"Welcome to Anne's [aka KimberlyAnn's] Home Page" KimberlyAnn's Profile

Chiquita in the lupin, Bighorn Mountains, Wyoming

My husband and I took an early retirement from teaching, and have enjoyed exploring our country with our fifth wheel camper. Although we have recently gotten out of sailing, in the past I have enjoyed spending a number of summers sailing and exploring the coast of Canada. My favorite camping and anchoring locations are those in unspoiled natural environments. When visiting towns or cities I prefer those with excellent museums, and/or interesting cultural or historical significance.

Note: All photos on my pages are my own unless otherwise stated.

Who Am I?
I am a retired elementary school teacher, and have spent most of my teaching years in Cody, Wyoming mainly in third grade. Now that I am retired I enjoy doing volunteer work in the Buffalo Bill Historical Center's Draper Museum of Natural History. I love the natural world from the deserts to the swamps, mountains to seashore, insects to the largest mammals. Music to my ears may be the clacking of the dry fronds of a palm tree, the sound of waves upon a shoreline, the songs of the birds, the chirp of the crickets, the wind through the pine trees, or the sound of a mountain stream. I strongly believe in protecting our environments and wildlife, even if it means some inconveniences for man. It is we who have placed our planet and its inhabitants in jeopardy, so it is we who must now be the protectors of the planet. I am always curious about the world around me. I will stop in my tracks to examine an interesting mushroom, flower, spider, beautiful beetle, snake, toad, frog, etc. In my younger days I was known to grab a snake at first glimpse, but since moving to Wyoming, one must be sure it isn't a rattlesnake before reaching for it. I yearn for peace and understanding between all people regardless of race, religion, or political beliefs. I was born in southern Wisconsin, but Cody feels like home, as I have spent most of my adult life here. I also live in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan summers. I enjoy hiking, camping with our fifth wheel, photography, reading, observing wildlife, feeding and observing birds, visiting National Parks and Monuments, State Parks, aquariums, environmentally responsible zoos, and museums. I subscribe to "RollingStone" magazine and enjoy blues, rock, and classical music, and am always interested to hear what new artists have to offer. I am married with one grown son who is a graphic designer and lives way too many miles from home. Well that is who I am in a nutshell. May you enjoy my pages and may you find love, beauty, health, and peace in your life.

To find out what books I have read, am reading, or plan to read, visit my book list at:
www.shelfari.com/vtannes-reading-list

Please note: When designing many of my pages, I carefully organize my tips so that they are in an order that will be easily understood, and will make your planning easier. For this reason it is best to view my pages as "Member's Choice." This is especially important for my "Things to Do" and "Off the Beaten Path" tips.

Volunteering at the BBHC’s Draper Museum

Golden Eagle Parent, Leaving Nest

I do a variety of different types of volunteer work for the natural history section of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, including lab work, being a bird handler for our wonderful Greater Yellowstone Raptor Experience, and research work. One of my favorite activities is helping out with our curator, Dr. C. Preston’s golden eagle nest study. Each spring, and until I either leave for Michigan, or until the chick fledges (leaves the nest), I spend a number of hours each week, along with one or two partners, observing and recording data for an assigned golden eagle nest. This study is a long-term ecological research project on Golden Eagles and Sagebrush-steppe Ecology in the eastern portion of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. We are keeping data on the number of active nests in the area, prey delivered to the chicks, and the success rate of chicks fledged, in conjunction with how this relates to such things as human activity, weather, prey available, and other factors.

For additional nest photos, and information about my chick, visit my Personal Page found further down on this page, or click the following link: Studying Golden Eagle Nests for the BBHC.

For more information on this research project, visit our Golden Eagle: Notes From the Field page.

The Greater Yellowstone Raptor Experience

Our peregrine falcon and I during a summer program

I so love working with the birds in the Buffalo Bill Historical Center’s education program, the Greater Yellowstone Raptor Experience. It is absolutely one of my favorite things in life! I feel so very lucky to have the opportunity to be part of this program. The program began in 2011, and features live birds of prey, plus a turkey vulture. If you visit the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, look for us, as we not only offer programs, but can also often be seen with the birds in the garden, or within the museum itself. Ask us questions, and attend one of our programs.

