6 September 2013 - A No Brain Day

I had a bad good day, or maybe a good bad day. Not sure. Just a couple of weird slips. First, I drove up to Ogden to meet a retired letterpress printer. I bought a fabulous collection of books from him. Then he gave a 4 inch binder of past APA journals and a big box of ephemera. Thought I'd died and gone to heaven. 

Turns out he was good friends with Lewis and Dorothy Allen who donated the Columbian Press to the University of Utah Book Arts Program. Pop and his friend Bill Watts assembled the press and got it into working order after it was shipped to the U from California. Such a small world. 

Since I was driving back south, thought I'd stop at a couple of wetlands. Stopped for gas and headed for the Nature Conservancy Wetlands. No Brain Episode 1.  Got out of the car and noticed the door over the gas cap was open. Went to close it and discovered I'd lost the gas cap. Damnation. But wow! What a place! Off in the distance, down a long boardwalk was a shaded pavilion with really interesting architecture.

The beams spiral up the post and are pegged in place. Ingenious. It was almost like standing inside a tipi. A very modern tipi I should say.

Even though the covering did not reach the top of the structure, there was plenty of shade. It was really hot today, and this was the only cover available for miles. It felt great!

There were several miles of boardwalk wandering through the wetlands. I walked all of them.  

This viewing tower was out in the middle of the wetlands. When I took the picture, I was far enough away not to  notice there was a great blue heron on top. It was quite a surprise to see it when the photos were downloaded.

 What could be more appropriate? 

The views from on top were gorgeous. Not many birds yet, but I did see another Northern Harrier patrolling over the tops of the grass. Also saw quite a few pheasants, so I imagine he was looking for dinner. 

Back at the gate I have No Brain Episode 2. I discovered I had locked my keys in the car, along with my phone.  I was the only person there. I hung around for quite some time wondering if I should walk out (at least three miles to the nearest house) or break a window.  Finally a car drives up and a woman gets out. Turns out she has come on a geocaching trip. She lets me borrow her phone. I know David is at work for another couple hours, but I call him anyway. He can't come right away. 

At this point I remember I have roadside assistance with my car insurance. I call. After 10 minutes of verification: who I am, what car I'm driving, what my policy number is (yes, I was smart enough to put my wallet in my pocket) they finally patch me through to a towing service in Layton. The guy says there is no one who can come help, gives me back to the insurance people and I start all over again. Midway through this conversation an SUV drives up with a Sheriff's logo on the side. The phone's owner hustles over and asks if he can pop the lock. Sure enough. I hang up on the insurance company, return the phone and in two minutes or less I'm back in my car. Whew!

Next stop down the road is the Farmington Wildfowl Management Area. Cue music for No Brain Episode 3. I get off I-15 at the correct exit, but turn right instead of left. Making a right turn puts you back on the freeway going north. Big sigh. Seven miles north to the first exit, turn around and come back getting off and making a left turn to the access road. 

While driving down the access road I got caught in a huge wind storm carrying salt and brine off the lake. You could barely see a quarter mile ahead. It made for some interesting landscapes. Crossing over the freeway I noticed that the cars were nearly at a standstill. 

There are four different parts to the wildfowl area I was headed to. By the time I arrived, all the gates were locked. You could park and walk, but couldn't drive the roads. I walked. Again, not many birds, but you could see another storm boiling up over the lake. 

In the center of the picture, the yellowy-white stuff is more salt headed my way. Looking back east the first storm had reached the mountains and was starting up the canyons.

And very quickly the mountains were blotted out. 

Since I was between the storms I decided to walk around the ponds. The pole structures in the picture above is a man-made rookery for Great Blue Herons. They like to nest in dead or nearly dead trees, and you can see there definitely is a dearth of trees in this area. 

The edges of the ponds were literally covered with frogs. As I walked around hundreds of frogs would leap into the pond while making disgruntled squeaks. All the way around the pond for about ten feet in front of me they would leap as I approached. I could not get a good picture. They were fast. How many frogs can you see in this picture? Hint: more than ten.

The sky, cloud formations and salt storms were really beautiful. 

What a great way to start a weekend! Even with a few mis-steps along the way.