Hiking, eleven miles of it!
It was going to be a beautiful weekend, nice and cool. So we decided to head off to Dolly Sods in West Virginia. We really didn’t know much about camping there or hiking trails, but we knew both would be found there. And they were.
By the time we arrived we only had a few hours of day light, so we set up camp (popped the top on the Vanagon, made the bed, opened a bottle of wine, started a fire – we had collected wood on the drive up in the Wilderness Area). We had met a young couple earlier at a trail head, they were going to hike down the trial and camp in the wilderness (as most people do at Dolly Sods), well about an hour after we were settled they pulled up in the site next to us. It had gotten to dark for them to find their way safely and opted for the campground. We invited them over for a glass of wine (or two). It was a nice evening.
The next morning we woke up early and made breakfast, a big breakfast. Then we drove to the closest trail head to look at the map. We met a another couple who suggested we hike a different trail since it was our first visit. This alternative trail was suggested because of its beautiful views. Around 9am we started down the trail, the eleven mile trail. That is a LONG trail for us, we have never hiked that far. We did hike eight miles a few months ago, but… well, saying ‘a few months ago’ speaks for itself. Long story short, it was a wonderful hike. Here is a partial list of sights along the trail: blueberry bushes (as far as the eye can see in some places- really!), mountains (we went our over three and back over one- highest elevation around 3800, but we did start around 2400), open fields full of flowers, streams in the meadow, streams in the forest, rocks (the top of Dolly Sods was burned and what remains in some areas are rocks, and lots of them- huge boulders make the path), evergreens (I call them christmas trees- oh, and the fragrance!), springs (if you go, be prepared to walk through muddy water in some areas- there’s no way around it), people (not a lot of people, but we did pass several groups- always friendly), a lake, farm houses in the distance…. I will stop there. What was amazing was the diversity of the landscape, it kept surprising us.
Here are a few pictures from the day:
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snow’s still here
Yes, I said it… the snow is still here. We do have patches of earth poking through, but I think it will be a while before it melts away completely.
I took this picture when my husband and I were xc skiing. There was something about looking up into the trees that seemed so peaceful.
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Is it cold there too?
The days have been cold, the nights colder. -2 F was the lowest, at night. 7 F the highest, during the day. And yes, those temperatures keep us indoors, for the most part.
These pictures were taken on days when it wasn’t so cold. The top one is from Linn Run State Park in PA. I am guessing the high was 21 that day… it was also snowing. And it was also FUN! We kept warm with layers of smart wool, hats, gloves, lambs wool lined boots… we were prepared.
The lower image is from New Germany State Park after XC skiing. It’s a beautiful park, 40 minutes from our home. Lucky lucky us.
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FOG
To me, there is something magical about fog. It seems to soften the day. Not only visually, but everything seems quieter. When we lived in Texas, we had very little fog. Here, in Western Maryland, let’s just say it seems to be almost a daily occurrence. Sometimes the fog lasts only a few hours in the early morning and sometimes it lasts just about all day. Although I use the term ‘fog’, what occurs is more like very low-lying clouds.
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On the road
After being gone for two weeks, I am finally posting something. I went for a drive the other day to take pictures, this is one I took out the front windshield while driving. Hopefully I will post some of the other pictures I took with my camera soon, as this one was taken with my iPhone.
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dandelion
Just yesterday I took a picture of a dandelion that was full, completely opened. I thought that was so pretty, then today I noticed this one. It had been misting all morning and the tiny droplets of water caught my eye.
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Cherry Blossoms
New place, new plants. This tree, which is in our yard, was full of little white blossoms for about two weeks, now it’s all green… still very pretty. Correct me if I’m wrong… but I believe this is a Cherry Blossom tree.
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the beauty of night lights
The beautiful night sky compelled me to set up my tripod a few nights ago. These are two of many (many, many…) shots I took that night. In the second shot, you can see the wind turbines’ red lights lining the hillside.
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Buzzing around.
As we sit on our back deck, these Bees hover nearby. They aren’t aggressive, just annoying. I wasn’t sure what type of Bees they were, so I looked it up (ahhhh, the internet :), they are Carpenter Bees. I found these buzzing around the neighbors Dogwood tree.
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something new… everyday
Nature is incredible… each day I see a new bud, flower, leaf, plant… it really is amazing how much there is to see. These buds appeared the other day, I have no idea what they are or what they will become, but it sure is fun watching them progress.
