5/16/09: Down Day in Quivira National Wildlife Refuge

Today, we departed Enid to go to Hays, Kansas. The convective future is uncertain, so Hays is a fairly central location on the Plains from which upcoming operations can be based. Originally, I wanted to try to come back to Norman, but that didn't set well with the FCs, so I decided to "opt out" of my attempted "opt out." It turned out to be a good choice.

Erik Rasmussen, David Dowell, Doug Kennedy and I spent the afternoon with the birds in Quivira National Wildlife Refuge. Quivira isn't that spectacular, I'm not going to lie, but we had good conversation (and a good 5 mile walk!). The only really bad thing was the mosquitoes -- they were horrible! Other than that, I think the highlight of the day for me was seeing a Great Blue Heron. I hadn't seen one of those since I went rafting with my grandfather on the Salmon river.

On the way to Hays, we enjoyed breathtaking views of the hills of central Kansas. It's so green! :)

David Dowell, Dough Kennedy, and Erik Rasmussen at Quivira.

This bird eluded my camera for some time before I shot him.