Carey's Playground

October 19, 2007:

Yes, you read the title correctly.  In January, I'm going to Duluth, Minnesota.

Before I get into the specifics of why I'm going to Duluth during the coldest time of the year, let me throw out a few statistics on the area, as only I (and the national weather service) can do.

The average high in Duluth in January is 18F and the average low is -1F.  In 2005, they had a cold snap that brought the temperatures between -6F high and -25F low during the same time period I'll be there.  So why the heck would I want to go there?

Two very simple reasons: 1) Duluth has many birds that you can see in the winter that would require a trip to northern Canada any other time of the year and 2) I'm the adventurous type :)

It just so happens that people will pay upwards of $1700 to have guided tours of northern Minnesota in the winter (see Wings and VENTBird) and Duluth was fourth in Birder's World "Birdwatching Hotspots Where You Can Find the 20 Birds Our Readers Want to See Most" list, boasting the Snowy Owl, the Great Gray Owl, Bohemian Waxwings, Gyrfalcons, and the Northern Hawk Owl.  Also reported, which I would never ever see in Houston (or anywhere in Texas for that matter), are Ruffed and Sharp-tailed Grouse, American Three-toed and Black-backed Woodpeckers, Harlequin Duck, and Red and White-winged Crossbills.  I think even if it turns out to be a horrible birding weekend, I should still be able to add 10 birds to my life list.  Best case, over 20 :-D

For the second reason: I'm from Houston.  I'm lucky if I see snow once a year.  I'm even luckier if I can see the snow actually stick to the ground once every 5 years!  It's time for me to see, what I like to call "real snow."

I was originally planning on using my Southwest Airlines credits to fly into Omaha or Chicago (the closest cities to Duluth that Southwest flies) and drive the 10-11 hours to Duluth, but my Dad pointed out the error of my ways.  Although it wasn't obvious to me at the time, being from Houston, it may not be the most comfortable (or accessible) drive.  After all, I'm only going for 5 nights.  I would hate to spend any of them in a snow bank!  So now we're flying Continental (through their partner, Northwest) straight to Duluth, and we're going to do a series of day trips from Duluth, weather permitting.

That's all I know for now.  I'm sure I'll write more about it as mid-January comes closer.

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