A Little Safari

Yes, we went on a Safari, an Eagle Safari! 
Note: All photos are by Ray.

Smith's Island area near Lock and Dam

Ray loves shooting eagles with a camera so we went to find some. There are a few near Dubuque, Iowa, but it is hard to get very close to them. On Saturday, Ray and a friend were near Prairie du Chein, Wisconsin, and saw quite a few eagles but he really wanted to see more.

On Monday we headed to the Quad Cities (Bentendorf and Davenport, Iowa and Moline and Rock Island, Illinois). Our little overnight safari became an adventure. We arrived at our airbnb rental which was nothing special and found a few little problems such as no toilet paper! 

As we unpacked the car, we realized that we forgot one overnight bag – interesting, since we only had 2 small overnight bags! We had all of the camera equipment, the cooler, and my knitting – the important things! We had forgotten our computers, all charging cables including the ones for our phones, my curling iron, and a few other items. So this would be unplugged time. We each had a change of clothes, deodorant, and toothbrushes – pretty basic – but sufficient!

After a quick visit to a Visitor Center, we headed for the Rock Island Arsenal, a place we've never been. This is an active US Army facility so we had to go through a criminal background check with the FBI's National Crime Information Center. We passed! The reason for our visit was photography; we were told we could only take pictures towards the water with our backs to the Arsenal or the police would pick us up. It was late afternoon and not many people were around as we were near the dam taking photos. A police car went by us a few times and then parked a short distance away. We were VERY CAREFUL to keep our backs to the Arsenal! 

Sunset Park

Next we headed to Sunset Park in Rock Island. As one man described it, there were walls of eagles! The trees were full and the birds were flying and fishing. The gulls and the ducks were busy too. It was fun to watch and Ray loved getting photos.

Sunset Park

Tuesday morning found us back at Sunset Park. The soft light was perfect for pictures. As we traveled north, we stopped at Smith's Island. It was a short, refreshing very chilly wind hike out to the spot where the eagles were. We could see them but couldn't get very close. 

Sunset Park

Ray found this squirrel eating a fish!

Smith's Island

Both Monday and Tuesday were gorgeous, sunny days. We had a great time and I got to spend Valentine's Day with my Valentine even though I didn't get a morning shower, my hair wasn't curled, I didn't have makeup, . . .