Every Day is a Gift!
A marker buoy weighing around 13,900 pounds from Port Royal, South Carolina washed up on the beach at Tybee Island, Georgia this week. Thursday afternoon a Chinook helicopter lifted the buoy and carried it off.
Every Day is a Gift
Shared with John’s Cellpic Sunday
Terri’s latest Sunday Stills challenge is World Animal Day which was celebrated on October 4, 2025. Two animals that were on my bucket list were Whooping Cranes in Texas and Elk in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Seeing these animals in the wild was an amazing experience.
According to the International Crane Foundation – North America, Whooping Cranes were near extinction with fewer than 20 individuals in 1941. Today, over 849 Whooping Cranes exist in the entire world.
We traveled to the Texas Gulf Coast one year hoping to see some of the Whooping Cranes who winter in and around the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. These birds breed at Canada’s Wood Buffalo National Park and migrate to Texas every winter. Today there are more than 500 of these beautiful birds.
We found these magnificent Whooping Cranes near Goose Island State Park, south of the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. I posted about this amazing experience at Magnificent Endangered Whooping Cranes.
Pair of Whooping Cranes, near Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, Texas
One fall we traveled to Waynesville, North Carolina in search of Elk in Cataloochee Valley on the eastern side of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I posted about our Elk viewing adventure at Cataloochee Valley Elk.
In February, 2001, the National Park Service began an experimental reintroduction of elk into Cataloochee Valley by releasing 25 elk from the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area on the Tennessee-Kentucky border. Another 27 elk from Canada were released in 2002. Today there are approximately 200 elk.
The breeding season, also known as the rutting season, is in the fall. During this time the bull elk make their bugling calls to attract females and challenge other bulls.
Female Elk, Cataloochee Valley, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina
Many thanks to Terri for her Sunday Stills challenge World Animal Day
Every Day is a Gift
Every Day is a Gift
Shared with John’s Cellpic Sunday
Shared with John’s Cellpic Sunday
Every Day is a Gift
We’ve driven through Darien many times over the years and have previously stopped there for a seafood dinner on the Darien River. We had never taken the time to explore the area so for our anniversary this year we decided to spend the night in a hotel on the Darien river.
After taking the scenic drive south on Highway 17 we checked into our room before having a delicious flounder sandwich for lunch at a popular local restaurant.
The first place we explored was the Fort King Georgie State Historic Site close to our hotel. The fort was was built by the British in 1721 at the mouth of the Altamaha River to protect the area from the Spanish and the French. Fire destroyed the fort in 1727 and the fort was decommissioned.
Reconstruction of the fort began in the 1970’s and still continues today. We toured the interesting history museum before wandering around the reconstructed fort.
The rest of the afternoon we enjoyed the pool and for a while relaxed on our balcony overlooking the river. After a delicious seafood dinner and a walk along the dock we ended the evening back on the balcony enjoying the view.
The next morning I strolled along the Darien Waterfront Park before breakfast.
On our way home we made a slight detour to visit a recently opened Buc-ees on I-95 in Brunswick. Imagine a huge gas station and a huge store with souvenirs, hot food including Texas brisket, a wall of jerky, groceries, clothes, and even fresh made fudge. It was our first ever visit to a Buc-ees. Now we can say we’ve been there, done that.
Wandering Dawgs 