It was such a nani day; no rain, not too cold. We passed by ditches filled with coots (not cooties, u lolos!) and ducks, as well as a gigantic stand of teasle. Sorry, no photos. It was quiet and peaceful, with the exception of the bird calls, which added to the peace of the place.

We rounded a curve, and saw this beautiful Great Blue Heron in the middle of the river. The algae was a weird color, but it made for a great backdrop for the heron.

Julie got a great shot as I slowly drove by.

The neat thing about the refuge is that when you see sights like this, there’s enough room to pull over to the side so that others can pass. You can shut off your engine, and sit for as long as you want. Usually if people see a stopped car, though, they figure there’s something worthwhile looking at, so they usually stop, too.

We drove on a little further, and when I looked in my rear view mirror, I saw that the road had been taken over!

Julie leaned ‘way out the window to get this shot. You’re not allowed to get out of your car except at designated areas, and this wasn’t one of them.

I took a photo through my rear view mirror!

And the heron decided he’d let the cars by after all, and moved out of the way.

We spotted yet another heron a little further on.

And a pair of Canada Geese across the creek.

Suddenly, we heard a loud honking, and saw a whole flock of geese coming our way!

I love this photo! Try look the geese above and their reflection in the water!!

It looked like every single Canada Goose in the refuge was flying overhead! I was ecstatic!!

They kept flying by, hundreds of them!

Stay tuned for the next installment, when we something fantastic!