h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Last Sunday, I volunteered at Winterfest. I spent an entire day out in the snow and ice slip sliding my way across sloping terrain and bridges . I played a blindfolded game of tag and helped with ice carvings. I made friends with some wonderful sled dogs.

Before the exhibits were set up, I spoke with the exhibitor from the local Herp society and asked him if he had any ideas on how to get me past my fear of snakes. When asked how bad was it, I told him I didn't throw up any more by simply touching a picture of a snake. By the end of the day, he had handed me the non-business end of a 6 foot king snake. I let it crawl across my hand and wrap it's tail around my wrist. The faces I made had him stifling his laughter. I did wash my hands after handling the snake, but I didn't upchuck.

Tomorrow I am going out eagle watching at Starved Rock State Park. They guarantee you will see a bald eagle or your money will be refunded. We will be hiking along the bluffs overlooking the river. There will be bridges and stairways which I have been informed are ice-covered and slippery. I am facing a day full of possible/probable triggers.

Who knows what tomorrow's trip will unearth.

It shall be interesting.



(ok...so where's the smiley for stupid??? )

Hiya Richenda!! It's great to hear from you again! I'd love to hear how your trip went ... please tell me if you saw a Bald Eagle!

Eagle watching was wonderful. We got to the lodge at around 10 am and got seats for the 2pm Raptor show. We proceeded out back to check out the eagles. Being binocular inept, I had no clue how to adjust them. When I finally figured out that you can position the distance between the sights to match your eye width , I began focusing them. The first thing to come in focus was a soaring bald eagle! I followed him for over 5 minutes in flight and then he took roost on eagle island. He looked close enough to touch.

BTW...thanks Krispy for the use of your binoculars . They were the most powerful anyone had with and the group leader borrowed them for a better look.

We then proceeded out to the Rock. You start by going down a very steep wooden stair case. Not too bad...not no snow or ice, yet. When the stairs end, there is a three foot drop to the next challenge. You now come to about 30 - 40 feet of 'conservation stairs'. These are two foot wide levels cut into the hillside with wooden beams at the horizontal ends to prevent erosion. The wood is mostly clear but the levels are TOTAL ice covered. Oh yeah, the slope is roughly 65%. There is NO way I am trying the steps. The area next to the conservation stairs is clear of snow and ice on one side. I manage to climb over and under fallen limbs and make it down to the next level area. (What goes down, must come up...gulp). Across a very level area and back up steps to the rock. We spent the next hour watching bald eagles and lots of other breeds of birds. At one point, I had 5 of them in view at a single time. It was 18 degrees with a brisk wind making it feel more like 6 degrees but we had unlimited visibility.

We then headed back to the lodge. Down the stairs was interesting. We had been in one spot so long, my leg decided to go numb and lock on me. No feeling from the knee down. Not fun. Across the level area. The ice mountain loomed ahead. No way to slide uphill. One of the gentlemen in our group was a scout leader. He had appointed himself my guardian . He was going to make sure I made it back to the lodge. With a little bit of help from my friend (ok…so in some spots it was a lot of help), I managed to walk up the conservation steps on the wood supports. It’s been 24 hours and my heart rate is finally back to normal.

We did a little more bird sighting and went in for lunch. Sat by the fire and ate. Looked around the conservation exhibits. Got to pet a skunk, bunny, chinchilla, and a ball python . We boarded the van and went across the river to get a different view. Back to the lodge for the Raptor show.

Now we got to see the birds up close. They had falcons, owls and eagles. One of the eagles is native to South Africa, but I can’t remember the breed. Most of the birds they simply walked around the room, but some of them they flew. The barn owl flew close enough over my head to make my hair flutter. All of these birds had been raised in captivity for educational purposes except the bald eagle. They had rescued him as a fledgling. His parents had built their nest in a rotten tree and it had fallen down into a river. He was the only one rescued. Having imprinted on humans, they could not let him go.

It was an absolutely fascinating day and I plan on going again next year.

I have several pictures that I hope to have links for later. The outside shots are not very good, but the ones from the presentation are interesting. But if anyone would like to see the kinds of birds that I was viewing this is a really good link. The only thing he doesn't have up on his sight are the bald eagles. They are on a migratory pathway that takes them over the park at this time of year.

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Valley/6647/birds.html

Hello again Richenda! It sounds like a real adventure! I am very happy you made it through ... it sounds like you really enjoyed the experience!

You know, I take my mom on trips every now and then - I mean, out into the wild, up mountains etc. I've onced carried her up a mountain on my back! My mom is now 59, and her health is fairly good, except for her lungs. She smoked for a long time and only quit a few years ago. She still gets short of breath a lot. When I take her out, I make sure we travel very slowly. But she knows that I can carry her, if necessary.

Anyways back to you ... petting a python, wow! I like touching snakes. The chinchilla must have been nice for you! How was the skunk?

We have lots of places with raptors over here. There are many in the wild of course, but there are also some 'on show'. Near Pietersburg we have an 'entertainment world' (actually a casino) where they also have raptors ... they had a trained vulture! I took some videos of it. Vultures are really interesting birds. They also had falcons, eagles and owls over there. I really do love barn owls.

I saw the raptors in your link and I would love to see more pictures!