Tundra Bean there, Done that

    We left the hotel at 5 AM in the driving rain. It was a dark, dark road that never seemed to get any brighter. I've driven through a lot of weather situations in my travels but I'm not sure that I've ever driven though rain that was coming at me from five different directions. The first few hours of the trip were through forests of redwoods and along the coast with zero street lights and fewer guardrails in places that needed them. Once the "sun" finally came up I stopped for much needed coffee and to let my hands relax from clenching the steering wheel....we continued on. It took six and a half hours to reach our destination: Nestucca Bay NWR. The rain had eased up as we made the turn into the entrance road and within 14 seconds "there it is" is all I could say. The visiting Tundra Bean-goose that has been overwintering at the refuge stood out like a sore thumb. Well to me it did anyway. We parked and I got out and grabbed the scope at the exact same moment the skies opened up again and the wind almost blew the scope off the deck. Another couple was there and asked if I had seen the bird. I explained where it was, that it was with a dozen Canada geese and put the scope on it and they still couldn't see it. I guess sore thumbs are different for me.... You be the judge:

After viewing the goose and scanning the rest of the geese for ten minutes in the deluge I decided enough was enough. There were plenty of Canada's and Cackling Geese but I was soaked to the bone, exhausted and exhilarated at the same time. Yay! Now let's drive 7 hours south!