distinctive split hoof print of a deer.

It must have passed through just before I came along because the way the wind was blowing the print wouldn’t stay visible for long. In fact by the time I had turned back it was gone, filled in by the sifting, blowing sand.

By now I was pretty wind burned but it had been a nice little walk. I didn’t walk back along the shore because the round rocks were pretty unstable underfoot and I was only wearing sneakers so I retraced my steps back along the road.

There are many more trails to explore so I bet I will be back and maybe next time I’ll see that deer!

Whittier

Posted on April 6, 2013April 6, 2013 by Dusty Roads

Whittier is the end of the line for the cruise and the beginning for the Denali portion of the trip. We should get into Whittier at 12:30 am (midnight) and we won’t need to meet our train to Denali until 5:45 pm. The leaves us open all day.

Once again I turned to the shore excursions. We want to be sure that whatever we do we will make our connections so we chose to explore with the cruise line vendors.

The tour we settled on here has me really excited because it starts with a stop at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center.

Like most places with the words wildlife conservation center in their titles, this where animals unable to survive in the wild are given refuge in spacious habitats. Here, you can safely get close, observe and photograph some of Alaska’s biggest land mammals, including moose, bison, bears and musk ox.

This is right up my alley!

But as an old commercial used to say…But wait, There’s more!

30 minutes away our tour will take us to the base of mighty Mt. Alyeska, home to one of the most breathtaking year-round destination resorts in the world. Ride Alyeska Resort’s Glacier Express Tram and take in panoramic views of Turnagain Arm and the surrounding valley from 2,300 feet above its floor. Woo Hoo! Can’t wait!

The last leg of the tour is the return to Anchorage (Whittier) along the Seward Highway-Alaska’s “Scenic Byway.” We should be back at the Welcome Center with plenty of time to make it to the train station at 5:45 to head to Denali.

Of course these tours are all subject to change. I’m pretty sure we’ll do them all. The only one I really want to confirm with the excursion desk is this one. The special notes say you have to be staying in Anchorage because you have to get your luggage from the ship. I might try to call Princess to confirm but if I can’t get through there is an excursion desk on every cruise I’ve ever been on so we’ll have plenty of time for adjustments if necessary.

So our trip is all planned. Excursions booked. It’s just a matter of counting down the days. I can’t wait to share our actual experiences and of course…my actual photos.

The pictures I’ve used in these recent posts have all been on the internet with no copy write information. I was careful not to knowingly pirate any other photographers work.

Flamingo Gardens

Posted on February 22, 2013February 22, 2013 by Dusty Roads

My early start had been side tracked by the unwelcome visit to the Welcome Center. Now that I’d wasted a good 45 minutes I decided Everglades National park was best delayed until tomorrow.

So where to head today? In my brochures of the area I found a one for a Botanical Garden and Wildlife sanctuary. In my travels I’ve had really good luck with botanical gardens and wildlife sanctuaries. I am about to see if my luck will continue.

Flamingo Gardens is located at 3750 South Flamingo Rd ,(Davie) Fort Lauderdale. My GPS said it was about a 20 minute drive. My full “kit” was loaded in the car including tripod and telephoto lenses. I would not be traveling light today.

To my surprise when I arrived there was a flea market well underway. The botanical gardens had not opened yet so I wandered around the stalls. I didn’t see anything I was interested in so I made my way over to the entrance.

I watched a Peacock preen while I waited for the doors to open.

The entrance was through the gift shop.

I was handed a map of the grounds with my ticket.

As I passed through to the grounds on the other side I spotted a huge tabby cat. It gave me my “kitty fix” of the trip.

The paths were almost jungle-like with flowering plants and overhanging vines and branches.

It was only about 9:30 am and the morning light filtering through all this lush growth was an artist’s dream.

Eventually I arrived at the Aviary. All of the birds and animals in the sanctuary are rescues. Their injuries prevent them from ever being released back into the wild. The sanctuary allows them to live out their lives while serving as animal ambassadors for their species.

I entered the aviary with limited expectations. I was quickly surprised. I first spotted some white wading birds..egrets or maybe white herons but as I came closer I realized there were many more birds than I first noticed.

Continuing along I met more birds… wood storks

and anhinga,

ducks,

pelicans

and spoonbills

were just a few of the residents.I even spotted some good sized turtles.

I found my self spending hours among these feathered creatures with my camera working overtime.

I was surprised that there weren’t more people passing through the aviary. In fact only one small group came through while I was there. Maybe being surrounded by uncaged birds wasn’t to everyone’s liking.

Photo of the Week~Week 43

Posted on October 27, 2012October 27, 2012 by Dusty Roads

Roger Williams Park and Zoo

Posted on September 10, 2012September 10, 2012 by Dusty Roads

Back from Maine life did not slow down. Summer is flying by. The deadline for the opening of my stall at Cape Cod Crafters was looming so much of my time was concentrated on getting the type of pictures they said would sell for my cards. A quick photo shoot at Nantasket and then back home to fold and package cards.

Finally the big day came, the stall was open and I was hopeful life could return to normal.

That’s when Nancy reminded me that we owed the kids their annual summer outing. I enjoy it as much as they do so we had to squeeze that in. We wanted a zoo or Aquarium so we had narrowed it down to 3 choices…the Zooquarium in Yarmouth (Cape Cod), Mystic Aquarium (Mystic , CT.) or Roger Williams Park and Zoo in Providence , RI. I compared prices and travel time and Roger Williams was the closest and in the middle for price so Roger Williams it is.

I hadn’t been to the Zoo there in quite a while. I went the Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular the last 2 years and I like the Carousel Village for pictures but it’s been closer to 20 years since I’ve been to the Zoo itself.

Here are some of the sights and scenes from the trip.

We saw a dominate tortoise “beating up” on his “lesser” cage mate. Yup. It’s 2 males jousting for dominance. It’s pretty clear which one was winning.

No Lions, Tigers and bears but for once the Snow Leopard was where it could be seen.

The Flamingos were nice and pink.

And look at that tongue on the giant ant-eater.

We spotted a cute little red panda. That was quite a hit.

Our national bird, The American Eagle was majestic as he perched in his enclosure.

I think it’s safe to say that we all had a good time.

Too many pictures, not enough room!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The kids played in the “misters” and we found the green eggs to go with the ham, but I do not like Green Eggs and Ham, I do not like them Sam I AM (Dr. Seuss)