“I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.” — Jimmy Dean
Looking down canyon from the Palo Duro Canyon State Park interpretive center ... Photo by Pat Bean
Day Seven
I took one last early morning hike and then a final drive around Lake Colorado City State Park before getting back on the road. I was rewarded with bluebonnets and a roadrunner. The bluebonnets, as always, cheered the soul while the road runner brought a smile to my face.
It’s a long-legged bird that prefers running to flying, hence its name. It has a bad-hair-day crest that bobbles with every step. I can never watch a roadrunner without thinking of the Coyote and Roadrunner cartoon, in which the bird always outsmarts the wily coyote.
I was still smiling when I got back on the road for the 250 -mile trip this day to Palo Duro Canyon State Park. The smile, however, had disappeared by the time I passed Snyder and was traveling down Highway 84. It was typical West Texas landscape but with an added touch. I occasionally had to dodge blowing tumbleweeds. While the storm of the night before had passed over, it left behind high gusting winds that tormented my RV and kept me clinching the steering wheel so I wouldn’t get blown off the road or into a passing vehicle.
It didn’t let up the entire journey; not only did it make driving tense, it also keep most of the birds I would see along
Osprey on a windy day ... Photo by Mike Baird, Wikipedia
the roadside tucked away. The exception were the turkey vultures. Like the postman, the weather never keeps these birds from their daily routine.
Finally as I approaching Palo Duro, Texas’ minature Grand Canyon, I did see another bird circling above. An osprey? Surely my eyes were playing tricks on me. Osprey eat fish and I didn’t know of any nearby lake.
At the park check-in, as always, I asked for a bird list and information on any rare or unusual birds seen recently. “Just an osprey,” the park worker replied. “He was seen eating a big trout taken from one of our streams.”
“And he ate it all,” chimed in another staff member.
Birds never cease to amaze me.
Photos and prose copyrighted by Pat Bean. Do not use without permission.
Pat Bean's blog 