Angangueo, Michoacan, MEXICO March 6,1995
Dear Journey North,
The monarchs are on their way!
According to the National University of Mexico researchers here, February was much hotter than normal and the monarchs are heading north, sooner than usual. They could be all gone by next week. Some are likely to make it to Texas any day and the Southeastern states by the end of the month.
Fernando Luis Romero, a nine year old fifth grader from the Angangueo Primary School, drove us up to the Rosario sanctuary this morning at dawn, after the weekend rains stopped.
When we arrived it was very cold and windy and we didn't see many monarchs. As we hiked farther up the mountain, the sun started to break through the oyamel fir trees and we could see thousands of them on a single tree. At first we thought the trees were dead, because they were rust orange instead of green. As the sun warmed the forest, the monarchs came alive and started to fly. Within the next hour the sky was filled with a blizzard of orange.
We are filing this report from Fernando's parents' general store just down the street from his school.
Good luck to the other schools and reporting stations now that the monarchs' Journey North appears to have begun.
Mike Cerre Globe-TV
Journey North 125 North First Street Minneapolis, Minnesota 55401 Phone: (612)339-6959