I also like Sam the Eagle.

The whole reason for the Southern Oregon adventure had to do with something I read in a guide book about 500 bald eagles nesting there in the winter. I'm not a big bird fan... Well, I'm a Big Bird fan but I'm generally not into birds other than the very large, very small and very odd varieties. So, although the bird refuges just across the border in CA did not excite me, they did interest me.

I spent a lot of time that day watching raptors float mid-air on their way to doing nothing. I was guided through the auto tour by the same gorgeous golden eagle. It was a little early in the season for bald eagles en masse, but I encountered three of the nine bald eagles recently seen in the area. Two are here:

Grungy and scrappy and scavengery and therefore worthy of being our nation's emblem? Sure. Creepily watching me as I ate my sandwich and photographed them? Definitely.

These weekend trips have been tolerance experiments. I'm quite the planner, but to stay flexible (and sane) in South America I need to let some of that go. For these recent trips I knew where I was staying (and generally speaking, what was in the area). Hells Canyon Scenic Byway and Crater Lake were planned, and they were nice. The John Day Fossil Beds and Lava Bed caves were not planned - I ran across them in a guide book the night before and they ended up being my favorite part of the trip...

All of which is to say, I think the experiments are working.