Tag: travel

The Conowingo Eagles

Posted on by
Early morning light on a bald eagle

For Cathie’s birthday this year, we decided to go somewhere new that she had learned about earlier this year. Conowingo Hydroelectric Generating Station is a dam on the Susquehanna River in northern Maryland that has become a bald eagle hot spot. There are about 250 eagles who reside there, but from November through January, the numbers swell even higher. As it happened, we were there about a week too early to see the greatest number of eagles. But that also meant there were somewhat fewer photographers when we were there, which worked out well. We met some great photographers, including a pair from Boston who come down to Conowingo at least once a year. We spent the full day, November 15, there, stopping only to get lunch at Mission BBQ in Aberdeen. It was cold, it wasn’t very sunny, but it was a fantastic day seeing these magnificent birds in action. A day I will not soon forget.

The intrepid eagle photographers
Early morning at the Conowingo Hydroelectric Generating Station, just before the show started
Frenzy at the dam
A pair of juvenile bald eagles having an argument

April 2022- Catching Up

Posted on by

I haven’t had much to write about over the past couple of years, not surprisingly due to what has been happening in the world. I have had a few local excursions mainly for camera therapy. Cathie and I did take a trip to Florida in November 2021, and I plan on doing a write up on that trip soon. But otherwise, it’s been a long couple of years with very little new art being created.

I spent most of the downtime sharpening my Photoshop skills through tutorials and virtual seminars. There are tools that I needed to add to my skill set. And I spent a lot of time re-assessing how I approach the process of creating while behind the camera. It was time well spent, and I finally was able to put some of these skills and processes to work last week when Cathie and I returned to the Smokies for the first time since 2019.

I will be posting about some of the locations we went to, and the fun we had on the trip, in upcoming posts. But, for now, it was a tremendous feeling to be back in one of my favorite locations, immersed in photography for a week. I also was able to test my limits physically after an unexpected health issue that cropped up in December. Some of my daredevilry returned on the trails, and it felt good to be back to my old self again.

The Smokies- Back of Beyond

Posted on by

“The dreamy, blue haze that ever hovers over the mountains softens all outlines, lends a mirage-like effect of great distance to objects that are but a few miles off while those farther removed grow more and more intangible, until finally the skyline blends with the sky itself.” Horace Kephart


It is becoming an annual tradition now, where Cathie and I head to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. In 2018, we went twice. I wrote about the first trip, from April, but didn’t get a chance to write about the Thanksgiving excursion. Having just come back from there now, I have decided to just write a little about the park, not necessarily what I have done there, but the experience of being there.

It’s one of the few places where you can be in a heavy, tourist area like Pigeon Forge or Gatlinburg, but a short drive later, you are off the grid. Twenty minutes out of these heavily populated areas, you have no cellular signal. And while it is the most heavily visited parks, outpacing all of the others by quite a substantial margin each year, you can find yourself away from others. As primarily a landscape and nature photographer, hopefully it’s not hard to understand why I’m drawn to this place. After all, the park owes its existence to photographers.

I had the chance to see the park in late fall, over Thanksgiving last year. There were a few days where there was a heavy frost in the valleys. The park still held tremendous beauty, even if a little stark, with winter about to set in.

Prior to November, my trips had been in spring, although they were after the wildflowers had bloomed. This time, we planned our trip to be closer to bloom. The forests and valleys were awakening, we had timed our trip well this time. The day I arrived was quite rainy, and the rain continued the first full day in the park last Monday. As a result, the streams, rivers and waterfalls were raging. This offered us a myriad of photo opportunities during the week, which we took full advantage of.

Mostly, this past week was about detaching from day-to-day life. I didn’t come back with a tremendous amount of photos. I tried to make the photos count, though. And I also wanted to just be in the moment. Hearing the streams running. Walking out onto the balcony of our cabin with a cup of coffee in the morning, with the only sounds being birds chirping and wind blowing in the trees. It was sublime. It was a fantastic week, as was the week we spent there in November. And while I might not be able to return to the Smokies this year, I will be back, to the back of beyond.

