WE SAW AN EAGLE…maybe…from a distance…

Today started out with Oregon sunshine dripping from a partly cloudy sky.  Holding promises of “partly sunny” in our hearts, we set out to enjoy the day.

First stop: Breakfast.  We visited Jakes Café or the Grubstake as it says on the door.  What ever you call it, this little café in Harrisburg was mighty fine.






We didn’t go away hungry, I tell you what!!  And the prices were reasonable.

A stop at our favorite riverside park in Harrisburg for a little walk and  a look at the bridge and flowering trees.


This park goes a long way along the river and right across the street is a residential area.  Lucky people!!  These cats were very wary and kept their eyes on Poppy – and US!!  They definitely did not back down and we just kept walking.








This fella had the prime spot!



Yup there he is at the base of the Space Needle restaurant (look closely down by the fence).  If anything falls, he will be the first to take care of it!






Poppy and Russ continued on their walk down the hill.  Poppy was dragging a little bit coming back uphill and I think maybe Russ was too!!


On to the Snag Boat Bend Unit of the Finley National Wildlife Refuge – a first visit for us.  A wonderful elevated boardwalk is the first path you see.


The path goes on across a wooded area and into a meadow but we didn’t venture that far.




But what caught our eye was the large bird perched on top of an old snag.  Could it be a Golden Eagle?  We both snapped away, with the sun in our eyes…well that’s our excuse anyway.  It was quite a ways away!

I even got off a quick shot as the bird started to rise into the air.  Now bear in mind, we are complete novices as bird watchers and our eyes are not the best, but we came home all excited to see our eagle pictures.  When I put them on the big screen, it was completely obvious that we had not spotted an eagle, or a big hawk, but a great big…..

TURKEY VULTURE!  He was probably checking us out to see if we made it back to the car!  We might have been on his wish list for dinner.




Well, it was fun anyway and this bird certainly does have an impressive wing span.  We’ll keep looking for that eagle…I’m sure he’s out there somewhere.