Bald Eagle Run

The moment when your 2018 Calgary run is warmer than your 2018 Brooklyn run two days earlier.

January 1st (Brooklyn); January 3rd (Calgary)

I am back in Calgary after spending my holiday season in Brooklyn.  Landing in YYC is a very different visual aesthetic.  It is very flat, and at this time of year, very white.

I was sitting on the side of the plane with an eastern view so all I saw was an expanse of flat lands.  Orderly, unlike the chaos and geographic textures one experiences when landing in large urban space.  Even the geology, was not until the plane did the southern approach did I finally see the Rockies. These are the prairies, baby!

Those are the Rockies at the horizon

So, after resettling into my Calgary apartment and a decent nights sleep (I am dealing with upper respiratory stuff so I had a dream of buying tissues in bulk from a big box store) I got up and went for my morning run.

Although the temperature read 24F, it felt warm upon leaving the apartment; relative heatwave in comparison to the frigid Northeast.  I donned my snowtrax because of ice and snow (I was lucky to miss the minus double digits and snow during the romjul week).  I decided to go slow because of the snow and because of my cold, easy 3 mile loop.

The sky was clear above, the river full of ice, it was a peaceful winter morning run.  I ran down to the 14th street bridge, went over and continued on the south side of the river.  After I passed the 10th street bridge I noticed a raptor in the sky.  Outstretched wings, owning the space like only a raptor can.  As it soared closer overhead, I gasped, it was a BALD EAGLE!!!! I have never seen one in the wild before and this one did not disappoint.  A beautiful bird, clean white head that matched the snow, striking yellow beak, even the piercing eyes could be seen from my place on the ground below.  I stopped and unconsciously positioned my hands in gratitude for this gift of nature on my first 2018 run in Calgary.