First Road Trip for 2018- Finale

Posted on by

The day started with a drive on Newfound Gap Road, which traverses the highest parts of the park, and ends in North Carolina. Along the way is Clingman’s Dome, the highest peak in the park. The hike to the observation tower is not a long hike, but, the trail is very steep, it is ranked as one of the more strenuous hikes in the park. Knowing that, we all decided to stay by the parking lot, which still offers some fantastic views of the mountains. Among the cars parked were several Minis, they were either on their to or from a rally. One of the Minis caught my eye- I am a huge Jeremy Clarkson fan, and the owner of the car turned it into a Clarkson/Top Gear tribute. I had to get some photos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had a picnic lunch on the way to North Carolina, and continued on to the old Mingus Mill, which is near the Oconluftee Visitor’s Center (the North Carolina side of the park).

After stopping at the center, we headed back, and stopped at a turnoff overlooking the Oconoluftee River. We got some long exposures of the rushing water, and then continued back toward the NW end of the park where we were staying. We made another stop at Tremont, and by the time we were done there, it was dinner time.

 

 

 

 

We drove into Gatlinburg and had dinner at Bones BBQ Joint, it was a great last meal of the trip. Afterward, we went to the Ole Smoky Distillery and had a moonshine tasting. I bought some to bring back, it was really good!

 

 

 

 

 

Thus ended our spring excursion to the Smokies. As always, a fantastic time, with great people to share the experience with. Cathie and I will be returning to the Smokies in November. Before then, other adventures await, it will be a great summer!

First Road Trip for 2018, Part 6

Posted on by

Thursday, May 3- recovery day. We didn’t have a set wake up time due to the strenuous hike from the previous day. The simple act of walking, going up and down stairs, standing up and sitting down, all were very tough. My legs were not prepared for the work, but, I’m not one to just sit around either. We went to breakfast at a place Cathie had seen during one of her previous trips, the Applewood Farmhouse Restaurant The food was incredible, we ate more than we should have, but, it was a great reward for the previous day’s efforts. Their apple fritters were delicious, and Cathie bought some of their mix to take home. We walked around the candy store and their general stores, before heading out for our next stop, back to Cades Cove. After stopping at their stores, we left the park and played a round of miniature golf. We drove back out to Townsend, to see if we could get some information on cabins or hotels for future trips.

We intentionally left the day open and didn’t push our bodies too far, although Cathie fared better than I did. Later in the afternoon, we went back to photograph some of the roadside streams in Greenbriar, and on better days, I would have walked down the somewhat steep slopes to get closer to the water. But, I knew my legs were not going to handle it well, and I could just envision me tumbling down, breaking either bones, or my camera gear, or both. So, I played it safe and stayed up where we parked. Still, I got some photos I was pleased with.

We went back to the cabin, had dinner and relaxed a bit. It was a very light day.

First Road Trip for 2018, Part 4

Posted on by

The adventure continued on Tuesday, May 1. We got up extremely early in order to catch sunrise from the location we had scouted on the Foothills Parkway. We arrived just as dawn was breaking. The valley below the overlook had a farm with some cows grazing, and due to the temperature, there was a mist hugging the valley floor. It was serene. As the sun cleared the mountains on the horizon, I was able to catch the sunburst over the valley (the featured photo). While the sky itself was not overly dramatic, it was still a great sunrise. We spent the better par of an hour there, then, headed back to cabin for breakfast.

At the start of the trip, I mentioned to Cathie that I really needed to get a haircut. I didn’t have the chance to do it before I left. My day job had been extremely hectic that week, and, Saturdays are my normal haircut day. But, we were in Kentucky on that past Saturday. Cathie thought this whole thing was strange, but, hair doesn’t cut itself. And, I’m all about supporting local businesses. After breakfast, I called the place I chose, and made my appointment, and Joe also took advantage and scheduled an appointment as well.

