Big Butterfly Year: Portal, AZ

I decided to make Portal its own note rather than incorporating it into the extreme southern AZ note. As mentioned before, I was blessed to stay at the home of Linda Jaske and Paul Hirt. Such great people. Once again, their hospitality was such that I felt like I had not been away for two years. When I arrived, Linda and Paul's neighbor Zola, and her new husband Nate (Zola is in her early 70's btw!) were over, so I was able to join them for dinner and to toast their new marriage. Wouldn't you know, Nate is a big moth enthusiast. So, of course, Nate and I had to talk bugs. Linda about had to move us by force to the dinner table away from the laptop!
Portal is such a great little town. It is very spread out, but only geographically. The people, in terms of frinedship, are very close. In fact, I would argue Portal is more like a family than a community. Many of the people who live there are nature/science nerds to some degree. I told Linda before I left that when I become a rich and famous writer (wink, wink!) I want to have a house in Portal for the summer, one in Alpine for the winter (it snows by the foot there!), and then of course the family property in Ohio which has been in the family since the 1860's.
So anyways, I was loading up the bike to get an early start when I noticed a monarch fluttering in Linda's field. Of course, I HAD TO tag it. While tagging it I noticed a Bordered Patch, the same species I had seen in San Antonio, New Mexico but couldn't get a picture. Well, I got several good pictures, and then of course found another monarch to tag. Linda of course used all this to her advantage. "Since you don't have to stop in New Mexico now, lets run over to Zola's and look at her monarch caterpillars. And we should swing by John's on your way out of town to look at the Desert Holly." Linda knew which buttons to push and I am so glad she did, especially since it looks like I now will not see butterflies again until Saturday.
Sure enough, we found several big fat monarch cats in Zola's field. Then I followed Linda over to John's house. This plant he calls Desert Holly, I must look up in my books. It was a total butterfly magnet, even better than lantana. Picked up two new species for the BBY, Tiny Checkerspot and Southern Dogface, although no pic of the latter. I promised Linda I would post all the butterfly pics I took so she could start learning some of the other butterflies besides monarchs.
CAUTION: DEEP THINKING AHEAD! While the impetus of this trip was book signings and butterflies, I am really beginning to think God had something else in mind. And while Hostile Lookout has sold well, and I have seen some new butterflies, the happy thought that is constantly in the front of my mind is the fun I have had with Linda, Paul, Zola, Nate, Chuck, Jim, Marceline, Pearl, Abbie, and many others. I work with some great folks, but those relationships aren't as developed as the ones with the folks listed above. I think God truly knew what I needed out of this trip.