Greetings, Thanks, and Trip Plan

[arkoptrix]

I have been a serious and studious lurker here for quite a while and figure it’s time to come into the light of day. I’ve learned a great deal by reading all the forums and feel like I’ve graduated from “high school” and ready to embark on our own journeys.

After searching for a camper for several months we purchased an Eagle from FWC, back around Christmas time (Nice present!). We purchased some niceties like a 3-way refrigerator, extra battery, and roof-rack rails. I recently added the interior lift assist kit from FWC ad it's made a significant improvement for my 61 year-old back. It’s seated on a 2008 Tacoma, 4 cylinder, 5-speed, with Supersprings I installed. I don’t drive fast and on a four-day April trip from Eugene to the bird festival in Harney County (eastern Oregon) we averaged 21.8 mpg.

We’ve also done a coupe of other trial runs – one a weekend to the coast, during which it rained for 48 hours and the other a three-day trip in February to Ft Rock and Summer Lake where we woke to temps in the low teen’s and 20’s but had snow mixed with clear skies during the afternoons – that’s what you deal with when you want to see Sage Grouse “strutting-their-stuff”.

The wife and I plan to leave the last week of May on a four-week trip from Eugene, Oregon to Inuvik, Northwest Territory. The trip is focused on birding, natural history, and photography. Other than the paved roads like I-5, Hwy 97, Alaska Hwy, etc., we’ll be taking the Dempster Highway in the Yukon and any number of side gravel roads to birding spots we’ve received tips about from great folks in BC and YT. We’ll be returning from Haines, AK to Bellingham, WA via ferry.

I’ll try to include a couple of pix of the current truck/camper setup but I haven’t posted images before so we’ll see if I pass that test.

 

[DirtyDog]

Welcome arkoptrix! I'd be interested in seeing some photos from your Harney County trip and of course of your upcoming trip to the arctic!

 

[K6ON]

Welcome Arkoptrix, Your trip sounds great. I’m retiring the end of this year after a 35 year career in law enforcement, and first trip next spring is toward Canada and Alaska. We’ll be heading up through BC, Yukon Territories, Alaska, Northwest Territories, then back toward home (Calif.) when the snow starts to fall.

We aren’t serious birders, in fact didn’t know anything about it until 2007 when we took a 2 week safari in Tanzania with 8 serious birders. Boy did we learn a lot, and we've been somewhat bitten by the bug. We logged and photographed 389 different birds in 2 weeks in Africa.. I’d love to know where some of your side trips are, so we might follow your trails next year. I just picked up a pair of 10X42 Swarovski’s and am anxious to give them a comparison test to my 35 year old Leitz Trinovids’s. Attached are a couple birds taken in Tanzania, a Secretary Bird (The national bird of Tanzania) and a Tawny Eagle (love to show off bird pictures).

Again, welcome, you’re going to really enjoy your new Eagle. Of course this group requires pictures... We’d all like to see your new rig.

 

[arkoptrix]

Let's try the images again.

 

[arkoptrix]

DirtyDog was interested in pix from Harney County so here are a few.

Krumbo Pond is just after the turnoff to Krumbo Reservoir (the gate was still locked in early April). It's a great place to see waterfowl because you're looking down on the pond and the light is usually behind you. There are actually about a hundred birds on the water in this image made up of about 12 species.

The Cranes were in flooded farm fields near Burns.

 

[craig333]

Very nice setup. I get the feeling you're new converts from tent camping?

I have two bird feeders in the the backyard. Amazing quantity of birds. Never been a birder but I am slowly coming around.

 

[Barko1]

Bird feeder and a 12 ga.

 

[craig333]

We've had some pigeons stop by that could feed a family of twelve

 

[arkoptrix]

Very nice setup. I get the feeling you're new converts from tent camping?

I have two bird feeders in the the backyard. Amazing quantity of birds. Never been a birder but I am slowly coming around.


Good guess! We've always backpacked, camped out of sea kayaks, or car camped in the past. Fall of 2008 we camped down the CA coast and over into the White Mountains (to photograph Bristle Cone Pines). In a tent at 10,000 feet at nearly 60 years old was less than ideal.

Also the thought of putting up and taking down a tent most every day for a four to five week trip seemed daunting.

Oh, and did I mention Grizzly Bears - I'd rather be in the camper practicing good bear habits like not leaving food out etc. than in a nylon tent on the ground.

Feeding birds was the beginning of the slippery slope of bird watching for us. When I was 20 or 30 or 40 you could not have convinced me I would pay such attention to birds. Now I've left a 30 year career in the energy industry to consult and pursue a post-bac degree in wildlife biology - that's what I wanted to do out of high school.

 

[arkoptrix]

Bird feeder and a 12 ga.

You might be on to something there Barko1. We are planning to bring some bird attracting food (sunflower seeds and peanuts) on the trip just to lure in some otherwise reluctant birds. And we had been considering taking along our shotgun "just in case" for the Yukon portion of the trip along the Dempster Hwy. The Canadian Gov wants a $50 fee so I'm rethinking it now. My understanding is that here's quite a bit of debate about the effectiveness of shotguns at different distances for bear anyway. I think I'll try an photograph them in the distance with the 500 mm lens.

 

[davinski]

WELCOME!
nice picks and that part of OR is mighty fine country.

Do like the rear awning, I do the same when the rain comes. Something we get used to up here! Hi HI!

Do tell about those silver things attached to your lift attachment points. very interesting.

dave

seattle