Eagle River Redux - Until Next Time

Over the last couple of weeks we've been reliving our extended weekend in Eagle River along the banks of the Wisconsin River (See Part I and Part II).  While the first two days and most of the third could not be categorized as "ideal weather", toward the end of the third day there were hints of blue sky and the thermometer started to creep up just a little bit.

In last week's post I recounted the excitement of finally having the opportunity to have a bald eagle dive down to the river for lunch while I was right there in the action AND had the camera in my hand.  While exhilarating, the one word I would use to sum up the experience would be "almost" and the one image that most represents that feeling is this one.

Day 4

Coming at ya!

Our last day at River Escape came way too soon and was a short one to boot.  Having to repack and reload left little time to park my butt on the dock, but I did get up early and spent a few hours on the river with my wild friends.

A king fisher does a fly by

It was pretty foggy that morning and things were pretty quiet to match the atmosphere. Eventually though, the sun rose high enough into the sky to burn off the fog and the river once again began to come alive.  The ducks made their normal ruckus, a few other birds, such as the king fisher, made their presence known and I even had a mink run past so close that I never got a photo.  He came down the hill behind me and scooted under the dock before I was able to turn the camera its direction.  He then got in the river and swam around the corner along the bank so fast that all I could do was sit and watch.

Sitting in the fog that morning you could hear the eagles calling from above in the trees.  Very cool.  As the fog lifted, opportunity came knocking again when the second of the eagle pair perched in the trees across the river from me.  Could this be a repeat of yesterday?

Sure enough! Down she came from the tree tops at a nice easy glide looking for breakfast to resurface....

No fish today either, but what a way to end the trip.  Thank you!

Until Next Time

I started out the "Eagle River Redux" series of posts by painting a picture of my ideal venue for recharging the ol' batteries and boy did this trip deliver. Again.  It was a real treat to have my wife let me shoot with her longer Sigma 150-500 f/6.3 lens (thank you again) and what I could only describe as a spiritual experience to share this incredibly tranquil section of the Wisconsin River with its wild residents.  Relaxing with my wife in the outdoor hot tub in the evenings, walking our dog down this wooded, rustic stretch of territory during the day and enjoying our feathered children (the parrots) in this beautiful rental in between resulted in a vacation we won't soon forget.  Thank you too to Adventure Rentals for allowing us to share this amazing location.

Until next time, keep on click'n.
-Ken