Countdown to the Bird Count

The 16th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count is coming!  Mark your calendar for February 15-18, 2013.

Guides-To-Go would love to have you on their team to count the birds on Saturday, February 16, 9:00 – 11:00 a.m.
 
North Shields Ponds in Fort Collins, CO.

Join Guide Dee DeJong to view a short presentation about the GBBC and go over some bird identification tips. Then take an easy, 1.5 mile walk to count the birds. Dress for the weather and bring your own binoculars and water. We’ll return, get warm and enjoy refreshments as we create a report to submit to the GBBC website. 
Cost: Free, donations welcome; Ages: 6 through adult (children must be accompanied by an adult). Limit: 12. 

Please RSVP to save a spot! 
Contact: Dee DeJong (720) 838-3277 or guidestogo2003@gmail.com.

Alcatraz – Not just a Prison but a Sanctuary

When I think about Alcatraz it makes me think of negative things: prison, cold, dark, criminals and yet I had to see it. As we ferried the half hour to get to the island, my mind was racing with thoughts. The prisoners who tried to swim in these rushing eddies of water to escape, the fog surrounding the buildings and how painfully lonely it must have been, the dock for arriving prisoners who may never step foot on it again. I envisioned myself never getting off this island, sobering.

As I toured and learned more about this place my thoughts began to brighten. I learned about the waterbirds of Alcatraz. Long before this place became a prison it was a sanctuary for the birds. In fact, Alcatraz comes from the word, alcatraces, which means seabirds. After the prison was closed in 1963, without the human disturbance once again, the birds returned. The island is a safe place for over 5,000 nesting birds including Pigeon Guillemots, Brandt's Cormorants and Western Gulls. In the gardens near the parade grounds, a beautiful Anna's Hummingbird was flitting about, drinking from the plants nurtured by volunteers.

If you have the opportunity to see this National Historic Landmark in the bay of San Francisco, enjoy the rich history as well as the birds.

I did step on the dock again and as the island receded from my view, I was left with the happy memories of seeing those wonderful waterbirds of Alcatraz.

Participate in the 16th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count on February 16th in Ft. Collins!

Here's your chance to count local and migrating birds on Saturday, Feb. 16th, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. with expert naturalist Dee DeJong, Certified Interpretive Guide (CIG) and founder of Guides-To-Go, Nature Where You Are. DeJong is conducting the bird count in your "backyard" (North Shields Pond Natural Area, 1333 North Shields Street, Fort Collins) in conjunction with the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC). The GBBC is an annual 4-day event that engages birdwatchers of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of where the birds are.

You'll learn how to identify birds, why it's important to count birds, and much more in this fun and educational event. You'll take an easy, 1.5-mile walk to count the birds, so dress for the weather and bring your own binoculars and water. Afterward, you'll enjoy refreshments (and get warm) at Guides-To-Go headquarters while helping create a report to submit to the GBBC.

This event is free, but donations are welcome. Birdwatchers of all skill levels are invited. Children aged 6 and up must be accompanied by an adult. This event is limited to the first 12 participants, so RSVP to save your spot by Friday, Feb. 15th, by calling 720-838-3277 or emailing guidestogo2003@gmail.com.

The GBBC is a joint project of The Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Audubon Society. For more information, visit http://www.birdsource.org/gbb.

Happy New Year from Guides-To-Go!

This 2013 remember to get outdoors and get a breath of fresh air now and then. Here are some easy and free ways to take advantage of our wild places this year in Colorado. See you out there, GTG

www.guides-to-go.blogspot.com

U.S. National Parks: Fee Free Entrance Days in 2013 (Nationwide)
Every year, the National Park Service selects days to offer fee free entrance to over a hundred national parks that normally charge a fee to visit. There are so many different parks to choose from, I’m sure you will find one near you. Fee waiver includes: entrance fees, commercial tour fees, and transportation entrance fees.

The dates for 2013 include:

January 21 - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

April 22-26 - National Park Week

August 25 - National Park Service Birthday

September 28 - National Public Lands Day

November 9-11 - Veterans Day weekend

http://www.nps.gov/findapark/feefreeparks.htm

Passport to the Natural Areas in Fort Collins, Colorado

Celebrate 20 years of natural areas with the new Passport to the Natural Areas! It is a checklist of natural areas to visit and free activities. Complete your passport for a prize and to be entered into a drawing for a backpack full of outdoor supplies. To learn more email naturalareas@fcgov.com or call the Natural Areas Department at 970-416-2815.

http://www.fcgov.com/naturalareas/

2013 SCFD Free Days Denver, Colorado
These organizations provide free admission to Colorado residents on select days of the year. 
Free Days 2013 is funded, in part, by the citizens of Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield,
Denver, Douglas and Jefferson counties via the SCFD 0.1% sales and use tax.

Denver Botanic Gardens:

January 21

February 18

March 27

April 22

July 9

August 27

October 7

November 2

Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield:

January 4
February 1
March 1
April 5
May 3

June 7

August 2

November 1

Denver Zoo:

January 11

January 12

January 23

February 3

February 4

February 21

November 4

November 15

November 21

http://www.scfd.org/?page=home&sub=4

WHAT IS THERE TO DO?

