2008-1
2008 Newsletter, page 1 Dave Krieg & Anne Kiehl
2008 Newsletter, page 1 Dave Krieg & Anne KiehlDave Krieg and Anne Kiehl's Newsletter
Winter 2008 Activities
As has been our custom in recent years, we spent the winter in Texas. Mostly in the South, along the Rio Grande - although we lingered a while in San Antonio for family visits and to see Dave's great-grand-nephews and -niece perform with the San Antonio Ballet. We enjoyed birding and viewing other critters at several wildlife refuges (including Santa Ana NWR and Laguna Atascosa NWR, Bentsen-Rio Grande State Park, and Sabal Palms Audubon Refuge. During April we birded our way North along the Texas Coast, nearly to Louisiana. The main objective was to see High Island, a small community on an island beyond Galveston. It is famous for the variety and numbers of birds during spring migration, when a large fraction of America's songbirds (and others) pass through there after flying across the Gulf of Mexico. Winds and rain increase the likelihood of the birds stopping off there to rest; that didn't happen when we were there -- but we enjoyed a wonderful rookery of roseate spoonbills and egrets. We also enjoyed Brazos Bend. a very large State Park, and of course the Whooping Cranes at Aransas NWR. We also visited, for our first time, Atwater Prairie Chicken Reserve which protects a very rare and endangered bird that used to exist on the Texas prairies in millions. They have novel courting rituals which we hoped to see -- but could only observe from a great distance.
The photos on succeeding pages of this chapter show a sample of what we saw.
We finished April seeing another dance performance in San Antonio, and then headed West and North during the Spring.
Spring 2008 Activities.
We made a hurried trip to Arizona and California for some doctoring (see below). Time did not permit visiting folks there, as we had to hurry to a get-together in Utah in May. A couple we had happened to meet a decade ago in the Canadian Rockies are ardent hikers and, although they live in Boston, spend several vacations each year out west. We got together in Moab, UT, just after they had hiked in and out of the Grand Canyon hike for the 18th time. We all enjoyed several hikes in Arches and Canyonlands NPks, until suddenly he had chest pains and checked into an ER. He had had a heart attack! He was helicoptered to Grand Junction, CO for care from the nearest cardiologist -- while the rest of us drove the 130 miles to join him. Fortunately there was only 10% heart damage and he was soon discharged with admonitions to get his cholesterol down further.
We then went to the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone Parks, and are on our way to Glacier and then, hopefully, the rest of the summer in the Canadian Rockies. Last year we had had only a month there, missing Jasper and other favorite sites, but we hope to do it thoroughly for 10 weeks this time. It may be our last time there for a while, since we expect to attend a family reunion in Colorado in July 2009 and will probably spend that summer doing a more complete survey of the US Rockies.
Feeling Good
Despite a bit more doctoring than usual we are still fortunate to enjoy good health. Dave had his 7 year-old pacemaker replaced, due to a low battery, but the procedure was uneventful. He had a check-up at the hospital in Loma Linda, CA, where he had been treated for prostate cancer last year; his PSA of 1 and reduced prostate size are encouraging signs that the cancer is cured. (PSA commonly falls gradually after treatment and its "low level" is normally reached after a few years.) Anne, who generally is in perfect condition, has had "water on a knee" for a month or so and has had it drained several times. It doesn't involve any pain or disability, however, and her last doctor (an orthopedic surgeon) said she could safely ignore it and engage in all her normal activities. There has been no recurrence of the skin carcinoma she had removed last summer.
Cheap Gas
Well, we haven't acquired an oil well, but we are exploiting a few "tricks" to reduce our gasoline expenditures. We now have a credit card from Shell which gives is a 5% rebate on gas we buy from them. We often go online for MapQuest to locate the cheapest gas station in the area. Even more effective, I find that when I cruise the interstates at 55 mph, I get 10 to 20% better mileage than when we drive at the speed limit. It doesn't really make our gas cheap but I think if everyone could drive that way it would reduce American oil imports somewhat and then market forces might reduce the price a bit.
