I had to settle for a day. I can usually get in three to four camping trips to my favorite campground but with starting a new job, there were no trips this summer. I had one day off last week so I took advantage of that and decided on an impromptu road trip to Nordegg.

I left at 8am under a cloudy sky. On the way to Rocky Mountain House there were showers and fog. When I turned west on highway 11, the showers turned to a mist. This didn't stop the wildlife from roaming the ditches.

I noticed ravens and magpies along the roadside. That to me signaled some roadkill in the ditch. As I got closer, a white head appeared in the middle of all the birds. It was my lucky day! A bald eagle was feeding at the carcass. I crept up as close as I could in order to get a photograph but a semi trailer came from the opposite direction and scared up the birds. The eagle flew to a treetop with meat in its claws.

What a beauty! It ate what it brought from the carcass and was ready to fly down for more. I could tell it was ready to fly and had my camera set for a shot. It wasn't to be. Another semi came by and scared the huge bird away just as I pressed the shutter button.

I continued west and came across three separate groups of white tailed deer and some feral horses grazing in the ditch. 

I stopped at my favorite campground but the rain started up shortly after I arrived and I wasn't dressed for hiking in the rain. I stayed close to the day use area where a pair of my favorite birds were swimming close to shore. The loons loved the showers and put on a show for me before I left.

This little day trip didn't really satisfy the longing for time spent at the campsite beside the lake but it will have to do until next year.