For more information on this program and to meet the birds, check out my Personal Page, The Greater Yellowstone Raptor Experience

You may also enjoy my short video, Isham the Red-tailed Hawk’s Photo Shoot, which includes the hawk, and Melissa Hill, the assistant curator in charge of our educational program; or my slide show highlighting each of our first four birds, Meet the Greater Yellowstone Raptor Experience’s First 4-birds

Pets Wild and Tame

Chiquita and Mr. Chips

Although Cody, Wyoming is my hometown, we often spend summers in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Here I enjoy various waterfowl, hummingbirds, chickadees, woodpeckers, gold finches, bald eagles, and chipmunks. At one time the resident chipmunks were almost like a second pet. They come begging for peanuts, which the neighbors and we handed out. Some years they were so tame that they would run up your leg and looked in your pockets for peanuts, or jumped into your lap, where if you had peanuts handy they would happily sit feeding out of our hands. There have even been some that let you pet them---as long as they were eating something that is. We had one chipmunk that we named Mr. Chips for about four years. He was one of our favorites. When we would arrive at the cabin in the spring, there Mr. Chips would be waiting for us. We could identify him by a scar he had on his face. Much of the food that we handed out was stored away. Mr. Chips was the only chipmunk that could carry 5 peanuts at once, two in each cheek, and one in his mouth. In the photo you see Mr. Chips and our pet bird, Chiquita. Cute, but not too healthy. My husband had to make Chiquita a new perch out of a tree branch with no place for food, so now when she goes out at the cabin she has her little tree, and there is no food to entice the chippies with. Even so, sometimes chipmunks will still occasionally climb her tree and check her out---peanut breath maybe?

In the last few years we have stopped feeding the chipmunks. Although we were careful not to over feed them, making sure that they were still out foraging for wild food to store away for the winter, as chipmunks should, it had gotten so that they were always under foot, and we were afraid of stepping on one.

Some of My Most Detailed Pages

Pilot Peak, a Road from Cody, Wyoming.

Some of my most detailed pages are my hometown of Cody, Wyoming, and Houghton, Michigan (my second home). Since I live need these two towns, I will try to keep these pages updated as much as possible. Cody is considered the East Gate Community of Yellowstone National Park, and you will find Yellowstone listed on my "Off the Beaten Path" section in my Cody Pages. Here I have listed my recommended sites to visit if you only have a few days in the park. For more information on Yellowstone visit my detailed Yellowstone National Park, My Neighbor pages. To learn about a wonderful Wyoming national park that is centered around what in my opinion, is one of the most beautiful mountain ranges in the U.S, visit my Grand Teton National Park pages. I have also created a detailed section on Everglades National Park, which I have visited twice.

A Sailor's Perspective

Sailing Across Lake Superior

Although we have recently given up sailing, you may still enjoy some of my pages that will give you a perspective of travel while living aboard a sailboat. These are: my Thunder Bay, Canada page, be sure to view the travelogues "Sailing the Wilderness Islands of Ontario"; the travelogue attached to my Copper Harbor, Michigan page titled "Traveling to Copper Harbor Aboard Impulse"; the travelogue attached to my Marquette, Michigan page "Sailing to Marquette With Our Surprise Visitor"; and the travelogue entitled "Visiting Pictured Rocks by Dinghy" attached to my Munising, Michigan pages.

Rock Formations and Hikes

Candle Stick In Utah

If you enjoy rock formations, and wonderful places to hike, visit my Utah page. Utah has 5 spectacular National Parks, each different in their own way. I have summarized each of these 5 National Parks, including a photo with each in the "Must See" section of my Utah area. I have also created more detailed pages for Zion National Park, Canyonlands National Park, and each of the other Utah National Parks. To explore some different types of rock formations, look underground at my Carlsbad Caverns National Park pages.

Places of Interest

Sandhill Crane

If you are interested in learning about the "Real Florida," filled with natural environments the way they once were, see my Finding Florida, Today and the Way It Was pages. If you are interested in deserts, visit my Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Saguaro National Park, and Death Valley pages. If you would be interested in visiting a really out of the way national park in Texas, visit my Big Bend National Park pages at Big Bend National Park, Texas, U.S.A.. To explore the part of our country that I think is the most beautiful visit my Monterey, California pages, and my Big Sur pages. And did you know that Bowling Green, Kentucky is the home of the Corvette? If you love beaches, check out my California State Beaches:Carpinteria, Leo Carrillo, Pismo Beach, and San Elijo. Besides these I have a variety of other places on my travel page's list that I hope will introduce you to some wonderful places to visit. May you enjoy your travels, where ever they take you, and may your knowledge of the world and your understanding of other people be broadened by them.