“You came all the way from Louisiana for this opening?” The questioner was a staffer at the Roger Tory Peterson Institute in Jamestown, NY. “Yes,” I said, and by way of explanation, “What you are doing here is my heart beat.”

My piece in the “Art That Matters: Interconnectivity” exhibit is right up front, the second or third piece you’ll see walking into the exhibit. And I love what they say about it. Right on!

The exhibit occupies several rooms at the Institute and is well worth the effort. You will see trees in a different light after you have spent some time with these paintings, drawings, prints, photographs and sculptures.

The Institute as a whole is filled with art and artifacts of Peterson’s crowning achievement–the modern field guide–and his long career as a devoted bird watcher, conservationist and artist. From the building itself to the art to the gift shop full of books, toys and bird-watching gear both attractive and educational, RTPI is well worth a visit.

Indeed, for us living in Louisiana, getting there is a 3-flight plus rental car matter. But it is easy to make the journey worthwhile as well. The last leg is by single-engine, 11-passenger plane to Bradford Regional Airport, a tiny but hospitable place in northwest Pennsylvania 12 miles from the closest town. That was an adventure in itself and you can see more about it on my Facebook feed here.

Between Bradford, PA, and Jamestown, NY, lie the Allegheny River, the Allegheny National Forest, and the Kinzua Dam and Allegheny Reservoir which it forms. Oh, my! I didn’t have nearly enough time to explore, but I did mange to visit the Timberdoodle Flats Interpretive Trail, walk a short distance on the North Country Trail and leave a message in the book for that purpose kept in a box on a post a short distance from the trailhead, climb some stairs around boulders near the beginning of the trail to Rimrock Overlook to a landing over a mist-filled valley, and clamber down a steep path of rock and tree roots to stand next to the bottom end of Bent Run Waterfall.

And that was on the way to Jamestown! On the way back to the airport two days later, I stopped at the Kinzua Dam and several places of spectacular scenery along the highway, as well as drove short distances into the forest on side roads to photograph butterflies feeding on wildflowers in the ditches and listen to the birds. And while in Jamestown, I drove to Dunkirk on Lake Erie, had lunch on the pier, visited the lighthouse, and drove along the shore to Lake Erie State Park where I got my toes wet in Lake Erie.

All in all, friends, it was a glorious adventure from beginning to end. And I do hope, if you are anywhere near Jamestown, NY, in the next several months, you’ll take a little extra time to go to the Roger Tory Peterson Institute to see a marvelous, enlightening exhibit. I’d be honored. Again, the show runs until Oct. 8.