Amazing FREE Live Music all Weekend (two tents)

Coffin Racing

Costume Polar Plunging

Frozen T-shirt Contests

Ice Turkey Bowling

The Blue Ball (live band)

Dead Guy Tours

Brain Freeze Contests

Parade of Hearses

Frozen Salmon Toss

Snowy Beach Volleyball

Snow Ball Quick Draw- NEW this year!

http://frozendeadguydays.org/

Polar Bear Plunge in Alaska

Captain Marce lead the charge for this weeks’ Polar Bear Plunge. Twelve people in total jumped into the cold waters of Icy Strait to get the day started. Shortly after, a group of humpback whales swam past the boat. Marce dried off, warmed up and took the wheel to make a pass by the group of whales. It made for great viewing as the whales were feeding in an echelon formation. The combo of a invigorating swim and a close up encounter with humpbacks made for an extremely memorable and fun way to start the day.

Randall Tate

Expedition Guide

Wilderness Explorer

Expedition Leader Dee emerging from the water after her polar plunge....brrrrrrrr.

Putting the “Wild” in Wilderness

Our maiden voyage into Glacier Bay aboard the Wilderness Explorer lived up to our vessel’s name--it was both exploratory and wild.

We certainly felt like genuine explorers as we tested the limits and possibilities of this new boat on her new route. Passengers and crew alike were alive with anticipation as our boat pulled into unexplored inlets and anchorages and as we crafted a fresh itinerary for ourselves day by day.

And wild? We pulled past heavy brown bears foraging along the shoreline, watched arctic terns wheel among the spray and thunder of calving glaciers, lifted mammoth, dripping, sunflower stars from the sea floor, and steered our kayaks among otters, playful sea lions, and the distant sound of humpback breath. What really brought home the sense of the “wild,” however, was a single, rare wildlife encounter one evening on the dusky bank of Tidal Inlet, near the northern reaches of Glacier Bay. Our boat and passengers alike sat quietly that night as we watched a lone timber wolf meandering along the tide line.

The wolf was long-legged and dark, and even at our distance we could feel the gravity of his size: this was no ordinary dog. With fingers tight around our binoculars and hips close against the railings, we watched him breathlessly—but he did not watch back. He picked his way slowly along the shoreline, nose to the ground. Whatever scents or urges brought him to the beach, whatever the impulses and motives that shaped his world, we were not among them. After a long while, it was we who moved on from the inlet, leaving the wolf where we had found him, moving like a muscle along the water’s edge, as disinterested in our departure as he had been in our presence. How thrilling, though, to share those quiet moments, witnessing. It felt as though the spirit of wilderness itself had broken away from the mountains and come trotting, dark-furred and lanky, into our view.

I think the encounter was a reminder to us all that we are just visitors to this untamed place -- profoundly fortunate to be able to come and to watch and to go again. I also think, just maybe, it awakened a little bit of our own wild side. It certainly seemed that way when, a couple days later, one of our passengers took a “polar bear” plunge off our fantail into Alaska’s icy waters, wearing only swim trunks and a life vest! On an un-cruise, we, too, get to go wild.

Hannah Hindley

Expedition Guide

Wilderness Explorer

Death Valley National Park

The next couple of days were spent exploring Death Valley, a strange and magnificent National Park.  The park contains 3.4 million acres of land and sits in the rain shadow of the Sierras which results in less than 2” of rain per year.  It is distinguished by having North America’s highest temperature and the lowest point.   The highs average 116F and the Valley sits at 272 feet below sea level.

The following are a few of the sites we visited:

20 Mule Team Canyon - Silver was discovered in the area and brought with it prospectors hoping to strike it rich.  It was soon discovered that talc and borate were more profitable than all of the minerals put together.  The famous, 20 mule team wagons transported the minerals 165 miles to the railroad at Mojave and from there distributed it to the surrounding communities.  Thus, our current “20 Mule Team Borax” product was born.  Borax has a wide variety of uses: It is a component of many detergents, cosmetics, fire retardants and an anti-fungal compound for fiberglass.

Zabriskie Point (pictured above) – This view looks out at the mudstone hills which are carved by occasional, but intense rains. A small hill leads to the summit.  This is a good photo stop especially at sunrise and sunset when the colors of the hills come alive.

Rhyolite is the largest ghost town in Death Valley.  At its peak in the early 1900’s the population was nearly 10,000 people.  In less than a decade, when the gold ran out, a ghost town was born.

Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes contain 150 foot sand dunes formed from rock erosion coming down from the surrounding mountains.  As you walk, look for the tracks of reptiles and the “S” pattern of the sidewinder rattlesnakes.

Remember when traveling in Death Valley to have plenty of water and gas.  The temperature during the summer months can be 120F with the ground temperature 40% higher than the air temperature.  A record high of 201F was recorded here.

Despite the hot and dry environment in this National Park there are plenty of wildlife species that have adapted: Desert Bighorn Sheep, Kit Fox, Bobcat, Mule Deer, Desert Iguana and Kangaroo Rat all live here.