As our appointments were at 12:30, we decided to kill some time and played a round of miniature golf. On my trip to visit Cathie last August, we played a LOT of miniature golf. We also were battling some very harsh mid-day light, so, we had to find other ways to occupy ourselves. As much as sunny days are nice, and they are, for photography, they do not work well. After the first round of golf, we got lunch, then went for our haircuts. Cathie was still bemused by this whole thing, and got some photos of Joe and I as we were getting our haircuts.

Afterward, we played another round of golf, and the second course was much more fun than the first one. By the end of that round, we had gotten to later afternoon, the light was starting to improve, so we went to Roaring Fork Nature Motor Trail. There are some great hikes to waterfalls, but we didn’t have the time to do either one, so we drove the loop road until we got toward the end. There is an excellent roadside stream among some large rock formations, and the water was running strong. I navigated through the stream, trying not to hurt myself on the very slippery rocks, and set up for a couple of long exposures in the middle of the stream. Whatever it takes to get the shot!

We spent well over an hour and a half there, and the light was starting to fade. Since the light was no longer ideal, we did not stop at the old mill at the end of the motor trail. Instead, we headed back to the cabin, had dinner and relaxed a little. And we thought we were prepared for what awaited us the next day.

First Road Trip for 2018 Continues

Posted on by

Sunday morning, after getting breakfast at the hotel in Danville, KY, Joe and I set off for the Smokies. The drive isn’t a very long one, so rather than taking interstates, we jumped off and took some back roads south through Kentucky, until we joined up with I-75 just south of the border with Tennessee. The drive took us through part of the Daniel Boone National Forest, some beautiful country. Our meet up with Cathie was at the Sugarlands Visitor Center in the Smokies. When we got into Sevierville, and then into Pigeon Forge, what would have been a 20-30 minute drive into the park took nearly twice as long, traffic was very much like a weekday rush hour in Chicago.

We ended up having to park in the RV parking lot, and then walked over to the visitor center where Cathie was waiting outside on one of the benches. After the first of many purchases in and around the park for the rest of the week, and Joe joining the Great Smoky Mountains Association, we drove into Gatlinburg, got lunch, dropped off our rental in a public parking lot, and ventured back into the park to introduce Joe to it. We intended to head into Cades Cove, and stopped at a roadside bridge over one of the many rivers in the park. I took a few infrared photos from there, including the one below.

 

But, as it was early afternoon and a cloudless day, the light was very harsh, so we didn’t take a lot of photos. We decided to continue on to Cades Cove, and, ran into a traffic jam due to repaving. We found a space to turn around, and, realizing that we still had to go back into Pigeon Forge to check in to our cabin, we decided to leave and take care of that. We also needed to stock up on food and other items we would need for the week.

The cabin rental company’s office is right next to the Titanic museum, and I was hoping that wouldn’t be a metaphor for the rest of the week. We checked in, and headed to the cabin. It was quite an entertaining (and nerve-wracking drive) up some winding mountain roads to get to it. While the directions seemed complicated, it didn’t take us long to master them, as well as finding a shortcut that wasn’t mentioned by the cabin rental folks. We unloaded the vehicles, then headed back down to Pigeon Forge to get dinner, and then stock up. We got back to the cabin after dark, settled in, and made our plans for the next day.

First Road Trip for 2018, Part 1

Posted on by

For my birthday at the end of April, I met up with my friend Cathie in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. My friend Joe also joined us, as he had a birthday in November and we really did not have the chance to celebrate it. We both turned 50, and we wanted to do something special.

