Our RV, Harley, has returned to home base!  We arrived home in it at about six a.m. this morning, pulled into our driveway, parked, crawled into our bed in the back, and slept for about two hours.  We had completed a marathon run from southern Illinois starting yesterday morning with only brief stops along the way.  After breakfast this morning, we wacked weeds to make a path, opened up the house, and unloaded the camper. 

There was a mixture of joy and sadness.  Our adventure is over, but we are glad to be home and will visit my (Chuck's) parents and sister tomorrow in York.  Anne likely will drive to NYC next week to check up on our recuperating Elley.  I (Chuck) will probably stay with my parents while she is there and provide comfort as my Dad recovers from his foot surgery and Mom adjusts to her new disability (leg weakness.)

We were headed home most of this week.  We left the Carbones after a great three day visit to Great Sand Dunes and drove to the high prairie of Eastern Colorado where we successfully located and observed a half dozen Mountain Plover, a life bird for us.  Finding the bird on the first of two days set for the task, we left Colorado a day early and arrived in Illinois after a two-day drive with a short night's sleep in a Cracker Barrel Restaurant parking lot.  We hoped to find migrating Buff-bellied Sandpiper in Illinois, but instead found the fields there flooded.  This sandpiper stops at dry fields, so after one day of fruitless searching we left Illinois a day early as well.  The abbreviated visits allow us to join my sister in York tomorrow.  She has to return to work at Princeton on Monday.

So, now our motorhome is turned off and resting quietly here.  We lived in it some 22 weeks since leaving Pennsylvania in the middle of March.  We enjoyed grand visits to many friends and relatives and our son, of course.  We also found many birds, including some 43 life-birds.  So far this year we have seen 457 species of birds and will probably see 500 before the year is over.  A good year for birding.

So much for now.  We are happy to be home, but tired after the travel and unpacking.  We still have to clear off the bed in the house so we can sleep inside tonight.  Housecleaning will wait until after tomorrow's visit to York.  The house appears to be in good shape and everything, including the water pump started this morning.  Pennsylvania looks very green after our months in arid parts of the West.  We enjoy the moisture, even the humidity.