The Release

Sorry ladies for not posting yesterday, I had all good intensions, but a certain little Mac decided not to go to bed until really late. After fighting with an 18mos old baby, I was exhausted. Anyway on to the new name....... I have been trying to think of a really good name for my blog and this is what came to me. This is the story behind it. The natives in Alaska call newcomers or people who have not yet experienced an Alaskan winter Cheechako's. After you have been through a winter and survived, you get to don the name Sourdough. So, seeings how we've been up here for so long, I think it is safe to say we are sourdough's. And, since my life is a whirlwind, thus became express!!! So there you have it, The Sourdough Express! Now, for today...... Today was the annual Military Appreciation Day on Fort Rich. They always have a picnic with some fun activities. The first pic is of my family, Mac was with me. (hey, who's that guy in uniform?=))
One of the activities was releasing a Bald Eagle back into the wild. I guess it hurt its wing and "Bird TLC" nurses hurt eagles back to health and then releases them. So today, they picked the wounded soldiers returning from Iraq to help release it. These 3 guys are some of our friends. So, here they are waiting for the word.

This picture is of them releasing the eagle. If you look in the middle you can see part of its wing.

I was really trying to get him as he flew away, and right when I snapped the picture, this lady stuck her head right in the way. It was a perfect shot too!! The bird never really flew very high up and there was too many people, but he happened to light in a tree not far from where we were. So these next shots are of him in the tree. He is a very HUGE bird. It was pretty awesome!! I am glad that they asked these guys to release them. It was a surprise to them! And some even admitted being a little nervous. I told them that my dad would have said NO WAY, NO, NO, and NO. I would hate for this bird to be looking at me like this!!!

I thought something was hanging off of his beak, but I think it is the curvature of it! They are awesome creatures!

Their eyes amaze me! And they can turn their heads all the way around kinda like an owl.. All in all, it was a pretty awesome experience!