The 360 Degree view

(Grafton, IL) Passengers enjoy the view from the top deck of the Spirit of Peoria paddle-wheeler as it cruised  north of Grafton on the Illinois River at dusk.  This vessel is one of the very few remaining true stern-wheeler's traveling the US inland waterways that has no other form of propulsion.

Click on the image for a larger view.

Used a panoramic camera to capture a few images aboard the Spirit of Peoria riverboat as it was cruising upriver at dusk.  If you look closely you can see the same people at each end of the image.

A great tool to have when you want an image that is different!

Image quality was reduced and re-sized to 20% of original so that it loads quickly.

Spirit of Peoria Website Link

The Eagle has Landed!

(Grafton, IL USA) People inside the Pere Marquette State Park Visitor Center watch the video screen as a remote camera located high in a tree shows the first American Bald Eagle returning to the nest for the 2012 season.  The nest is located approximately 100 feet above the bank of  the Illinois River in Jersey County Illinois.

It's that time of year again when you need to be really careful.  Careful of the person in the car driving in front of you as they slam on the brakes because they see an American Bald Eagle in a tree.  Every year the eagles come south because of ice that generally covers the rivers where they normally catch fish.  The area close to the confluence of the Illinois and Mississippi rivers is prime eagle watching territory.  Thousands of people travel to the area every season to see the eagles.

The eagles are opportunists and the photo below is of an eagle that was feasting on a road kill Whitetail Deer near a cornfield.

(Calhoun County, IL USA) An American Bald Eagle takes to flight after feasting on a Whitetail Deer carcass.  While eagles are thought by most people to be fish eaters, eagles are opportunistic and will feed on most any type of meat or fish that it may find.  Eagles have also been known to take small dogs, cats and squirrels.