We were high-tailing it down the highway. A morning of antelope classifications behind us, I needed to get home, cleaned up and then have lunch with the President of our state chapter of FNAWS and one of the civilian overseers of our outfit.

To talk about bighorn sheep, of course.

So when I crested over the ridge and spotted the golden eagle sitting smack dab on top of a knoll on the right, there wasn't much time to decide.

Do I want a picture, or not?

The paved road is bumpy there, a series of ripples in the asphalt as different sections of the bed settled. So, instead of one long squeal of burning rubber, I left intermittent screeches of wasted rubber.

But the eagle stayed put.

It's a lightly used highway, so I didn't bother pulling over. Just parked in the north-bound lane. Popped the door open, leaned out through the crack, and waited for the digital camera to warm up. (Batteries must be getting old. Seems to take forever these days.)

The eagle stayed put.

Then, before the camera could wake up, another vehicle, a little blue truck, popped over the rise behind us.

Craaap.

Hurry up, camera.

Eagle flushed.

Craaap.

Now the camera's ready. Little blue truck rapidly approaching from behind. We're parked in the highway, in his lane. Golden eagle out of sight on the other side of the knoll.

But it might reappear to crest the ridge on the right.

It just might. For a second or two.

Do I stand here and wait, or not?

I suppose the moral of the story is:

Don't despair because you can't get what you wanted. Take a chance, be open for opportunity, and perhaps something better will come along.

A few other glimpses from this morning:

(Yes, that little guy was on the Continental Divide. Or within 50 meters of it, anyway.)

And just for fun, a shot from early Saturday morning: