Bear River Bird Sanctuary

Ask me what my idea of a perfect vacation day would be and this trip to the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge (near Brigham City, UT) would pretty much encapsulate it all.  We were out in the fresh air, unrushed, and surrounded by one of the most idyllic settings on earth.  The only thing that would have made it better is if I'd had Glen and the kids with me. 

About a 90-mile drive from my parents' house, I had truly never seen so many birds in my entire life and I was so completely enraptured with the scenery that I could have stayed there for days on end. 

We took the 12-mile driving loop around the sanctuary and  I felt like a little kid as I constantly was yelling for my sister to stop the car so I could take a picture. 

The picture below is probably my very favorite out of the whole bunch and I'm pretty sure that this is a good glimpse of what heaven looks like. 

This ring-necked pheasant was as gorgeous as the scenery and I was glad to have seen it before we left. 

In the middle of our drive, it started snowing lightly which made the scenery and the close-ups all the more stunning. 

This straight stretch of road just called out for us to stop and take some portraits of each other.  I love this one of my youngest brother, Tim (the mountain man).

All three of us were having fun with our cameras...

Over the course of the drive we saw  tundra swans, clark's grebes, double crested cormorant, great blue heron, northern shovelers, Canadian geese, red-tailed hawk, ring-necked pheasant, a sandhill crane, American coots, magpies, American avocets, northern pintails, western meadowlark, lots of ducks (in many varieties), a deer, a gazillion birds that we didn't recognize, and rustling around in the bushes we discovered a friendly little skunk who couldn't decide whether to come closer to the car or to stay hidden!   We saw him peek out of the brush three or four separate times before disappearing again.   

 Don't worry....we stayed nice and safe in the car during that stretch of the drive. 

Our only disappointment of the day (if spending a few hours in such a heavenly place could be disappointing) was not seeing any bald eagles.  Other than that, it was awesomely awesome and I plan on visiting again as soon as possible.

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PS  The reason why I watermarked these photos with "World Adventures of the Crain Family" is because I am also adding them to my family's travel photo blog.    It is definitely still a work in process, but with as much as my parents and siblings like to travel (and take lots of photos), it's a fun place to gather the photos all into one place. 

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