I woke up around 3 a.m. and can't get back to sleep so here I am on the internet. My back is still sore so I think I'm having trouble getting comfortable. I went skiing with my friend Arran a week or so ago, fell a bunch of times and probably moved some muscle in my shoulder/back that didn't need moved. I'd gone to the chiropractor the previous day and I think I undid all of his work!
Anyway that part isn't interesting but the skiing was. We went cross-country skiing in the La Sals, and it was beautiful. Didn't see any deer, but there were some squirrels out chirpping at us and some ravens. We saw wild turkeys on the way up and down the mountain. Arran is from Canada and skis about as bad as I do, so I didn't feel embarassed when I fell, only when I fell standing still in front of a co-worker did I feel very embarassed. He was headed up the hill when we were headed down. I made it down a couple downhill parts without falling, and felt good about myself for that, but mostly I was concerned with looking for wildlife and enjoying the scenery. Next time I think we are going to head down to Gold Basin instead of Geyser Pass. There are somethings where it's necessary to work up to. I should go this week on my days off, just so I get to ski more than one time this year. It's not that we don't have snow, just that on my own I don't have a whole lot of ambition. It's supposed to snow this week again so I'll have a better reason to ski up there, or maybe even on the mesa in the desert!
I was also thinking of some cool wildlife we had in the park recently (by recently I mean November). We had a bear cub visit the campground. Bears don't really come up here much on purpose. This one went inside a tent trailer when the people were out hiking, ate some food and fell asleep. A camper saw it head inside the trailer, came to the visitor center and let us know. It had been getting into garbage cans, so it was time to call the wildlife people. They came, tranquilized it and took it to Elk Ridge down by Blanding.
The other cool thing was the release of a golden eagle. Second Chance Wildlife Rehabilitation came in one day in late November saying they were on their way into the park to release a golden eagle that had been after some prey, not paying attention and went through the windshield of a Jeep. It was awesome to see one up close, observe the sharp beak and talons (as big as my hand!) and then see the vet who treated it get to release it. That's the first one she's actually been able to release after healing it. I got a great picture of her as the eagle spread it's wings to take off, and her arms were still outstretched as she pushed it away from her body. I'll have to post that picture too, eventually. It's 4:30 a.m. so I should try and sleep before I work at 7 a.m. but I already tried for an hour without much success, so I'm here instead....
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