eagle watching at fort bellfontaine

R and I went to a eagle viewing on Saturday. It was 23 degrees and windy, but once we started moving around it warmed up. We took a 3 mile hike and only managed to see one eagle in the wild. It was a great day!

The fort was established in 1805, fifteen miles north of St Louis. It was a trading post and Lewis and Clark camped at this site before their voyage to explore the west. It was the first American military outpost. The original fort was build below the bluffs and if still standing would be in the middle of the river. The second fort was built on top of the bluffs and has since disappeared. The above view is from the top of the staircase. If you look really hard you can see a eagle on left of the photo.

The "Grand Staircase" was build by the WPA in 1936 and the park became a playground for the wealthy. This stair case is purported to be haunted by a red mist, guess it was too cold for the mist today.

Part of the bath house; reminds me of the stone cottages in the Irish countryside.

The World Bird Sanctuary was at the eagle viewing with some of their birds. This little guy is 20 years old and looked like a stuffed animal. All the birds are rehabbed birds; most had injuries so they could not live in the wild.

Lewis fell out of his next as a fledgling and has a damaged leg. He was just a beautiful bird!