Heading to Colorado for the Thanksgiving Holiday, we left Columbia shrouded in moist, balmy air, courtesy of a stiff southerly wind; the latter was produced by an advancing cold front, still in Kansas at the time of our departure. Once we reached Kansas City, the location of the front was obvious as low, gray clouds formed a dense wall across the western horizon.
Passing through the front, the temperature dropped from the sixties to the forties and the wind shifted from the south to the northwest. Layered cloud decks replaced the blue sky and sunshine of our Missouri leg and it looked like our trip across the Great Plains would be far from appealing. Then, in Central Kansas, flocks of snow geese appeared amidst the clouds and my concern about the weather was soon forgotten.
Catching a ride on the strong, northwest winds, these vocal migrants were surely on their way to the Gulf marshes of the Texas Coast. They will probably make another stop in the Arkansas or Red River Valley before pushing on to their wintering grounds and we were fortunate to observe a small segment of their journey from the Arctic. The encounter may have been relatively brief, but the memory will invoke wanderlust in my soul for years to come.
