“What is your favorite UC reserve?” That’s one of the most common questions students in my class ask me. It’s an absolutely fair question, but unfortunately, I still don’t have a solid answer. I’ve been to 24 of the 42 field stations in the University of California’s Natural Reserve System, and they each have something interesting to offer. I love the Granite Mountains in the Mohave Desert because of the amazing scenery. McLaughlin Reserve in Lake Country has weird serpentine soils leading to incredible botany. Rancho Marino on the San Luis Obispo coast has the best tide pooling that I’ve ever experienced. Angelo Reserve is idyllically nestled in a beautiful meadow along the pristine south fork of the Eel River. James has rare frogs, Sagehen has rare fens, and Hastings has a storied history. The point is, I don’t have one favorite reserve, I have many.

              I have trouble with “what’s your favorite…” questions in general, and that’s especially true with natural history type questions. How do you ever pick a favorite bird or flower or mountain? There are just too many options and the field is too crowded. Narrow it down a little and I might have an answer: Favorite duck—Barrow’s Goldeneye, favorite plant in the Borage family—Phacelia nashiana, favorite peak in Colorado—Mount Bellview. But even then, I reserve the right to change my mind or give you multiple answers.

              I think my wanderlust is a separate but related phenomenon. When vacationing or travelling, I tend to prefer going to new spots rather than revisiting favorites. For me, the allure of the new experience trumps the assurance of a trusted spot. It’s one of the reasons I love my job. Each of my twenty runs of the California Ecology and Conservation class has had a unique combination of students, weather, research project topics, and critters. And I’ve never gone to the same reserves in the same order.

But as I close in on three years of my life on course, I have developed some habits. Every time I visit Angelo, I climb Black Mountain to see my favorite hybrid oak tree. At James, I visit the local population granite spiny lizards on the Four Saints Trail. At Rancho Marino, I check specific rocks for the endangered black abalone. And when I return to Blue Oak Ranch Reserve, I’ll say hello to the California tiger salamander larvae in a nearby pond. These habits, combined with the interesting year-to-year comparisons that come with returning to the same places at the same times do have a certain appeal. While I’m nowhere near ready to stop visiting new places, I am becoming more excited about returning to the same ones. And that includes some local spots near my new Winston-Salem home. With my return to North Carolina a couple weeks away, I’m already getting exited to bird, botanize, and herp my new favorite haunts.