Life can be so interesting. One minute you are up and the next you are down, down, down. For example, a few weeks back Artie told me we were going to Scottsdale, Arizona on a combined business/pleasure mini trip. He was to attend a conference and we were going to go early so we could do a rail trip to the Grand Canyon and visit Sedona. The other fun part of this trip was getting to visit with my niece, Gina, and her family who recently were relocated to Arizona. What made this more fun was that my mom has been visiting with Gina for several weeks and we were going to get to see her too. Well...that was not to be! The conference was canceled due to lack of attendees! This broke my heart. I brooded and pouted for two days. Then, I decided to get out of the "pity pool" and plan an impromptu weekend getaway!
I am an animal and nature lover, mainly because I love what I see through my camera lens. Not long ago I received an email from a friend that highlighted bald eagles nesting in Vancouver, and how some men actually feed the eagles every year about this time to encourage their nesting there. The eagles come back to nest in the same area each February. The photos on this email were amazing! Since I knew we couldn't get away to Vancouver a light bulb went off in my mind and I remembered viewing bald eagles in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. That got the wheels moving. I went online and searched for info about the majestic birds in Prairie du Chien. One thing led to another and I decided we would go to Galena, stay at our favorite place - The Inn at Irish Hollow - and use this as our base for going to Prairie du Chien. While wandering around the town of Galena we decided to check the Visitors' Information Center. The lady who greeted us told us we didn't have to drive all the way to Wisconsin to view the eagles, that Galena had many and they were not far away. She told us exactly where to go to see them - an old abandoned Army station (apparently where bombs and other explosives were made and tested). We took a drive to the site and since it was mid-afternoon had few expectations of seeing the eagles. We did see one mature one as it flew away because we scared it, and one "immature" one, whose photo is attached. I knew this particular bird was a young eagle since it did not yet have its white head. This bird was gracious enough to hang around to let me get some great shots of it. My heart was pounding in my chest I was so excited to be so close to this amazing bird.
This sighting inspired us to make an early morning trip back to the site the next day. Jackpot! We arrived shortly after 10 a.m. when the birds typically are feeding or working on their nests. We were able to see 10 eagles, and the highlight was to see a nesting pair perched together in one tree. Unfortunately they flew away before I could get a photo of them, but just seeing them so close to me was an experience I will remember for a long time to come.
Although it wasn't quite the warmth and ethereal beauty of Arizona, we saw beauty in another form. Winter in Galena is spectacular. The natural beauty of the rolling hills of northwestern Illinois takes on a different type of beauty when snow blankets it. Life gave us lemons, but we did make lemonade. Thank you, Galena, for taking us away and making us so happy. Thank you bald eagles for proving that you are worthy of being our national bird - so graceful, so majestic, and so beautiful.
No comments:
Post a Comment