If you have followed the posts since the beginning, you know I have a nephew named Scott that went to Madagascar with me and a group of people led by a young man named Devin Edmonds. Devin is now working on his doctorate at the University of Illinois. My nephew is also working on his Doctorate at Yale and is doing his early field work in the sagebrush of western Wyoming. From the last post you know I have a VW van that has gone on its first long test drive after it has had work done. I like to roam, and the Covid situation has had me cancel two planned trips and postpone a second trip (led again by Devin) to Madagascar that was supposed to occur in November of 2020. Well, you might see where I am going with this. I asked my wife to accompany me on a roadtrip to visit some folks. It is possible to keep a social distance with dispersed camping and that is what we are trying to do. The biggest question is…will the 1993 van be up for a 5,000+ mile round-trip journey. We decided to give it a chance.
The first stop was to be after an eleven-hour drive to a state recreation area called Kickapoo, in eastern Illinois. After seeing a lot of cornfields, soybeans, and quite a few huge wind turbines, we made it. We confirmed our reservation to meet Devin for breakfast at a place that converted its parking lot to socially distanced tables under a big tent outside. The food was good and the conversation better. We talked about his masters research on the ornate box turtle. He outlined his thoughts on what he wants to do with his research on a rare Mantella frog from Madagascar (pictured above) that not much is known about and may be threatened with extinction. We talked about how he came to have a passion for herpetology and how being blessed with outstanding parents: his dad a librarian (now retired) at the University of Wisconsin, and his mom an educator specializing in teaching writing, gave him freedom and motivation. It is no wonder he published books when he was very young. It was so good to catch up with him and meet his adorable daughter. My wife is not much into turtles, frogs, or snakes, but she does love interacting with little children.
So with the first leg of the journey complete, it was time to head further west. For a few photos along the way click here. I will post about my nephew after we get to Wyoming .