Some Excursions

Two Outings over the last two days….. one GREAT the other blahhh.

First the latter.

We all went to a rather newish place (I could tell as construction was still incomplete) called Polar Park. Now to be fair, we are still almost in that region, and it is decidedly frigid in the Winter with an accompanying layer of Polar Particles that usually stands around six feet deep, but…… what do you think of when someone tells you that you’re going to Polar Park?

                     POLAR BEARS!

                     Unfortunately, our proximity to the Polar Region is not good enough for that to happen unless the Polar Bears are heading south for some vacation time. And that would be fatal as they cannot handle the warmer(!?) temps around here compared with their usual habitat, so….. no Polar Bears in the Polar Park!

                     But that is just the side-story as the Park itself left a few things to be desired…… for me, that would be flatter terrain. The Park sits across a very vibrant, snowfield fed, gushing river on a large hillside. This means that the walk through it requires going up and down the accompanying (rather steep) hills. Something that I was not prepared for and/or able to do without an effort that was not what I deemed worth it after I glimpsed the enclosures that the other critters were in.  One of the positive aspects of this facility is that the animals here are in very large enclosures (not cages or compounds) that are considered to be the largest in the world for this kind of facility. Well, that’s just fine except that they still need fencing/wire mesh around these large enclosures which means that I’m trying to shoot through the wires and hopefully not get the fencing on the other side in the photo!

                     But in reality, that was just the Final Excuse that I gave myself as the Primary Pretext was that I am in no shape to attempt those hills.

                     “Well Donny, what about the others in your Senior Stiffs Group? They’re no Spring Chickens and they all made it!”

                     Thank you Mr. Sympathetic, I knew someone would bring that up, but they were not carrying 453,000 pounds of camera gear and had a new-fangled heart valve installed (which I did not feel like testing to its max) and besides….. I stepped on a rock, and the sun was in my eyes and I saw a mosquito and………..

                     Anyway, I did an about-face and headed back down to Headquarters and waited for those Athletes to return. Paula, Carol, and Glenn were able to capture some good pics and I will share them here!

Now…  the former…..

                     Yesterday was an example of the epitome of an anticipated O.I.G. (Outing of Incredible Greatness!). I had booked myself on a Sea Eagle Safari by R.I.B. No…. there were no BBQs in sight, an RIB is a Rigid Inflatable Boat (otherwise known as a Zodiac after the company the invented them). But doesn’t Sea Eagle Safari sound really exciting!!!??? I didn’t even know what a Sea Eagle was!

                                I still had the extra baggage of all the gear but was confined to my area of the boat and just had to stand or sit for the duration. We all had to wear these giant Exposure Suits designed to keep us warm and dry and there were inflatable “around the neck/shoulders” life vests that I was not sure that would hold me up with the waterlogged survival suit and the camera gear, but the weather was nice and there we were! Me and about eleven others were treated to good sightings of Sea Eagles, aka White-Tailed Eagles. These relatives of our Bald Eagles snuggle in nicely in about fourth place on the “Largest of” list and this depends on exactly what you are referencing as the top spots on that list can overlap depending on the aspect being measured. Rest assured, all of them are really, really big! These puppies log in with a wingspan of at least six feet, with the averages falling well over seven feet! The Harpy Eagle of South America is “larger” (weight) but has a shorter wingspan, so you can see how measuring all the large birds of prey and coming up with the Ultimate B.O.P. can be difficult.

                                But they sure are photogenic! Especially when the weather cooperates! See below!

The next one…….

Now we’re gonna snag some snack-type little fish!

Now for a few random pics from random days…..

Sorry….. I never envisioned Norway like this!