May 6 (Day 126) - Birding on the sun, 5 new species, fears in remote areas.....

Whew - it is smoking out there today! This did not come as any great surprise to me as the forecast today called for temperatures even higher today than yesterday. I figured I could get my 60-mile ride in before the worst of the inferno set in. I left the Best Western in Ozona, TX at 6:30am to head west to Iraan ("Ira-ann"). This town of 1,200 people would be my home for tonight and my springboard for my ride west to Fort Stockton tomorrow. I managed to make it into town around noon. By that time the temperature had already reached 93F. It is 99F right now.

60 miles today from Ozona to Iraan

I did make one significant birding detour today. I looped off of I-10 for around 20 miles to check a spot from which Gray Vireo was reported a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, I did not really have sufficient information in hand to bird the area efficiently. As a result, I did not stay very long, and I left without even a whiff of the bird. I could not afford to hang around the area any longer because of the quickly rising temperatures. However, this detour was still very productive from both a bird and a scenery standpoint. I was able to flush both Lark Bunting (#357) and Scaled quail (#358) from the roadside of Route 290. I managed a few serviceable looks at each, but I hope to find a few more cooperative individuals in the next few weeks. I also managed to add 3 other desert species in Bushtit (#359), Pyrrhuloxia (#360 - pie-roo-locks-e-ah), and Bullock's oriole (#361). All 5 of today's new birds were added from the bike on my detour along Route 290. I wish I had had more time to search for the vireo, but bypassing it to avoid the punishing heat was the smart decision. I will have more cracks at this bird in Arizona and New Mexico. Once I get out of this heat I will try to take and post more bird pictures. Right now its all about making miles west. Here's a leftover Lark sparrow from 2 days ago.

Today was also the first really spectacular scenery through which I have passed this year. I did not realize that I had spent the morning riding across one of the flat topped plateaus until I suddenly dropped off of it into the Pecos River Valley. From there I snaked around more plateaus until I reached Iraan several hours later. I think I should see more of the same tomorrow on my ride to Fort Stockton.

Sign at the gas station in Sheffield (a town through 

which I passed today). $4.05? I could care less!

This scenery, however, does serve as a sobering reminder of just how far from significant civilization I am at the moment. I certainly experienced a very real sense of vulnerability today, and the ever present heat just serves to remind me of how precarious a position into which I have placed myself. There is not a large margin of error at the moment, and I must continue to carefully weigh the potential risks and benefits of any decision I make. I know that I can always flag down a passing motorist on I-10 should any immediate problem arise, but this does only so much to assuage the fears that I have when I am away from I-10 like today. This is part of the challenge though, and my handing of difficulties to this point suggests I should be able to manage what problems might arise under my present circumstances. Life is largely about how we handle challenging and often scary situations, so I know that ultimately this experience will prove valuable beyond 2014. I will be on I-10 for most of tomorrow, so hopefully this will serve as a nice security blanket for what will be a challenging ride.