On the drive down to the Smokies on April 28, we stopped overnight in Danville, Kentucky. We were going to stay in Lexington, but, due to the Land Rover Kentucky Three Day Event, it was impossible to find a room. The reason for staying in that area is, Joe and I wanted to explore some of the bourbon trail. Anyone who knows me well knows that I am a bourbon fanatic. We got the area in the afternoon, and there wasn’t a lot of time, but we were able to visit the Buffalo Trace distillery https://www.buffalotracedistillery.com and have a tasting. Buffalo Trace is one of my favorite bourbons, as is Blanton’s (which is also made on the premises). I tried their Eagle Rare bourbon, which is aged for a minimum of 10 years. It is absolutely incredible. I also picked up some of their Bourbon Cream, and some bourbon chocolates (yes, I love bourbon!).

 

 

 

 

 

 

We got dinner and then tried some Kirk & Sweeney 12 year old rum, which was quite good, not like any rum I had before. The next morning, as I was loading up our vehicle for the next stage of the adventure, I saw the sun rising behind Conrad, the horse outside of the entrance to the hotel. It was too good to pass up, even though all I had was my iPhone.

 

 

Sunday, April 29, was spent driving to meet Cathie at the Sugarlands Visitor Center in the park, and introducing Joe to the park (Cathie has been there three previous times, and I have been there one previous time). I will write more about Sunday in the next part. Stay tuned, as they say!

Return To South Carolina, Part 2

Posted on by

Continuing where we left off, Cathie and I set aside Sunday to spend time in Myrtle Beach. A couple of the piers were damaged due to Hurricane Matthew, which hit South Carolina in October of 2016. Surfside Beach pier lost a good 50 feet from its length, and the local council has approved plans to replace it with a concrete pier. We visited the pier after breakfast, and when we got there, there were several huge pipes on the beach, and neither Cathie nor I could determine exactly what they were for. And not far offshore, there appeared to be a couple of oil drilling platforms, at least that’s what they looked like to me. But, they were too close to shore for that purpose. We learned later in the afternoon that this was all part of a beach replenishment program that they do every 5 years or so. The waves were even bigger than they were Saturday, due to a tropical cyclone that had parked off of Hilton Head Island. This would play in a role in some of the events to come on Monday.

The light was quite harsh, not conducive to good photography (especially not infrared photography). So, we left the beach and played some mini golf, continuing where we left off Friday night. Sunday turned out to be all about piers and putting. We had lunch at Sea Captain’s House, which is right on the beach. I may have made the comment, more than once, that the view did not suck. Nor did the food, the She Crab Soup was excellent, as were the crab cakes. And, as I was not driving, I decided a Bloody Mary was in order.

From there, as the light was still harsh, we played several more rounds of mini golf, and stopped to get milk shakes at Cold Stone Creamery. We were working our way toward the second of the two piers we intended to visit, and it was late afternoon, with far better light, when we arrived at Springmaid Pier. This pier was almost completely destroyed by the hurricane, and no decision apparently has been made concerning the fate of what remains. We both freshened up afterward and had dinner at a Brazilian Steak House, Rioz. Excellent food, a carnivore’s dream.

As we had not quite satisfied ourselves with mini golf, we played two more rounds that night.

Monday was my return back home, my flight was to leave Raleigh-Durham at 6 pm. Due to the approaching tropical cyclone, we left Myrtle Beach earlier than originally planned (although we managed to get in two more rounds of mini golf first). Having cleared airport security, I had a beverage at the Gardon Biersch brewery in the airport, and, arrived at the gate to do some photo editing before the flight departed. We were to start boarding at 5:30, and, we started lining up to board. Just as my group was called, I received a text from the airline that our flight was delayed for 30 minutes, and the gate attendant ran down the jetway to bring back a few people who he had sent through. That thirty minute delay became much longer, as we received successive alerts of further delays. The issue was not in Raleigh-Durham, as it turned out, but back home. There was a lot of turbulence around O’Hare, and this was causing mid-air funnel clouds. A full ground stop was called at O’Hare as a result. The airline really had no idea when the ground stop might be lifted, and even then, there were bound to be issues at O’Hare. And there were. We finally got the all clear to board 2 1/2 hours after our original scheduled departure. The main issue at O’Hare, by the time we landed, was that there were still too many planes on the ground and not enough gates. We received our gate assignment about 15 minutes after we had taxied off the runway. I finally got to my apartment around 10:45, and went right to bed. It had been a long day. But, it had also been a great trip. It’s always great spending time with Cathie, and I’m planning another, longer trip there in the spring.

