I love adventures.
Not the kind that require a boarding pass—though I’ve happily logged plenty of those—but the kind that begin the moment I decide to pay attention.
Most days, I’m off on one before the coffee’s finished brewing.
This past week my compass has pointed toward two familiar obsessions: a resident pair of Bald Eagles along the Narrow River, and a Snowy Owl rumored to be visiting Rhode Island’s southernmost coast. The eagles are reliable neighbors. The owl? A wandering spirit from the Arctic. I’ve found the eagles. The owl continues to play hard to get—two years searching, no sightings. And oddly enough, that’s perfectly fine. Anticipation is part of the magic. Some moments are special precisely because they refuse to be rushed.
Lately, I’ve been thinking about how these everyday excursions feel remarkably similar to the grand photography trips I’ve taken across the country. People hear “Yellowstone” and imagine epic scale—grizzlies, bison, wolves, steaming geysers. Then they hear “Narrow River” and think… well… local. Ordinary.
But that’s the trick.
Adventure isn’t defined by zip codes or national park signs. It’s defined by curiosity.
Sure, Rhode Island doesn’t have roaming herds of bison—but we do have black bears, bobcats, coyotes, fishers, beavers, turkeys, bald eagles, osprey, and more winged characters than I can list without missing sunrise. The wonder is here. It always has been. We just tend to overlook it because we’re distracted—by noise, by schedules, by the illusion that something extraordinary must be far away.
The essential ingredient of adventure isn’t distance.
It’s exploration.
Right now, I’m chasing a very specific image: the eagle pair perched close together, not twenty-five feet apart, but sharing the same branch. I’m hoping to locate their nest, maybe even document the start of a new family chapter. So when I leave the house before dawn, cameras in hand, I’m not just going for a walk—I’m stepping into possibility.
This could be the morning.
This could be the moment.
That feeling—that quiet, electric anticipation—is adventure.
And the best part?
You don’t have to go far to find it. You just have to go looking.
I’d love to share my posts with you. If you subscribe, they’ll come straight to your inbox—most days, like a little note from me to you. It means a lot to know you’re reading along.
Browse my complete art portfolio and shop for prints at imagesbygacioe.shop
Leave a Reply