"Got Bliss" Hits the Road!

 

I am now semi-retired (working afternoons most days but with the option for generous time off!) and about to become fully retired in a few months, and travel is on my mind.  In the past year I started seeing someone who is also about to retire and travel is on his mind, too.    We just spent four days freezing our tushies off in Wisconsin, camping at Buckhorn State Park in his new tear-drop trailer, hiking, eating good food, enjoying campfires, and seeing some amazing birds.  

After we settled into our campsite the first night and decided it was too windy for a fire as well as too cold to cook outside. We took off looking for the omnipresent Wisconsin Friday Night Fish Fry.  We were not disappointed!  Just outside the state park we stopped in at the Buckhorn Bar and Grill which looked like the perfect fish fry location, which is to say it looked like a dive bar.  The fish was excellent, the service friendly, AND the wine list was two pages long!  5 Stars for the Buckhorn!!

Did I mention it was a little chilly?

Thank goodness for fire!

The first morning I woke up inside the camper and listened to a bird outside singing joyfully, well lustily really as it's spring and he was searching for a mate I'm sure.  He sang and sang, his tune a series of melodies that he seemed to vary in the order.  I began to think I was listening to a Brown Thrasher, one of my favorite birds, specifically because I love their song.  Once we were out of the camper, we saw him sitting in a little tree at the edge of our campsite, showing us his proud profile as he chirped the morning away.  It was indeed a Brown Thrasher.  He sang every day at dawn and again at dusk, but I'm sorry to say I don't think he found his perfect match that weekend.

The bird magic continued all weekend long.  Two bald eagles flew overhead our site, just above the tree tops.  We watched a turkey run down the path behind the campsite and take off on a very short flight into the trees.  The bluebird that perched in a small tree behind our campsite was the bluest blue I've seen.  And a group of black-capped chickadees flitting around the woods by our site were lured by my chickadee call to come closer and closer, until one landed on the armrest of my friend's chair.

The highlight of the weekend for me, though, was seeing my first Sandhill Crane.  Not just seeing one, but watching it fly across the open field, circle closer and closer, then drop down for a landing just behind some trees.  We walked quietly through the open field until we could see the crane walking through some tall grass, in all his beautiful rust-colored glory.  Before the weekend was over I saw 3 more of these elegant creatures.

photo credit Terski on Pixabay

One of the songs that my friend and I like to sing along to is "The Big Door Prize," by Iris Dement and John Prine.  "In spite of ourselves we'll end up sitting on a rainbow.  Against all odds baby we're the big door prize."  This weekend I was definitely sitting on a rainbow, and the chance to travel more is the big door prize.  More camping is planned for the summer and fall, so stay tuned for travels with Got Bliss as she goes on the road!

To hear the thrasher's song (and read another blog by someone who loves birds) click here

https://musicofnature.com/thrasher-cinema-success/