As the winter winds brought the cold Canadian air further south into the Mississippi River valley, they also brought the eagles, in search of open waters, down from the North for their yearly fishing trip; eagle style. Warmer temperatures had delayed the migration; but, the recent arctic blasts forced the eagles hasty retreat. Pat and I were ready to continue our yearly ritual of searching out this wonder of nature. So, the quest began!

As I was just reviewing some pictures from Saturday’s outing to Keokuk IA for this publication, I got an e-mail from my wife. Actually it was just a “cc” as she was writing to several family members. It contained the following passage:

“Dulany got out in the VERY cold and snowy weather and walked around “Evergreen Walk” took many pictures, which I am sure he now has downloaded onto his website, if you care to view them. http://em-t-nest.blogspot.com/ If they aren’t up there yet, they will be in the near future. NOTE: look for Keokuk, IA trip.

OK, I get the picture. So, yes dear, here are the pictures you promised.

The pictures she is referring to in her e-mail and pictured here are from the now deserted campus of the old Carthage College in Carthage IL. Carthage College had actually moved to Wisconsin some time ago and the campus had been taken over by Robert Morris College. I will quote from her again:

It was pretty sad to see the buildings in the shape they are in at the present time. However, according to their website www.carthage.edu/ , the new college in Kenosha still has the THE OLD MAIN BELL and The Kissing Rock on their campus. I’ve been to the Kenosha Campus once several years ago, and it is a beautiful campus facing Lake Michigan…So glad they moved on.

It is always nice to go back to see places from your past because it gives a permanence but looking back and seeing it in disrepair is a bit depressing. Sometimes you just can’t go back.

The picture at left tells the story. In the forefront is the limited remains of a broken down tree and behind it stands the street lamp which once lighted this walkway of learning. In the background, stands one of the old buildings as empty as the shell of the tree.

So, there we have the touch with the past. It was a thought provoking end for our Saturday outing.

Now, it is time to move out of the past and on to our quest of the day. If you have followed us on our journeys, you know we are looking for new beginnings not shells from the past and Saturday’s outing was no different. It was the beginning of our Eagle days 2007. We headed out early Saturday morning with Keokuk IA as our primary destination. It was a cold but clear January morning and it was great just getting out to absorb some of the rays through the sunroof.

As we crossed the Illinois River on I-72, we didn’t see any evidence of a mighty wingspan overhead. We had never had much luck there last year and we were glad that we were just passing through. As we neared the Mississippi River, we turned north up toward Quincy bypassing the river at this point; as again, it was not a good spot last year. Keokuk was a new destination for us and we were eager to see what it would bring.

As soon as we crossed the river, we pulled down into the riverside park and there in a tree just off the parking lot sat the object of our quest, the awesome American Bald Eagle. It brings a certain reverence to see them. You can see them in a zoo but it doesn’t have the same impact as seeing them in the wild although the blacktop parking lot next to a construction site was not too wild. Once you crop out all but the sky and this elegant raptor, nothing else seems to matter. I stood almost motionless with glass aimed at the back of his head as I waited for him to turn around for a shot. As you can see at left above, he did turn to me before he flew off. I was there and I got it. What a beautiful shot! If this had been the last shot of the day, I could have been satisfied. I had to think back to our first eagle quests last year with inferior equipment. Now, I was in photo heaven. There was another guy there taking pictures with a small point-and shoot digital and although I’m sure it took good pictures there could be no comparison. I know because I had been there just last year about this time. We talked for a minute after the eagle flew off and I showed him a couple of my shots. “I have to get me a camera like that!” He exclaimed. I knew he was now hooked just as badly as I was.

It was morning so we headed back across the bridge into Illinois so we could travel up the east side of the river with the sun to our back as we looked toward the water. We didn’t see any eagles along there. The one area across the river from our original vantage point was blocked off due to eagle nesting. They didn’t even allow foot traffic.

Our next stop was Nauvoo Illinois, the Mormon settlement along the river. We had been there before but that was before photography was such an important part of my life. We looked around the settlement and came upon a couple missionaries talking to Gary and Gabe, a beautiful pair of Holstein Oxen. We got the complete beginners class, Oxen 101. For those of you who didn’t take “Farm Animals 102”, an ox is a neutered bull. They were used for draft animals because although they were only about 1/2 as fast as a draft horse, they were considerably less expensive. Any Bovine Bull can be used as long as he has horns to prevent the yoke from sliding forward.

Looking back toward town from down here near the river, we could see the Mormon temple rising high into the sky. It was beautiful white and gold sparkling in the winter sun. The two men on horseback in the picture below are Joseph Smith Jr. and his beloved brother Hyrum Smith making their final ride from Nauvoo to Carthage, Illinois where they were martyred. Additional information on the temple can be found at: http://www.lds.org/temples/main/0,11204,1912-1-160-,00.html

After taking shots of the temple from angles on all for sides, we headed north a little more and crossed back across the Mississippi to Fort Madison Iowa. We were now at our furthest point from home as we headed back down the west side of the river toward Keokuk again. We had several sightings of eagles along the way and even saw a couple Great blue herons as we headed back into Keokuk. We pulled back down into the riverside park to get a couple more shots of the many eagles we had seen earlier that morning. There wasn’t an eagle in sight! Good thing we got the shots we did in the morning because this visit was a bust!

Now it was time to head back across the river and eventually back to Springfield after our previously accounted Carthage College viewing.
The timing was good as the snows were starting to swirl around us and temperatures were dropping. A warm meal and cozy fire in the fireplace were looking really good right then.

Thanks for joining us as we traversed the state in search of the beauties of nature and the creations of man on these roads less traveled.

A special blessing to Pat’s brother, Jim and all his family who might have come here to take a look back and recount old memories.

Love and Light,
Pat & Dulany

Our visit to Florida included a stop at Florida’s Blue Spring State Park for a view of the Manatees. Here you can see an adult weighing in at about one ton. That is 2,000 pounds of lovable sea mammal. The clear 72 degree spring water makes viewing from the observation platforms outstanding. In the cool winter months, the manatees move up into the Blue Spring run of the St. John’s River for the natural warmth. As the waters warm, they will move further out into the bay. For that reason, it is best to view them in the morning or later in the afternoon on warmer winter days.

Here a mother can be seen with her young as they head out into the bay. This area was rich in other natural wildlife and my camera was often drawn to the beautifully majestic shore birds. While the Great Blue Heron is not exclusive to this part of the country even in the winter months, the surrounding moss laden Live Oak trees make a stupendous background as seen below.

As I add more pictures to my website from Illinois to Texas, you will see this magnificent bird in all these locations. They are one of my favorites and therefore often captured in pictures.

The White Ibis is common to the southern regions and is often found in large groups. I saw this one walking the shoreline looking for food. Another inhabitant was not nearly so active. The alligator below was sunning himself/herself ( I didn’t care to check up close for gender) on a fallen tree. It was at this point, I decided the swimming area was not so inviting if I had to share it with even this less-than full-grown reptile. Although I was less than anxious to share its swimming hole, I was eager to capture its likeness in memory.

One last look down the river and we would be on our way to the next stop along the roads less traveled.

Be sure to check back as we have lots more places to see.