It's that time of year when people are compiling their Christmas wish lists.

Hunters and anglers are dreaming of new shotguns, trolling motors, and stuffed tackle boxes. In keeping with tradition, I'd like to dispense with the wishes and list the things that happened last year that made me happy to be alive.

The event that stands out in my mind was the grizzly bear my wife and I saw at Glacier National Park in Montana last summer.

Our plan was to see grizzlies on a boat excursion later in the afternoon. However, we arrived early and decided to hike a trail near the lodge. We passed a couple of signs indicating bears had been sighted in the area. However, being as close to the lodge as we were, I dismissed them.

There was no dismissing the critter we ran into about 15 minutes into the hike. It is a truly amazing sight to see one of these critters in the wild. At once it reminds you of the stunning power of nature and your own mortality.

The sight of that bear ambling across a hillside about 500 yards away is forever etched in my mind.

I'm thankful for spending a day fishing with Chad Brauer on the Lake of the Ozarks. In addition to good company, it was the single best bass fishing day I've ever had in my life.

We fished Zara Spooks the entire morning. Monster bass after monster bass blew up on the topwater baits. Brauer caught several fish five pounds are better, and even this rank amateur caught a couple pushing five pounds.

We had to quit at noon because the trip was part of an outdoor writers' "conference." Getting off the water that day was one of the hardest things I've ever done.

I'm thankful for a morning of turkey hunting with Bobby Mace and Wayne Horstmann.

It was one of those perfect April mornings. There was a bit of snap in the air, but the sun brought intoxicating warmth when it topped the trees in the east.

Since hunting was a bit slow, I slumped back against a tree and allowed myself a nap. I'm not sure there is a more luxurious feeling in the world. When I awoke, a white head appeared on the opposite side of the field. Initially, I thought it was a hen. However, within a few seconds the head turned bright blue and then bright red.

Since I was at the far side of the field, I settled back and relaxed. For the next 30-40 minutes, I watched Mace work the bird. It was like watching on big-screen, HD television. The bird eventually got away, but what an exhilarating experience.

Another favorite moment was spent just a couple hundred feet from my backyard. Jane Tuttle, my neighbor, mentioned one morning that she had rose-breasted grosbeaks at her bird feeders.

Although my feeders are a short distance away, not a single grosbeak visited my home.

So, my wife and I spent an evening with the neighbors watching these beautiful critters fly about. I think at one point there were as many as six grosbeaks on her feeders.

Finally, I have to mention my recent duck hunting expedition on the Illinois River. Dale Bowman of the Chicago Sun-Times, Jeff Lampe of the Peoria Journal-Star and Mike Resetich of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources were my companions.

Most of the morning was uneventful, but at about 11 a.m. ducks began moving in. There weren't great numbers of ducks, but the birds we saw were decoying perfectly.

These ducks had read the manual. We hunkered down in our blind and watched the birds circle. They were so low you could hear the wind whistling through their wings.

There were many other wonderful days enjoying nature, but it just didn't get any better than these.

Merry Christmas and I hope your 2008 is full of great outdoor memories. LES WINKELER is the outdoors writer for The Southern Illinoisan. Contact him at les.winkeler@thesouthern.com or call 351-5088.