Tom, et al, Re: maps. There are two statewide, back road atlases that I highly recommend: Benchmark Maps' Colorado Road and Recreation Atlas or DeLorne's Colorado Atlas and Gazetteer. These are invaluable for "wilderness" birders, and either one is well worth the $20 to $30. Especially in the eastern grasslands and on the Western Slope, wherever public land is shown -- USFS grassland or BLM -- car camping is allowed. FYI Cheers, Ron
On Wednesday, June 24, 2020 at 10:24:24 PM UTC-6, Tom Wilberding wrote: > > The CFO website mentions Cottonwood Canyon in Baca County: “A visit here > will seldom leave a birder disappointed!” > https://cobirds.org/CountyBirding/County/BySite.aspx?SiteID=36 > > > > Barb and I second that opinion. We spent two nights there this week and > enjoyed the birds and wilderness very much, worth the six hour drive from > Littleton. Here is a five minute account of our trip. No rarities, but if > you are thinking of visiting Baca County, you may benefit from our > experience. > > > > My goal was to see and photograph birds, and to photograph the Milky Way > for the first time, which requires a camera, a tripod, a > clear-dark-moonless sky, and insomnia. The eastern prairie of Colorado has > no big cities, so dark skies are possible. > > > > Baca County, Colorado’s most southeastern county next to Kansas and > Oklahoma, has a website that recommends camping at Carrizo Canyon Picnic > Area, so we headed there. At 3 PM we arrived and found no people and only > three picnic tables for camping, and an outhouse. A sign declared the park > was closed for camping due to the pandemic, the outhouse locked. What now? > We hiked the Carrizo one-mile trial in 94-degree heat while thinking what > to do next. The trail was blocked in two spots due to high water in the > canyon, but we saw a couple of eastern phoebes as consolation. > > > > The sign at Carrizo mentioned in fine print that “dispersed camping” was > allowed on the Comanche National Grasslands nearby. But the grasslands are > a patchwork. What is private ranch and what is public grasslands in that > vast area? You would need a map; but we didn’t have one, nor cell phone > service or internet. > > > > I had read that “primitive camping” was allowed at Cottonwood Canyon, > about seven miles to the west, and that Cottonwood Canyon had many > interesting birds, so we decided to camp there, come what may. We are not > expert campers. We have enjoyed several camping trips to state park > campgrounds that had a host, picnic tables, fire rings, water, and > bathrooms. But primitive camping? No host, no picnic table, no fire ring, > no water, and no bathroom. > > > > We felt okay about the prospect of primitive camping except for the > no-bathroom part, but we did bring a small shovel and toilet paper along > just in case. I learned on this trip that you’re supposed to dig a hole > then poop in the hole. You don’t do the opposite—poop then dig the hole. > Women seem to instinctively understand this. Me—live and learn—I had to > clean the shovel! > > > > We drove down into remote Cottonwood Canyon, miles from nowhere, and saw a > large sign on the side of the dirt road where the primitive camping was > supposed to be: “Private Property.” It was riddled with bullet holes. Now > what to do? The sign did not read “No Camping” so we decided to look for a > shady spot near Cottonwood Creek that was hidden from the road and take our > chances in case the sign meant “no camping” after all. Always an adventure! > > > > We set up our tent, then relaxed in our camp chairs above the creek. (No > campfire due to a county ban.) Birds serenaded us one by one, as if on cue: > canyon wren, yellow warbler, plumbeous vireo, ash-throated flycatcher, > yellow-breasted chat, blue grosbeak, ladder-backed woodpecker, Chihuahuan > ravens, Mississippi Kites, mourning doves, and others whose calls or songs > I couldn’t identify. Then came fireflies blinking in the reeds and all > around us, then bats twittering next to the canyon walls, then frogs > thrumming, then distant coyotes yipping, and a couple of hours after > sunset, the Milky Way and endless stars in the dark sky. > > > > It felt remarkable to be in such a remote area only about six hours from > Denver. Our own wilderness kingdom--no people, litter (well a little, but > we cleaned it up), traffic, lights, airplane noise, fracking equipment, > wind farms, phone, internet, Trump news, covid, or covid news. And no > mountain lions or bears and very few mosquitoes. Felt like paradise. > > > > The night was cloudy, but at 11 pm the sky cleared a bit and I took a few > Milky Way photos then turned in after our long and eventful day. > > > > A chilly sunrise at 5:30 am, but at 5 am the dawn chorus of birds started > and remained in force for over an hour. I think a dozen birds joined in, > but I believe two competing yellow-breasted chats could create a dawn > chorus all by themselves. A yellow-billed cuckoo landed on a branch above > our tent and cuckoo’d for a while before we emerged for the day. > > > > After breakfast we drove a 30-mile loop south by a few ranches and saw > from the road red-headed woodpeckers, a golden eagle, more kites, a > northern mockingbird, and various sparrows. After a picnic lunch we > returned to camp to watch rain clouds come in. When the thunder and > downpour let up, we enjoyed dinner then took a walk along the canyon and > creek, hoping to hear an owl but settled for seeing a beautiful male summer > tanager. > > > > Tuesday morning another dawn chorus, this time with an owl and distant cow > joining in. We had breakfast, took another walk, saw a couple of Bewick’s > wrens and an indigo bunting. It was time to pack up the tent and start the > long drive home. > > > > Barb said our 90-degree car smelled like a Waste Management garbage truck > with compressed trash and dirty laundry. Oh well, pack it in, pack it out. > Highlights on our way home were seeing a curve-billed thrasher in a field > of cholla cactus and enjoying a chocolate sundae from the McDonald’s drive > thru in La Junta. > > > > It was a great adventure. Thanks to Barb for her love, sharp eyes, and > logistical management. Glad to return home to a shower and bed. > > > > Here is our route from Carrizo Canyon Picnic Area to where we camped at > Cottonwood Canyon, called by Google Maps “Kim Reorganized 88.” Zoom out to > see the whole area and state. Click on the 3D button to the right to see > canyon walls. https://goo.gl/maps/E4KnWxanGAQ1HejA9 > > > > 30 photos from our trip. Scroll down each photo a little for caption, and > click right arrow for next photo: > https://www.flickr.com/photos/twilberding/50041771501/in/album-72157714850044377/ > > > > Cheers, > > Tom Wilberding > > Littleton, Colorado > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/3cac75d2-ddb0-457d-9b93-6e574ba3c6f6o%40googlegroups.com.