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Spring is here!
Blink and you will miss it! The beginning of Spring that is. One day the tree branches are bare, then you notice small buds and then… bam… the trees have leaves! It’s incredible, the different scents, colors, textures, shapes…. amazing.
I took the images below, of a Saucer-Cup Magnolia, on a bike ride in my neighborhood. There are so many beautiful trees right outside my front door. :)
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birds, birds and more birds
Birds, another reason I love living where we do. I have been watching this particular woodpecker work on this tree for weeks! I don’t think it’s just food he is retrieving, I think he is making a home. As I type this I can hear him chirping.
Look there is (a) Robin, my Mother said to me once at birthday party, and I replied by saying – where’s batman. No, unfortunately I was not making a joke! I was 4 or 5 years old, and evidently I watched a lot of the Batman cartoons- Kazam…
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Signs of Spring… finally
Mid-to-late March we would typically head to Austin, on our trip we would see the wildflowers blooming. Here, in Maryland, we are just now seeing the trees begin to show signs of Spring. But, the signs are incredible. There are so many different types of trees in our back yard, I am looking forward to watching them. Not sure what this tree is, but it’s the first to blossom.
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Our Groundhog…
More wild life. Not the best picture (through a window screen), but here is our Groundhog! I heard something rustling around outside the window, so naturally I look- I always look. And there he was poking his head out of his hole. It took him a while, but eventually he came out and ran over to our neighbors. I had expected a badger to come out of that hole, so needless to say, I was very pleased to see this little guy instead.
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Horse Show
Ok, we did live in Texas, so you would think we would have attended a horse show before… nope. That’s not to say I have not ridden a horse, in fact I love riding. My daughters an I took lessons, English Riding lessons, several years ago. Our neighbor (in Maryland) has a horse and participated in her first show a few weeks ago. We went along to witness it.
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What’s behind you?
Sometimes we are so focused on looking forward, we don’t see what we have missed behind us! This is true in life and certainly photography :) I was heading for a nursery (garden center) 15 miles West of town and on my return, heading East, I saw the wind turbines.
They go on and on and on….
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Trains…trains..trains…
We are surrounded by amazing rock structures where we live. I love it. The striations in the rock caught my eye, then the train. I have always been fascinated with rocks! Perhaps it started with a gift from my Grandfather, he gave me a rock collection when I was young (which I still have) or from my father, he was a geologist, maybe it is hereditary.
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Another snowy day
Actually, the snow has stopped falling (finally), these were taken a few weeks ago on one of our drives.
Perhaps the seeds were once thistle flowers, I am not sure. I am also not sure what type of tracks are in the snow, one lone animal, maybe a coyote.
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More wind turbines
So majestic, towering over the trees. They seem to go on forever. When I took the second shot, all I could think about was hopping the fence and putting on my cross-country skis! The service road next to the turbines looked like the perfect place to XC ski.
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Amish Country
Such beautiful creatures. And so healthy! I guess they have to be, they are working horses. As we drove around the countryside in Pennsylvania, we passed may horse an buggies making their way to market, church, school…
These horses were waiting their turn in the snow-covered pastures.
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Our bear…
Since moving into our new house (back in November 2012) we have seen Bear tracks on our carport several times, one of our metal bird feeders was torn apart and well, we have seen very large piles of bear poo below the house. Of course we have been wanting to see the bear, but then again, not wanting to see him! Each night when I let our dog (she’s 12 now & moving slowly) out for her evening potty time I always announce myself to scare any animals away. One night, I heard something scurry down towards the back of the house, naturally I ran inside and grabbed my flashlight. I told my husband I heard something, but I was sure it was NOT the bear, and we both stepped out on the back deck. Well, there he was, looking up at us! He turned and walked about 20 feet and laid down! We watched him, he watched us… I guess he got bored looking at the humans, so he walked around the side of the house and up to our bird feeder next to the carport. Being humans, we knew where he was going and beat him there. I grabbed my camera and took a few shots. My husband would open the door and I would take ONE step onto the carport and take ONE shot, then back in! Eventually, I turned on the flash, the 1800 ISO just wasn’t cutting it.
So, although not the best photos, here is our bear, pretty cute:
kim hinds photography 