Eco-arsonist sentenced for heroin sales

KGWNews ^ | June 28, 2011 | Michael Rollins

[Flycatcher]

It was my 6th 10-day tour and I'm getting a little exhausted, but it sure was beautiful country. Did bird surveys in Railroad Valley (Nevada) and found a few golden eagles and 4 golden eagle nests. Also spent time at Steptoe Valley north of Ely and then spent 5 fantastic days in the Shoshone Mountains north of Austin. Man, I love that country! Great sagebrush/juniper vistas and not a soul out there -- just me, my bird surveyor partner, wild horses, and golden eagles!

And as a bonus, we stumbled upon a female sage grouse with two chicks!

So not a bad trip at all.

I'll be around for a few more days, but on Sunday I'm off for my last 10-day tour of the breeding season. I'll be at Death Valley north of Beatty, then the Reese River Valley, followed by the Mt. Moriah wilderness north of Great Basin Natl Park and finally the magnificent Ruby Mountains near Elko and the Jarbidge wilderness area.

Hopefully I'll survive it all! Lol!

Hope all is well with you and yours, George!

[george76]

Sounds like fun stuff.

Rather warm this time of year ?

Any troubles finding good water ?

[Flycatcher]

The heat is never a problem. It's the cold. We have to be up typically an hour before dawn to get to our first transect point. Even this time of year, it can be cold at that time of morning, especially at high elevation, which is where we seem to be now.

That said, the mornings are much warmer now, usually in the 40s, which is downright balmy. By the time it gets real hot, our surveys are over, and we're off to the nearest town or casino buffet to munch out (if there's one nearby, of course). If not, it's camp stove time.

As for water, I have so much water in my truck -- in the form of bottled water and a 7-gallon tank -- that I don't have to worry about that. Also have 2 dozen bottles of gatorade and a gatorade powder mix (added to water) to handle just about any emergency. I also refill my empty plastic bottles at park hoses in the small towns we pass through.

Just amazing to me how many people don't carry adequate supplies of water when they travel through the West. But you only make that mistake once, I suppose.