Day 5, The Eagle

As we were commencing the climb back to our room at "North of 60 Aviation," we ran into a local couple that were walking their Golden Retriever. This is a mandatory stop for the Dadster, who appears to have a fondness for this particular breed. No pictures, bust rest assured, Dadster made sure that the pup had a good petting.

As we chatted with the couple a bit, the lady asked it wanted to take a "really cool picture." Sounds interesting, I'm game. Here's what we saw:

No, no, no. Not the guy. He's nothing to look at, unless you're from the Yukon, I suppose. Look what's just over his left shoulder:

The story goes like this: The guy trains eagles for movies. He's got permits from the provincial authorities and it's totally legit. He teaches them to fly, and keeps them for as long as he can. Said he had about a dozen of them, but after a while, they just fly away.

Couple more pictures to whet your appetite for your own trip to the Great White North:



I couldn't help but ask him what he feeds the bird. When you live in the Yukon, there's not Petsmart. And even if there was, I don't image you can just stroll in and ask for a bag of eagle food...

"Roadkill," he replied nonchalantly. "Pick up whatever I see on the side of the road and toss it in the cooler."

Yuck. Why did I ask? The bird's a predator, after all. It doesn't want iceberg lettuce and carrots, does it?

After we had admired the bird for a few more minutes and chatted up Mr. Roadkill, he excused himself.

"I've got gopher guts on my hands and need to wash up before dinner." Yes, please do.

And with that, we climbed to the top of the steps and settled in for the night.

Tomorrow, if Mother Nature cooperates, we head to Northway to (a) clear customs and (b) officially arrive in Alaska. Then it's on to Fairbanks, and a (hopefully) nice hotel. And someplace to wash my clothes....

Tune in to the same station tomorrow for another episode of IFR Pilot and Dad on The Great AlaskaFlying Adventure (tm).