The Great Smoky Mountain National Park, Final

Posted on by

I have combined the final two days of our trip into one post, because the virus I picked up was greatly impacting my ability to be active. Wednesday was still pretty active, but I needed breaks throughout the day. Thursday was the worst of it, and Mother Nature actually helped a little by giving us some bad weather on Thursday.

Wednesday, we planned to start the day back in Cades Cove, at Sparks Lane. On Wednesdays, the loop road is closed to motor vehicles until 10 am, so we planned on walking to Sparks Lane from the main parking lot. When we got there, the gate was open, so we drove to Sparks Lane instead. We spent a couple of hours photographing the area, which was enveloped in a heavy fog. While we were there, another photographer came with a couple from Germany who he was leading on a workshop. We all hung out, talked, took some great photos, and Cathie and I made a great connection with a phenomenal photographer, Joseph Rossbach.

Since we did not eat breakfast before leaving for Cades Cove, we decided to leave and get something to eat. On the way out of the park, we stopped at a pull-off to photograph a rapidly running river, because we hadn’t gotten any photos of them the previous days (joking).

Things were really starting to get tough for me, though. I started running a fever, and even though the temperature was in the upper 70s, I was wearing a thermal shirt due to the chills. After breakfast, we went back into the park and there was a shorter hike that I felt I could handle. When we got there, though, there was a sign stating that the trail was closed about halfway to the spot we wanted to get to. So, we ended up doing some longer exposures of another river that ran past the parking lot. We left that area, drove around for a bit, then decided to get some dinner. We wanted to get back to the Newfound Gap Road and up to the Morton Overlook for sunset. When we got to the Morton Overlook, a pleasant surprise was waiting for us. Tony Sweet, a photographer I have long admired (and who led the workshop in the Badlands that I attended last September) was there with his workshop. Cathie got to meet Tony, we talked, and then we got set up for the sunset. The sunset was great, although due to the clouds near the horizon, the color faded pretty quickly. Still, it was fantastic seeing Tony again, and finally getting a great sunset from a signature spot in the Smokies. The sunset is the banner photo for this article. On the drive back down the mountains, unfortunately, my ears plugged up and did not pop. This just added to the rest of my miseries, as it was really messing with my equilibrium, as well as just being plain annoying.

Thursday morning started with a torrential downpour, and me feeling like absolute crap. I was deep in the throes of this virus, and aside from getting a small breakfast, I didn’t do much of anything except go back to sleep. A few hours later, we went and got lunch at the local A & W- I haven’t been to one in a VERY long time. The rain was still coming down heavy, and I ended up sleeping some more in the afternoon. Finally, around 4 pm, I started feeling slightly better, and the rain stopped, so we drove back to the Park, and went to Roaring Fork. It’s a beautiful area, deep in the woods, with a loop road that winds its way up and back down the hills. Which meant I had more ear issues. But, we still got some great photos of the river, and the mill toward the end of the loop road.

We had dinner, got back to the hotel, and I prepped all of my gear for the return trip. I still had a 9-10 hour drive to get back home Friday, and I had no idea what shape I was going to be in for it. Fortunately, the worst of the virus seemed to have passed, and I was able to get up and be on the road early Friday morning, and made the drive back. And thus ended my first Smokies adventure. Even with the health issues I ended up with, it was an unforgettable trip. The beauty of the area cannot be described, it has to be seen. I can see why it is the most visited National Park year after year. It has something for everyone- great hikes, scenic vistas, valleys with mountains shrouded by clouds and fog, and while we did not see a bear, wildlife abounds. I will be returning, sooner rather than later. There is still so much I have to see there. And hopefully next time, I won’t be dealing with a plague at the same time.