ON THIS CONTINENT ALONE, there are 432 species of mammals, more than 800 species of bird, 311 species of reptiles, 295 species of amphibians, 1154 species of fish and more than 100,000 species of insects. ¹

On my quest for the wildlife, I chose to concentrate on the eight hundred species of birds, seeking wildlife refuges and other birding locations to photograph birds in the wild.

It has been suggested to me that I not miss the wildlife refuge in Salineño on the Rio Grande River, so I drive south in search of this location to make this my first stop.

Salineño wildlife preserve, I come to find out located in the area of the World Birding Centers (WBC), of which there are nine locations in the Rio Grande valley (The Valley).

Once set up for the evening and having climbed into my sleeping birth, I begin experiencing the same feelings that I have known when coming upon a journey′s end, feelings of both weal and woe, especially since this is my first overnight after returning from my journey on which took me to the Quest for Mariposa in Mexico.

I remember, during most all my life, these same feeling enveloping me upon reaching a journey′s end. Even starting early during times in my childhood; when a weekend camping trip comes to it′s end; when packing out from summer camp, or when a family vacation is over. Yes, these were feeling mostly of sadness even though having made the journey brought me much happiness.

At the journey′s end, this would happen every single time without fail, and make me think "Wow, that went by so quickly!" Too, because each and every journey was over so soon, I often would reflect on how long I had been waiting for the journey to begin. Yes, the wait before each journey would go on and on, and from my perspective, it seemed to be endless.

Eventually, I came to believe that the journey on was never long enough, that it would never lived up to my expectations and would always pass by too quickly. So, I would save up vacation time for years so that when I did take it, it would last longer. However, even after those extended vacation, the feelings were even then recurrent. With these feeling ever present at my journey′s end, I would yearn for the day when I could begin a journey on, one which I would never have to leave off, but for the most part also believed this to be a quest for a fool′s paradise.

Funny, I can remember not too long ago when waiting many months for the journey to Mexico and thinking that this journey would never begin. Now, I can only reminisce about my fifty-five days in Mexico. Yes, the days of this journey on have flown by and suspect that in no time I will find myselƒ back home in Washington. ²

Quire Six and Chapter Six will record my Passage Three, The Journey of the Me, Part Four. During this journey on, I will be on the Quest for The Wildlife.

Yes, this will be the time that I have decided to purposely go to places where in I may have more than the occasional sighting of wild life. These places are normally called Wildlife Sanctuaries, or here in this country, Wildlife Refuges, mostly of the National variety but also others that are operated on the State level.

I will begin my Quest for The Wildlife here in Texas with the Texas World Birding Center and then expand to other places on this continent, including many of the National Wildlife Refuges and Parks.

Thus, this quire and chapter will records the passage of my quest to see and photograph wildlife during Part Four of The Journey of the Me.