It was another moonlit night, complete with coyotes barking and Great Horned Owls hooting. The temperature was in the low 40s by sunrise but clear. We tarried over breakfast and then detached Speedy from its electric and water connections and drove off to the Visitor Center.
We met Dan Peterson, the Volunteer Coordinator who had "hired" us, refuge specialist and biologist—a man of many hats. Buenos Aires is a small refuge, staff-wise, so he fills several positions. We chatted for a while, mostly about our cleanup of the community trailer, the refuge and birds. We will be helping with biology and spending time in the field as well as working in the Visitor Center. The refuge biologist, who has a bunch of small projects that we might do, was away today so we didn't meet her.
We got to look around the small compound of buildings that make up the Visitor Center, Administrative Offices and Biology Building. They are all historic adobe ranch buildings from before the refuge was created. The conference room even contains a fireplace and the courtyard between the buildings is a haven for hummingbirds. The style is very different from Aransas where everything was "aging" modern. Some of the adobe is in need of repair though. A volunteer with building skills could have a challenging seasonal project.
Dan gave us a key to the volunteer compound gate which means we can get out to walk and cycle. We also signed a few papers, discussed getting supplies to the community trailer, ordered Fish and Wildlife T-shirts and picked up our mail. (There was only the US Postal Service confirmation of our temporary forwarding, I was hoping for more.) We are off until next Monday, when all of the volunteers should have arrived (there are two more couples arriving this week) at which time there will be a volunteer briefing. We have several days for a bit of exploring and birding.
It was then back to Tucson for a few things we missed ... and food, of course. Some things we were able to find (bath mat, tablecloth and waste basket for the community trailer, some new velcro for our front curtains, a cover for my new iPad, etc.), some were unobtainable (Fresh Cab to ward off the mice and an outdoor Wi-Fi antenna). We tried a different Fry's supermarket. It was large, but didn't carry Boars Head meats, so it won't be our regular. Our pantry and the fridge are now bursting with food. Whenever we shop, I buy extra milk, Ellen buys extra lettuce. Groan.
There is a permanent Border Patrol checkpoint about ten miles from the refuge and we had to stop for the usual questions on the way to Tucson (How many in the vehicle? Are you US Citizens?), but only had to slow down on the way back. I suspect we will get quite familiar with the officers there.
When we returned, we tried out another campsite, one between Norm and David. It had a good view to the east and was away from the recycling building, but the Wi-Fi reception was worse than at our original site. It was back to our first site, which has a wider view and is a bit separated from the others.
As usual I ordered what we needed from Amazon, the Wi-Fi antenna and Fresh Cab. They will arrive Friday. UPS delivers here and Amazon Prime makes it in two days. In fact, we passed the UPS truck as we were returning. What a long and lonely route that driver has!
Tomorrow, it should be a bit of birding in the morning outside the fence and maybe a ride around the refuge tour loop.
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